If you’re looking into Caribbean cruises that are packed with ports, MSC Cruises just brought a 19-deck ship across the Atlantic Ocean that could fit the bill.
Shortly after the arrival of MSC Grandiosa, the first Meraviglia Plus class ship to homeport in the United States, another MSC Cruises ship in the same class is now sailing the Caribbean.
But this ship isn’t sailing out of Florida. The embarkation ports for this newly refurbished ship will make for some very unique cruises that are impossible with a 7-day cruise from PortMiami or Port Canaveral. In fact, these week-long cruises have only one sea day and visit 5 ports of call.
After a short, mandatory dry dock that only lasted 23 days, MSC Virtuosa has successfully completed a Transatlantic sailing and is now offering 7- and 14-night cruises out of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Barbados.
Starting these cruises out of Southern Caribbean ports allow a 14-day sailing to visit places like Grenada, Tortola, St Kitts, St. Lucia, Grand-Terre, St, Vincent and St Johns. These two-week sailings will visit some of these ports twice on the same cruise.
Even a 7-day cruise out of Martinique will visit Guadeloupe, Tortola, St. Maarten, St Johns, and St Kitts.
An average 7-day cruise from Florida might visit ports like Roatan, Grand Cayman, St. Maarten or St. Thomas. But any further into the Caribbean requires a longer duration, which is what makes MSC Virtuosa’s positioning so unique, especially for a ship of this size.
You can expect 2 to 3 sea days on the average Caribbean and Bahamas cruise out of Florida. On these MSC Virtuosa sailings, there are virtually zero sea days, so it’s a great option for those wanting to experience more of the Caribbean itself.
But of course, it will require that flight to and from the Caribbean. Most of the ship’s itineraries will start in either Martinique or Guadeloupe.
Some of the ports visited on a 7-day cruise on MSC Virtuosa (depending on the date):
- Pointe-Ã -Pitre, Guadeloupe
- Castries, St. Lucia
- Bridgetown, Barbados
- Kingstown, St. Vincent
- St. George’s, Grenada
- Road Town, Tortola (British Virgin Islands)
- Philipsburg, St. Maarten
- Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis
- St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
The Dry Dock
The ship, built in 2021, was sent to Rotterdam, Netherlands for her dry dock. This was primarily a technical inspection and for classification purposes so that parts of the ship below the waterline could be checked out and maintained. Â
After four years of service, the ship is still fairly new, and no cosmetic refurbishments or enhancements would have been made. The hull was exposed and cleaned and coated with an antifouling layer, and all of the thrusters, propellers, and stabilizers were inspected and repaired if necessary.
On November 19, MSC Virtuosa left Rotterdam and began her repositioning voyage across the Atlantic. The ship arrived in Martinique on December 6 after visiting several ports of call throughout the Southern Caribbean.
About MSC Virtuosa
MSC Virtuosa is a 181,541 gross ton ship that has a maximum capacity of 6,334 passengers (4,842 at double capacity). It is a Meraviglia Plus-class ship, which is the second largest class with MSC Cruises, only to be outdone by the 215,000+ World-class ships.
MSC Virtuosa has just arrived back at homeport in Fort-de-France, Martinique today and is scheduled to depart on a 7-day sailing that will visit Guadeloupe, Tortola, St. Maarten, St Johns, and St Kitts. Â
That’s a port-packed 7-day sailing that is only possible when departing from southern ports like Martinique or San Juan, Puerto Rico.
7-day sailings on MSC Virtuosa start around $779 per person, depending on the time of year. The ship is scheduled to return to Europe in April 2026.
Just last week, MSC Grandiosa arrived in Port Canaveral, and this ship offers a variety of cruises, from 3- to 7-, and even 14-night durations.
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