Travelers who want a smaller, simpler and usually cheaper MSC ship.
Think twice if: An older ship with fewer venues than MSC's newer megaships.
What she's like
Lots of choice on board. Expect some lines at the buffet and to get off in busy ports. About 31 tons of ship per guest. As a rule of thumb, 40 or more feels roomy and under 30 feels busy.
Six main languages for communications: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese (multilingual announcements). Nationality mix not published.
Our judgment, from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (ultra-luxury).
Cabin, main dining and buffet, entertainment, kids' clubs. Drinks packages, Wi-Fi, specialty dining, excursions and service charges extra (service charge can be added to the fare at booking).
Kids' clubs exist; minimum age details not published (children over 2 have restrictions on some long cruises).
Casual; Gala Night(s) where guests dress up (number not stated on pages read).
Where she sails in Europe
Western Mediterranean
We don't have her sailing-by-sailing schedule yet. See the line's site for dates.
What it costs beyond the fare
| Tips for the crew | EUR 12 (adults 18+); EUR 10 children 2-17 (bookings after Jul 2, 2026); under 2 free per person per day; Suites: EUR 16 (Yacht Club adults); EUR 13 Yacht Club children; Added to your bill automatically; Charged in euros on Mediterranean/North Europe/Canary cruises; USD equivalent varies with exchange rate. 15% added to bar purchases on European itineraries. |
|---|---|
| Drinks package | Sold (price not published); 15% gratuity on bar purchases in Europe. |
| Wifi | Paid packages; 'Booking in advance online always offers lower rates.' Prices not published. |
| Specialty restaurants | Extra charge; prices not published. |
| Money on board | EUR on European itineraries (service charges in EUR; GBP where onboard currency is GBP); USD on US itineraries. |
How tipping and money work on a European cruise → · Build a full trip budget →
Her restaurants
The line's site doesn't list this ship's restaurants by name.
Which cabin to book, and which to avoid
The line doesn't publish cabin sizes for this ship that we could find.
Good to know before you pick
No cabin warnings found on the plan.
If you use a wheelchair or walk with difficulty
Wheelchairs available on all ships; for accessible excursions, guests must self-propel or have a companion push. Tender policy not published. Our accessibility guide →
Find your way around
We couldn't read this ship's deck plan deck by deck yet, so the drawing shows only how many guest decks she has.
The line does not publish a deck plan we could find. Ask your travel agent for one.
What to book, and when
Booking, check-in and reservations
Online check-in from booking confirmation up to 2 days before departure. Name changes up to 7 days before.
Tips for her Europe sailings
Prices onboard and service charges in euros, so US card holders may pay foreign-transaction fees; many boarding ports (Genoa, Civitavecchia, Barcelona, Marseille and more) let you join mid-itinerary.
The ship in numbers
- Cruise line
- MSC Cruises
- Kind of ship
- Mass-market
- Built
- 2004
- Guests
- 2,150
- Crew
- 728
- Guest decks
- 9
- Gross tons
- 65,591
- Length
- 275 m (902 ft)
- Width
- 32 m (105 ft)
- Flag
- Panama
- Class
- Lirica class
- Ship number
- IMO 9250464
- Sister ships
- MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Lirica
- In Europe 2026–27
- Western Mediterranean
Highlights
- Identical sister of MSC Lirica
- Christened by Sophia Loren in Genoa in June 2004
- Lengthened in a later renovation (274.9 m after, per Wikipedia)
More pictures
Sources & what we could not confirm · 6 sources · checked 2026-11
- VesselFinder vessel record (registry: flag, gross tonnage, year)
- Wikipedia: MSC Opera (secondary)
- MSC Cruises USA: hotel service charges
- MSC Cruises USA: service charges (manage booking)
- MSC Cruises USA: FAQ
- No official deck plan URL in batch; msccruises.com ship pages refused plain download (HTTP 401) and WebFetch (client error)
- Official MSC ship and deck plan pages could not be opened (msccruisesusa.com, msccruises.com and msccruises.co.uk all return HTTP 401 to automated requests); official_url/deck_plan_url not confirmed, dining and decks not collected
- Crew, decks, length and beam are from Wikipedia (secondary), not the line
- Year of the lengthening refit not stated in sources read
- MSC Cruises: Drinks package and Wi-Fi prices
- MSC Cruises: Kids minimum age
- MSC Cruises: Deposit/final payment/cancellation
- MSC Cruises: Tender policy
- MSC Cruises: 'Many boarding ports' tip is from our fleet data, not MSC's site
- Deck plan: Deck positions not recorded; existing deck lists in ship_details_1.json remain without positions