MSC Bellissima Back in Shanghai as Foreign Guest Share Grows

Posted on 19 August, 2026 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Bellissima Back in Shanghai as Foreign Guest Share Grows

The MSC Bellissima arrived at Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on August 1, entering its third consecutive year of homeport operations at the port and officially launching the company’s 2026 Shanghai summer season.

Marking MSC Cruises’ 20th anniversary in the Chinese market, the Bellissima returns with a series of upgraded offerings, including the MSC Smart Concierge, interactive experiences with Unitree robotics, K-POP-themed parties and Italian cultural heritage cuisine.

President of MSC Cruises China, Helen Huang, said that the 2026 summer season has seen “explosive sales, with some popular routes and cabin categories close to sold out.”

The Bellissima’s return comes as Shanghai’s cruise market continues its recovery. According to the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Tourism Bureau, the city’s ports handled 126 cruise calls and 744,000 passengers in the first half of 2026, representing 59.7 percent and 74.2 percent of the national totals, respectively.

Foreign cruise arrivals via Shanghai grew 37.8 percent year-on-year, with 81.2 percent of those visitors entering under various visa-waiver policies.

The return also reinforces the port’s position as China’s dominant cruise gateway with a second international ship alongside Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas.

The Bellissima’s 2026 summer deployment features sailings, with four- to nine-night itineraries calling at Jeju, Busan, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, Kagoshima and other Japanese and South Korean destinations. The opening voyage was a five-night roundtrip visiting Kitakyushu and Busan before returning to Shanghai.

The ship will return to Shanghai on January 20, 2027, with 28 voyages covering winter, spring, summer and fall travel seasons.

The vessel will continue operating from Shanghai through the summer and early fall, with potential repositioning in late October or early November.

According to MSC Cruises, its international passenger mix is expected to grow. On the August 1 sailing, international guests from Russia, Romania, the United States, Australia and other countries and regions accounted for over 10 percent of passengers.

MSC stated that for some September sailings, the international passenger share is projected to exceed 50 percent.

MSC Bellissima Completes 2025 Season in China

Posted on 27 September, 2025 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Bellissima Completes 2025 Season in China

The MSC Bellissima recently completed MSC Cruises’ 2025 deployment in China after offering over 30 cruises from the country.

Serving the Chinese market, the 4,500-guest ship arrived in Shanghai in mid-January, offering winter sailings to Japan and South Korea.

The four- and five-night cruises, which continued to be offered through early March, included visits to destinations such as Fukuoka, Sasebo and Jeju.

The Meraviglia-class ship then repositioned to other Asian countries before returning to Shanghai in mid-July.

As part of a summer deployment in China, the vessel offered additional cruises to Japan and South Korea through early September.

The four- and five-night itineraries featured visits to more ports of call, such as Okinawa, Busan and Incheon.

The MSC Bellissima is set to offer cruises departing from Tokyo in October before repositioning to Naha and Keelung.

As part of its interporting operations in the region, the Bellissima offers a series of short cruises to Japan and Taiwan through the end of the year.

In addition to Naha and Keelung, the four-night itineraries feature alternating visits to Ishigaki and Miyakojima.

Similar sailings are set to be offered in early 2026, with departures from the two homeports scheduled through late January.

According to published deployment, the MSC Bellissima is poised to return to China next year, kicking off a repositioning cruise to Shanghai soon after completing its winter deployment in Japan and Taiwan.

As the largest cruise ship in Asia, the 167,600-ton vessel has been sailing year-round in the region since 2023.

Built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, the MSC Bellissima entered service in 2019 as a sister to the MSC Meraviglia.

After spending its inaugural season in Europe, the vessel also offered itineraries in the Middle East and the Red Sea before repositioning to the Far East.

MSC Grandiosa Completes Five Years in Service

Posted on 24 December, 2024 by Spacejunkie2

The MSC Grandiosa recently completed five years of service for MSC Cruises after being delivered by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard on Oct. 31, 2019.

Before embarking on its maiden season in the Western Mediterranean, the ship sailed to Germany for a christening ceremony in Hamburg.

MSC’s fleet godmother, Italian actress Sophia Loren, named the vessel during the event, which took place on Nov. 10, 2019.

After offering a repositioning cruise to Southern Europe, the MSC Grandiosa kicked off its maiden season in the Western Mediterranean in late November 2019.

The deployment included a series of seven-night winter cruises to Italy, Malta, Spain and France that featured visits to Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Valletta, Barcelona and Marseille.

During its five-year sailing career, the vessel has also cruised in Northern Europe, the Atlantic and South America.

After undergoing routine maintenance at the Palumbo shipyard in Malta, the MSC Grandiosa is currently offering a repositioning cruise ahead of its second season in South America.

Through early April, the vessel is scheduled to offer a series of seven-night cruises that sail between Brazilian ports.

Following a summer program in the Mediterranean, the Grandiosa repositions to Port Canaveral in late 2025.

Debuting in the U.S., the vessel will offer a series of seven- to 14-night cruises to the Caribbean departing from the Central Florida homeport.

The year-round deployment also features short cruises to the Bahamas that sail to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the company’s private island destination near Bimini.

Following the MSC Meraviglia and the MSC Bellissima, the MSC Grandiosa entered service as the third ship in MSC’s Meraviglia series.

Slightly larger than its predecessors, the 4,888-guest vessel is considered part of a sub-class known as Meraviglia Plus.

Other vessels with a similar design include the 2021-built MSC Virtuosa and the 2023-built MSC Euribia, which was further modified to become the first in the series powered by LNG.