MSC Splendida to cruise from Dubai in 2020 on way home from China cruise season

MSC Splendida will return to Dubai in mid-2020 on her way home from China to Europe, cruising a 17-night grand voyage from Dubai to Genoa.

The cruise, departing March 12^th, 2020, will mark MSC Splendida’s first cruise from Dubai since being replaced by Bellissima as MSC Cruises’ Arabian Gulf-based cruise ship for the winter.

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MSC Splendida will sail her final roundtrip Dubai cruise season this coming December, 2018 to March, 2019, offering 7-night cruises to Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island, Khasab, Muscat, Bahrain and Qatar.

She’ll then be repositioning to Asia, where she will cruise roundtrip from Yokohama, Shanghai and Hong Kong between September, 2019 and February, 2020.

MSC Splendida’s 17-night cruise from Dubai to Genoa will include seven ports of call (Khasab, Muscat and Salalah in Oman, Aqaba in Jordan and Rhodes, Piraeus, Civitavecchia and Genoa in the Mediterranean).

During this grand voyage, MSC Splendida will also transit the iconic Suez Canal over the course of two days.

This cruise will be preceded by her much longer 27-night cruise from Shanghai to Dubai, which includes 9 ports of call, four of which will be overnighters.

Departing Shanghai on Valentine’s Day (February 14^th, 2020), MSC Splendida will spend the first night of the cruise in port in the Asian megacity before setting off for Naha in Japan and then Hong Kong, where she will spend the night in port.

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The next port of call, Bangkok will also be a two-day, one night port call, followed by a visit to Singapore and Phuket before crossing the Indian Ocean to Colombo, Sri Lanka. After a day at sea she’ll call in Cochin, India, before crossing the Gulf of Oman to Muscat, the ancient capital of Oman.

After a day in port in Abu Dhabi, MSC Splendida will cruise overnight to Dubai, where once more the ship will stay for two full days and a night at the cruise terminal, giving passengers more time to explore this fascinating cruise capital of the Middle East.

Interestingly, MSC Cruises’ Dubai-based mega ship MSC Bellissima will be in Khasab, Oman on March 12^th, the same day that MSC Splendida will depart Dubai for Genoa.

Bellissima will be heading back for Dubai while Splendida will making for the Strait of Hormuz, so the two MSC ships will pass each other at some point that night.