MSC Seaview to Debut in Eastern Mediterranean in 2028
The rotation includes a thirteen-hour call at Istanbul plus stops at Bari, Corfu, Piraeus, Split and Kusadasi, with embarkation offered in multiple ports.
MSC Cruises will deploy MSC Seaview to the Eastern Mediterranean for the first time in March 2028, placing the ship on a nine-night program from Trieste to ports in Greece, Turkey and Croatia. The move shifts a route now operated by MSC Fantasia, and scheduled for MSC Splendida in 2027, to a larger Seaside-class vessel for the 2028 season.
The deployment increases MSC Cruises’ capacity on the route and gives the company its largest ship sailing regularly in the Eastern Mediterranean. MSC Seaview is scheduled to remain on the program through October 2028 before repositioning to the Western Mediterranean for its winter season.
Nine-night route links the Adriatic, Aegean and Marmara
The 2028 itinerary is scheduled to sail between the Adriatic, Aegean and Marmara seas, with calls at Bari, Corfu, Piraeus, Split and Kusadasi after departure from Trieste. The program also includes a 13-hour call at Istanbul, and passengers will be able to embark in multiple ports on the rotation.
Before MSC Seaview takes over the route, MSC Splendida is scheduled to operate the same nine-night Eastern Mediterranean program in 2027. The 3,300-passenger ship is due to arrive in Trieste next April after its upcoming winter season in South America, then remain in the region until early November before sailing a trans-Atlantic crossing to Argentina.
MSC Fantasia currently operates the itinerary. For 2028, that Fantasia-class ship gives way to the 153,516-gross-ton Seaview.
Seaview adds larger Seaside-class capacity
Built by Fincantieri in Italy, MSC Seaview entered service in June 2018 as part of MSC Cruises’ Seaside class. MSC lists the ship at 5,079 passengers, 1,413 crew and 2,026 staterooms, while the deployment describes it as a 4,140-passenger vessel, a figure consistent with lower-berth capacity rather than maximum occupancy.
The ship is about 323 meters long with a beam of about 41 meters. MSC Cruises originally designed the Seaside-class concept for warmer-weather operations, and MSC Seaview has spent most of its summer seasons in the Western Mediterranean.
The Eastern Mediterranean program follows MSC Seaview’s first scheduled winter season in the region in 2027-28, giving the ship a year-round Europe deployment for the first time. MSC Cruises did not include an executive statement with the published deployment.
See current MSC Seaview fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
