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MSC Virtuosa, when will she now start cruising

Preziosa

By Preziosa,
in MSC Cruises

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WorldTraveler151208

WorldTraveler151208

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Posted

For this moment I would not count that Virtuosa will be launched before summer holidays, as Msc has decided that the second ship to restart will be Seaside in the Mediterranean from May. So I do not think that they will add another ship earlier than in June. It is difficult to predict what will happen in the northern Europe because it all depends on when Germany, Denmark and Norway will allow cruise ships. Even if they will decide to add Virtuosa, they might change the original itinerary.
By the way, it is a pity that Seaside will not start already in April, for the Easter break.  I was looking at Grandiose for this period and the availability of cabins is very limited, at least in the YC.

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Até

Até

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2 hours ago, WorldTraveler151208 said:

By the way, it is a pity that Seaside will not start already in April, for the Easter break.  I was looking at Grandiose for this period and the availability of cabins is very limited, at least in the YC.

Additionally odd is the Seaside Italy/Malta sailings in May have zero Yacht Club availability, only the Med sailings in June have YC cabins available.  In fact the choice is only inside, ocean view or balcony - no suites at all.  To me it's a sign MSC is not sure those May Seaside sailings will go, it keeps the option to easily push the bookings over to Grandiosa if sales aren't good enough.

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DCGuy64 Great Review Rare

DCGuy64

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We were scheduled to cruise on the Virtuosa July 18 but decided to postpone it until August 29 (which might not even happen, either, frankly). Guess we shall see. Let's hope it's a 'go.' 😊🛥️

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WorldTraveler151208

WorldTraveler151208

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On 3/2/2021 at 5:09 PM, Até said:

Additionally odd is the Seaside Italy/Malta sailings in May have zero Yacht Club availability, only the Med sailings in June have YC cabins available.  In fact the choice is only inside, ocean view or balcony - no suites at all.  To me it's a sign MSC is not sure those May Seaside sailings will go, it keeps the option to easily push the bookings over to Grandiosa if sales aren't good enough.

I noticed it too.  All higher categories are not available and by the available categories it is not possible to select the cabin number.  I hope it's just a temporary problem in the booking system and that they will fix it.  I really hope to go on Seaside soon. I thought maybe Msc transferred the reservations of passengers who were supposed to depart from Genoa on Seaside on the same dates for the Italy, France and Spain itinerary, as the departure dates from Genoa are the same as in the original schedule. This would explain why the availability of the cabins is so limited.

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Maikell

Maikell

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Posted (edited)

It looks clear that the Virtuosa will start now at Kiel at first this summer. Lets see Germany, Norway, Denmark and Russia allow cruiseships by that time. If we look to the newspage from Port of Kiel, they are pretty sure that they will operate and handling cruiseships by late spring this year. And honestley i think that by summer we are in a whole other and much better state in the pandemic for cruisepassengers by that time. What do you all think?

Edited by Maikell
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DCGuy64 Great Review Rare

DCGuy64

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11 minutes ago, Maikell said:

It looks clear that the Virtuosa will start now at Kiel at first this summer. Lets see Germany, Norway, Denmark and Russia allow cruiseships by that time. If we look to the newspage from Port of Kiel, they are pretty sure that they will operate and handling cruiseships by late spring this year. And honestley i think that by summer we are in a whole other and much better state in the pandemic for cruisepassengers by that time. What do you all think?

I think since we're booked on her for 29 August, I hope you're right!

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hamrag

hamrag

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On 3/11/2021 at 3:13 PM, Maikell said:

 And honestley i think that by summer we are in a whole other and much better state in the pandemic for cruisepassengers by that time. What do you all think?

 

I honestly think that your crystal ball is malfunctioning! 😉

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Maikell

Maikell

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On 3/12/2021 at 8:27 PM, hamrag said:

 

I honestly think that your crystal ball is malfunctioning! 😉

 

For the US its clear now that there is nothing by summer. For the EU there is a much better perspective.

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hamrag

hamrag

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3 hours ago, Maikell said:

 

For the US its clear now that there is nothing by summer. For the EU there is a much better perspective.

 

I certainly agree with your assessment re USA....sadly, for us, with a Bermuda cruise from NYC to Bermuda booked for July....!

 

For the EU, you could argue there is a better perspective for summer in the sense that it cannot be worse than the US. Actually, and I wouldn't have believed this even two weeks ago, the emerging best perspective for sailing in Europe this summer (as opposed to the EU) is from Southampton in the UK for around Britain (perhaps even British Isles) cruises.

Edited by hamrag
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  • 2 weeks later...
Maikell

Maikell

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The msc virtuosa will soon be leaving her homeport to sail on to antwerp. What she is going to do there is completely unclear to me...

 

Couldn't she have sailed directly to her new homeport in keel? That is where the virtuosa is planned for this summer season. 

 

Or would this ship be used for the english market? Because the uk is nearby.

 

Or will the ship wait patiently in antwerp to see what norway will decide in a month's time regarding cruises in that country? Because norways restrictions on cruising ends in may.

 

To be honest, I don't really see what the virtuosa is doing now, she will clearly sail northward, but what will she do next?...

 

... Who knows more? 😁

 

Edited by Maikell
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Maikell

Maikell

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Posted (edited)
 
MSC Virtuosa was previously scheduled to serve itineraries in Northern Europe out of Germany, she will be replaced by MSC Seaview. Booked guests and travel agents will be contacted directly.
 
Seaview itineraries starts from Kiel in June 2021. 
 
Not a bad switch in my opinion! If we take a look to the last switch from Seashore to Fantasia, that was awful! The seaview is a great vessel and maybe guests get some OBC.
 
I will take it...😁

 

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