MSC World Europa departs Dubai on repositioning voyage to Europe

MSC Cruises has concluded its largest cruise season in the Middle East to date, with its flagship MSC World Europa having now departed Dubai bound for Europe.

The 18-night repositioning cruise to Genoa, Italy features 9 ports of call and is unusual in that MSC have also offered it as shorter voyages with the option to disembark in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after 10 nights.

A 2-night Dubai to Abu Dhabi cruise is also offered as part of the itinerary. Guests onboard for the full 18-night cruise, however, will have the opportunity to visit Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas Island in the UAE, as well as Muscat in Oman, and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, before spending two days transiting the Suez Canal.

Once in the Mediterranean, MSC World Europa will call in Naples and Civitavecchia in Italy, before ending the cruise in Genoa, from which she will sail her first cruise in the Western Mediterranean on April 12th.

The 7-night itinerary features visits to the Italian ports of Genoa, Naples and Messina, as well as Valletta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain, and Marseille in France, and marks the beginning of the ship’s year-round schedule in the region.

MSC World Europa is the largest ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, and the largest cruise ship ever to homeport in the Arabian Gulf. The 205,000-ton vessel entered service in December 2022 and carries more than 5,400 passengers.

In addition to being MSC’s first LNG-powered cruise ship, MSC World Europa introduced several new features to the fleet, such as the 11-deck-drop dry slide named The Venom Drop @ The Spiral, the 104-meter-long outdoor Promenade between the split superstructure at the stern, as well as a host of other features.

The ship has 413,000 sqft of public space, 16 passenger decks, 13 dining venues (including 6 speciality restaurants), 20 bars and lounges (with 7 brand new bar and café concepts), 7 pools, 13 whirlpools and hot tubs, in addition to a theatre, spa, gym, casino, and separate facilities for babies, toddlers, children and teens.

With its greener fuel and other environmental-friendly technology, the ship is also said to have achieved a reduction of up to 20 percent in greenhouse emissions and of up to 85 percent of nitrogen oxides.