MSC Cruises’ 19th and final ship, MSC Musica, resumed cruises this week marking the cruise line’s full return to service.
The cruise ship set sail for the start of the summer 2022 season on the first of her 23 planned seven-night cruises to Katakolon in Greece, the traditional birthplace of the Olympic Games, along with the Greek islands Crete and Santorini, and Bari in Italy.
Rubén A. Rodríguez, President, MSC Cruises USA said: “Putting the last of our ships back into service is a milestone for all of our hard-working crew members onboard, and it’s a milestone for our guests looking for new ways to discover fantastic destinations around the world. We were the first major line to return to international cruising in the summer of 2020. Our industry-leading health and safety protocols laid the groundwork for us to return to full strength and give our travel agent partners and their customers what they want—relaxing, enjoyable and, most importantly, safe cruise vacations.”
After the global cruise industry’s voluntary shutdown in March 2020 as a result of the pandemic ashore, MSC Grandiosa became the first ship from any major cruise line to return to sea in August 2020 under MSC Cruises’ pioneering health and safety protocol designed for the wellbeing of the line’s guests and crew.
MSC Cruises remained committed to its ambitious expansion program throughout the pandemic. The cruise line introduced two new vessels to its fleet in 2021—MSC Virtuosa and MSC Seashore.
The cruise line will welcome two more cruise ships at the end of 2022—MSC Seascape and MSC World Europa, the latter of which will be its first liquefied natural gas-powered vessel. Cruises on both ships are open for bookings.