MSC Preziosa

What MSC Preziosa offers

MSC Preziosa sits at 139,072 gross tonnes, carries up to 4,345 guests and is crewed by 1,388 people across 1,751 cabins and 16 decks. She is one of four sister ships — alongside MSC Divina, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia — built on the same hull. What she is best known for is the MSC Yacht Club: a ship-within-a-ship concept that wraps a private restaurant, a private bar and lounge, a private pool deck and 24-hour butler service around a dedicated suite section. For guests who want to combine a large ship’s scale with a boutique hotel’s seclusion, the Yacht Club is the reason to choose Preziosa specifically.

The MSC Yacht Club

The Yacht Club is MSC Preziosa’s most distinctive feature — a fully enclosed enclave, reserved for suite guests, with its own venues and its own pace.

• Top Sail Lounge — a private panoramic lounge with complimentary premium beverages, light bites through the day and live music in the evenings.
• MSC Yacht Club Restaurant — an à la carte dining room with sea views and flexible dining times, reserved entirely for Yacht Club guests.
• MSC Yacht Club Grill & Bar — an informal poolside grill and bar for casual lunches and drinks throughout the day.
• MSC Yacht Club Sundeck & Pool — a private pool deck with hot tubs and a solarium, away from the main public areas.

All four spaces are included for Yacht Club suite guests. The Grill and the Sundeck in particular make the enclave feel like a resort hotel that happens to be at sea.

Cabins on MSC Preziosa

Across 1,751 cabins, MSC Preziosa carries nine grades spread across four families. Inside cabins come in two grades and include breakfast in the cabin and complimentary 24-hour room service under the MSC Fantastica Experience, which also gives guests free choice of cabin. Outside cabins — three grades — carry the same inclusions. Balcony cabins, available in two grades, step up to the MSC Aurea Experience: flexible dining times, free access to the MSC Aurea Spa thermal area (saunas, steam baths, heated loungers), use of the Top Solarium adults-only sun deck, priority boarding and a welcome package. Suites occupy two grades and sit within the Yacht Club enclave described above. The full grade breakdown, cabin sizes and deck plans are on the MSC Preziosa cabins and deck plans page.

Where MSC Preziosa sails

MSC Preziosa concentrates on northern Europe, running British Isles circuits year-round and pushing north into Norway and the Arctic in summer. She sails the British Isles from Southampton, Hamburg, Le Havre and Rotterdam; Norway and the Arctic exclusively from Hamburg.

British Isles circuits — the core programme

The great majority of her sailings are five- to seven-night round-trips threading between the ports of the southern North Sea: Southampton, Hamburg, Le Havre, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge (Bruges) in various combinations. These run in autumn, late October through December and again in March, making them a natural fit for shoulder-season travel. Departure port is flexible: she runs the same kind of itinerary from Southampton, from Hamburg, from Le Havre and from Rotterdam. Browse cruises from Southampton in 2027 or ocean cruises to Europe to see the full run of dates.

Norwegian fjords from Hamburg — summer departures

From May through August (and again in October for shorter autumn sailings), MSC Preziosa heads north out of Hamburg on 11- to 14-night Norwegian programmes, with most sailings calling at Honningsvåg, Tromsø, Bergen, Molde, Trondheim, Ålesund and Kristiansand — a broad sweep from the deep south of Norway to the far north. The October sailings are seven nights, reaching Bergen, Oslo, Stavanger and Kristiansand. These are among the ship’s longest and most ambitious itineraries.

Arctic Ocean voyages

A smaller seasonal programme — four sailings of 11 or 12 nights, departing Hamburg in May, July and August — ventures into the Arctic Ocean via Iceland, calling at Reykjavik, Akureyri, Ísafjördur and Seydisfjordur before returning via the Scottish islands: Lerwick in Shetland, Kirkwall in Orkney, Invergordon and South Queensferry. For the full picture of what CruiseAway sells in this region, the Europe cruise deals page is a good starting point.

Booking with CruiseAway

Every MSC Preziosa sailing departs from a European port — Hamburg, Southampton, Le Havre, Rotterdam or Cherbourg — which for most Australian guests means the cruise is the middle of a longer trip. CruiseAway puts the flights, the hotel either side and the transfers on the same booking, as one holiday, through our DreamAway Packages. Our cruise experts know these ships and fares well and can match you to the cabin grade and fare inclusions that suit your plans. CruiseAway’s Best Price Guarantee applies site-wide. You can also read what other guests thought on the MSC Preziosa reviews page.

The MSC Cruises fleet

MSC Preziosa sails for MSC Cruises, one of the world’s largest cruise lines, with 25 ships currently on sale through CruiseAway. Her three sister ships — MSC Divina, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia — share the same hull. The rest of the fleet includes further groups of sister ships:

• MSC Euribia, MSC Virtuosa and MSC Grandiosa — sister ships
• MSC Meraviglia and MSC Bellissima — sister ships
• MSC Seashore and MSC Seascape — sister ships
• MSC Seaview and MSC Seaside — sister ships
• MSC Musica, MSC Poesia and MSC Orchestra — sister ships
• MSC Sinfonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica and MSC Armonia — sister ships
• Also in the fleet: MSC Magnifica, MSC World Europa, MSC World Asia, MSC World Atlantic and MSC World America

Alternatives to MSC Preziosa on the same waters

If you are weighing up options for a northern Europe cruise, a few other ships sail the same countries and ports:

• Freedom of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) sails from the same European ports and covers Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands — a straight alternative on the same kind of itinerary.
• Britannia (P&O Cruises) calls at all the same countries — Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands — and departs from the same style of northern European port.
• Celebrity Beyond (Celebrity Cruises) sails the UK, France, the Netherlands and Belgium from comparable departure points, overlapping with a good share of MSC Preziosa’s British Isles territory.

Questions about sailing on MSC Preziosa

What is the MSC Yacht Club, and do I need to book a suite to use it?

Yes — the MSC Yacht Club is an enclave reserved exclusively for suite guests. It includes the Top Sail Lounge, the Yacht Club Restaurant, the Yacht Club Grill & Bar and the private Sundeck & Pool, all with 24-hour butler service. Guests in other cabin categories cannot access these areas. If the Yacht Club appeals, the cabins and deck plans page lists the suite grades that grant entry.

Which departure port suits me best for a British Isles cruise?

MSC Preziosa runs the same style of five- to seven-night British Isles round-trip from four ports: Southampton, Hamburg, Le Havre and Rotterdam. The itineraries are similar in shape — the ship connects the same cluster of North Sea ports on each — so the practical question is which embarkation port works best for your flights and hotel either side. CruiseAway can build the full journey from Australia around whichever port fits.

When does MSC Preziosa sail to Norway and the Arctic?

The Norwegian fjord programme runs from Hamburg between May and August (with additional autumn departures in October), on sailings of 7, 11, 12 or 14 nights. The Arctic Ocean voyages — also from Hamburg — depart in May, July and August, on 11- or 12-night itineraries that reach Iceland and the Scottish islands. Neither programme runs year-round; outside those months, the ship is on British Isles circuits.

Can CruiseAway arrange flights and hotels alongside my cruise?

Yes — that is exactly what our DreamAway Packages are for. Because MSC Preziosa sails from European ports, the cruise typically sits in the middle of a longer trip from Australia. CruiseAway’s cruise experts will put the flights, hotel nights before and after, and transfers on one booking — so there is one itinerary and one point of contact for the whole holiday.