By
Laura Hyde |
MSC Cruises is to sail from Alaska for the first time from May to September 2026, offering weekly seven-night sailings onboard MSC Poesia.
As a mid-size ship, MSC Poesia is small enough to explore the narrow channels of the Inside Passage, as well as destinations including Ketchikan (where guests can see wild salmon and bald eagles), Icy Strait Hoonah (Alaska’s first Indigenous-owned cruise destination), Tracy Arm (a narrow fjord leading to the Sawyer Glaciers) and Juneau (Alaska’s state capital, which is only accessible by air or sea). Itineraries will also include a visit to Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, which is among the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest region.
MSC Poesia will spend the summer season homeporting in Seattle, USA, sailing itineraries in Alaska before moving to Miami in Florida for the winter. This will enable MSC Cruises to offer two transit cruises through the Panama Canal. The first ‘Grand Voyage’ sailing departs from Miami on 23 April 2026 and includes stops at 10 destinations between Seattle and Miami, including San Diego and Los Angeles in California, Cartagena in Colombia and Costa Rica’s Puntarenas province.
“MSC Cruises offers an unparalleled choice of destinations and embarkation ports in every corner of the world and by introducing sailings to Alaska we’re further extending our global offering and giving our guests the opportunity to experience this must-see region,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises. “These new itineraries also see the introduction of a new homeport in the USA, our fifth to date. Seattle is the perfect location to depart for Alaska, with excellent international flight connections making it easily accessible to guests from around the world, in particular we know our European guests have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to sail to Alaska with MSC Cruises.”
MSC Poesia will spend the 2026 summer season sailing itineraries in Alaska