MSC Cruises (Italian: MSC Crociere) is a global cruise line registered in Switzerland and based in Geneva. It was founded in Naples, Italy in 1960. MSC Cruises is the world’s largest privately held cruise company, employing about 23,500 people worldwide and having offices in 45 countries as of 2017. MSC Cruises is part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC), the world’s second biggest container shipping operator. MSC Cruises is the fourth largest cruise company in the world, after Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings with a 7.2% share of all passengers carried in 2017