This MSC Bellissima at the weekend sailed into Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to prepare for her maiden summer season of 21 voyages in the Red Sea.

The ship becomes the the largest cruise ship to have ever operated in the Red Sea, and will offer three- and four-night sailings between the end of July and late October from her summer base in Jeddah to Safaga, Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan.

The summer sailings will add to MSC Cruises’ previously announced winter 2021/2022 Red Sea voyages from Jeddah that start in November.

The MSC Bellissima will be the eighth MSC Cruises’ ship to resume sailings with passengers on board with a further three vessels preparing to start future voyages, which will see half of the company’s fleet back at sea by the end of summer.

Five MSC Cruises’ ships are currently sailing in the Mediterranean – MSC Grandiosa MSC Seaside, MSC Orchestra, MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica, MSC Virtuosa is operating around the UK and MSC Seaview is cruising in the Baltic Sea.

The MSC Meraviglia from 2 August will resume Caribbean cruises from Miami and will be joined in the region from 18 September when MSC Divina restarts sailing from Port Canaveral near Orlando in Florida.

The MSC Seashore will come into service in August with voyages in the West Mediterranean before the company’s newest flagship transfers in November to Miami for a season in the Caribbean.