MSC Cruises: Proud Sponsor of the Social Travel Summit

 

The Social Travel Summit team is excited and very proud to announce a new Premium Sponsor: MSC Cruises. In the past several years, MSC Cruises has stepped up its collaborative efforts with travel bloggers, inviting bloggers to experience the ‘Mediterranean Way of Life’ on board their cruise ships.

“We are delighted to attend the first edition of “The Social Travel Summit” in Leipzig. This is another great opportunity to meet Travel Bloggers from all around the world. MSC Cruises have already organized various activities with travel bloggers in the last couple of years to enlighten diverse online communities about the unique travel experience that cruising provides. Moreover, I believe that by giving bloggers a hands-on experience to write about we can engage with communities we may never have reached with traditional marketing techniques”. – David Arcifa (Corporate Social Media CRM Manager, MSC Cruises)

 

The Social Travel Summit offers MSC Cruises  a unique opportunity to connect with leading bloggers from around the world, learn about digital marketing trends as well as participate in discussions and brainstorming sessions. Representatives from MSC Cruises will also share their experiences of working with travel bloggers during the ‘Working with Travel Bloggers and Measuring Results’ session on Day 2.

MSC Cruises and travel bloggers: what’s the connection?

We know what you’re thinking.

You hear “cruise” and images of white-haired pensioners playing shuffleboard automatically spring to mind, along with stuffy dining rooms, outdated dress codes and excruciating dance classes.

“Travel blogger,” on the other hand, conjures up images of young, bold, tech-savvy adventurers. You can imagine them backpacking around Mongolia, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or hitchhiking through South America with their smartphones at the ready, keeping their followers up to date with a steady stream of Instagram photos and witty blog posts as they go.

What you really can’t imagine is that same travel blogger walking voluntarily up a ship’s gangway to embark on a cruise; which is precisely why MSC Cruises decided to invite a group of international travel bloggers on board MSC Splendida in 2012, on MSC Preziosa for the Christening last March 2013 and onboard of MSC Divina during her arrival in Miami last November.

This was the first in a series of blogger events and competitions from MSC Cruises in which we aim not only to change bloggers’ own views on cruising, but to change the views of their networks and online communities.

MSC Cruises is in fact making it a priority to engage with the travel blogosphere. We know that blogging is one of the most effective ways of communicating the reality of the cruise holiday experience, as well as one of our greatest tools for dispelling the many myths which surround it.

Cruising combines travel, fine dining, adventurous excursions, relaxation and cultural discovery. It really is the perfect 360° holiday experience for any traveller of any age – and we need bloggers to help spread the word.

As more and more bloggers discover what MSC Cruises has been hoping for all along – that cruising and bloggers are actually compatible – larger and more diverse audiences will learn what cruise lovers have always known; that cruising really can capture the authentic art of travel, if only you let it.

About MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises is the market leading cruise company in the Mediterranean, South Africa and Brazil and operates across the globe. MSC Cruises sails throughout the year in the Mediterranean and in the Caribbean and offers a wide range of seasonal itineraries in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the French Antilles, South America, Southern Africa, as well as Abu Dhabi and the Emirates. Its modern fleet comprises twelve ships: Fantasia-class MSC Preziosa, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia; Musica-class MSC Magnifica, MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, and MSC Musica; Lirica-class MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera and MSC Lirica. MSC Cruises is the only company in the world to receive the “7 Golden Pearls” award from the Bureau Veritas in recognition of its high level of quality management and environmental responsibility. MSC has also achieved ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 certification for the quality and food safety of all aspects of its catering, both on shore and on board. MSC Cruises believes that global leadership brings increased responsibility towards the physical and human environments in which it operates. As such, a long term partnership with UNICEF was undertaken in 2009 to support educational programmes for children in Brazil, for which almost three million euros were raised. The partnership was renewed early 2014, this time to support UNICEF’s efforts to tackle child malnutrition in developing countries and in emergency situations.

Follow MSC Cruises on: twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.