A CRUISE ship will visit Portland Port later this month as the industry restarts following the coronavirus pandemic.

MSC Cruises will become the first cruise line to restart in the country this summer, with a number of country wide cruises that will stop at a number of areas.

Setting sail from Southampton on Thursday, May 20, MSC Virtuosa will visit Portland Port for the first time on Saturday, May 22. From here, guests will be able to explore Portland and Weymouth for the day.

MSC Virtuosa will initially offer three and four-night mini cruises from Southampton to Portland as well as seven-night cruises from June 12 with embarkation points in Southampton, Liverpool and Greenock, and calls at Portland and Belfast.

For guests, the cruise ship offers a range of food, entertainment, a robot bartender serving drinks, space for games consoles and multiple pools and waterslides.

Antonio Paradiso, managing director of MSC Cruises UK & Ireland said: “It’s finally time for travellers across the UK to start discovering again and we are proud and privileged to take them on this journey.

"With MSC Virtuosa, our newest ship, and with a whole host of new activities and experiences, we know our guests are going to create life-long memories on board this summer.

"This landmark moment of restarting cruising from the UK has been long-awaited and we are delighted to be counting down to when we can set sail again, just one month from now.”