MSC Cruises had to draft in extra staff to cope with demand for its Sail for a Pound offer, which ended last week.
The cruiseline said it took more than 3,000 bookings during the two-week campaign, which ran from November 28 to December 14.
It enabled clients to book a 2010 cruise for £1 when a companion booked the same cabin for the full brochure fare.
The offer was available on all of MSC’s 10 ships, including MSC Magnifica, which will be hosting almost 2,000 agents at a gala evening in Southampton on February 26 2010 before it is named in Hamburg, Germany on March 6.
MSC Cruises UK and Ireland managing director Giulio Libutti said he was confident the Sail for a Pound offer would create a lot of interest based on the response to the same offer this time last year.
He said: “The offer generated a huge volume of enquiries from potential first-time cruisers, as well as regular cruises and repeat customers, and has helped MSC Cruises achieve a 50% increase in revenue this year.
“It proves that MSC Cruises is becoming well recognised in the UK and Irish markets, and we are continuing to attract more passengers.”