The MSC Opera is tended at dock in Venice, Italy, in 2009. MSC has canceled several cruises as its ship the MSC Meraviglia moves from New York to Miami. File Photo by Andrea Merola/EPA
A major cruise line has canceled five months of cruises while it moves a ship from New York to Miami.
The MSC Maraviglia’s move will cause canceled cruises for next year’s season that were already open for booking. The company scrapped sailings between Nov. 8, 2026, and April 11, 2027.
The ship has been based at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal since spring of 2023. In April, it will travel to Europe, then move to Miami for the winter season, according to Travel Weekly.
The reason for the change is demand, the cruise line said in a statement.
“In response to the demand we are seeing, this will mark the first season with four ships homeporting in Miami, as MSC Meraviglia joins MSC World America, MSC Poesia, and MSC Seaside. All four ships will sail from our new, state-of-the-art MSC Cruise Terminal at PortMiami, offering an exciting mix of newly introduced sailings and guest-favorite itineraries to the Caribbean and The Bahamas.”
The ship will sail six- and-eight-night cruises with stops in Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and more, the company said.
Affected guests were given options, including rebooking on one of Meraviglia’s new cruises, or any seven-night sailing from Miami, Port Canaveral or Galveston, Texas, or opting for a credit or refund.
MSC Cruises has promised new itineraries to Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos, Philipsburg in St. Maarten, Basseterre in St. Kitts, and other Caribbean destinations.
On social media, some passengers expressed frustration about the compensation, noting the onboard credits offered aren’t as “generous” as other cruise lines that cancel trips, Cruise Hive reported.
Cruise lines cancel trips somewhat regularly, usually for ship repairs or issues in the region. Last year, MSC and Silver Moon had to cancel trips to Egypt, Jordan and Israel due to the Israel-Hamas war.
In 2019, MSC said it plans to be the first carbon-neutral cruise line in the world.
