January 17, 2024 – Due to the security situation in the Red Sea, MSC Cruises cancels three cruises planned for April. Passengers on the MSC Splendida, MSC Opera and MSC Virtuosa are affected.
Continued attacks on merchant vessels in the region have prompted the company to cancel a 24-night MSC Splendida cruise from Durban in South Africa Genoa, a 21-night MSC Opera voyage from Dubai (UAE) to Genoa and a 23-night voyage on the MSC Virtuosa from Dubai to Southampton (Great Britain).
MSC Virtuosa in Abu Dhabi
The shipping company’s top priority is the safety of passengers and crew. As alternative routes are not available, the three trips are cancelled. The consequence: The ships avoid sailing through the Red Sea. Instead, they pass the Cape of Good Hope and travel directly along the African west coast to Europe without passengers. Otherwise, the reroutings will not affect any other MSC ships.
All passengers booked on the three cruises will be contacted either directly or through their travel agent. You are free to change your booking to a future Grand Voyage with a similar duration, free of charge. Alternatively, those affected will be offered the option of rebooking on any other cruise in MSC Cruises' global route network. With this option, guests will either receive a partial refund or will be required to pay an additional payment equal to the difference in price from the original booking. A full refund of the travel price is also possible. MSC Cruises does not comment on individually booked flights.