Sailing the high seas with intermittent stops at exciting destinations with a cruise ship has come back with a bang. Several cruise companies have in fact been registering record or near record bookings for the upcoming summer season with Malta being no exception to what is happening in other countries.

Indeed summer 2022 promises to be one of the most exciting ever for cruises out of Valletta. Four different cruise lines are in fact offering a variety of a dozen cruise options ranging from four-day mini-cruises to 12-day itineraries covering most of the Mediterranean.

NCL – Norwegian Cruise Line are operating their largest ever vessel to sail out of Valletta – the giant Norwegian Escape at 165,000 tonnes, and featuring 17 restaurants together with a wide range of other amenities that offer outstanding entertainment, including fully-fledged West End musicals. The Escape is offering 9 departures on different itineraries covering both the East and West Med.

Costa Cruises has returned with a full summer programme for the first time in a decade. The Costa Pacifica is operating weekly departures on a new, relaxed itinerary with highlight stops at Santorini and Mykonos. The family-friendly product offers free kids under 18 (only charging taxes), and has mouth-watering adult rates starting from just €749 in June.

TUI’s Mein Schiff, the most exclusive product out of Valletta, are offering a limited number of weeklong cruises to the Greek Islands. Over the years the line’s ultra-all-inclusive concept has proven to be very popular with Maltese as it really covers all aspects of the cruise – drinks, tips, and even all excursions.

The fourth cruise line operating out of Valletta in summer 2022 is MSC with its MSC Seaview. The ship operates weekly cruises to the West Med reaching as far as Barcelona.

Those that are seeking farther destinations of course have the possibility of going for an organised fly-cruise option. There are many of these being offered in Malta and these include cruises out of Rome’s Civitavecchia, on the world’s largest cruise ship, the Wonder of the Seas of Royal Caribbean, a wide selection of North Sea and Baltic Cruises, and for those that seek something more exotic there are both Caribbean and Alaska programmes.

More information can be obtained at Malta’s cruise specialists, SMSMondial, on www.smsmondial.com.mt or by calling on 2277 6000.