The MSC Opera is deadheading to the Caribbean after having its repositioning voyage from the Mediterranean cancelled.
Sailing from Italy to the Dominican Republic, the 18-night cruise was set to depart in late October but was cancelled due to a technical issue onboard the 2004-built vessel.
Now sailing with no guests onboard, the MSC Opera is heading straight to La Romana, where it is set to arrive as scheduled on November 16, 2026.
The ship will then kick off a series of seven-night cruises from the Dominican Republic, becoming the first MSC Cruises ship to sail year-round in the Southern Caribbean.
Sailing roundtrip from La Romana, the itineraries feature visits to a series of destinations, such as Bridgetown in Barbados, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, Fort de France in Martinique and Philipsburg in St. Maarten.
The deployment is also highlighted by visits to the ABC Islands, with planned calls to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
With no return to Europe currently scheduled, the MSC Opera will continue to operate in the region through at least November 2028.
Before heading to the Caribbean, the 2,160-passenger ship underwent a routine drydock at the Palumbo Shipyard in Malta in late October.
In addition to technical maintenance and class work, the project also included overall upkeep initiatives around the ship’s hotel areas.
MSC Opera’s cancelled trans-Atlantic cruise was scheduled to depart from the Italian port of Civitavecchia on October 29, 2026.
In a series of text messages sent to guests a few days before the departure, MSC said that the vessel was unable to operate the sailing due to technical issues.
Affected passengers reportedly received a full refund of the fare paid for the cruise, in addition to a 100 percent Future Cruise Credit (FCC) and help with out-of-pocket travel expenses.
After departing from Italy, the trans-Atlantic crossing was scheduled to visit destinations in Spain, France, Morocco, St. Maarten, Antigua and St. Kitts, including Barcelona, Tangier, Philipsburg, St. John’s and more.
