MSC Cruises has canceled three repositioning ‘Grand Voyage’ sailings in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Europe due to ongoing attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea.

The company canceled a 24-night cruise of MSC Splendida from Durban, South Africa to Genoa, Italy; a 21-night sailing of MSC Opera from Dubai, UAE to Genoa; and a 23-night voyage of MSC Virtuosa from Dubai to Southampton, UK.

The safety of passengers and crew is MSC Cruises’ number one priority. The company attempted to find suitable alternative itineraries, but ultimately found no viable options and regrettably had to cancel the voyages. The three ships will transfer directly to Europe without any passengers on board and avoid transiting through the Red Sea. Instead, they will sail around the west coast of Africa with no ports of call on their journeys to their respective European homeports for the summer 2024 season. None of the other ships in the company’s fleet are affected.

All passengers booked on the three repositioning cruises have been, or are in the process of being, contacted directly or through their travel agent and can transfer their booking to a future Grand Voyage of a similar duration for free. Alternatively, affected passengers can rebook to any other cruise in the company’s global network, with either a partial refund or additional payment for the difference in price of the original booking, or receive a full refund with no cancellation fee.

Photo: MSC Virtuosa is one of the affected ships