MSC Cruises continues its expansion within the US cruise market by basing one of its largest cruise ships year-round out of New York City. The cruise line will homeport from the Big Apple for the first time with MSC Meraviglia.
MSC Meraviglia to Homeport in New York City
The cruise line is expanding its offering in the US by basing its MSC Meraviglia cruise ship out of New York City, the first time for MSC Cruises. Plans have been revealed to homeport the vessel from the city year-round out of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal starting in April 2023.
The ship will offer a range of six- to 11-night itineraries to the Caribbean, Bermuda, along with Canada and New England. Caribbean options include six or eight-night sailings, including calls to Nassau and the cruise line’s private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas.
Rubén Rodríguez, President, MSC Cruises USA, said: “New York City was the natural choice when we picked our next US port because it’s so accessible, whether the guest is coming from somewhere nearby or from around the world. We designed our mix of itineraries to take advantage of New York’s geographic flexibility, so that you can soak up the springtime sun in the Caribbean, head to Bermuda over the summer, or go north to see Canada’s natural beauty in the fall.“
“MSC Meraviglia was a huge hit when she first came to New York in 2019. Our guests really appreciated the ship’s modern and glamorous features, as well as her state-of-the-art environmental technologies, and we are sure we’ll see strong demand when she returns.”
The cruises to Bermuda will be for six nights and include three days docked at King’s Wharf combined with several relaxing days at sea. Cruises to Canada and New England are for ten or 11-nights and include calls to Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Saint John, New Brunswick. (11-night itineraries include an additional call in Newport, Rhode Island).
Big Move North for MSC Cruises
It’s a big move for MSC Cruises, which has only been based out of Florida and the Caribbean. MSC is the fastest-growing cruise line globally and just recently started operations out of Port Canaveral for the very first time. MSC added Port Canaveral in 2021 as a permanent homeport offering a mix of three, four and seven-night cruises.
Even at the world’s cruise capital at PortMiami, the cruise line is constructing the most advanced cruise terminal in North America, which will accommodate three of the line’s largest cruise ships simultaneously.
The cruise line aims to bring more international cruisers to the US market, and it’s not short of cruise ships! Since 2017, seven innovative cruise ships have joined the fleet, including two in 2021 and a further two this year.
The Merviglia-Plus class vessels are also among the world’s top ten largest cruise ships. The new World Europa vessel will be even larger, taking the cruise line into a new era of ship design and powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
MSC Meraviglia is an impressive ship to be sailing out of New York, and she’s the first in her class. The vessel has 19 decks and can accommodate up to 5,700 passengers. There are ten different stateroom types, 20 bars, 12 restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, a water park and rope course, a 985 capacity theater, and loads more.
