On Wednesday, October 28, guests booked to board MSC Opera in Civitavecchia the next day received a text message from MSC Cruises. “We are very sorry to inform you that, due to technical reasons, we had to cancel your cruise,” it read, according to Cruise Mummy. Some recipients first took it for a phishing scam. A week later, MSC confirmed that the ship’s whole autumn crossing from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean is off.
What MSC has said
In a statement quoted by the German outlets Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten and Der Kreuzfahrttester on November 4, MSC Cruises said it had cancelled all segments of MSC Opera’s Grand Voyage because technical problems require additional work and extensive inspections. The company said the decision was not taken lightly, that the safety of the ship is guaranteed at all times, and that specialised engineers are carrying out the necessary work and tests before the ship returns to service.
MSC has not said what the technical problems are. Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten attributes the statement to MSC Cruises’ German office.
How a shipyard stay turned into a cancelled crossing
MSC Opera went into planned maintenance at the Palumbo shipyard on Malta in early October. It was due back in service on Thursday, October 29, with guests boarding in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, and further embarkations planned in Genoa and Livorno.
That restart did not happen. Some guests were told their cruise was cancelled; others were told embarkation had moved to Livorno on Saturday, October 31, with a hotel night, a bus transfer and onboard credit, Cruise Mummy reported. Der Kreuzfahrttester reported that AIS data on October 31 still placed the ship in Valletta, and that it had made a short trip off the Maltese coast on October 29 before returning to port. Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten reported several test runs off Malta and a return to a shipyard pier.
The crossing that followed was to call at Marseille, Barcelona and Tangier before the Atlantic. In the Cruises.To schedule, the final leg from Barcelona was a 17-night Caribbean cruise via St. John’s on Antigua, Philipsburg on St. Maarten and Basseterre on St. Kitts, ending in La Romana.
Where the ship is now
Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten reported on November 5 that MSC Opera had left its anchorage off Malta that morning and was heading for Barcelona, a stop on the way to the Caribbean. The same outlet reported that the ship has to make the crossing without guests. On Saturday morning, the ship’s live AIS position on Cruises.To placed it just off Barcelona at 8.0 knots.
What booked guests are being offered
MSC said guests on the cancelled segments have been contacted directly and will receive a full refund of the fare plus related costs. Cruise Mummy reported that MSC’s notice to guests promised reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs. Questions go to the MSC Contact Centre or the travel agent who made the booking.
Some guests had already travelled to Italy when the first cancellations arrived. If you booked flights or hotels yourself, keep the receipts and send them to MSC with your booking number, and check any travel insurance policy for cover the cruise line does not provide. The Italian consumer group Codici has asked MSC for clear information on affected bookings and compensation, Der Kreuzfahrttester reported.
If you are booked from La Romana
MSC’s statement says MSC Opera is due in La Romana on November 16, where guest cruises are planned to restart. The Cruises.To schedule lists three-, four- and seven-night Caribbean cruises from La Romana that day, followed by 14-night sailings from Bridgetown on Barbados on November 19 and Fort-de-France on Martinique on November 20. Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten reported that the ship is to spend the winter in the Caribbean with guest changes in all three ports.
Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten described the November 16 restart as planned, and the ship has a transatlantic crossing to finish first. Check the booking account and email address used for the reservation before flying out, and the MSC Opera page shows where the ship is on its way across.
What is still unknown
MSC has not described the technical problem, said whether it was found during the shipyard work or caused by it, or said whether the November 16 restart has any margin. How many guests were booked on the cancelled segments has not been reported, and compensation beyond the refund and related costs has not been set out publicly.