By LCN Business Desk
Five months of New York cruises were cancelled so that a 4,500-berth ship could spend the winter calling at St Maarten, St Kitts and Grand Turk. The passengers were offered remedies. When a Caribbean destination loses a call it is offered none, examined in The Port It Skipped Got Nothing.
PortMiami has published its ship lineup for the 2026-27 season, and it confirms MSC Meraviglia homeporting in Miami. Jonathan Daniels, the port's director and chief executive, said "the port's continued momentum highlights our longstanding partnerships with cruise brands. Miami has long been recognized as the heart of modern cruising," Cruise Industry News reported. The announcement was carried by at least five trade outlets.
When was this actually decided?
In August 2025, which is the part the lineup announcement does not say.
The decision to move the Meraviglia out of Brooklyn was reported on 7 and 8 August 2025, by the Brooklyn Eagle among others. The ship had been homeported at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal since 2023. PortMiami's lineup is the confirmation of a decision more than a year old, not the announcement of a new one.
What MSC did at the time was cancel sailings that were already on sale. Brooklyn departures between 8 November 2026 and 11 April 2027 were withdrawn, five months of them, Travel Gossip reported.
| What MSC offered booked passengers | |
|---|---|
| !Move to the new Caribbean sailings | At the same fare |
| Move to another MSC ship | From New York, Port Canaveral or PortMiami |
| Future cruise credit | 100 per cent of monies paid |
| Refund | In full |
The four remedies as reported to booked passengers.
The reason given in the trade press was a slowing drive market, the catchment of passengers who reach a port by car rather than by air.
Which Caribbean ports gain?
Five are named, and not by the port itself.
The Meraviglia is reported to be running six and eight night itineraries calling at St Maarten, St Kitts, Grand Turk, Nassau and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the line's own private destination in The Bahamas.
PortMiami's own release describes "an array of ships" for the season and names no Caribbean destination. Every port on that list comes from the trade and regional press, not from the port authority.
That distinction matters for anyone pricing the season. A port authority's lineup tells you which ships are coming to Miami. It does not tell a tourism minister in Basseterre how many calls to expect.
How does this sit against the rest of the market?
It runs the other way from Carnival, in the same week.
This newspaper reported on 30 September that Carnival Corporation will put as much capacity in Europe as the Caribbean in 2027, each taking 34 per cent of its deployment, in Europe Will Tie the Caribbean in Carnival's 2027 Deployment. MSC is moving in the opposite direction on this ship.
It is also a reversal of what MSC itself did a month ago. In September the line put its newest flagship in the Southern Caribbean and took the Meraviglia off that route, reported in MSC Puts Its Newest Flagship in the Southern Caribbean. The Meraviglia now returns to Caribbean itineraries from a different homeport.
Miami will hold four MSC ships for the first time: Meraviglia alongside MSC World America, MSC Poesia and MSC Seaside, all sailing from the line's new terminal at PortMiami.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
The panel, "What moved, and when":
- 8 November 2026 to 11 April 2027. The Brooklyn sailings MSC cancelled. Source: trade press reports of August 2025.
- Five months. The length of the cancelled Brooklyn season.
- August 2025. When the move out of Brooklyn was decided and reported, more than a year before the PortMiami lineup confirmed it.
- 2023. The year MSC Meraviglia began homeporting at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
- Four ships. MSC vessels homeporting in Miami for the first time: Meraviglia, World America, Poesia and Seaside.
- Five ports. Caribbean destinations named in the new itineraries, none of them by PortMiami.
The footer strip:
- Six and eight nights. The itinerary lengths reported for the new Caribbean sailings.
- Four remedies. What booked Brooklyn passengers were offered, including a full refund.
- Zero. Caribbean destinations named in PortMiami's own release.
- Ocean Cay. MSC's own private destination in The Bahamas, among the five ports.
What should a Caribbean port read into it?
That a call is won in another country's catchment area.
The Meraviglia is coming to the Caribbean because a drive market in the north-east of the United States softened, not because a Caribbean port did anything. The ports named gain calls they did not bid for, and could lose them the same way.
One of the five is not a sovereign port at all. Ocean Cay is MSC's own destination, which places this in the same pattern as Carnival's Paradise Collection: a share of the season's calls lands at a berth the cruise line built and controls.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has MSC done with the Meraviglia?
Moved its winter homeport from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in New York to PortMiami. The decision was reported in August 2025 and PortMiami's 2026-27 season lineup has now confirmed it. The ship had been homeported in Brooklyn since 2023.
What happened to passengers booked out of New York?
MSC cancelled Brooklyn sailings between 8 November 2026 and 11 April 2027 and offered four options: the new Caribbean sailings at the same fare, another MSC ship from New York, Port Canaveral or PortMiami, a future cruise credit worth 100 per cent of monies paid, or a full refund.
Which Caribbean ports are on the new itineraries?
St Maarten, St Kitts, Grand Turk, Nassau and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, on six and eight night cruises. Those destinations are named in trade and regional reporting. PortMiami's own release names no Caribbean destination.
Why did MSC move the ship?
A slowing drive market was the reason given in trade reporting, meaning the pool of passengers who reach a homeport by car rather than by air.
How many MSC ships will sail from Miami?
Four, for the first time: MSC Meraviglia, MSC World America, MSC Poesia and MSC Seaside, all from the line's new terminal at PortMiami.