MSC Bellissima Repositions for Winter Cruises From Japan and Taiwan
Four- to six-night winter itineraries will call at Miyakojima and Ishigaki in Japan and Seogwipo in South Korea, with departures from Tokyo, Keelung and Naha.
MSC Cruises ended MSC Bellissima’s 2026 Shanghai season in early October, sending the 4,500-passenger ship on a repositioning voyage ahead of winter operations from Japan and Taiwan. The ship will offer departures from Tokyo, Keelung and Naha on a schedule running into early 2027.
The change follows two separate China deployments this year, during MSC Cruises’ 20th anniversary season in the Chinese market. The winter program will target national markets in the region with four- to six-night itineraries. Destinations on those sailings include Miyakojima and Ishigaki in Japan and Seogwipo in South Korea.
MSC Bellissima began its China operations for the year with a spring program from Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal. It subsequently repositioned to Southeast Asia before returning to mainland China in August.
From that return through October, the ship operated four- to seven-night cruises visiting Japanese and South Korean destinations, including Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Busan and Jeju. Cruise Industry News reported that some sailings and stateroom categories approached sellout levels, but did not provide an overall occupancy figure.
The 171,598-gross-ton Meraviglia-class vessel entered service in 2019 after construction at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France.
Costa Serena is scheduled to leave the region later in October. Following that departure, MSC Bellissima and Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas will be the only two international-brand ships scheduled to remain based in Asia full-time in 2027.
Spectrum of the Seas, also built in 2019, was designed to serve Asian markets and operates from homeports in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Homegrown brands including StarDream Cruises, Adora Cruises and Tianjin Oriental International Cruise Line also operate year-round in the region.
Three other vessels, Viking Yidun, Blue Dream Star and Piano Land, also left the Chinese market during 2026.
Bellissima is due back in Shanghai in mid-January 2027.
See current MSC Bellissima fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
