MSC Bellissima Launches 2026 Summer Season from Shanghai

MSC Bellissima arrived at Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on Aug. 1, beginning its third consecutive year of homeport operations in the city and officially starting MSC Cruises’ 2026 Shanghai summer season.

The ship’s return coincides with MSC Cruises’ 20th anniversary in the Chinese market and brings several enhanced onboard offerings for passengers. These include the MSC Smart Concierge, interactive experiences featuring Unitree robotics, K-POP-themed parties and cuisine inspired by Italian cultural heritage.

Helen Huang, president of MSC Cruises China, said the company’s 2026 summer program has experienced “explosive sales, with some popular routes and cabin categories close to sold out.”

MSC Bellissima’s latest deployment comes amid the continued recovery of Shanghai’s cruise industry. Figures from the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Tourism Bureau show that the city’s ports welcomed 126 cruise ship calls and 744,000 passengers during the first six months of 2026. These figures represented 59.7 percent of China’s total cruise calls and 74.2 percent of the country’s cruise passenger traffic during the period.

International cruise arrivals through Shanghai also increased by 37.8 percent compared with the previous year. Of these overseas visitors, 81.2 percent entered China using various visa-waiver programs.

The arrival of MSC Bellissima further strengthens Shanghai’s position as China’s leading cruise gateway. The vessel joins Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas, giving the port a second international cruise ship operating from the city.

*Bellissima’s *summer 2026 schedule includes voyages ranging from four to nine nights, with destinations in Japan and South Korea. Ports featured across the itineraries include Jeju, Busan, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki and Kagoshima, among others.

The ship began its summer program with a five-night roundtrip cruise from Shanghai, calling at Kitakyushu and Busan before returning to its homeport. The ship is scheduled to return to Shanghai on Jan. 20, 2027, for a program consisting of 28 voyages across the winter, spring, summer and fall travel seasons.

The vessel will continue operating from Shanghai throughout summer and into early fall, with a possible repositioning scheduled for late October or early November.

MSC Cruises also expects the proportion of international passengers sailing aboard the ship to increase. During the Aug. 1 departure, guests from Russia, Romania, the United States, Australia and other international markets represented more than 10 percent of passengers onboard. For some MSC Bellissima departures scheduled during September, MSC said international passengers are expected to account for more than 50 percent of guests.