MSC adds more European summer cruises

MSC adds more European summer cruises

More ships confirmed to be sailing from the Med and Northern Europe

MSC Cruises has published details of more European cruises to take place this summer, as the company ramps up its operation.

Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises, said, “Today we have clarity on which European destinations and ports will initially be open this summer and we have fully reflected this into a first set of new and updated itineraries for the upcoming season so that guests can book their holidays with us with confidence. The entire MSC Cruises team and I look forward to welcoming both returning and new guests on board one of our ships that will be at sea this summer and to provide them with a memorable, relaxing and, above all, safe holiday.

“Plus, I am confident that in the coming weeks we will be able to further enrich some of these itineraries as well as add more ships with new ones, as more ports and tourist destinations, in particular in Spain and France, become available to receive ships and visitors.”

The following is a complete list of MSC Cruises confirmed itineraries now available for booking for this summer.

Three ships in the West Mediterranean, calling at Italy and Malta

MSC Grandiosa will initially extend its seven-night itinerary, calling at the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia for Rome, Naples, Palermo as well as Valletta, Malta. The Spanish ports of Valencia and Barcelona will be added to the ship’s current itinerary as soon as these destinations confirm their availability.

MSC Seaside will commence sailing on May 1 from Genoa calling at the newly introduced ports of Siracusa in Sicily and Taranto in Puglia, as well as Civitavecchia for Rome and Valetta in Malta. The ship’s itinerary will then be enriched with calls to the French port of Marseille as soon as its availability is confirmed. In addition to the range of protected excursions developed for this itinerary MSC Cruises will introduce a special private beach experience in Taranto, exclusively for the ship’ guests.

MSC Seashore will join the MSC Cruises fleet at the end of July to become its new flagship and from August 1 until October 31 will offer seven-night cruises calling at the Italian ports of Genoa, Naples and Messina, as well as Valletta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France.

Three ships in the East Mediterranean, calling Italy, Greece, Croatia and Montenegro

MSC Cruises will deploy three ships in the region for the upcoming summer season offering a range of different itineraries in the East Mediterranean, offering ports of embarkation in Italy from Trieste, Venice and Bari as well as Piraeus for Athens in Greece, calling at some of the most beautiful Greek Islands, Kotor in Montenegro as well as the vibrant ports of Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia.

MSC Orchestra will now depart on June 5 offering guests embarkation in the Italian ports of Venice on Saturdays, Bari on Sundays and then call at the Greek Islands of Corfu, Mykonos as well as Dubrovnik in Croatia.

MSC Splendida will commence sailing from June 12 with embarkation in Trieste, Italy on Saturdays and in Bari on Tuesdays, calling at Dubrovnik in Croatia, Corfu in Greece and Kotor in Montenegro.

Rounding out the offering in the East Mediterranean is MSC Magnifica from June 20 with embarkation in the Italian ports of Venice on Sundays, Bari on Mondays and Piraeus for Athens on Wednesdays, then calling at the Greek Island of Mykonos and Split, Croatia.

Northern Europe

UK Domestic Cruises

From May 20, the line’s flagship MSC Virtuosa will perform its inaugural season in the UK and offer mini cruises from Southampton calling at Portland in Dorset on the Jurassic coast. From June 12 it will operate seven-night cruises from Southampton with embarkation in Liverpool, Greenock for Glasgow and also calling at Portland and Belfast in Northern Ireland. These cruises are designed for British residents only. The sailings are open to vaccinated and non-vaccinated guests and all guests will be tested prior to embarkation.

Germany, Northern Europe

In Germany, considering the current uncertainty regarding the timing for the reopening of local ports, MSC Cruises ships must delay the start of their summer season out of the country’s ports until June 15.

At the same time, MSC Cruises today announced that MSC Seaview will homeport in Kiel, Germany starting on June 19 replacing MSC Virtuosa.

Additionally, MSC Preziosa is planned to depart on June 21 from Hamburg, Germany and MSC Musica on June 20 from Warnemunde, Germany, if the German ports are open.

The three ships are planned to serve seven- and longer nights sailings with itineraries either to the Norwegian fjords or the Baltic capitals, as per their current schedule.

Onorato added:“We are extremely proud to be in a position to offer our guests and travel agent partners for the coming summer a growing choice of cruise holidays to a range of different destinations across the Mediterranean and Europe. We will be featuring some of our most innovative and more modern vessels in our fleet. And to make it even easier and safer for our guests to reach our ships from closer to their homes, all our itineraries will feature additional ports of embarkation. In the Mediterranean alone, MSC Cruises will offer its guests up to 15 ports of embarkation.

“Albeit these ships represent only an initial portion of our fleet, they include our two latest jewels, MSC Virtuosa and MSC Seashore, both of which will have come into service for the first time in 2021. Their presence in this next phase of the return at sea of our fleet in the coming weeks represent our belief in the continued attractiveness for consumer of cruises as a holiday option. This is why we have confirmed our plans of new builds for the coming years and are looking forward to a gradual return at se of our full fleet in the coming months into the winter season.

MSC Cruises also confirmed the cancellation of its Caribbean sailings from ports in the USA up to and including June 30.

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