MSC Cruises has revealed a new winter itinerary for the MSC Orchestra, which will homeport in Valencia, marking the first time a ship will be based at the Spanish port during a winter season.
The cruise line said in a statement that the MSC Orchestra will operate weekly voyages between December 16, 2023, and April 19, 2024, from Valencia to Cagliari, Sardinia; Civitavecchia for Rome, Livorno for Pisa and Florence, Italy; Marseille, France and Palma in Mallorca before returning to Valencia.
This ship’s new program is set to replace the Red Sea itineraries previously canceled due to the proximity of some of the ports of call to Israel as well as the restrictions in place in some bordering countries.
MSC Cruises added that the safety of its passengers and crew is always its priority and it will continue to monitor the situation and modify ship itineraries if necessary.
MSC Cruises today opened sales for a range of its winter 2024-25 season sailings. The line will soon provide details for its winter 2024-25 sailing programs in South America, Southern Africa and the Far East but today unveiled the voyages now available to book, according to a press release.
Highlights include six ships serving the Caribbean Sea and MSC Cruises’ flagship MSC Euribia operating for the first time in the Middle East.
Details are:
NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
The MSC Meraviglia will operate from New York with seven- to 11-night itineraries to Port Canaveral for Orlando, Nassau in the Bahamas and MSC Cruises’ private island Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
The MSC Seascape will sail every Saturday from Miami with either 7-night cruises to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Ocean Cay or to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Mexico and Ocean Cay.
The MSC Seaside every Sunday will offer 7-night voyages from Miami, alternating between the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic or Mexico, Honduras or Belize, and the Bahamas.
The MSC Divina will also be based in Miami and offer an array of three- to 10-night itineraries, all including calls to Ocean Cay. Longer sailings will take guests to Jamaica, Aruba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
The MSC Seashore will homeport in Port Canaveral for three- to four-night mini cruises to the Bahamas, including calls at Ocean Cay, and also sail seven-night voyages with additional stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico.
The MSC Virtuosa will homeport in Fort-de-France, Martinique and embark on back-to-back 7-night itineraries including Guadeloupe, the Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, and Saint Lucia.
ARABIAN GULF
The line’s newest flagship the MSC Euribia will make her debut in the region from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will offer seven-night sailings to two other UAE destinations, Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas Island, plus Doha, Qatar and Manama in Bahrain.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
The MSC World Europa will sail every Sunday from Genoa for a seven-night voyage with calls at Civitavecchia for Rome, Messina in Sicily, Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain and Marseille, France
NORTHERN EUROPE
The MSC Preziosa will operate seven-night voyages every Sunday from Hamburg, Germany with calls at Zeebrugge for Bruges and Brussels in Belgium; Rotterdam in the Netherlands; Le Havre for Paris and Southampton for London. Additionally, one 21-night long cruise from Southampton will visit the Canary Islands, Madeira and Morocco.
RED SEA
The MSC Musica will offer seven-night sailings from Safaga, Egypt to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Aqaba for Petra in Jordan, Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt and Sokhna Port for the country’s capital Cairo before returning to Safaga for an opportunity to visit Luxor.
MSC Cruises is aggressively building up its global exposure through sponsorships of sports, including auto racing, soccer and basketball, in addition to the more traditional sales and marketing channels.
Comparing the cruise line to the worldwide Formula 1 racing series, Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, said: “We share common goals; we are focused on sustainability and driving new technologies, while also being in the entertainment business. F1 allows us to deliver our brand message across the world.
“This fits with our other sports sponsorships, such as the well-known soccer brands Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, and in basketball, the New York Knicks, which is drawing record spectator and (TV) viewer numbers.
“These sponsorships give us a high and positive visibility across the globe and in key markets,” Onorato added.
Showcasing MSC Cruises’ product this summer is the new 181,500-ton, 4,888-passenger (double occupancy) Euribia, built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
Onorato described the Euribia as the most environmentally sustainable cruise ship ever built and as for the new hull livery, he explained: “What is most important is not the decoration itself, but the message it sends with the hashtag ‘save the sea.’ Our assignment to the artist was to interpret our love of the sea and the need to care for and protect the sea.”
Built to run on LNG, the Euribia used biofuel on her first sailing, however, which meant net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to Onorato.
“The Euribia will allow us to sail in the heritage fjords of Norway,” he continued. “She will give us access to regions that in the future will become more restricted. In addition, our customers are also looking for a ship like this that is more environmentally oriented. I think that more and more sustainability will be a driver in people’s choice of holidays.”
The new ship is also fitted for shore power connection and will be dedicated to Northern Europe during its first year of operation.
Onboard features are shared with other ships of the same platform, Onorato said, noting that these have been fine-tuned. “Every time we introduce a new ship we work to improve and perfect certain aspects,” he said. “Thus, we have focused a lot on the entertainment and have three new shows on board as well as speciality restaurants ranging from Japanese to French and Italian cuisines, and bars similar to what you will find in high-end European destinations.”
Meanwhile, MSC continues to invest in new technologies like dual-fuel engines and systems to run on LNG, while also testing fuel cells, Onorato explained.
“For our legacy ships, we see non-fossil fuels as the solution, you can call it biofuels or synthetic fuels. And while our new ships run on LNG, longer-term solutions may also include hydrogen.
“We will do the necessary modifications to our ships so they will be ready to burn new fuels whenever these become available on a large scale.”
The clear target is net zero emissions across the entire fleet by 2050. Meanwhile, a target is to reach 40 per cent carbon intensity reduction by 2030, compared to 2008, is on track and already MSC Cruises is at 33 per cent, according to Onorato
“We believe the cruise market will continue to grow, and we are committed to maintaining our own leading position,” he said. “Our goal is not necessarily to be bigger than the other major brands, but to have our piece of the cake if I can put it that way.
“How far we will grow will be determined by our customers. What I can say is that we had 2.7 million passengers in 2019 and are on track to reach 4.2 million this year. So that means our customers love us.”
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