Live · sailing at 8 kn · Kotor
Guests
1,984 – 2,548
Crew
721
Cabins
992
Length
275 m
Space ratio
28
Homeport pattern
Venice
Where she is right now
En route · Kotor· 8/2/2026, 10:45:00 AM· Course 50°
Position
42.43°N, 18.54°E
Heading
50° · COG 47°
Speed
8 kn
Destination
Kotor
Our take · opinion
Stretched MSC, classic Italian
We experience MSC Lirica as one of MSC's smallest stretched classics: Italian dining rooms, marble public spaces, and a Spray Park for kids without Yacht Club megaship drama. She's for value Mediterranean shoppers who want midsize MSC, not Meraviglia-scale spectacle.
Day to day she feels intimate by modern MSC standards—composer-named decks, brass and marble, and evenings that orbit the Broadway Theatre, Lord Nelson Pub, and piano bars more than arena nightlife. Families get Doremi Spray Park and kids clubs; adults can retreat to the top-deck solarium when the pool deck gets busy. If you want big-ship MSC with Yacht Club and specialty circuits, look elsewhere in the fleet and treat Lirica as a different product line.
Cabin inventory skews toward insides and oceanviews, with a thinner balcony bank than newer MSC hulls. Most rooms run compact; Balcony Suites are the step-up when outdoor space matters and the sailing inventory still has them. Ask us about stretch-section placement and elevator banks—the 2015 lengthening added capacity, and the wrong pocket still feels busy on embarkation day and sea days alike.
Dining is almost entirely complimentary: La Bussola and L'Ippocampo for main seating, buffet options like Le Bistrot and La Pergola, and no surcharge specialty roster to plan around. That simplicity is the pitch and the limit for foodies who expect MSC Yacht Club or specialty circuits. Confirm the sailing on this page, then ask us whether Lirica's midsize Italian rhythm beats a larger MSC sister for your group.
She's for
- Value Mediterranean cruisers
- Couples who prefer midsize MSC
- Families fine with Spray Park scale
- Guests who want Italian vibe without Yacht Club premiums
She's not for
- Shoppers expecting specialty restaurant circuits
- Guests who need abundant balcony inventory
- Anyone chasing Meraviglia megaship wow
Honest caveat
She's a 2003 hull stretched in 2015 for MSC's Renaissance program—capacity rose, but she's still not a modern MSC newbuild. Ask us how the insert section and balcony scarcity affect your cabin choice.
The record · ship backgroundLirica, on paper
Show ship backgroundHide ship background
The record · ship background
Lirica, on paper
Show ship backgroundHide ship backgroundMSC Lirica is the third Lirica-class ship, built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique and delivered as one of MSC's early newbuilds—famously christened by Sophia Loren. Sisters are Armonia, Opera, and Sinfonia. She remains among the line's smaller ocean vessels by gross tonnage and berth count, even after later capacity growth.
In 2015 she was cut and lengthened at Fincantieri Palermo under the Renaissance Program, adding roughly 193 staterooms, expanded kids spaces with Chicco and LEGO themes, and the Doremi Spray Park. The same era fitted China-market touches for a Shanghai homeporting chapter before she returned to European and Mediterranean deployments with a more international guest mix.
Recent patterns have included Venice and Bari Adriatic loops, Dubai and Abu Dhabi winters in prior seasons, and Eastern Mediterranean sailings from Athens. Deployments rotate; confirm the exact itinerary and embarkation city on this page and use the specs strip for current capacity figures before you compare her to larger MSC sisters.
Build record
- Keel to delivery
- 2002 – 2003
- Inaugural
- 2003
- Fuel
- Marine diesel
- Sisters
- MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Sinfonia
Commerce
Upcoming sailings
39 itineraries · 268 sail dates on MSC Lirica. Fares are live and change daily.
| Sailing | Date | Depart | Nights | $/n | Inside | Balcony | Suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-Night MediterraneanVenice - Marghera Italy | Kotor Montenegro | Mykonos Greece | Mykonos Greece | Syros Greece | Ancona (Urbino) Italy | Venice - Marghera Italy · 67 dates | Aug 8, 2026 | Venice | 7 | $261 | $1,826 | — | — |
| 7-Night MediterraneanAncona (Urbino) Italy | Venice - Marghera Italy | Kotor Montenegro | Mykonos Greece | Mykonos Greece | Syros Greece | Ancona (Urbino) Italy · 60 dates | Sep 11, 2026 | Ancona | 7 | $154 | $1,080 | — | — |
| 12-Night MediterraneanAncona (Urbino) Italy | Venice - Marghera Italy | Katakolon (Olympia) Greece | Heraklion (Crete) Greece | Rhodes (Lindos) Greece | Limassol Cyprus | Port Said Egypt | Alexandria Egypt | Split Croatia | Venice - Marghera Italy | Oct 23, 2026 | Ancona | 12 | $178 | $2,132 | $3,222 | $3,582 |
| 11-Night MediterraneanVenice - Marghera Italy | Katakolon (Olympia) Greece | Heraklion (Crete) Greece | Rhodes (Lindos) Greece | Limassol Cyprus | Port Said Egypt | Alexandria Egypt | Split Croatia | Venice - Marghera Italy · 12 dates | Oct 24, 2026 | Venice | 11 | $171 | $1,884 | — | $3,274 |
| 10-Night MediterraneanVenice - Marghera Italy | Katakolon (Olympia) Greece | Heraklion (Crete) Greece | Rhodes (Lindos) Greece | Limassol Cyprus | Port Said Egypt | Alexandria Egypt | Split Croatia | Nov 4, 2026 | Venice | 10 | $154 | $1,542 | $2,492 | $2,932 |
| 11-Night MediterraneanSplit Croatia | Venice - Marghera Italy | Katakolon (Olympia) Greece | Heraklion (Crete) Greece | Rhodes (Lindos) Greece | Limassol Cyprus | Port Said Egypt | Alexandria Egypt | Split Croatia · 4 dates | Nov 14, 2026 | Split | 11 | $145 | $1,597 | $2,567 | $2,797 |
Showing 6 of 39 itinerary groups
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