Renovated MSC Lirica to home-port in China
MSC Cruises has announced that MSC Lirica will home-port at Shanghai, China, in May 2016 following a 60-day round-the-world Grand Voyage. The 65,000 gross ton ship will make the company’s maiden call at China’s largest city near the end of its Grand Voyage which will depart on 3 March 2016 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
MSC Cruises has announced that MSC Lirica will home-port at Shanghai, China, in May 2016 following a 60-day round-the-world Grand Voyage.
The 65,000 gross ton ship will make the company’s maiden call at China’s largest city near the end of its Grand Voyage which will depart on 3 March 2016 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Guests will be able to board the Grand Voyage at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Genoa, Italy; or Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Prices for the full 60-day voyage start from £2,799 per person on the Bella experience on a cruise-only basis, based on two people sharing an inside cabin.
Gianni Onorato, Chief Executive Officer of MSC Cruises, said: “We are delighted to once more be able to offer our guests a brand new itinerary – from Brazil to China via Europe – which offers the chance to visit some of the most appealing places on earth, certainly across a huge array of people and cultures. This new Grand Voyage offering is proof of our steadfast commitment to offer our experienced guests and holiday-makers innovative and sought-after destinations. As MSC Cruises continues to expand the destinations it calls – such as Cuba that we recently announced – we are enhancing our global offering while providing travellers best-in-class experiences and service.”
By its scheduled departure date MSC Lirica should be fully renovated and enlarged as part of the cruise line’s €200 million Renaissance Programme. This process involves slicing the ship in half and welding in a brand new piece of superstructure. The lengthened ship will offer more balcony cabins, more spacious public areas, a new water spray park, new dining options and new kids’ clubs. This work is due to be completed in November 2015. A video of the same work completed on MSC Armonia can be watched below:
CAISSA Touristic Group, China’s leading outbound tourism service provider, and MSC Cruises have entered into a strategic partnership to enable MSC Lirica to home-port in Shanghai as of May 2016 to serve the Chinese home market.
The cruise line plans to tailor MSC Lirica’s products and services to serve the needs of Chinese consumers and will announce several industry firsts at a press conference in Beijing in the coming weeks.
60-day Grand Voyage itinerary
The voyage will start in Brazil and visits Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, and Japan.
| Day | Date | Port | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed 2 Mar | Rio de Janeiro | …. | Embark |
| 2 | Thu 3 Mar | Rio de Janeiro | …. | 19:00 |
| 3 | Fri 4 Mar | Buzios | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 4 | Sat 5 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 5 | Sun 6 Mar | Salvador | 09:00 | 17:00 |
| 6 | Mon 7 Mar | Maceio | 12:00 | 18:00 |
| 7 | Tue 8 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 8 | Wed 9 Mar | Fortaleza | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 9 | Thu 10 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 10 | Fri 11 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 11 | Sat 12 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 12 | Sun 13 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 13 | Mon 14 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 14 | Tue 15 Mar | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 09:00 | 16:00 |
| 15 | Wed 16 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 16 | Thu 17 Mar | Cadiz | 09:00 | 18:00 |
| 17 | Fri 18 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 18 | Sat 19 Mar | Barcelona | 09:00 | 18:00 |
| 19 | Sun 20 Mar | Marseille | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 20 | Mon 21 Mar | Genoa | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 21 | Tue 22 Mar | Naples | 13:00 | 19:00 |
| 22 | Wed 23 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 23 | Thu 24 Mar | Heraklion | 12:00 | 17:30 |
| 24 | Fri 25 Mar | Suez Canal Transit | 17:00 | 17:00 |
| 25 | Sat 26 Mar | Suez Canal Transit | 16:00 | 16:00 |
| 26 | Sun 27 Mar | Aqaba | 08:30 | 18:30 |
| 27 | Mon 28 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 28 | Tue 29 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 29 | Wed 30 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 30 | Thu 31 Mar | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 31 | Fri 1 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 32 | Sat 2 Apr | Muscat | 10:30 | 18:30 |
| 33 | Sun 3 Apr | Khor al Fakkan | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 34 | Mon 4 Apr | Dubai | 08:00 | …. |
| 35 | Tue 5 Apr | Dubai | …. | 16:00 |
| 36 | Wed 6 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 37 | Thu 7 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 38 | Fri 8 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 39 | Sat 9 Apr | Goa | 07:00 | 15:00 |
| 40 | Sun 10 Apr | Cochin | 12:00 | 19:00 |
| 41 | Mon 11 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 42 | Tue 12 Apr | Colombo | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| 43 | Wed 13 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 44 | Thu 14 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 45 | Fri 15 Apr | Phuket | 10:30 | 18:30 |
| 46 | Sat 16 Apr | Penang | 09:00 | 18:00 |
| 47 | Sun 17 Apr | Port Klang | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| 48 | Mon 18 Apr | Singapore | 08:00 | …. |
| 49 | Tue 19 Apr | Singapore | …. | 05:00 |
| 50 | Wed 20 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 51 | Thu 21 Apr | Ho Chi Minh City | 07:00 | 19:00 |
| 52 | Fri 22 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 53 | Sat 23 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 54 | Sun 24 Apr | Hong Kong | 07:00 | 17:00 |
| 55 | Mon 25 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 56 | Tue 26 Apr | Shanghai | 19:00 | …. |
| 57 | Wed 27 Apr | Shanghai | …. | 16:00 |
| 58 | Thu 28 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 59 | Fri 29 Apr | Fukuoka | 09:00 | 17:00 |
| 60 | Sat 30 Apr | At Sea | …. | …. |
| 61 | Sun 1 May | Shanghai | 05:00 | …. |
(Photo credit to MSC Crociere)
