MSC Cruises To Homeport in New York City Year-Round
MSC Cruises will operate the 5,700-guest MSC Meraviglia from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in New York City year-round starting in April 2023.
It’s the first time one of the line’s ships will homeport in the northeastern U.S. year-round. MSC Cruises also operates out of PortMiami and Port Canaveral in the Orlando area.
MSC Meraviglia will operate a variety of itineraries, ranging from six to 11 nights, with destinations in the Caribbean, Bermuda, New England and Canada. Summer 2023 cruises open for sale on March 9.
“New York City was the natural choice when we picked our next U.S. port because it’s so accessible, whether the guest is coming from somewhere nearby or from around the world,” said Rubén Rodríguez, president of MSC Cruises USA. “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.”
Seven- and eight-night Caribbean itineraries feature calls in Nassau and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, MSC Cruises’ private, sustainable island in The Bahamas.
Six-night Bermuda itineraries offer three days at King’s Wharf combined with several days at sea.
Ten- and 11-night northern itineraries will visit Boston, Mass.; Portland, Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Saint John, New Brunswick. (The 11-night itineraries include an additional call in Newport, R.I.)
MSC Cruises said it is the fastest-growing cruise line in the world, with an ambitious newbuild plan that saw seven innovative ships enter service since 2017, including two in 2021 and two more arriving later this year.
Last year, the cruise line added Port Canaveral as a permanent homeport with a mix of three-, four- and seven-night cruises. Further south, MSC Cruises is building the largest cruise terminal in North America at PortMiami, which will be able to accommodate three of the line’s largest ships simultaneously.