MSC to Debut 2 Newbuilds in Winter 2022-23 Sailing Program

MSC Cruises has revealed the details of its winter 2022-2023 sailing program for 21 ships – including two newbuilds making their debut – to nearly 200 global destinations in 85 countries.

According to a press release, MSC next winter will introduce its first World-class of the ship and first LNG-powered vessel, the GT 205,700 MSC World Europa.

She will be based in Doha for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 football tournament to be staged during November and December.

The vessel will then offer cruises calling Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates and Doha, plus Dammam in Saudi Arabia, with a mini-cruise on Dec. 20 before starting seven-night cruises in the Gulf region.

The Seascape next winter will become the second new ship to join MSC Cruises’ fleet and the line’s second Seaside EVO class vessel. She will offer two different seven-night itineraries from PortMiami with the first sailing on Dec. 11.

Winter 2022/2023 Sailing Program:

Middle East

The MSC World Europa will offer seven-night voyages including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island, Dammam and Doha.

The MSC Opera will also homeport in Dubai and sail to Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island and both Muscat and Khasab in Oman.

The MSC Splendida will homeport in Jeddah calling at Yanbu and Al Wajh in Saudi Arabia, Aqaba in Jordan and Safaga in Egypt.

Caribbean Sea

The MSC Seascape will start her inaugural season from Dec. 11 from PortMiami. She will offer seven-night East Caribbean itineraries calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Nassau in the Bahamas, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The ship will also sail 7-night West Caribbean itineraries calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

The MSC Meraviglia will offer three- to seven-night Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral including Nassau, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Costa Maya in Mexico, Cozumel and Belize City in Belize.

The MSC Divina will offer three- to 10-night sailings from PortMiami with all itineraries calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. Other destinations include Belize City, Isla de Roatan in Honduras, Costa Maya, Ocho Rios, Cartagena in Colombia), Colon in Panama) and Puerto Limon in Costa Rica.

The MSC Seaside will sail seveb-night cruises from Fort de France in Martinique, Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe and Philipsburg in St Maarten. There will be two different itineraries that include calls to destinations such as Castries in Saint Lucia, Bridgetown in Barbados, Saint George in Grenada), or St John’s in Antigua and Barbuda, Basseterre in St Kitts and Nevis and Roseau in Dominica.

Mediterranean Sea

The MSC Grandiosa will sail seven-night cruises from Genoa, Civitavecchia and Palermo in Italy, Valletta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain and Marseille France.

The MSC Virtuosa is offering sailings from Genoa, La Spezia and Naples in Italy, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona in Spain and Marseille.

The MSC Lirica will operate 11-night voyages from Genoa to Civitavecchia and Messina in Italy, Rhodes in Greece, Limassol in Cyprus, Haifa in Israel and Heraklion in Crete (Greece). The ship will also operate 10-night sailings from Genoa to Marseille, Barcelona, Tangier and Casablanca in Morocco, plus the Spanish ports of Ceuta, Malaga and Alicante.

Northern Europe

The MSC Preziosa is to sail seven-night sailings from Hamburg in Germany, Zeebrugge in Belgium, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Le Havre in France and Southampton in the UK.

South America

The MSC Seashore will do the new seven-night itinerary from Santos calling Maceio, Salvador and Buzios in Brazil.

The MSC Seaview will homeport for the first time in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil between December to March. She will offer 3 to 8-night cruises with different itineraries including the Brazilian destinations of Buzios, Ilhabela, Ilha Grande/Angra dos Reis, Ilheus and Salvador, as well as to Uruguay and Argentina.

The MSC Fantasia is Homeporting in Santos with a range of 3 to 7-night cruises with domestic calls including Ilha Grande, Buzios and Ilha Grande/Angra dos Reis, plus Montevideo and Punta Del Este in Uruguay and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

The MSC Armonia will homeport in Itajai/Santa Caterina with 7-night itineraries to Uruguay, Argentina and Ilhabela in Brazil.

The MSC Musica will homeport in Buenos Aires with sailings to Brazil including Ilhabela, Rio de Janeiro, Buzios and Ilha Grande/Angra dos Reis.

South Africa

The MSC Sinfonia will homeport in Cape Town with sailings to Mossel Bay in South Africa, plus Walvis Bay and Luderitz in Namibia.

The MSC Orchestra will homeport in Durban for voyages to Pomene and Portuguese Island in Mozambique, Walvis Bay and Cape Town.

MSC World Cruise 2023

The MSC Magnifica and MSC Poesia will both perform the MSC World Cruise 2023. The two ships, in an industry-first, will host more than 5,000 passengers for journeys around the world. Both vessels will depart from Civitavecchia and Genoa on 4 and 5 January 2023 respectively, Marseille one day later and Barcelona on 7 January. Once the two ships leave the Mediterranean Sea, they will part ways in the Atlantic Ocean for their separate global itineraries.

MSC Cruises has opened bookings for its second Seaside Evo-class ship, MSC Seascape.

The line's second Seaside Evo-class ship is due to launch from Miami in December 2022

The 5,877-passenger ship, a sister to MSC Seashore, is currently under construction in Italy and set to be delivered in late November. 

Seascape will begin operating its inaugural season from Miami the following month offering two choices of a seven-night itinerary to different parts of the Caribbean.

An Eastern Caribbean sailing will call at MSC’s Ocean Cay marine reserve and Nassau in the Bahamas, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, Seascape’s Western Caribbean voyages will also visit Ocean Cay, as well as Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

The ship is set to feature 11 dining venues, 19 bars and lounges, and six swimming pools, and offer the largest MSC Yacht Club area in the line’s fleet.

All MSC Voyagers Club members booking Seascape before 31 January will benefit from their customary 5% discount, plus a further 5% early booking discount and enjoy double Voyagers Club points. 

Members from Silver to Diamond will also earn a shipboard credit of €50pp.

All guests booking before 31 March will have the option to reschedule their cruise free of charge up to 15 days prior to departure.

MSC has also opened sales for two other US-based ships next winter, MSC Divina homeporting in PortMiami and MSC Meraviglia sailing out of Port Canaveral.

MSC Cruises Reveals MSC Seascape Will Debut in Miami in 2022

Thank you to https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ for the report.

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.