MSC Cruises to sail Alaska for the first time

MSC Cruises has announced that it will sail to Alaska for the very first time, with new itineraries now open for booking.

MSC Poesia will homeport in Seattle, U.S., for the season and depart weekly on seven-night sailings to Alaska and Canada starting May 11, 2026, the cruise line says.

Guests sailing to Alaska will be able to visit picturesque destinations, including Ketchikan, Icy Strait Hoonah, Tracy Arm, Juneau (Alaska, U.S.), in addition to Victoria, British Columbia.

“MSC Cruises offers an unparalleled choice of destinations and embarkation ports in every corner of the world and by introducing sailings to Alaska we’re further extending our global offering and giving our guests the opportunity to experience this must-see region,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, in a press release.

“These new itineraries also see the introduction of a new homeport in the U.S., our fifth to-date. Seattle is the perfect location to depart for Alaska, with excellent international flight connections making it easily accessible to guests from around the world, in particular we know our European guests have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to sail to Alaska with MSC Cruises.”

MSC Poesia will be dedicated to sailing itineraries from the U.S., spending summer ‘26 cruising to Alaska and then moving to Miami for the winter.

With this, travellers will have the chance to experience two transiting cruises through the Panama Canal when the ship moves between the east and west coast.

A range of shore excursions in Alaska will also be on offered, from exploring remote wilderness on an ATV expedition, to riding the world’s largest zipline or gliding through waters on a whale-watching vessel.

For a full list of available shore excursions, click here.

Panama Canal cruises

The first Panama Canal “Grand Voyage” sailing is available to book now and departs from Miami on Thursday, 23 April 2026.

More information on the second sailing departing Seattle to come soon.

Guests who wish to experience sailing across the Atlantic can also opt to book the Grand Voyage on MSC Poesia on her way to North America.

Departing from Italy (Civitavecchia/Rome on April 6, 2026 and Genoa on April 7, 2026), Marseille in France and Barcelona in Spain calling Funchal (Maderia), Philipsburg (St Maarten) and Ocean Cay (The Bahamas) before reaching Miami (USA) on  April 22, 2026, where guests stay overnight on the ship to explore Miami.

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