Despite having nine ships on the order books still to delivered before 2026, MSC Cruises has no plans to stop its rapid expansion.

When asked if the launch of their fourth World-class ship in 2026 would see a slowdown in the number of ships the line plans to launch, Antonio Paradiso, MSC Cruises’ managing director of UK & Ireland, said there were still opportunities to grow.

“No. Watch this space. There will be more and more announcements, we do see the opportunity to further increase our business,” said Paradiso.

“Because at the end of the day the cruise industry is delivering 27 million passengers a year, if you compare that to any land-based holiday out there or to the airline business, it is a drop in the ocean.”

Of course, there are growing concerns in the industry surrounding over-capacity and whether the demand is out there to fill all the new ships launching, concerns that Paradiso does not share.

“[The cruise industry’s] global penetration is only 2 per cent and even if you look at the order book and all the new ships that will be joining the cruise lines in the next ten years, the increase in capacity on a year-by-year basis is only 7 per cent, which I believe is perfectly sustainable,” explained Paradiso.

Indeed, Paradiso is bullish that this is the year the cruise industry will finally crack the two million passenger mark in the UK.

“I am really confident that we will finally exceed the two million passengers mark, the growth of a particular market is in part due to the capacity deployed. MSC is actually is a main driver of the growth across the world because we are selling our product in over 60 countries.

“I think that 2018 is going to be a game-changer for the industry – and the UK.”