MSC Cruises (Italian: MSC Crociere) is a Swiss global cruise line based in Geneva, with operations offices in Naples, Genoa and Venice. It was founded in 1970 in Naples, Italy, as part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). In addition to being the world's largest privately held cruise company, employing about 23,500 people worldwide and with offices in 45 countries as of 2017, MSC Cruises is the third-largest cruise company in the world, after Carnival Corporation & plc and Royal Caribbean Group, with a 10.2% share of all passengers carried in 2021.