MSC Cruises recently announced new and updated itineraries in the Mediterranean and across Europe for this coming summer, offering guests plenty of options for the upcoming holiday season. The ships offering these now fully confirmed itineraries will operate under the same industry-leading health and safety protocol that has been safely protecting over 60,000 MSC Cruises guests sailing on the line’s ships in the Mediterranean since August 2020.
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 Italy and Malta
MSC Grandiosa will initially extend her current 7-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 MSC Seaside’s itinerary, MSC Cruises will introduce a special private beach experience in Taranto, exclusively for the ship’s guests. Guests will be able to relax in true summer fashion on the sandy beach next to the clear waters of the Ionian Sea.
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, offer 7-night cruises calling the Italian ports of Genoa, Naples and Messina, as well as Valletta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France. After her season in the Mediterranean, MSC Seashore will then arrive to Miami in November 2021 to begin sailing The Bahamas and Caribbean, including stops at MSC Cruises’ private Bahamian destination, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
Three ships in the East Mediterranean, calling Italy, Greece, Croatia and Montenegro
MSC Cruises will deploy three ships in this popular region for the upcoming summer season offering a range of itineraries in the East Mediterranean, calling at some of the most beautiful Greek Islands, Kotor in Montenegro as well as the vibrant ports of Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia. Ports of embarkation include Trieste, Venice and Bari in Italy as well as Piraeus for Athens in Greece.
MSC Orchestra will now depart on June 5 with embarkation in the Italian ports of Venice on Saturdays, Bari on Sundays, calling 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 offering embarkation in the Italian ports of Venice on Sundays, Bari on Mondays and Piraeus for Athens on Wednesdays and calling at the Greek Island of Mykonos and Split, Croatia.
Cruises across Northern Europe
UK Domestic Cruises
From May 20, the line’s flagship MSC Virtuosa will perform her inaugural season in the UK and offer mini cruises from Southampton calling at Portland in Dorset on the Jurassic coast. From June 12, she will operate 7-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 7-night and longer sailings with itineraries either to the Norwegian fjords or the Baltic capitals, as per their current schedule.
Other summer 2021 affected programs
MSC Cruises also confirmed the cancellation of its Caribbean sailings from ports in the USA up to and including June 30, 2021. Guests who are impacted by any of the changes will be contacted by their travel advisor or MSC Cruises.
For more information on MSC Cruises health and safety measures on board visit https://www.msccruisesusa.com/health-and-safety
