MSC Cruises announces new and updated summer itineraries

MSC Cruises has announced new and updated itineraries in the Mediterranean and across Europe for this summer.

Three ships will be deployed in the West Mediterranean, calling at destinations in Italy and Malta. MSC Grandiosa will extend sailings of her current seven-night itinerary, with Spanish ports potentially being added when they open for cruise calls. MSC Seaside will begin sailing on 1 May from Genoa, calling at the Italian ports of Siracusa, Taranto and Citavecchia, Valletta in Malta, and the French port of Marseille when it opens. New flagship MSC Seashore, meanwhile, will join the fleet from 1 August, offering seven-night cruises calling at Genoa, Naples, Messina and Valletta, as well as Marseille and Barcelona, Spain.

A further three ships will offer a range of itineraries in the East Mediterranean, departing from Italy and with stops in Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. MSC Orchestra will now depart on 5 June, with guests embarking in the Venice on Saturdays and Bari on Sundays. The ship will then call at the Greek Islands of Corfu and Mykonos, as well as Dubrovnik in Croatia. MSC Splendida will start sailing from 12 June, with embarkation from Trieste on Saturdays and Bari on Tuesdays and calls at Dubrovnik, Corfu and Kotor in Montenegro. Finally, MSC Magnifica will offer itineraries from 20 June with embarkation in Venice on Sundays, Bari on Mondays and Piraeus, Greece, on Wednesdays, with calls at Mykonos and Split, Croatia.

“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,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises. “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.”

In Northern Europe, MSC Virtuosa will sail her inaugural season in the UK from 20 May, offering mini cruises from Southampton. From 12 June, she will operate seven-night cruises from Southampton, with embarkation in Liverpool and Greenock and stops in Portland and Belfast. These cruises will be available for British residents only.

The cruise line will delay the start of its summer season out of German ports until 15 June, due to uncertainty as to the timing of the local ports reopening. However, MSC Seaview will now homeport in Kiel, Germany starting on 19 June, while MSC Preziosa will depart on 21 June from Hamburg and MSC Musica from Warnemunde on 20 June if German ports do open.

“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,” said Onorato. “I am pleased to say that they can now look forward with confidence to an incredible holiday at sea on an MSC Cruises ship either this summer or over the upcoming winter season.”