MSC Cruises to Debut in China

zoomMSC Lirica Cruise shipping company MSC Cruises has revealed plans to make its first sailing to China, with the newly-renovated MSC Lirica calling in Shanghai on May 1, 2016. The 65,000-GRT ship will make the company’s maiden call in China’s biggest megalopolis after a 60-day round-the-world Grand Voyage which departs on March 3, 2016 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “We are delighted to once more be able to offer our guests a brand new itinerary – from Brazil to China via Europe – which offers the chance to visit some of the most appealing places on earth, certainly across a huge array of people and cultures,” said MSC Cruises CEO, Gianni Onorato. MSC Cruises is offering travelers three different versions of the Grand Voyage, with the ability to embark in either Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (60 nights), Genoa in Italy (41 nights) or Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (26 nights), before arriving in Shanghai. Before setting sail, MSC Lirica will be fully renovated and enlarged under MSC Cruises’ Renaissance Program, which entails a comprehensive overhaul of the ship due to be completed in November 2015. The announcement comes following MSC Cruises decision to start calling Cuba as of December 2015 with MSC Opera, scheduled to operate from Havana.