MSC Orders New Frontier Class Ships, First Due 2030

MSC New Frontier class ships in Papenburg, Germany, start arriving in 2030 after MSC Cruises ordered four new vessels from Meyer Werft. The order targets future travelers who plan long range cruises, loyalty status runs, or group sailings tied to new ship debuts. For now, the practical move is to treat this as a 2030 plus planning signal, then wait for deployment details before you lock in flights, hotels, or nonrefundable add ons.

The MSC New Frontier class ships order adds a new ship platform to MSC's pipeline, with annual deliveries beginning in 2030.

What We Know About The New Frontier Class

MSC Cruises says it signed an agreement covering four next generation ships and two additional options with Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The line describes the New Frontier platform as a brand new class, and it frames the program as a long term partnership with a shipbuilder that has not previously built for MSC Cruises.

On the hardware side, MSC states the ships will be approximately 180,000 gross tons with a maximum passenger capacity of 5,400, and that they will deliver annually starting in 2030. MSC also says the class will incorporate "next generation environmental technologies" aligned to its net zero 2050 commitment, although it did not publish the specific propulsion package or fuel plan in the announcement.

For travelers, the key takeaway is timing. A 2030 delivery schedule usually means public itinerary announcements arrive later, often after design work matures and the line decides where the ship best fits. Until MSC publishes names, homeports, and first season routes, there is nothing you can reliably book against, other than a general expectation that new ships eventually produce new deployment choices.

Background: What "Gross Tons" Means For Cruise Planning

Cruise ship "gross tonnage" is not weight. It is a measure tied to a ship's internal volume, and it is commonly used as a shorthand for overall scale. In traveler terms, moving into the 180,000 gross ton range generally signals a large resort style ship, with enough onboard venues to support longer sea days and larger family travel segments, but it does not automatically tell you cabin size, crowding feel, or the quality of guest flow. Those outcomes depend on layout, staffing, public space ratios, and how the line schedules dining, entertainment, and shore excursion operations.

The other planning angle is ports. Bigger ships can be more selective about where they call, because berth length, turning basin limits, and local passenger handling capacity matter. That does not mean smaller ports are off the table, but it does mean itinerary patterns can shift toward ports that already handle high volumes, or toward calls where infrastructure upgrades are underway.

Why Meyer Werft Matters In This Order

MSC announced the agreement in Berlin, Germany, alongside German federal and regional officials, and it positioned the work as a major multi year production program in Papenburg. For travelers, shipyard location is not about where you cruise, it is about supply timing. When a line splits orders across different yards and countries, it can smooth delivery cadence, and it can also diversify technical approaches to ship design and environmental systems, depending on the yard's engineering playbook.

How This Fits With MSC's World Class Pipeline

This New Frontier order lands about a month after MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l'Atlantique announced two additional World Class ships, numbers 7 and 8, due to be delivered in 2030 and 2031. In that earlier announcement, MSC reiterated that World Class ships use dual fuel liquefied natural gas engines, and it described LNG as part of a pathway toward future renewable fuels as they become available at scale.

Put together, MSC is setting up for multiple big ship introductions beginning in 2030, across two separate platforms, and two separate shipbuilders. That is useful context if you plan cruises far ahead, because it increases the odds that specific regions will see capacity reshuffles when new ships arrive, even before MSC announces exact routes.

For near term MSC travelers, the more actionable angle is still pricing and promotions on current sailings, not these 2030 deliveries. If you are shopping 2026 to 2027 departures, MSC's current Wave Season style deal mechanics matter more than the shipyard news, see our earlier coverage here: https://adept.travel/news/2025-12-15-msc-starts-wave-season-early-booking-window-runs-to-april-7.

What Travelers Should Watch Next

MSC has not yet published ship names, debut seasons, or homeports for the New Frontier class. Those details are what will determine whether this order changes your real world decisions, for example whether you should plan for a first sailing premium, whether your preferred embarkation port might get a new ship, or whether a favorite itinerary will be redeployed to a different class.

If you are the type of traveler who targets inaugural seasons, the practical move is to set expectations now. Plan for a multi step rollout: early concept details, then ship naming and first season deployment, then opening day bookings, then final day by day schedules. Until MSC publishes that chain, treat "MSC New Frontier class ships" as a long range fleet expansion headline, not a bookable trip.

Sources

• MSC Cruises and Meyer Werft Sign Landmark Agreement for Six Next-Generation Cruise Vessels
• MSC Cruises Announces Two New World Class Ship Orders During Double Celebration with Chantiers de l'Atlantique
• MSC Cruises Inks 4+2 Newbuild Order at Meyer Werft