Four ships will now call at Mediterranean ports due to political unrest in Ukraine and Egypt
By
Rebecca Gibson |
MSC Cruises has suspended all 2015 calls in Ukraine and Egypt and replaced them with a number Mediterranean alternatives.
Four of the line’s ships – MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia, MSC Preziosa and MSC Divina – called at the port on a regular basis but MSC has opted to alter their itineraries due to the ongoing political unrest in both the Ukraine and Egypt.
Passengers sailing on MSC Opera’s 12-night Eastern Mediterranean cruises will now head to Rhodes, Heraklion and Crete in Greece, rather than Alexandria, Egypt. The new schedule will affect departures on 28 September, 10 and 22 October.
MSC Fantasia will offer similar 11-night Eastern Mediterranean sailings on 17 December 2015, 8 and 30 January, 21 February, 14 and 25 March 2016.
This September and October, MSC Sinfonia will offer two 12-night Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea sailings from Genoa in Italy. The ship will call at Burgas in Bulgaria, rather than Odessa in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, MSC Sinfonia and MSC Musica will no longer call at Egyptian ports as part of their respective ‘Grand Voyages’ itineraries from Europe. MSC Sinfonia will instead visit Heraklion, Crete and Eilat in Israel before arriving in her winter homeport of Durban in South Africa, while MSC Musica will call at Heraklion on her way to her homeport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.