MSC Cruises’ 13th ship to resume operations since the cruise industry’s pause in March 2020 as a result of the COVID crisis set sail on Sunday, November 7, from homeport Genova (Milan, Italy) for a series of winter season itineraries in the Mediterranean.
The liner MSC Fantasia is scheduled to operate a total of 21 week-long voyages visiting La Spezia (Italy), Palma de Mallorca (Majorca Island, Balearic Spain), Barcelona and Marseille prior to returning to Genoa.
MSC has ramped up its passenger sailings since it became the first major cruise line to restart in August 2020 with an industry-leading health & safety protocol. On November 5, MSC Preziosa became the first international liner to restart in South America following a 20-month hiatus with a 3-night cruise from Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil).
MSC will base 3 ships in Brazil in the coming weeks to consolidate its position as the leading operator in South America and will also homeport a ship from December in South Africa to bolster the #1 repeated status in the local region.
Currently, MSC is operating 2 boats from Florida USA (Divina and Meraviglia), 8 in the Mediterranean (Grandiosa, Magnifica, Orchestra, Seashore, Seaside, Seaview, Splendida, Virtuosa) and one (Bellissima) in Red Sea and Saudi Arabia (from homeport Jeddah).
MSC Cruises aims to have its entire fleet of ships back at sea during the 2022 summer season.