MSC Cruises, the Geneva based cruise shipping company, will base a ship in Jeddah in Saudi-Arabia in the winter of 2021/22 and two of its other ships  - including the flagship MSC Virtuosa - will call at a number of ports in the country, the company said in a statement.

Cruise Saudi, a 100% Public Investment Fund-owned business that seeks to develop Saudi Arabia’s cruise industry, and MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line, announced the launch of Red Sea cruises from the port of Jeddah in the coming winter 2021/22 season on MSC Magnifica.

Under the terms of an agreement between the two parties, MSC Magnifica will homeport in Jeddah, the commercial hub and one of the largest cities of Saudi Arabia, as well as the second-largest port in the Middle East with a historical centre that has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Operating seven-day Red Sea cruises from November 2021 to March 2022, the vessel will visit a selection of ports and destinations in the region and three Saudi ports including weekly calls to the port of AlWajh, the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage site of AlUla.

In addition to MSC Magnifica’s Red Sea sailings, MSC Cruises’ flagship MSC Virtuosa will see her winter 2021 programme in the Arabian Gulf enriched with calls in the port of Dammam, visiting AlAhsa oasis, another UNESCO World Heritage site. Finally, MSC Virtuosa will call at this new destination every week from December 2021 to March 2022.