MSC Meraviglia Stays in Southampton for 21 Cruises in 2028
The June 10 British Isles sailing is planned around the Football Championship, with live match streams, themed entertainment and calls including Belfast and Greenock.
MSC Cruises will keep MSC Meraviglia in the UK cruise market for a second season in 2028, scheduling 21 Southampton departures on the 2017-built ship. The program covers the Norwegian fjords, Northern Europe, France, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and Morocco after the vessel replaces MSC Virtuosa on the Southampton program in 2027.
The extension puts the 171,598-gross-ton Meraviglia-class ship into a multi-season role at Southampton.
Twenty-one Southampton cruises in 2028
MSC Meraviglia’s 2028 Southampton deployment includes a seven-night British Isles cruise departing June 10, with calls at Cherbourg, Cork, Liverpool, Belfast and Greenock. MSC is planning that sailing around the Football Championship, with matches streamed live on board and themed entertainment during the voyage.
The ship has 2,214 staterooms and a maximum passenger capacity of 5,642. It is the lead vessel in MSC’s Meraviglia class.
MSC is positioning the Southampton program for passengers who want to begin cruises in the United Kingdom without taking flights. The 2028 schedule broadens the range of ex-UK options beyond Northern Europe and the Norwegian fjords to include Atlantic and Mediterranean destinations.
The 2027 switch sets up the second season
MSC Meraviglia is scheduled to arrive in Southampton on May 18, 2027, for a six-month deployment. Its first UK season includes six- to 14-night cruises to Northern Europe and the Norwegian fjords, along with longer itineraries that call at Ibiza, Tangier and Gibraltar.
MSC Virtuosa, which currently operates from Southampton, is scheduled to move to a full Western Mediterranean season in summer 2027.
“We’re seeing strong demand from UK customers for Mediterranean cruises, so having the MSC Virtuosa there for Summer 2027 is a natural fit for us,” said Antonio Paradiso, vice president of international sales at MSC Cruises, when MSC first announced the 2027 deployment.
MSC has also tied Virtuosa’s Mediterranean program to fly-cruise packages from regional airports, with flights, transfers and cruise fare included in the price.
Preziosa adds winter capacity in Northern Europe
MSC Preziosa will also serve the UK market during the 2026-27 winter season, replacing MSC Poesia on cruises that include Southampton departures between late October 2026 and April 2027. The ship’s regular winter itinerary calls in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The 2013-built, 3,500-passenger ship began a year-round Northern Europe deployment in 2026 after repositioning from South America to Germany. It is scheduled to operate similar Southampton-linked winter itineraries between October 2027 and April 2028, with a broader Northern Europe program also using Hamburg, Rotterdam, Le Havre and Zeebrugge as embarkation ports.
Bookings for the new 2027 MSC Meraviglia and MSC Virtuosa itineraries are scheduled to open on Oct. 14, 2025.
See current MSC Meraviglia fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
