MSC Cruises, the world’s fourth largest cruise shipping company, carried a record 1.7 million passengers on its vessels last year, said Gianni Onorato, CEO.

“In 2015, MSC Cruises came out of another year of unprecedented growth that saw a 10% year-on-year sales increase, with 1.7 million guests having journeyed on one of the Company’s 12 ultra-modern ships. In key markets, including Italy, Germany, Spain and France – growth at rates higher than the market resulted in further market share gains,” he said in a statement.

During the course of the latest fiscal year, the company further solidified its leadership in South America and South Africa. Additionally, it continued to expand its global reach beyond its core Mediterranean and Northern Europe offerings by being the first global cruise line to make Cuba its homeport.

As of May 2016, it also announced the deployment of its first ship out of China while continuing to strengthen its offerings in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman with even more capacity.

In the Caribbean, MSC Divina is now operating year-around from Miami with MSC Seaside joining her in December 2017. In an industry first, the two exclusively diverse Caribbean itineraries include port calls in Havana with MSC Opera and Armonia as of December 2016.