MSC Opera
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MSC Opera
The MSC Opera is a MSC Cruises ship belonging to the Lirica class, operating primarily in the Mediterranean. It offers a cruise experience with a range of cabin categories, including balcony cabins. The ship features relaxation facilities such as the MSC Aurea Spa, an outdoor pool, jacuzzis, and a jogging track. Entertainment includes the La Scala theatre, the Q32 nightclub, the San Remo casino, virtual arcade games, and sports activities such as mini-golf and a panoramic fitness center. It is also family-friendly, with a mini-club and a children’s play area, as well as onboard shops and à la carte restaurants. This ship is well suited for travelers seeking a classic Mediterranean cruise experience combining leisure, entertainment, and family-oriented amenities.
Itineraries of the MSC Opera
Price and Availability Notice
Prices displayed are provided for informational purposes only. They reflect the rates in effect at the time of their most recent update and are shown in Canadian dollars, per person, based on double occupancy, unless otherwise specified.
Supplier rates, exchange rates, taxes and fees, room or cabin categories, and promotions are subject to change at any time. The applicable price is the one confirmed by a travel advisor at the time of booking, subject to availability. Only the confirmed price shall be considered valid.
It is the traveler's responsibility to confirm the price, inclusions, and applicable terms and conditions before making a reservation. While every effort is made to keep our content up to date, transmission, display, or pricing errors may occur. In such cases, the correct price will be communicated to the traveler before any booking is confirmed. Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions may apply.
decks plans
Deck - 13
Sun deck minigolf
Deck - 12
La Bohème
Deck - 11
Tosca
Deck - 10
Turandot
Deck - 9
Norma
Deck - 8
La Traviata
Deck - 7
Rigoletto
Deck - 6
Otello
Deck - 5
Aida
Deck - 4
Deck - 3
Deck - 2
Deck - 1
Ship's attributes
Services And Amenities
- Elevators
- Self-service laundry room
- Casino
- Jacuzzi
- Pool
- Beauty salon
- Spa & body care
Specific needs
- Wheelchair accessible staterooms
Technical specifications
- Classe: Armonia generation
- Tonnage: 65591
- Speed: 21.1 knots
- Passengers: 2150
- Decks: 13
- Length: 275 m
- Width: 32 m
- Height: 54 m
History
- 2004: Année de construction
Frequently Asked Questions
MSC Opera measures 65,591 gross tons, 274.9 metres long and 28.8 metres wide across 13 decks, 9 of them open to guests. She carries 1,070 cabins, roughly 2,142 lower berths and 728 crew. She is a mid-size ship that feels busier than her sisters, because MSC specified more cabins for her from the original build rather than adding them later.
Two figures circulate and both are legitimate. MSC Opera has 2,142 lower berths, the double-occupancy measure, while her maximum capacity reaches 2,658 once upper berths are used. The gap looks modest, but the underlying point matters: with 1,070 cabins spread over the same public rooms as her sisters, MSC Opera is the most densely loaded ship in the class.
She was, between 2 May and 4 July 2015 at Fincantieri's Palermo yard under MSC's Renaissance programme. Workers cut the hull and slotted in a 24-metre section carrying roughly 197 new cabins across three decks, plus a spray park, rebuilt shops, expanded children's areas and a larger buffet. Any listing that still gives MSC Opera a length of 251 metres predates that work.
MSC Opera finished her South African season from Durban and Cape Town in spring 2026 and returned to the Western Mediterranean in May. Through the summer she runs ten-night cruises with embarkation available in Genoa, Alicante, Málaga, Lisbon or Marseille, calling in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and the Balearics. She leaves Europe in early November 2026.
She is, and it reshapes her whole calendar. MSC Opera begins year-round Southern Caribbean service with a first departure from La Romana, Dominican Republic, on 16 November 2026. Fort-de-France, Martinique, is added as a second turnaround port from April 2027. Itineraries run seven nights and can be combined into fourteen nights without repeating ports.
MSC Opera is one of the four MSC ships without a Yacht Club, along with her Lirica-class sisters. Butler service, the private lounge and the reserved restaurant exist on 21 of MSC's 25 ships, not on this one. The top tier available here is the Aurea experience, which brings spa access, a private solarium and flexible dining. Confirm this before promising a client anything.
Yes, and her Caribbean redeployment strengthens that. MSC Opera announces and prints in six languages including French, with the running order set by the actual passenger mix. In the Southern Caribbean, with Fort-de-France as a home port and calls in Martinique and Guadeloupe, French-speaking guests will be numerous, making her a rare Caribbean ship where Quebecers hear their own language all week.
Dining choice on MSC Opera is limited and the buffet jams at peak hours, which is the most consistent criticism in guest reviews. Cabin wi-fi is described as unreliable, staterooms are small, and some travellers still find the décor dated despite the 2015 rebuild. Announcements repeated in five or six languages also wear thin for part of the audience.
Her hull dates from 2004, so MSC Opera will disappoint anyone expecting waterslides, an ice rink or a dozen paid restaurants. Teenagers run out of things to do faster here than on a new ship. Couples, solo travellers and port-focused families who value fair fares and multilingual service tend to come away satisfied.
MSC Opera carries 1,070 cabins against 976 to 992 on the other three, making her the largest people-carrier in the class, and she served as MSC Cruises' flagship until 2006. She is also the only one of the four moving to year-round Caribbean operation from November 2026, while her sisters stay in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and South Africa.
Yes, on 2 June 2019. While approaching San Basilio pier, MSC Opera struck the quay and then the river cruise vessel River Countess, slightly injuring five people. The Italian investigation blamed a main electrical switchboard failure that cost her steering, an excessive approach speed of 6.8 knots and the bridge team's failure to switch to emergency navigation. MSC was ordered to compensate River Countess's owner.
She has a notable mechanical history. On 15 May 2011 an electrical panel failure left MSC Opera without propulsion off Visby in the Baltic, taking out power, running water and toilets; roughly 1,700 passengers were disembarked and flown home. Her most recent dry dock was March 2022 at Palumbo in Valletta, and no further yard period is announced for 2026 or 2027.
It depends on the season, and winter 2026-27 works unusually well for Quebecers. Fort-de-France has non-stop service from Montreal, which makes MSC Opera the easiest of the four sisters to reach once she is based in the Antilles. La Romana requires a connection. For her Mediterranean season, aim at Barcelona, Rome or Lisbon and add a pre-cruise hotel night.
It does. MSC operates a one-time status match that recognises elite tiers from competing cruise lines, hotel groups and casino programmes, placing you at a higher MSC Voyagers Club level immediately. Apply online before you board MSC Opera; processing takes about 72 hours. Points stay alive as long as you sail at least once every five years.
No MSC package covers absolutely everything. On MSC Opera the Easy package includes house wine and beer, classic cocktails and hot drinks but is excluded from specialty restaurants. Premium Extra works throughout the ship within a per-drink value ceiling. Service charges are built in, and every adult sharing a cabin has to buy the same package.
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