MSC Cruises has released details of its summer 2022 programme, which features 10 ships in the Mediterranean, a second homeport in the US and a slightly longer season for MSC Magnifica sailing out of Southampton.
Cruises in the Mediterranean and Caribbean go on sale today (Thursday, December 17), with northern Europe sailings, including those from the UK, going on sale in the New Year.
UK & Ireland managing director Antonio Paradiso said he expected the ex-Southampton programme to be available from January 10 and that the staggered on-sale dates were in response to requests from agents to “spread things out”.
He explained agents were currently focused on selling summer 2021, so did not want to overload them by making summer 2022 sailings available just yet. He said bookings were coming in for May and June – not just the second half of next year, which some travel companies have been reporting.
Commenting on the Summer 2022 offering, which includes 124 ports of call, 47 countries with 83 itineraries from April-November, Paradiso explained that by putting an extra ship into the Mediterranean the line would have five ships operating Western Mediterranean cruises and five operating Eastern Mediterranean cruises.
In the Western Med, MSC will offer a combination of itineraries visiting Italy, France, Spain and Malta. They have multiple embarkation ports that MSC says are “easily accessible from around the world”.
Each of the ships sailing in the Western Mediterranean will feature the MSC Yacht Club, the line’s “ship within a ship” luxury concept.
In the Eastern Mediterreanean, which has grown in popularity for MSC in recent years, the summer 2022 programme includes sailings on the Adriatic and Aegean Seas plus calls in Italy, the Greek islands, Croatia and Albania.
For customers looking to sail in the Caribbean, MSC Cruises will offer Miami as an embarkation port as usual, but also Port Canaveral, from where there will be three and four-night sailings which Paradiso said agents can package-up with theme park holidays in Orlando. Cruises from both ports will call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the line’s private island in the Bahamas.
Cruises in Northern Europe will range from two to 21 nights. In autumn 2022, MSC will offer long cruises from Genoa, which cruises will be available to book in the coming months.
MSC Magnifica’s Southampton season has been extended by two weeks. Rather than finishing on October 1, 2022, the vessel’s final sailing will now depart on October 15, 2022.
The full programme includes:
Five ships sailing seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises:
- MSC Seaside offers departures on Saturday from Genoa to Civitavecchia, Palermo, Cagliari, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Marseille.
- MSC Splendida departs Genoa on Saturdays, calling Marseille, Barcelona, Ibiza, Naples, Livorno.
- MSC Seaview will depart Genoa each Sunday to offer an itinerary to Naples, Messina, Valletta, Barcelona, Marseille.
- MSC Fantasia offers itineraries departing on Sunday from Genoa to Marseille, Barcelona, La Goulette, Palermo, Civitavecchia.
Five ships offering seven-night cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean:
- MSC Musica will offer cruises from Venice on Saturdays to Bari, Santorini, Chania, Corfu, Dubrovnik.
- MSC Armonia offers sailing on Sundays from Venice to Brindisi, Mykonos, Piraeus, Corfu, Kotor.
- MSC Lirica departs Venice with cruises to Split, Santorini and Mykonos, Dubrovnik, Ancona.
- MSC Sinfonia departs on Saturday from Venice, calling at the Greek Islands of Kotor, Mykonos and Santorini, Sarande and Bari.
- MSC Opera will homeport in Trieste will sail on Saturdays to Bari, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Split.
Two ships sailing from two US homeports to the Caribbean:
- MSC Seashore, the Company’s flagship, will homeport in Miami and offer two alternative itineraries to Eastern or Western Caribbean offered every other week, always calling at Ocean Cay;
- MSC Divina will homeport in Port Canaveral, sailing to Ocean Cay, Nassau with 3- or 4-night cruises and Ocean Cay and Mexico with 7-night cruises.
Five ships offering two to 21-night Northern Europe cruises:
- MSC Grandiosa will spend her first season in Northern Europe offering two alternative itineraries from Kiel on Saturdays and Copenhagen on Sundays.
- MSC Poesia will be homeporting in Warnemuende and offer cruises from 7 to 21 nights, visiting the Baltic capitals, Fjords and Greenland.
- MSC Orchestra will offer mixed cruises from 10 to 14 night from Hamburg to Iceland, Ireland, North Cape and Spitzbergen.
- MSC Preziosa will serve two alternative itineraries from Kiel on Sundays to the Baltic capitals or Fjords.
- MSC Magnifica will be based in Southampton offering two to 14-night cruises to a range of destinations including the Baltic capitals, Fjords as well as the Mediterranean Sea and Canary Islands.
Special long cruises from Genoa in autumn 2022:
- MSC Splendida offers nine nights from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean – Genoa, Malaga, Casablanca, Lisbon, Barcelona and Marseille, calling at Casablanca and Lisbon.
- MSC Poesia offers 11-nights from Genoa to the Canary Islands, Madeira and Casablanca.
- MSC Orchestra offers a new 11-night itinerary from Genoa to Greece and Turkey, with MSC Cruises returning to Istanbul with an extended stay in port.
- MSC Lirica offers four 11-night cruises from Genoa, calling in Rome, Limassol in Cyprus with an overnight stay in Haifa, allowing two days to visit the Holy Land: Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem and on the way back calling Crete and Olympia.