Agents split over deployment of older ships from Southampton in 2027

Agents are split on the potential impact of two cruise lines deploying older and lower-capacity ships from Southampton in 2027.

MSC Cruises will swap in MSC Meraviglia to replace MSC Virtuosa from the UK port for the summer season, while Royal Caribbean will bring in Mariner of the Seas in place of Liberty of the Seas.

Meraviglia was launched in 2017 and has capacity for up to 5,714 passengers, compared to Virtuosa’s 2019 debut and 6,334-passenger capacity.

Mariner was launched in 2003 and can carry 4,000 passengers, compared to Liberty’s 2007 inaugural season and 4,960 capacity.

Tina King, franchise managing director at Barrhead Saltcoats, said she was “a bit shocked” by the move to bring Mariner to Southampton.

“We do a lot with Royal Caribbean,” she said. “It is great to know they are keeping Legend of the Seas in the Mediterranean in 2026 and 2027, but I was a bit shocked to hear they are bringing Mariner of the Seas to Southampton, especially when they have world-class ships in European ports.”

She added it would be great to have “a better standard of ship” from the UK port and combined with MSC bringing in Meraviglia, she predicted P&O Cruises would “clean up” for the season as they will offer more ships and more varied itineraries.

Travel Den managing director Gilli Knight added her agents “feel really let down” by the decision to operate older ships from Southampton in 2027.

“Given cruise is a rising market in the UK, my agents don’t understand why it’s not seen as important,” she said.

“The convenience of going from Southampton is really aimed at families. If customers have gone on Legend of the Seas 2026, they’re not going to go on an old ship, and the same for MSC [and the World Class], so they will switch-sell to P&O Cruises.”

She said that for homeworkers in particular there is “a worry about consumer confidence” and repeat business if you send someone on an older ship.

Knight added she had observed “an increasing trend” of people flying to Miami to cruise because it was “so much cheaper” than ex-UK or Mediterranean sailings which are becoming more expensive.  

The Travel Business co-owner Ellie Fowler echoed these sentiments as she said P&O Cruises “always has the monopoly” of the Southampton cruise market for the agency as it was clients’ preference.

She added it was “a bad idea” for MSC and Royal Caribbean to switch in older ships as it “may put new-to-cruisers off”, although ultimately if prices were “keener” it may encourage bookings.

“Ships being refurbished will help, but I do think it will have quite a bit of negativity overall,” Fowler said.

However, several agents said the age of a ship was “rarely a dealbreaker” for clients and “will not impact sales”.

Chris Hughes, founder of Simply Cruises, which only sells MSC, revealed the agency had had a record month in October where it surpassed more than £1million in bookings “spurred on” by the Meraviglia summer 2027 launch which prompted nearly £500,000 in sales on launch day.

He said: "Since then, we have witnessed MSC Meraviglia bookings outpace Virtuosa by two to one for the upcoming summer 2027 (Meraviglia) versus summer 2026 (Virtuosa).

“People are hungry for the new ship, and whilst at a glance, she seems like an older and ’smaller’ ship - we class her as the original trendsetter and there are actually significant advantages to having Meraviglia in the UK compared to Virtuosa.”

One of these benefits include Meraviglia having the same number of MSC Yacht Club suites with a lower occupancy level, so the vast majority are for two guests with the same internal space, Hughes added.

Adore Cruises managing director Ian Gilder highlighted that Independence of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, which are operating from Southampton until 2027, are in the same class as Mariner, while Virtuosa and Meraviglia are also sister vessels despite their age difference.

“I don’t think it makes a major difference,” he said. “Royal are also amplifying the ships before they come so, in essence, we are getting nearly-new ships in.

“I can also understand why they swap them out as each ship has its own character, crew and shows, but fundamentally you are still going on the same ship.”

However, Gilder added an MSC World or Europa Class or a Royal Caribbean Oasis or Icon Class coming to Southampton would “change the landscape”.

Travelmax founder Maxine Bracewell said many clients, including families and first-time cruisers, would see sailing from the UK without the hassle of flying as “the biggest factor” when booking, rather than the age of the ship.

“Pricing, itinerary variety and ease of access from Southampton are far more influential [in these decisions],” she said.

“As long as the onboard product delivers and the pricing is competitive, guests are generally very open to sailing on older ships.”

She recommended highlighting ship’s strengths, refurbishments, special features and value, rather than focusing on when it was built which was “rarely a dealbreaker”.

“Often giving clients the option of a more expensive alternative choice of ships helps make their mind up for them,” Bracewell added.

Magical Traveller co-owner Kieran Eccles-Miller and New Travel founder Dale Sourbutts backed bringing in different ships, even if they are older, though Eccles-Miller admitted the Mariner move had not been well-received by some customers.

“The change of the Royal ship has not gone down well,” he said. “I do not understand why as the Mariner is a great ship, but people were expecting something new.”

Sourbutts added Meraviglia was “a great ship” and said keeping the same ship in the same port risked “things getting a bit stale”.

“Price will always come into play, and if they are pricing it right, they will fill the ships regardless. I don’t think it will impact sales,” he said.

Both highlighted the opportunity to switch-sell to fly-cruise in Europe if customers were keen to sail on newer vessels.

An MSC spokesperson said the summer 2027 launch had been its “best ever”.

They added: “We want to give our customers new experiences, and we’ve responded directly to requests. There are many positives about the ship, which is part of the same family as MSC Virtuosa. 

“Customers have told us they want longer sailings, so we are offering six to 14-night holidays to new destinations including Ibiza, Gibraltar, and Tangier in Morocco, as well as popular favourites across the Mediterranean and Norwegian Fjords.”

Royal Caribbean declined to comment.