Lauro Lines was founded in Naples, The shipowner Gioacchino Lauro laid the foundations of the fleet, with some sailing ships, which however developed in the 1920s thanks to his son Achille Lauro, who bought the first ship Iris and six sisters. The company became the largest Mediterranean fleet of all time and one of the most important companies ever in southern Italy. From the 1950s the ships of the fleet remained in the history of the Italian merchant navy: the Surriento, the Sidney & Roma, the Angelina Lauro and the Oceanos.

In 1964 the transatlantic Achille Lauro entered service in the fleet, later used as a cruise ship. In 1966 Angelina Lauro came online for connections with Australia. However, his son Ercole Lauro was unable to adapt the company to the times .

 

In 1982, following the bankruptcy, the Lauro Fleet became Lauro Line and then Starlauro.

The company was bought by the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, which dealt only with cargo, thus remaining the sole shareholder of Starlauro, transforming it into a new MSC division, Starlauro Cruises, then MSC Cruises.