Tourism

What is the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship and when does it visit Gibraltar?

The cruise ship MSC Meraviglia
Photo: PhoenixCaelestis via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Short answer

MSC Meraviglia is a 171,598-ton MSC Cruises ship carrying up to 5,642 guests. Its upcoming visits to Gibraltar, with times and expected passengers, are listed on this page.

Upcoming visits to Gibraltar

  • Thursday 22 October 2026, in port 13:30–20:00

    Also in port: Norwegian Dawn, World Traveller. Combined: about 2,340 passengers where known.

  • Monday 23 August 2027, in port 12:00–21:30

  • Monday 18 October 2027, in port 09:00–19:00

From the Port of Gibraltar schedule, last checked 15 October 2026.

Detailed answer

MSC Meraviglia was built by STX France, now Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at Saint-Nazaire and entered service in June 2017. It has a gross tonnage of 171,598, a length of 315.83 metres, room for 4,488 guests at double occupancy or 5,642 at maximum, and a crew of 1,536. These figures come from published ship records, as MSC's own ship pages could not be checked. After three years based in New York, the ship returned to the Mediterranean for summer 2026.

How busy will town be?

The upcoming visits listed on this page show the passengers expected on each call and any other ships in port the same day. Town is busiest when several ships are in at once or a large ship arrives at a weekend. A ship carrying a few hundred passengers makes little difference on its own.

Can you sail on it from nearby?

Yes. MSC Meraviglia leaves Barcelona on Tuesday 20 October 2026 on a 19-night crossing to the United States, calling at Alicante, Gibraltar, Seville through Cadiz, Lisbon, Funchal and the Azores before Boston and New York. It then spends winter 2026 to 2027 in Miami. From Tuesday 18 May 2027 it is based in Southampton for about six months, with cruises of six to 14 nights to northern Europe, the Norwegian fjords and the Mediterranean, some of which call at Gibraltar.