MSC Opera

The 2004-built//2015-stretched MSC Opera cruise ship is the 4th/last of MSC's Lirica-class liner, with sisterships Armonia, Sinfonia, Lirica.

The vessel (IMO number 9250464) is currently Panama-flagged (MMSI 357627000) and registered in Colon.

History - construction and ownership

MSC Cruises (MSC Crociere) is a passenger shipping company headquartered in Genoa and Naples. It was established in 1960. Today, MSC Crociere is a subsidiary of MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) - the world's 2nd largest containership company. MSC Crociere is the world's largest privately-owned cruise company.

By annual passenger shipping volumes, MSC is ranked the world's 3rd largest cruise shipowner - following only Carnival Corporation and RCG-Royal Caribbean Group.

All 4 vessels of this class (Armonia, Lirica, Opera, Sinfonia) were enlarged/elongated by 24 m (80 ft), adding around 193 new cruise staterooms (including Balcony), 59 more crew cabins, plus new public spaces, new kids facilities (with LEGO and Chicco themed activities), outdoor water park ("Spray Park" with interactive slides, jets and water toys).

The 2200-passenger ship MSC Opera delivers her guests a real Italian style cruise vacation. Fantastic establishments and pleasant staff in addition to thorough itineraries help make MSC Opera the perfect ship.

Decks and Cabins

MSC Opera staterooms (1071 total, in 8 grades) include 28 Suites, 204 Balcony, 401 Oceanview and 438 Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 140 ft2 / 13 m2. Most cabin balconies are sized 40 ft2 / 4 m2. The largest are the Balcony Suites (250 ft2 / 24 m2 plus 55 ft2 / 5 m2 terrace). The ship has only 5 wheelchair-accessible cabins (type Inside).

The boat has 13 decks, of which 9 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

MSC Opera decks are named after famous Italian operas.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

There are no dining surcharges onboard the MSC Opera because there are no speciality restaurants on this ship. Opera offers an abundance of Italian food, but the quality can vary. The La Caravella Restaurant on Deck 5 is the larger of the two main dining rooms. It features tables for two to six diners. The casual buffet is located on Deck 11 and provides an alternative to the main dining rooms.

Follows the complete list of MSC Opera restaurants and food bars.

• La Caravella Restaurant (aft Dining Room, capacity 981 seats, open for complimentary Breakfast 7-10 am, Lunch 12-2 pm/3-course menu, and Dinner (with 2 fixed seatings- at 6 and 9 pm/7-course menu, size 1615 m2)
• L’Approdo Restaurant (aft Dining Room, capacity 422 seats, dinner only/ with 2 fixed seatings at 6 or 9 pm, size 583 m2)
• Il Patio Restaurant (forward location, capacity 402 seats, complimentary, with 2 stations- Italian Pizzeria and an Outdoor Grill/burger bar; open 12-7 pm, size 968 m2)
• Le Vele Restaurant (380 seats self-service cafeteria-buffet restaurant; open 6 am - 2 am, complimentary, size 710 m2).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

There are lots of thrilling things to do on the MSC Opera. Energetic guests onboard can enjoy the mini-golf, jogging track, or two pools with two jacuzzis, plus sauna and beauty salon, along with a well-equipped gymnasium. After benefiting these establishments, passengers may relax with a hot stone massage and feel brand new and rejuvenated. Additional amenities include complimentary 24-Hour Room-Service, Supervised Children Program, Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry.

Follows the complete list of MSC Opera lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• Teatro dell’ Opera Theatre (capacity 713 seats, for grand-style live music and show productions, concerts, acrobatics, with 2 shows a night- at 7:30 and 9:30 pm, level 1 of 2)
• Sotto Vento Pub (138 seats English pub bar/smoking allowed, with live music and multiple TVs, size 350 m2)
• The Card Room, Internet Point & The Library (20 seats double function room, size 57 m2)
• Voyagers Club Info Point
• Opera Atrium (2-decks high midship open area)
• Reception Desk (160-seat guest services, reservations, bookings, sports equipment, size 1117 m2)
• Shore Excursions Desk (booking, planning, information; art exhibitions nearby, size 40 m2)
• Via Condotti (shopping alley with outlets and stalls, size 100 m2)
• Beauty & Cosmetics (brand perfumes and luxury cosmetics shop)
• Gallery (brand jewelry, sunglasses, watches shop, size 60 m2)
• Charms & Bijoux (luxury jewelry and accessories shop, size 20 m2)
• Lei & Lui Boutique (design clothing shop, size 40 m2)
• Duty-Free Shop (snacks, alcohol, tobaccos, size 60 m2)
• Accessories Shop (leather goods shop, size 26 m2)
• MSC Logo Shop (MSC logo items and toys, size 50 m2)
• Piazza di Spagna (206 seats piano bar with live music; also hosts bingo games, size 902 m2)
• Aroma Bar (87 seats specialty coffee bar/a la carte charge, complimentary cookies and pastries, coffee packages, size 245 m2)
• Cotton Club Lounge & Bar (155 seats lounge with live music, dance floor, also hosts art auctions, size 345 m2)
• Med Pearl Casino (143 seats, smoking allowed area, with slots and gambling tables, own full bar, size 460 m2)
• Shopping Area / Duty Free (Tobaccos, liquors & snack, size 60 m2), Perfumes & cosmetics (size 70 m2)
• La Cabala (91 seats piano bar with live music, size 300 m2)
• Video Games Arcade (size 45 m2)
• Mini Lab
• Photo Gallery & Shop (photo services, cameras, binoculars, accessories, size 45 m2 - gallery/45 m2 - shop)
• Medical Center (Infirmary, size 107 m2) is the ship’s hospital operated by resident doctors/physicians and nurses on 24-hour duty. Payments are made by the boarding pass (treatments equivalent to a private doctor’s visit). General health insurance policies do not apply, so buying cruise health insurance is recommended
• MSC Opera Aurea Spa & Fitness Complex (consists of 2 Saunas, 2 Steam Rooms, Thalassotherapy Room, Relaxation Area, Treatment Rooms, Beauty Salon and Gym/Gymnasium, with an aerobics studio for classes, size 831 m2)
• Baby Club (size 52 m2) & Mini Club (size 42 m2) - Buffalo Bill Playroom (Wild West-themed kids play area with TVs, Playstations, movies, games, arts-crafts)
• Le Piscine Pool Area (2 twin outdoor saltwater pools with 2 Whirlpools)
• Lo Spinnaker Bar (poolside bar; open 11 am - 7 pm, size 2364 m2), with 3 sections- Main/full bar, Ice Cream Bar Gelateria Italiana and Vitamin Bar (fresh fruit-vegetable juices)
• Doremi Spray Park
• Power Walking/Jogging Track (7 laps = 1 mi, size 1200 m2)
• Shuffleboard (size 20 m2)
• Young Club (size 54 m2) & Juniors Club (size 100 m2) teenagers lounge area for dance classes, disco, sports and video games contests, trivia games
• Teens Club (size 95 m2)
• Virtual Reality Games (video games arcades, Tennis Tables)
• Discoteca Byblos (322 seats disco & nightclub with full bar; opens 12 am/midnight; during the day is a retreat area for panoramic views, size 739 m2)
• Sundeck / Top 13 Solarium (adults-only relaxation area with loungers), Golf Simulator (at surcharge).
• Sports Center (combined sports court)
• 8-hole Mini-Golf Course (complimentary equipment from Deck 5’s reception).

Itineraries

MSC Opera itinerary program is based on cruises to Cuba. The ship offers 7-days Caribbean itineraries roundtrip from Havana (two nights), with feature port destinations Montego Bay Jamaica, George Town (Grand Cayman Island) and Cozumel Mexico. In July 2015, MSC announced that due to rising demand the company will homeport the ship in Havana for 2016-2017 winter season. From November 2016, a second liner (MSC Armonia) joined Opera for the entire season.

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, the MSC ship Opera was paused for 2+ years (between March 2020 and April 2022), restarting operations on April 24 (Mediterranean from Genoa). The boat's Arabian/Red Sea 2021-2022 program (from Dubai) was canceled.

Opera is MSC's 4th and last Lirica-class liner, with sisterships Armonia, Lirica, Sinfonia. In 2015, the MSC ship Opera was stretched/elongated by 25 m (82 ft) during a drydock refit done at Fincantieri's shipyard in Palermo Sicily. During the dry-dock (between May 2 and July 4), the vessel was cut in two and a pre-built section was inserted midship.  Ship's reconstruction project was part of MSC's USD 273 million "Renaissance Program", by which besides Opera were also enlarged the sisterships Armonia, Lirica, and Sinfonia.

MSC Opera refurbishment 2015 review

The ship's last drydock was in March 2022 (at Port Valletta's Palumbo Malta Shipyard).

The vessel was majorly refitted and refurbished in 2015 (dry-dock between May 2 and July 4). There are substantial deck plan changes following the project since the cruise ship was stretched (elongated by 25 m / 82 ft). The list of deckplan changes after the refurbishment includes:

• All cruise cabins were renovated and upgraded as amenities.
• A total of 197 new cruise cabins and suites (of which 30 with balconies) were added (on decks 9-Norma, 10-Turandot, 12-La Boheme) plus 59 new crew cabins.
• New stateroom categories were introduced.
• An Aqua Park (named Spray Park, with waterfalls and interactive slides) was installed.
• All boutique shops were upgraded (new designs).
• A new luxury perfumes shop was added.
• The supervised kids' clubs and play areas were upgraded with equipment and toys by Chicco and LEGO.

The boat's passenger capacity was increased from 1712 (max 2000) to 2142 (max 2570).

The 10-week drydock was valued at nearly EUR 50 million. 

Cuba cruise itineraries 2016-2017

In July 2015, MSC announced that the Opera ship will be homeported in Havana Cuba. Starting on December 22 (2015), the ship operated during the winter season (2015-2016) a total of 16 roundtrip 7-night Caribbean cruises from Cuba.

• Destination ports of call list include Mexico (Cozumel /2-night stay), Jamaica (Montego Bay), Grand Cayman (George Town) and Havana (2-night stay).
• MSC also offered Caribbean fly-cruise deals from Europe (Spain, Italy, France, Germany), also from USA, Canada and South America (Brazil, Argentina).
• MSC Opera's originally scheduled for 2015 Canary Islands cruises (also including Madeira Island and Morocco) were canceled. All booked passengers received full refunds or re-booked on alternative MSC Mediterranean itineraries with compensations onboard credit or cabin upgrades. Those who re-booked to Cuba with fly-cruise deals received a flight discount (fixed fee EUR 285 per person).
• MSC's local partner is Cubanacan Group (hotel chain).
• Another MSC ship with scheduled for 2016-2017 itineraries to Havana was MSC Armonia.
• With Opera, MSC became the world's first major cruise line to homeport a big-sized ship in Cuba.
• Opera's first cruise out of Havana left on December 22, 2015, following the Transatlantic repositioning to Cuba from Genoa Italy (December 2-21).
• On April 12, 2016, MSC Opera left Havana for a Transatlantic cruise to Europe (ending in Warnemunde-Rostock Germany on May 7).