MSC Cruises is running a Bank Holiday sale with 10% off selected sailings using code MAYSALE, plus a range of no-fly cruises from Southampton on MSC Virtuosa with prices from £453 per person. Both offers are available now.
The Virtuosa sails from Southampton throughout summer 2026, covering Northern Europe, Norway, Spain and France. No flight needed. Prices include full-board dining, evening entertainment, pools, and port taxes. Drinks are extra unless you add a package.
What’s on offer
Prices below were found on Simply Cruises and Iglu Cruise on 3 May 2026. Per person, based on two adults sharing an inside cabin.
- 5 nights, Southampton roundtrip, departing 4 May 2026, from £453 per person
- 7 nights Norwegian Fjords (Stavanger, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Edinburgh), departing 16 May 2026, from £604 per person
- 7 nights Spain and France (Gijón, La Rochelle, Bilbao, Le Havre), departing 30 May 2026, from £654 per person
- 7 nights Northern Europe, departing 9 May 2026, from £669 per person
Prices vary by travel date and cabin grade. These were live on 3 May 2026.
Is this genuinely good value?
The MSC Virtuosa pricing for a 7-night no-fly cruise from Southampton is competitive against P&O Cruises, which is the most direct comparison. P&O’s Iona Norwegian Fjords departures in May start at around £839 per person inside cabin. MSC is coming in roughly £200 per person cheaper for a comparable sailing.
What you give up is a bit of the British-market familiarity P&O offers. MSC Virtuosa is a larger, more international ship with a slightly busier atmosphere. The food is good and the entertainment is well-regarded. The main caveat is drinks. MSC charges for alcohol and soft drinks beyond basic water and some teas and coffees, so factor in a drinks package if you want anything beyond that. The Premium Drinks Package runs from around £196 per person for 7 nights.
The MAYSALE code gives 10% off on selected sailings across over 2,000 departures, including fly-cruises and Mediterranean options beyond the Southampton programme. Use it at msccruises.co.uk.
The verdict
If you want a no-fly cruise from the UK and P&O prices feel steep, MSC Virtuosa is a solid alternative. The 7-night Norwegian Fjords sailing from £604 per person is particularly strong, given that flights to Bergen or Stavanger alone would cost a similar amount. The ship is modern, the itineraries cover the right ports, and Southampton is easy to reach from most of England.
It is not the right choice if you want a smaller, quieter ship or an exclusively British-flavoured experience. For those priorities, P&O or Fred Olsen is a better fit.
The MAYSALE code expires 5 May 2026. The Southampton no-fly programme continues through October with multiple sailings still available.
How to book
A few tips before you search. Tap Book Now to go straight to MSC Cruises.
- Search by departure date rather than destination first. The Southampton no-fly calendar shows all available sailings in one view.
- Compare inside and outside cabin grades. The gap is sometimes small and worth the upgrade.
- Add the MAYSALE code at checkout for 10% off selected sailings. The discount is applied on the payment page.
- If you book through a comparison site such as Iglu Cruise or Simply Cruises, they sometimes have exclusive further reductions on top of the MSC price.
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
How Kate works
Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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