Teri West
In the last 18 months, MSC Cruises has introduced long-planned initiatives to deepen its presence in the U.S., including a star-studded national ad campaign, the MSC World America and a first Alaska season.
Making progress can also require pivoting strategies, and MSC did so last August, deciding that leaving New York City as a homeport and moving the MSC Meraviglia to Miami was optimal.
When cruise lines pivot, so must travel advisors, and that's exactly what New Jersey-based Donna Carlin has done. Carlin, owner of Travelsavers affiliate Stepping Out Travel Services, is a big MSC fan and had been selling the brand well before the national ad campaign and the MSC World America were in the picture.
Carlin fondly remembers when the cruise line added New York as a homeport in 2023. She has clients who enjoyed sailing from Brooklyn.
She is still selling MSC to these clients, but the pitch is different. For example, she's promoting the MSC Opera's departures from the Dominican Republic as an option enabling them to vacation for a few days before or after the cruise.
That gives them another trip component to enjoy and an extra reason to buy an airline ticket when they previously had been able to drive to Brooklyn.
While the MSC World America can justify a flight to Miami for MSC enthusiasts -- it's the newest and largest MSC ship sailing the Americas -- Carlin knew her clients who were accustomed to a drive-to port wouldn't be satisfied with Miami as a fly-in destination.
"I had to find something to make the clients more enthused about getting on an airplane," she said. "And Miami wouldn't have enthused them."
This winter will be the first in which MSC homeports in La Romana, Dominican Republic. It is establishing year-round operations there. The first sailings begin in November.
Unlike Florida, the Dominican Republic is a destination that Carlin said her clients in the Northeast would consider an exciting place to relax and explore before or after a cruise.
"It gave a twinkle in the eye to clients who are disappointed MSC left Brooklyn," she said.