Tag Archives: Western Mediterranean

MSC Cruises has extended MSC Virtuosa’s 2022 Southampton season by an extra month

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MSC Virtuosa entering the river Mersey, photo credit Spacejunkie2

The Meraviglia Plus-class vessel, which launched in the UK last year, will return at the end of April and operate 23 voyages until early November.

Itineraries range from five two-night mini cruises, including calls at Guernsey’s St Peter Port, to 12-night Baltic voyages and 14-night Western Mediterranean sailings.

Speaking to TTG, Antonio Paradiso, managing director UK and Ireland, said the extension decision had been made following agent and consumer requests for more ex-UK options around October half-term.

The four additional cruises will visit the Mediterranean, including a call in Palma de Mallorca, the East Atlantic visiting Portugal and Spain and a Canaries sailing during October half-term before Virtuosa repositions to Genoa.

Paradiso said the vessel, which debuted from Southampton in May last year amid the restart of UK cruising, had become “such a popular ship” in the British market.

“I think she’s now even more popular than Bellissima that we launched in Southampton – she’s become one of the UK’s favourite ships,” he said.

Paradiso added that ex-UK Southampton sailings had proven MSC’s “best-sold cruises” for 2022 with the line wanting to meet demand.

“Last year, after Virtuosa left the UK in mid-September, we realised there were more opportunities to take advantage of to stay later in the year,” he said. “We have an open dialogue with our trade partners and want to give them something they can really get behind and sell.

“We have the right ship and we’ve never had so much variety from the UK. There is a very nice mix of itineraries and I think we’re ticking all the boxes.”

The line is also extending its MSC Big Cruise Giveaway trade campaign – with a further 30 cabins to be won by the UK and Irish agents between 1-15 February.

Agents must book any sailing included as part of MSC’s all-inclusive wave promotion to be entered into the prize draw.

News of MSC’s extended ex-UK season follows the line’s announcement on Monday (31 January) of plans to lengthen its season in the Arabian Gulf. 

MSC Bellissima will finish its planned Red Sea itineraries homeporting in Jeddah on 26 March before repositioning to Dubai to take over from Virtuosa from 2 April as the ship heads to the UK.

Bellissima will then offer seven-night cruises calling in Sir Bani Yas and Doha through to 25 June – the first time MSC has had a ship in the region during the summer.

Paradiso said the move was a “win-win” for the UK and Irish market due to the popularity of both ships with customers.

Next month, MSC will launch a new TV advertising campaign, Only the Sea, featuring on ITV, Channel 4, Sky channels and video on-demand services. Paradiso said the month-long campaign could be extended if it proved successful.

“January was an opportunity for us to wait and see what things were going to look like. We’ve gathered as many insights as possible and now we want to gain momentum and leverage the demand we’re seeing,” he said.

Cunard Adds Over 150 Voyages for 2023 Season

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Luxury cruise brand Cunard has unveiled over 150 new international voyages, sailing on its three ships between Apr. 23 and Dec. 15, 2023.

According to a press release, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, will call at 120 ports in 35 countries, with 23 late evening departures and 15 overnight stays with voyages between two nights and 37 nights in duration. The Queen Mary 2 will sail a program of 18 Transatlantic Crossings, with departures from both Southampton and New York.

Some of the highlights are a Mediterranean fly-cruise season from Barcelona, a series of 10-night roundtrips in Alaska, an Independence Day sailing calling in Boston, a 16-night Baltics voyage with an overnight call in St Petersburg and a 14-night Canada and New England voyage offering three full days in Quebec.

“We’re thrilled to launch such an exciting programme of new itineraries, giving the opportunity to those new to Cunard – or new to cruising in general – the chance to visit the places they’ve always dreamed of, escape, unwind and feel special,” said Carnival UK President, Sture Myrmell. “From famous city destinations to breathtaking natural wonders, the Cunard 2023 New Voyages offer the perfect way to rediscover the joy of exploration while enjoying our signature White Star Service and all the other special touches that set a Cunard cruise apart from the rest.”

Key itineraries of The World Awaits 2023 program include:

The Canary Islands: The volcanic terrain of Tenerife’s Teide National Park and Sintra’s Moorish palaces (tours from Lisbon) are the UNESCO World Heritage sites that will be visited on this 12-night voyage of Spain and Portugal. Queen Victoria departs Southampton on Apr. 27, 2023. Inside staterooms start from 1,299 British pounds per person.

North Cape Discovery: North Cape Discovery presents “a land of forest and water, where ancient wooden houses decorate the streets, waterfalls spill from verdant gullies, and soaring mountains reflect in mirror-like fjords,” according to the press release. Queen Victoria departs Southampton on June 6, 2023. Inside staterooms start from 1,699 British pounds per person.

Transatlantic Crossing, New England and Canada: This roundtrip itinerary from/to Southampton will take guests to New York via Transatlantic Crossing, before embarking on an exploration of New England and Canada that includes three days in Quebec. The Queen Mary 2 departs Southampton on Sept. 22, 2023. Inside staterooms start from 3,299 British pounds per person.

Mediterranean Highlights: Pisa’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed leaning tower, the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and Gaudi’s architectural legacy, the Sagrada Familia, are all part of this 14-night voyage sailing from Southampton. The Queen Mary 2 departs Southampton on June 9, 2023. Inside staterooms start from 1,999 British pounds per person.

Alaska: Guests will see the colourful totem poles in Ketchikan and Alaska’s tall glaciers and icy fjords, as well as looking for humpback whales. Queen Elizabeth departs Vancouver on June 8, 2023. Inside staterooms start from 1,499 British pounds per person.

Western Mediterranean: This seven-night Mediterranean voyage from Barcelona features the French Riviera, Pisa’s UNESCO-listed leaning tower and Ibiza’s old town, Dalt Vila. Queen Elizabeth departs Barcelona on Sept. 25, 2023. Inside staterooms start from 899 British pounds per person.

The World Awaits 2023 New Voyages are available to book for past guests on Feb. 1 and are on general sale from Feb. 2, 2022.

MSC Virtuosa back to Southampton

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Virtuosa just passing Seaforth Docks, Liverpool photo credit Space junkie2~

The line has announced that Virtuosa, which in May became the first ship to restart UK cruises since the pandemic, will replace the older and smaller MSC Magnifica which had been scheduled to operate.

Virtuosa, one of MSC’s newest ships and capable of carrying around 4,000 more guests than Magnifica, will offer a range of 20 itineraries including two-night mini cruises calling in Saint Peter Port in Guernsey to 12 nights exploring the Baltics or 14 nights exploring the Western Mediterranean.

MSC said, “high demand” for its summer 2022 sailings had led to the decision to bring Virtuosa back to UK shores. Passengers already booked on Magnifica will be automatically rebooked to the nearest like-for-like Virtuosa sailing.

Agents with booked guests and direct customers will be contacted with all information pertaining to the change.

MSC’s the UK and Ireland managing director Antonio Paradiso said the line “couldn’t turn down the opportunity” to bring Virtuosa back to Southampton after the success of its 2021 summer season.

“The feedback from passengers has been that they loved MSC Virtuosa and are eager to get back on board and explore more of the world on this fabulous ship,” Paradiso said.

“Despite the challenges of 2021 we had a record-breaking year with passengers sailing from Southampton, and it was great to see so many new-to-cruise guests amongst them.

“We have listened to the feedback from consumers and travel agents and have delivered itineraries with more choice, new destinations and longer cruises to warmer climates – all departing from Southampton.”

MSC added that current booking trends also meant it would base a ship in Southampton year-round in 2022 with the vessel due to be announced later this year.

The ship will sail similar northern Europe itineraries in 2022-2023 to those currently being offered by Magnifica.

Paradiso added: “Five years ago we announced our intention to grow our business in the UK market and I am pleased to say that this announcement is further evidence of our commitment to this target.

“We have made a series of investments, from increasing the number of sailings from UK ports visiting new and exciting destinations, to supporting the building of the new Horizon Cruise Terminal in Southampton, that all help us achieve our goal to give UK guests the holidays they want, and travel agents the cruises they want to sell.”

The news comes as MSC confirms its full fleet of 19 ships will be sailing by summer 2022, with its requirement for all guests to be vaccinated remaining in place.

MSC said it would continue to implement “the appropriate measures” to ensure guests can “enjoy one of the safest holidays options out there”.