Currently, five vessels are in service in North America, including the new Rotterdam.
The 2021-built ship debuted in October, sailing a transatlantic crossing before kicking off its inaugural season in the Caribbean.
The Eurodam, the Nieuw Amsterdam, the Nieuw Statendam and the Koningsdam are also presently operating, offering cruises to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and the West Coast from two different homeports.
Here are the details:
Eurodam Capacity at 100%: 2,104 Date: In service since August 15, 2021 Region: Caribbean Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: 7 to 10 nights Itinerary: Panama Canal, Southern and Eastern Caribbean
Koningsdam Capacity at 100%: 2,650 Date: In service since October 10, 2021 Region: West Coast Homeport: San Diego (United States) Length: 7 nights Itinerary: Mexican Riviera
Nieuw Amsterdam Capacity at 100%: 2,100 Date: In service since July 24, 2021 Region: Caribbean Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: 5 to 9 nights Itinerary: the Bahamas, Western and Eastern Caribbean
Nieuw Statendam Capacity at 100%: 2,650
Date: In service since November 21, 2021 Region: Caribbean Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: 7 nights Itinerary: Bahamas, Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean
Rotterdam (VII) Capacity at 100%: 2,650 Date: In service since October 20, 2021 Region: Caribbean Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: 10 and 11 nights Itinerary: Eastern and Southern Caribbean
Zuiderdam Returns in December; Balance of the Fleet in 2022
While the balance of the 11-ship fleet is set to return in the first half of 2022, the Zuiderdam is resuming service in December.
The 2002-built ship is set to offer additional itinerary choices in North America, with a series of West Coast, Panama Canal and the Caribbean.
Here are the currently planned service resumption dates for the remainder of the fleet:
Zuiderdam Capacity at 100%: 1,916
Date: December 23, 2021 Region: West Coast Homeport: San Diego (United States) Length: 10 nights Itinerary: Guaymas, Loreto, Topolobampo, La Paz, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas
Noordam Capacity at 100%: 1,918 Date: April 24, 2022 Region: Panama Canal Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) to San Diego (United States) Length: 17 nights Itinerary: Cartagena, Panama Canal, Panama City, Puerto Caldera, Corinto, Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Chiapas, Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Luas
Oosterdam Capacity at 100%: 1,916 Date: May 1, 2022 Region: Mediterranean Homeport: Civitavecchia (Italy) to Venice (Italy) Length: 7 nights Itinerary: Salerno, Messina, Corfu, Kotor and Zadar
Volendam Capacity at 100%: 1,432 Date: May 1, 2022 Region: Northern Europe Homeport: Rotterdam (Netherlands) Length: 14 nights Itinerary: Arhus, Warnemunde, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and St. Petersburg
Westerdam Capacity at 100%: 1,916 Date: May 8, 2022 Region: Alaska Homeport: Seattle (United States) Length: 7 nights Itinerary: Victoria, Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka
Zaandam Capacity at 100%: 1,432 Date: May 12, 2022 Region: Canada and New England Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) to Montreal (Canada) Length: 9 nights Itinerary: Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney and Quebec City
During a media briefing Thursday aboard the soon-to-be-christened MSC Seashore, Ruben Rodriguez, MSC Cruises North America president, revealed the line’s next EVO-class ship will now be officially deployed to the U.S. upon completion in 2022.
“MSC Seascape is the sister ship to MSC Seashore. It’s currently under construction in Italy, to be launched at the end of next year,” revealed Rodriguez. “And we will be deploying Seascape in Miami as its homeport come winter 2022-2023.” He added that the ship will bring “new experiences, new amenities and new features”.
MSC Seascape is scheduled to be delivered from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in November 2022. The 5,877-passenger ship will offer 11 dining venues, 19 bars and lounges, and will feature six swimming pools. Rodriguez’s announcement coincided with the float-out of MSC Seascape at Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri on Thursday.
MSC’s decision to deploy its newest vessel Stateside isn’t exactly a surprise. The Swiss-based, Italy-owned cruise line has been making big investments in the U.S. to stake a place in the highly competitive U.S. cruise market. These initiatives also include its three-year Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve project, which saw the line completely renovating and restoring an industrial island in the Bahamas into a thriving marine reserve with over 75,000 individually-planted plants, over 80 different species of marine life, and a coral restoration project.
MSC Cruises will also begin ground-breaking on their own dedicated terminal at PortMiami, designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica, the global architecture firm responsible for several buildings found in the Miami skyline as well as across the world.
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