Red, white, and blue rings in Independence Day on July 4, and MSC Cruises joins in the celebration by offering, for one-week only, up to a five-category upgrade when booking a balcony stateroom on 4 to 14-night cruises, beginning Friday, July 1.

Guests can book select MSC Cruises’ 2011-12 Caribbean and Canada/New England itineraries on MSC Poesia by July 8 for rates beginning at $499 for a 7-night cruise ($719 for a balcony stateroom) plus government fees and taxes. Receive up to a $100 shipboard credit on all stateroom types excluding suites.

This July 4 offer applies to the following 7 to 14-night Canada/New England cruises: Oct. 8 and 15 and these 4 to 7-night Caribbean cruises: Oct. 29 repositioning cruise from New York City to Ft. Lauderdale; Nov. 10, 14, and 19 (Baseball Greats); Dec. 30 (New Year’s Eve), Jan. 14 (Baseball Greats); and Feb. 18 (Baseball Greats).

Departing from Fort Lauderdale, the elegant MSC Poesia takes guests on a variety of itineraries to some of the Caribbean’s most popular destinations and some not-so-often visited locales. Cruise itineraries include destinations in the Eastern and Western Caribbean, including ports like San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Nassau, Bahamas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Roatan Island, Honduras; Key West, Florida.

MSC Cruises’ Canada/New England itineraries featuring departures from New York City and Quebec City allow guests to visit the magnificent fall foliage, history-laden ports and big city bright lights, with calls in such locations as Newport, Rhode Island; Quebec City; New York City; Boston, Massachusetts; Bar Harbor, Maine; Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada; Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Rates are cruise only and subject to availability; government fees and taxes are additional.