MSC Armonia is a Lirica-class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises. Originally built in 2001 for the now defunct Festival Cruises as MS European Vision, she has operated for MSC since 2004. At 58,600 gross tons, she can accommodate 2,065 passengers in 783 cabins and 760 crew members.

History

European Vision

As European Vision, she was chartered for the 27th G8 summit in Genoa, Italy as a secure location to house world leaders. Terrorism fears were high in advance of the 11 September 2001 attacks and Al Qaeda was believed to be considering Genoa as a target. Although the ship was protected by a phalanx of anti-terrorism units including helicopters and missile launchers, U.S. President George W. Bush stayed instead at a dockside hotel.

Operational career

MSC Armonia has cruised around the Mediterranean Sea and ports within the Eastern Atlantic. She was homeported in Havana until December 2018, when she re-positioned to Miami to begin offering cruises to Cuba, and later, to the Caribbean. In November 2020, she was originally scheduled to homeport in Tampa, Florida for the first time, sailing to the Caribbean. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing fleet redeployments, MSC Armonia is scheduled to continue sailing from Miami through 2021.