MSC Cruises will sail four cruise ships to the Caribbean and Bahamas this winter with sailings from three different homeports.
Three ships will be based out of Florida (MSC Divina, MSC Meraviglia, and MSC Seashore) while MSC Seaview will now offer seven and 14 night cruises from St. Maarten and Barbados. The sailings on MSC Seaview have been slightly modified.
Due to the pandemic situation ashore and low vaccination rates, the authorities in Martinique and Guadeloupe have decided that cruise ships are not yet permitted to bring guests to the islands.
As a result, MSC Cruises conducted a thorough analysis of alternative options and revised the original itinerary on MSC Seaview to include Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, as an embarkation port, as well as Bridgetown, Barbados, so that itineraries could continue to operate the winter program in this region in a safe and healthy manner.
The updated itinerary reflects the ports that have guaranteed access to the ship and its guests beginning in December and allows for a full day at each destination, in some cases up to 12 hours, allowing guests to fully explore the islands.
The first itinerary will depart from Philipsburg, the capital of St. Maarten, and Bridgetown, Barbados, with stops in Castries, St. Lucia, Saint George, Grenada, and Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis before returning to St. Maarten.
The second route will depart from St. Maarten and Bridgetown, Barbados, with stops in Roseau, Dominica, St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, and Road Town, Tortola before returning to St. Maarten.
Gianni Onorato, CEO MSC Cruises, said, “The Southern Caribbean is an area much loved by cruisers from around the world, as well as local guests from this region. We have worked hard to find alternative options for the itineraries that would allow us to confirm our usual winter season here, of course supported by our industry-leading health and safety protocols. We would like to particularly thank our airline partners who have amended their charter flight schedules to serve the new itineraries and make them accessible for our guests. Due to this, we are still able to offer our guests an incredible cruise vacation this winter, calling at some of the most beautiful islands in the Southern Caribbean on board MSC Seaview – the perfect ship for sailing in these waters.”