Guests on MSC Seaview were due to spend Wednesday, November 11, in Ibiza, with the ship alongside from late morning until close to midnight. That day is now a sea day. MSC Cruises has dropped the call because Spain’s main unions have called a 24-hour general strike for the same day, and on Tuesday the ship was in Sardinia instead, at a port that was not on its original route.
What MSC has changed
MSC told guests in a letter dated November 8 that the strike “is expected to significantly affect essential port services and local transport,” and that it could not guarantee guests “the enjoyable, hassle-free experience ashore that we want to offer,” according to Cruise Hive, which translated the letter from Italian.
The revised route, as reported by Cruise Hive and CruiseMapper, makes four changes:
- Palermo on November 9 was shortened to 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Cagliari in Sardinia was added on November 10, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., in place of a sea day.
- Ibiza on November 11 is cancelled and becomes a sea day.
- Tarragona on November 12 keeps its 8 a.m. arrival but now departs at 5 p.m., an hour earlier.
Cruise Hive reported that MSC added Cagliari so the ship would not spend two days in a row at sea. On Tuesday afternoon, the ship’s live AIS position on Cruises.To placed it alongside in Cagliari at 0.0 knots.
MSC’s letter did not say how shore excursions booked for Ibiza will be handled, Cruise Hive reported. When MSC Preziosa dropped Le Havre for a French strike on November 5, the line refunded excursions booked through MSC to guests’ onboard accounts.
What the strike covers
The strike runs from midnight to midnight on Wednesday, November 11. It has been called by the CCOO and UGT union confederations, with the CGT, over housing costs, wages and the cost of living, and Cruise Hive describes it as the first nationwide general strike jointly backed by Spain’s two largest unions since 2012.
Spain’s Ministry of Transport has set minimum services for the day. Renfe’s published minimums include 75 percent of peak-hour Cercanías commuter trains, 65 percent of regional trains and 73 percent of high-speed and long-distance trains, Cruise Hive reported. The U.S. Embassy in Madrid has warned that public transport will be limited to minimum services and that museums, shops, restaurants and pharmacies may be closed. How far the strike will reach into port operations is not yet clear.
Other ships due in Spain on November 11
Cruise Hive reported that MSC Seaview was the only major cruise ship scheduled to call at Ibiza that day. Other Spanish ports are busier. The Cruises.To schedule lists Seven Seas Navigator, Viking Jupiter and Viking Vesta in Barcelona on November 11, and Celebrity Eclipse and Silver Ray in Palma de Mallorca. We found no reports of changes to those calls.
If your ship is in a Spanish port on Wednesday, expect thinner public transport and some closed shops and attractions. Independent plans that rely on trains, buses or taxis are the most exposed. Check the daily program and any notice from the line the evening before.
The rest of MSC Seaview’s route
After Tarragona, MSC Seaview continues to Marseille on November 13 and ends the cruise in Genoa, according to the Cruises.To schedule. MSC has not announced changes to those calls. Later in November the ship is scheduled to start a season of South America cruises. The MSC Seaview page shows where the ship is now and its next calls.
What is still unknown
MSC has not said how it will treat prepaid Ibiza excursions, and no other cruise line has announced a change for November 11. The strike’s effect on port staff, pilots and tender services in Spain will only be clear on the day, and the unions’ turnout has not been reported.