MSC Cruises Plans Eight-Ship Europe Lineup for Winter 2027-28
After winter, MSC Seaview is scheduled for its first Greece, Turkey and Croatia season, sailing a nine-night route from Trieste with a thirteen-hour Istanbul call.
MSC Cruises has scheduled eight ships for Europe in the 2027-28 winter season, with six vessels in the Mediterranean and separate programs in Northern Europe and the Canary Islands and Madeira. The Western Mediterranean receives the largest share of the deployment, including the new LNG-powered MSC World Asia and MSC Seaview’s first winter program in the region.
By the 2027-28 season, MSC Cruises’ fleet is scheduled to include 25 ships following the addition of MSC World Atlantic in late 2027, with other vessels assigned to the Caribbean, South America, Asia, South Africa and the Middle East.
World Asia leads the Western Mediterranean lineup
Five ships are assigned to the Western Mediterranean. MSC World Asia will continue year-round operations in the region on seven-night itineraries to Spain, France, Italy and Malta after entering service in late 2026.
The 215,863-gt ship, with capacity for up to 6,758 passengers, left Chantiers de l’Atlantique for sea trials on July 15 ahead of scheduled delivery in late November. Its first revenue sailing is scheduled from Barcelona on Dec. 4, 2026, beginning a regular itinerary that includes Marseille, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Messina and Valletta.
MSC Euribia and MSC Lirica are also scheduled for seven-night Western Mediterranean itineraries, covering ports in Spain, France, Italy and Tunisia. MSC Magnifica completes the western program with ten-night winter cruises before departing on its world cruise in early 2028.
MSC Seaview is the fifth ship in the Western Mediterranean deployment, with winter sailings to Italy, Spain, France and Malta. The schedule currently lists no cruises for the 2018-built, 154,000-ton vessel between mid-January and late March 2028.
Orchestra, Preziosa and Fantasia extend the winter map
MSC Orchestra is scheduled for the Eastern Mediterranean, operating itineraries to Italy, Turkey and Greece. In Northern Europe, MSC Preziosa will sail to destinations in England, France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The 139,072-gt Preziosa is already programmed for year-round Northern Europe through at least late 2028, with British Isles, Baltic and Scandinavia sailings around its week-long winter Western Europe cruises. MSC also has the ship returning to Svalbard in 2027 and 2028, with two Spitsbergen cruises scheduled each year.
MSC Fantasia will operate a full winter season in the Canary Islands and Madeira. Its seven-night cruises include calls at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arrecife de Lanzarote and Funchal.
Seaview moves east after winter
After its winter program, MSC Seaview is scheduled to reposition to the Eastern Mediterranean in March 2028 for the ship’s first season in Greece, Turkey and Croatia. The nine-night itinerary sails from Trieste across the Adriatic, Aegean and Marmara seas, with calls at Bari, Corfu, Piraeus, Split and Kusadasi, plus a 13-hour call at Istanbul.
Passengers will be able to board in multiple ports. MSC Fantasia currently operates the itinerary, which MSC Splendida is scheduled to handle in 2027 before Seaview takes over.
Seaview’s 4,140-passenger capacity gives MSC more berths on the route than the Fantasia-class ships previously assigned to the program. The ship is scheduled to remain in the Eastern Mediterranean through October 2028 before repositioning to the Western Mediterranean for the following winter season.
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