After completing its inaugural season in the Middle East, the MSC World Europa is kicking off a repositioning voyage to Europe today.

Sailing from Dubai, the itinerary of the MSC Cruises’ ship sails for 18 nights before reaching Genoa, the company’s main homeport in Italy.

Cruising through the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the one-way voyage also features visits to other six ports in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Italy.

One of the highlights of the cruise is a visit to the Port of Jeddah, an unusual cruise destination in the Middle East.

Upon arriving in Europe, the MSC World Europa kicks off its first cruise in the Western Mediterranean on April 12.

The seven-night itinerary features visits to the Italian ports of Genoa, Naples and Messina, as well as Valletta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain, and Marseille in France, and marks the beginning of the ship’s year-round schedule in the region.

Now the largest cruise ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, the MSC World Europa was built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France.

The first in a new series of four ships known as World Class, the 205,000-ton vessel entered service in December 2022.

In addition to being MSC’s first LNG-powered cruise ship, the World Europa introduced several new features to the fleet of the company, such as the 11-deck-drop dry slide named The Venom Drop @ The Spiral.

Other highlights include The Promenade, a 104-meter-long outdoor area which opens onto the aft of the ship and offers entertainment, retail and al-fresco dining.

With its greener fuel and other environmental-friendly technology, the 5,400-guest ship is also said to have achieved a reduction of up to 20 percent in greenhouse emissions and of up to 85 percent of nitrogen oxides.