Ship Guide · MSC Cruises
Photo: Gérard / CC0MSC Bellissima
The Okinawa loop — fly to Naha, cruise the islands
The Okinawa loop — fly to Naha, cruise the islands
Click any port for the full plan: what fits your hours, what to book, what's a walk.
Some departures vary the pattern; check whether your sailing overnights in Keelung.
Ishigaki’s free shuttle drops you by the ferry terminal with the town at your feet. Miyakojima is harsher: 5,686 passengers versus one small taxi fleet is not a fair fight. Our Miyakojima guide is blunt about this for a reason.
Naha’s airport sits minutes from the cruise terminal, which makes this the easiest big-ship embarkation in Japan — and the reason this loop works as a short add-on to any Japan trip.
The loop crosses into Taiwan at Keelung — carry some NT dollars for the night market, and remember ship time does not always follow your phone across the strait.
Short roundtrips of five to six nights based in Naha (Okinawa) and Keelung (Taipei), looping the islands: Ishigaki, Miyakojima, Naha and Keelung in varying order. It is the largest ship working the Okinawa–Taiwan corridor, and the pattern runs across the 2026–27 seasons.
It docks. Ishigaki’s New Port quay and Naha both take big ships alongside (Ishigaki runs shuttles into town), and Miyakojima’s Hirara Port was developed as an international cruise hub that takes Bellissima alongside — no tenders on the standard loop. What varies is distance to the sights: read each port’s guide before choosing where to spend your hours.
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