MSC Grandiosa. Photo credit: MSC Cruises.
MSC Grandiosa is set to resume scheduled weekly cruises in the Western Mediterranean following the Italian government's decree that cruises can return to operation in the country.
The MSC flagship will resume planned weekly cruises leaving every Sunday from Genoa, Italy and calling the Italian ports of Civitavecchia, Naples, Palermo as well as Valetta in Malta. Embarkation is available from each port in Italy.
In AUG 2020, MSC Cruises became the first major line to resume sailing since the COVID-19 shutdown in MAR. Since then, the cruise line has welcomed over 30,000 guests on board its two ships based out of Italy.
MSC was forced to pause sailings in DEC amid new lockdown restrictions in Italy. The latest ministerial decree authorizes the resumption of cruise operations with additional health and safety protocols, which include:
- Additional on-board antigen testing for COVID-19 of all guests mid-way through their cruise which are on top of the existing pre-boarding universal testing for all guests;
- Frequency of testing of all crew during their time on board increased from twice-a-month to weekly, which is in addition to pre-boarding testing for all crew;
- Increased frequency of on-board sanitation, in particular of public areas and high touch points;
- Tightening of the definition of "close contact" for tracing purposes, reducing the time that individuals are in contact from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.
For more details about MSC Grandiosa’s itinerary see here. For more details on MSC Cruises’ health and safety measures see here.
Anna Kroupina Journalist
Anna is OJ's newest member and she joins the team as a writer/reporter. She co-writes the daily news and covers events. Although she's new to the industry, pursuing a career path in travel/tourism has been a goal since her first family road trip to the Florida Keys sparked a desire to discover the world and this exhilarating, fast-paced industry.
