MSC Cruises is offering a winter itinerary between Madeira and the Canary Islands for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons
Madeira and the Canaries are now closer thanks to an investment by MSC Cruises, which has scheduled itineraries for this winter and the winter of 2025/26 on the MSC Opera and MSC Musica. It is an opportunity to get to know several islands from the comfort of a sea voyage, without the chaos of airports.
Operations have already begun for winter 2024/25. In total, there are 19 cruises with boarding and alighting in Funchal, allowing you to visit different isles in the Canary Islands. The itineraries vary in terms of the number of nights and the sequence of ports they visit. But they all have the particularity of allowing the journey to begin and end in the Madeiran capital, which is a first for an entire season.
The route takes passengers to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arrecife, Las Palmas, Puerto del Rosario and Santa Cruz de La Palma. In March, at the end of the season, there is a special itinerary departing from Funchal and disembarking in Venice for 14 nights.
In winter 2025-26 the operation returns with 21 cruises, between November and March, but on the MSC Musica and with more regular itineraries, averaging seven nights.
These cruises also allow boarding at various ports in the Canary Islands and the company offers packages that include airfare and accommodation in Funchal, from Lisbon and Porto. Several countries are also planning to board their passengers in Funchal, which could become a hub.
MSC Opera was built in 2004 and is part of the Lirica class, MSC's first class of ships. Ten years later it was enlarged to almost 275 meters in length. The increase and complete modernization added 197 new cabins, 30 of which with balconies, making a total of 204 cabins with balconies on board.
The public areas have also been enlarged and the range of restaurants has grown, in addition to the existing spaces having been completely restructured.
A fantastic new Spray Park has also been added - an outdoor space with interactive water jets, slides and various water activities for children and parents.
With families in mind, the ship has clubs for children separated by age, namely the Baby (0-3 years), Mini (3-6 years), Juniors (7-11 years), Young (12-14 years), and Teens (15-17 years) Club - another feature of the MSC Cruises vacation experience. These areas for children feature equipment from the Chicco, LEGO and Namco brands.
The ship offers several restaurants and bars. The buffet is open 20 hours a day and there are themed and gourmet restaurants with different types of cuisine. There are also several bars.
Entertainment is also an important component, starting with the casino, an obligatory presence on ships. In this case, it's called Med Pearl. But you can also opt for music, at the Piano Bar La Cabala, or dancing at Byblos Disco.
What you also cannot miss on a cruise ship is a theatre with daily shows. The Teatro dell'Opera promises a varied program.
There is also a shopping area with various stores, as well as a fitness and relaxation area, the Aurea Spa and three outdoor swimming pools.
MSC Opera is considered a ship with classic lines, which presents itself as having a refined style, precious materials and attention to detail.
The MSC Musica, which will operate Madeira - Canary Islands cruises in 2025-26, is a different class of ship. That is what gives the class its name.
General characteristics of MSC Opera:
- Gross tonnage: 65,591 tons
- Number of crew: 721
- Length/Width/Height: 274.9 meters, 28.8 meters, 54 meters
- Number of passengers: 2,658
- Number of decks: 13, of which 9 are for passengers
- Number of cabins: 1,075, including 6 for passengers with special needs
- Maximum speed: 20.3 knots
