The first British passengers are preparing to board MSC Cruises’ new flagship MSC Virtuosa as the UK cruise industry gets ready to restart after a 14-month hiatus.
Departing from Southampton’s City Cruise Terminal later today (May 20), the 6,334-passenger vessel will be the first to resume when it sails its maiden voyage along the south coast of England.
Travel Weekly will be on board the Meraviglia-plus class ship to report on the mini-cruise, the first sailing in UK waters since the industry was shutdown last year due to the pandemic.
This summer, 16 lines – including Disney Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, Cunard Line, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises – will operate 21 ships in the British Isles.
I am about to board #MSCVirtuosa in Southampton. After a 14-month break, cruise ships are back sailing in the UK. @MSC_Cruises_UK@AntonyParadiso@travelweeklypic.twitter.com/nKee8E3SOV
— Harry Kemble (@HarryKemble) May 20, 2021
More: New ship MSC Virtuosa sails into Southampton
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Currently, no more than 1,000 passengers are permitted to sail on MSC Virtuosa following Department for Transport guidance published last month.
Devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to confirm a cruise restart date.
Speaking last week, MSC’s UK boss Antonio Paradiso said: “The arrival of our flagship MSC Virtuosa into Southampton is an exciting moment as we prepare to welcome guests back on board for its inaugural season around the British Isles.
“We are proud to be the first cruise line to set sail from UK waters this summer and offer holidaymakers the chance to experience all of the new and incredible features on board our latest and most innovative ship.”
Virtuosa is the third ship in the MSC fleet to resume operations, and the first outside of Italy. MSC Grandiosa started sailing in August last year and MSC Seaside returned earlier this month.
It is one of three vessels along with P&O Cruises’ Iona and Viking’s newest ship Viking Venus to have arrived in the UK in the last fortnight.
Viking Venus was named just off the south coast earlier this week ahead of a series of five coastal sailings from Portsmouth.
Viking chairman Torstein Hagen called the event “one of the proudest days in Viking’s nearly 24-year history”.
He added: “When we became the first cruise line to suspend operations in March 2020, we certainly did not know it would be 14 months before guests would be welcomed back on board.
The naming ceremony came hours after Iona was christened in Southampton in front of an expected 25,000 audience watching online on Sunday.
As Iona entered Southampton, P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said it was “a landmark day” for the line and the wider travel industry.
More: New ship MSC Virtuosa sails into Southampton