MST Holding and Costa Cruises have been recognized as finalists at the 2025 European Contact Centre & Customer Service Awards (ECCCSA) in the category of “Best Employee Experience” — an achievement that highlights their shared commitment to building inspiring, educational, and human-centered work environments. This nomination reflects the essence of the project both companies have developed in Barcelona: a multilingual customer service model that combines operational excellence, cultural proximity, and a deep connection between the team, the brand, and the environment. Being finalists in this category represents international recognition of a way of working where employee well-being directly translates into an exceptional customer experience.
In a globalized and highly competitive market, standing out is not only about delivering good results — it’s about building real connections between people, their environment, and the service itself. This is precisely the foundation of one of the most inspiring projects of MST Holding’s International Unit: our multilingual customer service for Costa Cruises, developed from an unbeatable strategic location — just one kilometer from the Port of Barcelona, the embarkation and disembarkation point for a large part of the Costa fleet.
This physical proximity is much more than an anecdote. It represents an experiential approach to customer service, where our agents become true brand ambassadors — living the product firsthand, embracing its culture, and generating a level of connection and understanding that is hard to match in more distant or impersonal environments.
A Multilingual Service with an International Soul
From MST’s international hub in Barcelona, we support customers from across Europe in different languages, channels, and time zones. The Costa Cruises project is a clear example of how we combine operational excellence with a human and empathetic approach, adapting our service to the specific needs of different markets and cultures.
The teams assigned to this project include native or bilingual profiles in languages such as Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, and Dutch. This ensures smooth and close communication with the end customer while reinforcing the traveler’s positive experience throughout all stages of the relationship cycle — from the initial booking to post-sales, including inquiries, service modifications, or incident management.
But what truly makes this project unique is its differentiating focus: training our agents not only in processes and protocols but also in real-life Costa experiences.
Experiential Training: Living the Product from Within
One of the keys to the success of this collaboration has been the joint design of a training plan with a strong experiential component. We know that someone who has lived an experience can describe and defend it authentically. For that reason, we’ve built a training path that allows our teams to get to know the product firsthand.
Among the most notable training initiatives are:
- Onboard training sessions conducted by Costa staff, with the direct participation of our agents. These sessions include not only theoretical content but also tours of the ship’s facilities, detailed explanations of services, and direct interaction with the crew.
- Guided visits scheduled during ship stopovers in the Port of Barcelona. Our agents regularly board the ships when they dock in the city, allowing them to stay up to date with new developments and strengthen their connection with the brand.
- An exclusive full-immersion program, where selected agents spend an entire week working aboard a six-night cruise as part of a special training itinerary. This experience offers deep insight into the journey from within while boosting motivation, engagement, and pride of belonging.
This commitment to experiential learning represents a strong competitive advantage for MST Holding and a unique value proposition for both our client and the people involved.
Benefits for the Team: Motivation and Engagement
Working on the Costa Cruises project is not only a professional opportunity but also a deeply enriching personal experience. The physical proximity to the port, the chance to explore the ships from within, and the direct contact with the brand make this service a living, dynamic, and inspiring project.
Some of the specific benefits offered to our Costa team include:
- A privileged office location, just a 15-minute walk from the port, in a well-connected and central area with all services nearby — strengthening both the symbolic and practical link with the maritime environment.
- Access to exclusive training programs and professional development initiatives designed specifically for this project.
- An international working environment, with colleagues from different nationalities and a collaborative spirit that reflects the multicultural nature of the end customer.
- Internal growth opportunities, both within the project itself and in other multilingual services across the company.
- Participation in shared brand initiatives, such as events, special campaigns, and joint communications that reinforce team identity.
All these elements create a unique work ecosystem that not only enhances service quality but also positively impacts employee well-being and talent retention.
A Customer Service Model That Reflects Our Vision
At MST Holding, we believe the BPO of the future must be built on empathy, proximity, and experience. Meeting KPIs is not enough — it’s essential to deeply understand the product, align with the client’s values, and create engaging and motivating work environments.
The Costa Cruises case perfectly illustrates this model. It’s a service in which:
- Customer service becomes a genuine act of brand representation.
- The team is empowered and trained with firsthand knowledge, not just procedures.
- The physical environment (the city, the port, the sea) is part of the story and the experience.
- The collaboration between client and provider is based on trust, transparency, and co-creation.
This approach allows us to deliver exceptionally high-quality services, with strong satisfaction rates among both customers and employees, and sustainable results over time.
A Port of Departure Toward the Future
Barcelona — with its international character, dynamism, and close relationship with the sea — is the ideal setting to continue driving innovative customer service models like this one. From the International Unit of MST Holding, we are convinced that proximity — physical, cultural, and emotional — will be one of the keys to customer service success in the coming years.
And when we speak of proximity, we don’t just mean the distance between the office and the ship, but a way of working in which the client, the team, and the environment align to create memorable experiences.
Costa Cruises and MST Holding continue to move forward together on this journey, proving that it is possible to deliver outstanding multilingual service through a human, committed, and distinctive approach. Because when the sea is so close, inspiration flows, motivation grows, and quality shines through.