As the second largest cruise market in the world, the Mediterranean is preparing for a full season in 2022.

According to the latest edition of the Cruise Industry News Annual Report, the region will concentrate nearly 19 percent of the year’s overall cruise capacity, with 176 ships and over 5,5 million guests.

Cruise Industry News looked at the plans of some of the major players in the destination:

MSC Cruises
Ships: 11 – MSC Seaview, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seaside, MSC Splendida, MSC Orchestra, MSC Opera, MSC Fantasia, MSC Musica, MSC Lirica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia
Sailing Season: March 26 to November 13
Homeports: Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Taranto, Trieste, Ancona, Bari, Marghera and Monfalcone (Italy); Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia and St. Cruz de Tenerife (Spain); Marseille (France); Piraeus (Greece); Limassol (Cyprus) and more
Itinerary highlights: La Valletta, La Spezia, Cannes, Messina, Naples, Ibiza, Syracuse, Olbia, Split, Kotor, Zadar, Mykonos, Corfu, Santorini, Rhodes, Kusadasi, Brindisi, Olbia, Alicante, Minorca, Malaga and more

The market leader in the region, MSC Cruises will have 11 cruise ships operating full summer programs in the Mediterranean in 2022.

The brand is offering several itineraries in both Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Most of the cruises feature MSC’s interporting practice which allows guests to embark in several different ports on the same itinerary. 

Costa Cruises
Ships: Seven – Costa Toscana, Costa Firenze, Costa Smeralda, Costa Venezia, Costa Deliziosa, Costa Pacifica and Costa Luminosa
Sailing Season: March 5 to November 12
Homeports: Savona, Civitavecchia, Genoa, Bari and Trieste (Italy); Barcelona, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca (Spain); Marseille (France); Istanbul (Turkey) and more
Itinerary highlights: Izmir, Kusadasi, Bodrum, Rhodes, Mykonos, Naples, Ibiza, Katakolon, Piraeus, Split, Kotor, Palermo, Cagliari, Santorini, La Valletta and more

After two years of limited operations in the region, Costa Cruises is planning a full summer program in the Mediterranean in 2022.

Seven vessels are set to spend the season around the destination, offering itineraries to both Western and Eastern Mediterranean. The highlight of the program is the first full season of the new LNG-powered Costa Toscana and the return of the 2019-built Costa Venezia, which is launching new itineraries departing from Turkey.  

Royal Caribbean International
Ships: Five – Wonder of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Vision of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas
Sailing Season: May 7 to October 31
Homeports: Barcelona (Spain); Civitavecchia and Ravenna (Italy); Piraeus (Greece); Haifa (Israel) and more
Itinerary highlights: La Spezia, Palma de Mallorca, Naples, Mykonos, Santorini, Limassol, Rhodes, Kusadasi, Chania, Tarragona, Argostoli, Kotor, Corfu, Marina di Carrara, Cannes, Villefranche, Toulon, Ajaccio, Portofino and more

Royal Caribbean International is planning a strong season in the Mediterranean in 2022. The five-ship program includes the brand’s newest vessel, the 5,448-guest Wonder of the Seas.  

The season will also mark the debut of a new homeport: Ravenna, where the company plans to build and operate a cruise terminal in the future. Another highlight is a series of cruises departing from Israel aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas.

AIDA Cruises
Ships: Three – AIDAcosma, AIDAstella and AIDAblu
Sailing Season: April 10 to November 3
Homeports: Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona (Spain); Civitavecchia (Italy); Corfu (Greece)
Itinerary highlights: Ajaccio, Civitavecchia, La Spezia, Cartagena, Valencia, Malaga, Naples, Livorno, Olbia, Cannes, Marseille, Palermo, Cagliari, Minorca, Trieste, Chania, Santorini, Kusadasi, Bari, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, La Valletta, Crotone and more

AIDA is deploying three ships in the Mediterranean for the 2022 summer season.

Offering fly-cruises for the German-speaking public, the company will see its newest ship, the AIDAcosma spending its inaugural season in the region. Sailing from Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, the 5,400-guest vessel is set to offer seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises during the entire season.

Norwegian Cruise Line
Ships: Four – Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Jade
Sailing Season: May 2 to September 13
Homeports: Civitavecchia and Trieste (Italy); Barcelona (Spain); Piraeus (Greece); and Haifa (Israel)
Itinerary highlights: Livorno, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca, Ajaccio, Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Patmos, Messina, Corfu, Kusadasi, Argostoli, Kotor, Split, Istanbul, Volos, Piraeus and more

After becoming one of the first international cruise lines to resume service in the Mediterranean in 2021, Norwegian Cruise Line is planning a four-ship reason in the destination in 2022.

With itineraries in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, the program includes the Norwegian Escape and the Norwegian Epic, in addition to the Norwegian Gem and the Norwegian Jade.

Other cruise lines sailing in the Mediterranean this year include:

• Celebrity Cruises
• TUI Cruises
• Marella Cruises
• P&O Cruises
• Celestyal Cruises
• Princess Cruises
• Virgin Voyages
• Viking Ocean Cruises
• Mano Cruises
• Oceania Cruises
• Azamara
• Holland America Line
• Cunard
• Seabourn
• Miray Cruises
• Regent
• Silversea
• Olsen Cruise Line
• Selectum Blu
• Windstar Cruises
• Phoenix Reisen
• Disney Cruise Line
• Ponant
• Star Clippers
• Saga Cruises
• Ritz-Carlton
• Atlas Ocean Voyages
• Noble Caledonia
• Ambassador Cruise Line
• Tradewind Voyages
• SeaDream Yacht Club
• and more