Switzerland-headquartered MSC Cruises relaunches its home port operation in Shanghai along with its flagship MSC Bellissima on March 16. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Switzerland-headquartered MSC Cruises relaunched its home port operation in Shanghai along with its flagship MSC Bellissima on March 16, becoming the first international cruise line to resume sailings from Chinese mainland after the pandemic.

"This marks an important milestone in the global cruise industries' recovery. The restart of the international cruise operation from China sends a strong signal to the world, and we are glad to experience the incredible speed of recovery here in the Chinese cruise market," said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises at a celebration ceremony held on March 15.

Onorato said the celebration also reaffirms their commitment to China, which remains as strong as ever. "China continues to play an important strategic role for MSC Cruises."

Known as the largest flagship cruise vessel in Asia, the 172,000-gross-tonnage MSC Bellissima can accommodate a maximum of 5,686 guests with 2,217 cabins, making it the world's third largest cruise liner by capacity.

"We are fulfilling our commitment to bringing to the region a modern Asian flagship and we are dedicated to further investing in China and benefiting the local economy," said Onorato.

The cruise line also announced on March 15 its winter 2024-25 deployment in China, which makes MSC Cruises the only international cruise brand to deploy two ships and operate from four major Chinese ports within the first year of returning to the region.

"All of these efforts are our commitment to promoting the high-quality development of the Chinese cruises economy," Onorato said.