US Coast Guard detains MSC Poesia at PortMiami

MSC Poesia was due to leave PortMiami on the afternoon of November 1 for an 11-night Caribbean voyage, with ports of call in Jamaica, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Belize. It did not go. The US Coast Guard placed the ship under detention after an expanded examination found deficiencies in onboard systems, and MSC Cruises cancelled the sailing.

The Coast Guard did not say publicly what prompted the expanded examination, and neither the Coast Guard nor MSC Cruises has identified the specific deficiencies found. Passengers booked on the cancelled voyage were offered full refunds and help arranging travel home. Those already aboard were allowed to remain on the ship until noon on November 5 while making other arrangements.

Port-state control detentions of large cruise ships at US ports are uncommon. Under a detention order, the ship must correct the identified deficiencies and pass a follow-up inspection before it can sail again. The Coast Guard gave no timetable for when Poesia might be cleared.

Poesia is a Musica-class ship, Panama-flagged, built in 2008 and 92,627 gross tons. It underwent a major refit earlier in 2026. MSC said the refurbishment is unrelated to the detention. The ship's next scheduled sailing, a 10-night Caribbean cruise departing Miami on November 12, had not been changed as of November 3.

In October, water ingress aboard MSC Hermes III required crew evacuation off the coast of Vietnam. And a few weeks before that, MSC cruise ships moved their Southampton arrivals forward to avoid Storm Austen, pushing disruption down the schedule for ports along the south coast of England.