Interview with Angelo Capurro, Executive Director, MSC Cruises

MSC Lirica appeared in Turkish waters after a long time. We met with Angelo Capurro, Executive Director, MSC on the occasion of the arrival of MSC Lirica, which welcomed its first passengers from Kuşadası

You have been to Turkey after a very long time. How do you feel?

It feels like having a baby. Because it was a very long time, we plan having our ship back in Turkey, specifically with this kind of itineraries. Having this itinerary is a dream that come true. Now we are here. Yesterday was full of emotion having the a ship leaving Piraeus, yesterday we were in Greece, today in this wonderful place Turkey with the possibility of vacation here. This is the sixteenth ship we are bringing back to life after the pandemic. Next week, our three other ships will meet with the sea so we will have nineteen ships operating again.

You have new ships and new destinations. What are the surprises we have in new ships?

If we talk about new ships, the new prototype, like MSC World Europa that is the one that will come at the end of the year, it is a complete surprise in every corner because it is a huge ship. We are talking about more than 6,000 passengers, plus the crew. Concept of the ship is having small different area like restaurant, speak-easy-bar, you can book in advance so we are planning to give a different experience to our guests. But the other prototypes offer different things as well, because we design the ships according to the itineraries.

You are curious about the figures. How are the prices will be affected, especially after the pandemic?

We are trying to keep the price at the right level. We have different kind of category in the ship, we have seasonality. Good thing of a cruise is it is a floating hotel. You can choose the category, the season and destination you want to go. It is for everyone. Ship within the ship.

You are special for Turkish guests and you value them a lot. Last month your commercials have begun in the market. I am curious about your marketing strategy.

In term of guideline we are using the same. Our position is the same everywhere. And we are trying to keep our position all the same everywhere. We are very cosmopolitan in this sense. We have Italian, Mediterranean touch because it is where we come from, something you cannot take out from your heart. But we are used to dealing with different cultures. That makes MSC different from others. If you can imagine your holiday. You are with family, kids, you are in the middle of other 2,000 people and other 2,000 are Italian or Spanish, French. All the food are designed for them because they are the majority. I believe you will not have a wonderful experience, feel not part of the game. This will never happen on MSC. What everyone loves is attention. You can eat fish, pasta but if you have Turkish coffee in the bar, you will feel like you are a queen. It is a way of how we are looking at different countries.

Now if you would excuse me, I will have a small question to Mr. Burak Çalışkan, the Country Manager of MSC Cruises. Now that we are at the point of talking about culture, as an international company we know that you have been giving an effort to make Turkish guests feel at home. Can you tell us a little about it?

As a company we have been working on it for a long time. Before the ships were cancelled, most of these services that are now offered for Turkish guests were already implemented. Like Turkish coffee, we have other traditional Turkish drinks, Turkish tv channel, Turkish crew, Turkish announcements, Turkish-speaking assistance and we have lots of Turkish crew on board (working at shops, shore excursion department, even the waiters and chefs). What we have done is that we actually rolled back these services. While the company improved the product, we maintained services. Because we are a global but local company. As MSC, when the Turkish guests embark on ship, we want them feel at home as much as they feel they are travelling abroad. Because when they come back to home, which is the ship, they take their coffee, they forget their tiredness.

You are the head of MSC cruises in Turkey, thus you smell the air in here. Do you think you will be marketing about these highlights?

Of course, this is how we separate ourselves in the competition. Because our competitors are not offering such products. When we offer these services to Turkish guests, we want to give them the message that we, as MSC, care about you. Customized product for Turkey but it is still global. We want to pass this message strongly to our guests. If you want to enjoy your cruise, come to a real cruise ship first of all, not a small boat. This is a real cruise ship and this (MSC Lirica) is our smallest ship.

Back to Capurro:

I know you have been travelling a lot. What is the cruise tour that has a special memory on your mind?

When my kids were younger (four-five old years, as they have lots of fun, because when they are eighteen, twenty there is a lot other young guests on board and lots to do they do it alone). one day we visited the ship close to my house. There was a captain we knew each other. He welcomed us and invited us to his cabin, close to the control deck. My son was 5 years old and stopped to talk the whole time. He asked me to see the front and was amazed. When it was the time to go out, and he said “ciao” to me because he wanted to stay there. In terms of destination, I think there are places you can only visit with cruise. I think going around the fjords by cruise is the unique way to see the nature, the place you cannot go any other way.

Is there any other destination that you would like visit?

Red sea, the new itinerary we would launch this winter. It is again a wonderful place, because imagine that along the seven-night cruise you can see Petra, and beautiful places in Saudi Arabia all in the same week. Quite impossible to do the same with other kind of holiday, you know.

Would you like to add something to our readers?

For readers I think that they have to give us the chance and try MSC one time. I believe that we have many guests who come back after their first experience. I just say try, this is a real Mediterranean cruise experience, we are cosmopolitan. We are trying to give the guests best experience possible. And we have a lot to offer.