Tag Archives: MSC Sinfonia

MSC Lists 5 Reasons to Choose its Winter 2026-27 Sailings

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MSC Lists 5 Reasons to Choose its Winter 2026-27 Sailings

MSC Cruises has spotlighted its 2026-27 winter season, featuring 168 destinations across 72 countries.

In a press release, the company highlighted five reasons to pick its itineraries this winter:

  1. MSC World Asia’s Inaugural Season

MSC Cruises’ newest ship, which recently embarked on sea trials, will set sail for her inaugural season from December 4, 2026, offering seven-night Mediterranean itineraries to Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Civitavecchia for Rome, Messina and Valletta.

Guests can look forward to more than 40 bars, lounges and restaurants, a new Pan-Asian street food concept, the longest dry slide at sea at 81.3 meters and The Harbour outdoor destination, among other things.

  1. Iconic Mediterranean Destinations at a Slower Pace

Six ships will sail in the Mediterranean during winter, allowing guests to explore the region without crowds. These are the MSC World Asia, MSC Euribia, MSC Magnifica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Lirica and MSC Orchestra

Seven-night sailings will be offered to Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Tunisia, Greece and Turkey, with highlights including Barcelona, Civitavecchia for Rome, Istanbul, Valletta and Piraeus for Athens.

Longer options include 10- to 12-night sailings on the MSC Lirica to Cyprus, Egypt, Croatia and Greece and 10-night sailings on the MSC Magnifica to Morocco and Spain, visiting destinations such as Pyramids of Giza, Dasoudi Beach and Krka National Park.

  1. Holidays in Northern Europe

The MSC Preziosa will offer seven-night sailings to Northern Europe, calling at Hamburg, Rotterdam for Amsterdam, Cherbourg, Zeebrugge for Bruges and Brussels, Le Havre for Paris and Southampton for London.

The ship recently kicked off a new year-round deployment in the region, allowing guests to discover landmarks in London and Paris, Amsterdam’s canals, Bruges’ medieval streets and the festive atmosphere of Brussels and Hamburg’s Christmas markets.

  1. Sunny Caribbean Winter

Guests looking to escape the cold can choose mini-getaways, seven-night adventures and extended sailings to the Caribbean and Antilles and visit destinations including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Saint Lucia, Grand Turk Island and The Bahamas.

This season will mark the line’s first departures from La Romana in the Dominican Republic, and many itineraries also feature Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, MSC Cruises’ private island in The Bahamas.

Operating the itineraries will be nine ships: the MSC World America, MSC World Europa, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Opera, MSC Poesia, MSC Seascape, MSC Seaside and MSC Seashore.

  1. Winter Sun in the Canary Islands

The MSC Fantasia will offer seven-night itineraries to the Canary Islands and Madeira, calling at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto del Rosario, Funchal, Arrecife and Las Palmas.

Guests can discover Lanzarote and La Palma’s volcanic landscapes, relax on Gran Canaria’s Maspalomas Beach, or explore Funchal, Madeira.

MSC Cruises announces return to UK next year

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By Hollie-Rae Merrick

MSC Cruises is returning to the UK next year with a short series of ex-UK sailings from Southampton.The line will base Fantasia-class ship MSC Splendida in Southampton for six sailings, having pulled out of the UK market this year.

Among the sailings will be MSC’s first round-Britain itinerary starting in a UK port. Previous cruises had embarked in Hamburg.

Giles Hawke, MSC’s executive director for the UK and Ireland, said he hoped the “staggered return” of ex-UK sailings would be built on in 2017.

“A lot of our guests and agents have been asking us to base a ship in the UK,” he said. “People love travelling with us and want to embark in the UK with us.”

The line’s 2016 programme also includes new northern Europe cruises and longer Mediterranean sailings.

During the summer season, MSC will offer 270 sailings across 22 itineraries, made up of nine core seven-night Mediterranean itineraries, seven Med sailings of between nine and 12 nights, and new Baltic and Norwegian fjords cruises.

For the first time, a Fantasia-class ship will operate the Dubai winter season, with Bahrain making its debut on the itinerary.

Over the past year, the line has focused on fly-cruise, but the 2016 programme also includes cruise-only prices.

Hawke said: “We have responded to feedback by making cruise-only an attractive option for those who wish to make their own arrangements or for agents who want to create their own packages.”

For simplicity, cruise-only fares for European itineraries will be set £150 lower than fly-cruise packages, and £400 lower for the Caribbean and Middle East.

Upgrades from outside to balcony cabins on Fantastica fares are also available for £50 a person.

Bookings before August 31 will qualify for savings of up to £300.

The 2016 brochure has a new look and feel, with more space dedicated to each itinerary.

It also includes four pages of information about the four ships MSC has on order.

The stretching of MSC Sinfonia is underway

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MSC Cruises’ €200m Renaissance Program will see the second ship in drydock for the next 10 weeks as the MSC Sinfonia arrived in Sicily for her stretching.

Fincantieri’s marine engineers will carefully bisect MSC Sinfonia’s hull, after which the two halves of the ships will be slowly drawn apart.

On January 20-21 they will insert a prebuilt 2,200-ton, 24-metre midsection containing 193 extra cabins. Then they will refit and renew much of the ship’s interior, bringing an enhanced sense of comfort and space.

On Jan. 9, the new midsection was floated into the shipyard and hauled into the drydock area where MSC Sinfonia will remain for the duration of her stay.

Once the work is complete and sea trials completed, the larger MSC Sinfonia will weigh anchor from the shipyard on March 25 for Genoa, from where she’ll begin for her maiden cruise to Ajaccio, Barcelona and Marseille.

MSC Sinfonia will feature new purpose-built areas for children created in partnership with Chicco and LEGO,  and a new Baby Club, Mini Club, Young Club and Teens Club. MSC Cruises has also reimagined the onboard dining experiences, keeping the buffet open 20 hours per day and installing fresh new dining spaces, a brand new lounge and an extended restaurant.

The ship’s MSC Aurea Spa will also be enriched with additional massage areas, and a new outdoor spray park will be added on deck 13 – an exciting series of playful water features and jets.

The remainder of the Renaissance Program will progress according to the following schedule:

•    MSC Opera: 2 May to 4 July 2015
•    MSC Lirica: 31 August to 2 November 2015

MSC Cruises currently carries roughly 40,000 guests per day, but by 2022 will double its capacity to 80,000 guests a day – 3.4 million per year – once the Renaissance Programme is completed and the last of seven planned ships is delivered.