MSC Cruises to ‘bring the sun’ to agencies in new campaign

MSC Cruises will tour the country with “sunbrellas” to raise awareness of its winter sun holiday options in a new campaign.

The cruise line has developed umbrellas fitted with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) lamps which the sales team will take around the UK to bring agents “a much-needed boost of winter sun” during peaks.

The campaign idea came from a survey commissioned by MSC Cruises before Christmas which found 78% of respondents said winter had “a negative impact on their wellbeing” and 56% were “craving sunshine”.

By city, the research found the highest proportion of people “craving winter sun” were in Belfast (67%), Sunderland (60%), York (58%), Leicester (57%) and Manchester (51%).

A total of 69% said they had “suffered from the winter blues” and 59% said they were “struggling more” with it this year compared to previous years.

The findings also showed 41% of Brits looked to book a holiday in January to “help them get through” and 50% cited getting sunshine as most important factor, with the Caribbean, Australia and USA most desired destinations “if money were no object”.

Vice-president of international sales Antonio Paradiso said: “We think the best thing to do to get winter sun is to go on a MSC cruise, but the sunbrella is the next best thing.

“Our research shows just how much people across the UK are longing for sunshine this winter and the sunbrella is a playful and eye-catching way to bring that to life.

“An MSC cruise offers the best holiday ever, combining brighter days, warmer destinations and outstanding hospitality all in one unforgettable experience.”

Paradiso added it was "reassuring" to see the figure about people looking to book a holiday in January, and that it "confirmed" booking trends he was seeing.

“Since Boxing Day we have seen really strong booking trends, and the destinations are in line with what people are saying. Caribbean is strong, lots of summer Med bookings and Dubai remains a strong destination for us," he said. 

Paradiso said bookings during the period since Boxing Day has been "better than the last two years", and that momentum lost in October and November ahead of the Budget was "coming back". 

The research was carried out by Perspectus Global with 2,014 UK and Northern Ireland residents between November 27 and December 3, 2025.