According to data from the 2013 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, MSC Cruises will become the third largest cruise company by capacity this year, trailing only Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International.

With the delivery of the MSC Preziosa, the Italian brand will carry over 1.45 million passengers on 12 ships this year.

That number propels MSC past Costa Crociere, Princess Cruises, and even Norwegian Cruise Line – to third on the capacity lists, with a 9.4 percent capacity increase over 2012.

With Carnival and Royal Caribbean carrying well over three million passengers each, MSC won’t be catching them anytime soon.

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Interestingly, MSC is achieving its third place number with just 12 ships, over Norwegian’s 12 ships, compared to Princess, with 17 ships, which sail longer cruises.

By market, MSC will have over 50 percent of its capacity in the Mediterranean, 14 percent in South America, 12.5 percent in Northern Europe, and the rest in Africa, the Caribbean, Canary Islands and Red Sea.