PEOPLE

Wellbeing for our guests and employees

We prioritise employee and guest welfare. Highlighting safety, well-being, career growth, and health standards. We aim to create a supportive environment for everyone in our business. Our commitment includes training and professional development, ensuring teams are prepared for all situations and fostering a respectful culture. Through this, we aim to support both personal and professional growth for everyone in our company.

DEVELOPING OUR PEOPLE

Growing talent from within: We want to support the career development of our employees within our business. Our talent management programme offers a wide range of experiences for those with high potential so that they can deliver the best experience to our guests and ensure their teams are highly effective. The capabilities of our onboard managers are regularly reviewed to ensure they have the relevant abilities to carry out their roles. We work with individuals on career paths that can lead to further promotion, depending on business needs. We promoted 5,600 crew members in 2023.

Gender equality: We want to provide equal opportunities and gender equality across all our employees. Gender equality is vital for fostering diversity, enhancing decision-making, and driving innovation within the industry. It ensures equal opportunities for all, creating a more inclusive and equitable work environment. Promoting gender equality helps attract a wider talent pool, address workforce shortages, and supports the industry’s growth.

Currently, 54.9% of our shoreside staff and 19.5% of onboard crew are female. As we recruit more staff, we aim to improve the gender balance throughout our business.

A diverse workforce: We are proud of our international workforce, with more than 144 nationalities represented, bringing diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences, including many staff who are LGBTQ+. We proactively recruit from as many countries and communities as possible and were the first cruise company to recruit in Rwanda and the Ivory Coast. Our recruitment also benefits local economies, bringing new or additional employment opportunities.

Training our teams: In 2023 our crew collectively completed 512,930 training hours – an average of 11.5 per crew member.
We train many of our crew at our dedicated facilities in Bali, Manila, New Delhi, Durban, and Port Luis, which replicate the same equipment found on our ships and use simulations to create the right environment. A team of mobile trainers also visit our ships, and crew are given access to e-learning modules . Our deck and engine teams undergo extensive technical training and certification enabling the use of complex technical equipment.
Third-party organisations assess our trainers, and training is aligned with all applicable national and international rules and regulations.

Creating leaders:
We aim to recruit from within whenever possible and we promoted 5600 crew members in 2023.
We want to retain and promote staff within our business. Our talent management program offers various initiatives such as leadership development, promotion plans and individual performance management.
There are clear parameters that must be met to qualify for internal promotion. Candidates must achieve Individual Performance Management goals, reach relevant language standards and complete specific department training. Promotion Committees ensure we meet diversity criteria among all managerial levels.

Crew well-being

Taking care of our people: We manage our crew in full compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) when assigning working hours. Our crew are fundamental to the effective running of our business, and it is important that they enjoy their work and are motivated to do their best. Every ship has a dedicated Learning & Development Manager whose role is dedicated to supporting our crew’s development. Our larger ships also have an HR Engagement Specialist, reporting to the onboard HR Officer, to provide improved HR support for our larger crews.

In 2023, we launched the BETTER program: we increased salaries across all onboard positions and introduced a bonus scheme . In addition, we improved crew rotation, provided better access to information, training and e-learning opportunities, and improved connectivity on board, using new WIFI service providers with reduced rates. . These interventions have contributed to a reduction in turnover in MSC Cruises crew from approximately 35% in June 2023 to 17% by the end of the year.

Support in tough times: Our safeguarding policy outlines what we do to support vulnerable crew. If a crew member is involved in an incident on board or is experiencing family issues back home, a dedicated Single Point of Contact assesses the situation and brings in personnel on board or ashore to ensure the necessary support is provided quickly and appropriately. Our compassionate leave procedure for the immediate family includes paying for the crew to return home. We offer two weeks of unpaid leave and the option of staying at home until they are ready to return.

Celebrating our people: Our recognition programme celebrates five ‘MSC People of the Month’ on board each ship, with the selected winners demonstrating one of our five company values. A final five from the fleet are then selected to attend our End of Year Gala evening in Geneva, where they are personally thanked and awarded by the Aponte family.

KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE AND SECURE

We have an extensive Safety Management System (SMS) based on the International Safety Management Code and the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard. It meets the safety regulations under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Maritime Labour Convention. External auditors review our SMS annually, both onboard and onshore, to ensure its effectiveness.

On board and onshore safety teams implement and monitor our Safety Management System (SMS). Each ship’s Captain is ultimately responsible for safety onboard, supported by a full-time Safety Officer Any work-related incidents, accidents or near-misses are reported via a digital platform, and these are reviewed each month by our senior management team, including a Board representative.

We have an extensive Safety Management System (SMS) that is based on the International Safety Management Code and the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard and meets the safety regulations under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Maritime Labour Convention. External auditors review our SMS annually, both onboard and onshore, to make sure it is effective.

HEALTH AND MEDICAL FACILITIES

All our ships have medical facilities for guests and crew, with fully qualified doctors and nurses providing round-the-clock care both on board and on shore. We provide a wide range of medical support, from general practice consultations to medical emergencies requiring intensive care.
Our state-of-the-art equipment allows us to conduct x-rays, cardiac monitoring, and pulmonary ventilation, as well as help with swift diagnosis and treatment. Our onboard medical teams also have the support of our onshore Medical Operations duty doctor via a 24/7 dedicated phone line and work closely with our Maritime Support Centre to help our ships whenever necessary, such as arranging a medical evacuation or responding to a major medical event.

All our ships meet or exceed the American College of Emergency Physicians Health Care Guidelines for Cruise Ship Medical Facilities and the World Health Organisation Guide to Ship Sanitation, as well as other international public health regulations.
We have fully trained and dedicated Public Health Compliance Officers (PHCOs) across our fleet who conduct frequent tests on drinking water quality and water recreation facilities and check food safety protocols.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS

Browse our Sustainability reports and find out our goals and actions.

2023 Sustainability report
2022 Sustainability report
2021 Sustainability report
2020 Sustainability report
2019 Sustainability report