MSC Cruises has made amendments to its spring cruise schedules due to ongoing security issues in the Red Sea region.
The cruise line has cancelled three repositioning ‘Grand Voyage’ sailings in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to Europe because of the risks in the Red Sea.
The 24-night cruise of MSC Splendida from Durban to Genoa, a 21-night sailing of MSC Opera from Dubai to Genoa and a 23-night voyage of MSC Virtuosa from Dubai to Southampton, UK are scrapped.
The safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority, MSC Cruises says, and found no viable alternative itinerary.
The three ships will transfer directly to Europe without any passengers and avoid transiting through the Red Sea.
Instead, they will sail around the west coast of Africa with no ports of call on their journeys to their respective European homeports for the summer 2024 season.
It doesn’t affect any other ships in the fleet.
All passengers booked on the three repositioning cruises have been, or are in the process of being, contacted directly or through their travel agent.
They can transfer to a future Grand Voyage of a similar duration for free.
Impacted passengers can rebook to any other cruise, with either a partial refund or additional payment for the difference in price
Alternatively, they can opt for a full refund with no cancellation fees.
