MSC Cruises, the world’s fourth largest cruise shipping company, said it would return to the UK by operating MSC Magnifica from Southampton from April to November 2018, Travel Weekly reports.

The company wants to establish itself among the three major cruise operators on the UK market. “We have created itineraries that make the most of the British Isles and the best of what are customers can experience out of their own country. I am really excited, this is game on for us. I want us to become one of the top three cruise lines in the UK,” MSC Cruises’ UK Managing director Antonio Paradiso was quoted as saying.

“We are coming back to the UK with our ship (MSC)Magnifica for a whole season, it is a big comeback for us and we are very excited. It marks a new dedication from MSC to the UK market and how we want to be one of the most popular cruise lines in the country.”

There will be five new itineraries out of Southampton including a 14-day sailing calling at Le Havre, La Coruna, Leixoes, Lisbon, Malaga then Amsterdam and Hamburg. A North Sea sailing will travel to Stavanger, Bergen, Olden and Alesund in Norway plus a round-UK sailing calling at Southampton, Newcastle, South Queensferry in Edinburgh and Invergordon. Following the UK sailings, the Magnifica will then host the company’s first ever world cruise from January 2019, the report said.