“We’re starting small, with 15 people.”

A worker for MSC Cruise Canada Ltd. was chatting with TravelPulse Canada during last night’s MSC open house in Toronto, an event held to commemorate the opening of the new MSC Canada office, a space that officials say marks the first cruise company office anywhere in the country.

“Hey,” your correspondent replied. “Fifteen people is a lot. That’s 15 more than any other cruise company.”

MSC officials flew in from Florida for the event, which was marked by plenty of food and drink for various trade and media types and only a small amount of speech-making on the eve of the official office opening,

Ian Patterson, Country Manager, MSC Cruises Canada, didn’t boast about his company’s new profile, but you couldn’t have blamed him if he had.

“Toronto and Canada are perfect for us,” Patterson said. “Multiculturalism is our heritage.”

MSC, based in Europe, hires folks from around the world and prides itself on multi-national offerings on board its rapidly expanding fleet.

“Canada is a growing market for us, which is why we’re here today,” said Roberto Fusaro, President, MSC Cruises USA. “We think we can grow even more. And we know that Canadians travel differently from Americans.”

“This is a significant milestone,” he said of the Toronto office, located at 2810 Matheson Blvd. E. near Toronto Pearson Airport.

Patterson thanked MSC’s trade partners and the trade media.

“We support the trade as much as we possibly can,” he said.

MSC expects to take possessions of 13 new ships by 2027. Four new vessels have come on stream since 2017, a spokeswoman said; MSC Bellissima, MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview and MSC Meraviglia.

Additionally, before the end of 2019, MSC Cruises will launch its second cruise ship this year, MSC Grandiosa, the first of the Meraviglia- Plus generation, as well as its brand new private island destination, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas.

“We are the fastest-growing cruise line,” Fusaro told open house guests. “We want to grow even further in Canada.”

“MSC is the most international cruise line,” he said in an interview with TravelPulse Canada. “A trip with us is about authentic international experiences. It’s for people who want to explore local culture on the shore and on board the ship.

“We have some of the best chefs, and they bring cuisine from Italy, France, Brazil, Hawaii and other places. We have guests from all over the world, so it’s easy to make friends with people from around the globe.

“Being from Europe we’re used to hiring people from different cultures,” Fusaro said.

“We are committed to maintaining a foothold as the world’s fastest growing cruise line, and as we expand globally, we see great opportunity in Canada to support our plans for an increased presence in North America," Achille Staiano, MSC Cruises’ Vice President Global Sales, said in a statement. “It is an incredible feat that we have a direct presence in 29 countries and have grown our distribution network to reach 68 countries globally since our inception. And we are matching this success with unprecedented growth of an additional 13 new vessels in the coming years, expanding our fleet to 29 cruise ships by 2027.”

In conjunction with the office opening, MSC Cruises has launched Canadian web sites for consumers (www.MSCCruises.ca) and for travel agents (www.mscbook.com/ca), allowing guests and travel advisors to operate in Canadian dollars and access resources, information and tools. The websites will initially debut in English, with further enhancements including the roll out of French versions before the end of this year.

Patterson said his staff is fully bilingual, although he’s still working on his French. The contact centre staff was trained by MSC experts in Florida and all speak French and English. The new MSC Canada brochure will be in both French and English, as well.

“This is just the start for us,” said Patterson. “We’re looking forward to flipping the switch tomorrow at 9 a.m.”