I would base a ship in the UK in 2019 no matter how sales for Magnifica go from now,” MSC Cruises’ UK and Ireland boss Antonio Paradiso declares confidently.

“I’m going all-in – we’ve already seen great uptake – so why not?” he continues, before adding that – “if everything goes well” – he would “be more than happy to double MSC’s presence in the UK”.

It’s a bold statement from a line whose current proportion of UK sales is 7-8%. But then Paradiso has bold plans.

“We’re definitely not going to decrease our presence in the UK, but we’re still working on which ship it would be,” he adds.

It’s a rainy Wednesday when we meet, rather aptly at the Sea Containers building in London, but Paradiso’s outlook is infectiously sunny. And who can blame him? The former executive director for Asia and the emerging markets is just over a year into his new UK role but claims UK sales for 2017 have already reached 92% of his target. Last year saw 35% passenger growth year-on-year and so far in 2017 the growth is 50%.

“I can go on holiday now,” Paradiso jokes, before adding that the recent wave season was MSC’s most successful to date in the UK. And that, he insists, was no accident.

“Although we are leaders in Europe, South America and South Africa, we have always had a relatively small presence in the UK,” he says, but adds: “It is now one of our key markets, and I hope that lasts forever.”