(Yicai) Aug. 17 -- MSC Cruises will operate two ships in its return to the Chinese market next year, the Swiss family-owned cruise company announced yesterday.

Its Asian flagship MSC Bellissima will make its first port call at the Shekou Cruise Homeport in Shenzhen on June 29 next year, in the first season for the company in China since 2020, following a lengthy suspension due to the pandemic. The company will offer eight two-to-five-night cruises and guests will be able to visit Hong Kong, Okinawa, the Yaeyama Islands, and Miyakojima.

MSC Bellissima will then return to Shanghai, operating international routes to neighboring countries from Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal in Baoshan district from July 31 to Sept. 6, and offering eight four-to-six-night summer voyages to destinations including Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Osaka, Okinawa, and Shimonoseki.

MSC Cruises also plans to bring the MSC Splendida to Shenzhen in the fourth quarter of 2024, realizing its plan to cover three homeports in the Chinese market in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Taiwan’s Keelung.

Launched in 2019, MSC Bellissima has a registered gross dead weight tonnage of 172,000 tons and can accommodate 5,686 passengers.

Editor: Tom Litting