MSC Cruises is taking its older ships out of its established European markets to avoid confusion between them and the newer vessels.
Chief executive officer Pierfrancesco Vago said: “We are looking for new itineraries for the older ships. They are all deployed to the end of 2007. We could think of getting rid of one in 2008.”
This summer, Monterey is sailing from Barcelona for the Spanish market, but will move to South Africa in October, where it will offer year-round short cruises for the local market.
Rhapsody is based in Amsterdam for the first time this summer, sailing to the Norwegian fjords.
Vago said the cruiseline wanted to avoid clients holidaying on one of the newer ships and then being disappointed by ending up on an older one if they chose another MSC cruise later.
He added: “We don’t want to compete against ourselves with two different products.”
He added the decision to keep Musica in the Mediterranean this winter, instead of moving it to the Caribbean as originally planned, was down to the weakness of the dollar, but insisted: “We have big plans for the US. We will have a vessel there year-round for sure.”