Due to the Italian government's extension of travel restrictions for the holiday season, MSC Cruises has cancelled MSC Grandiosa's scheduled voyage from Genoa, Italy on January 10. As a precaution, the line also has cancelled that ship's January 17 sailing.
The first "restart" cruise of MSC Grandiosa will depart from Genoa on January 24. Weekly cruises will then depart every Sunday from that port with calls at the Italian ports of Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples and Palermo, as well as Valletta, Malta, with embarkation available in each port in Italy.
MSC Grandiosa will offer these itineraries until March 21, after which the ship will remain in the western Mediterranean and offer a new itinerary.
In addition, starting February 14, MSC Magnifica will also resume her operation departing from Genoa for 11-night cruises to the western and eastern Mediterranean, visiting Italy, Greece and Malta.
The line's health and safety protocols, which have been in place since MSC Cruises began restarting European cruises in August, have been recently strengthened, based on the evolution of COVID-19 in Europe.
Additional health/safety measures include the following:
- Additional onboard antigen testing for COVID-19 of all guests mid-way through their cruise; that's in addition to the existing pre-boarding universal testing for all guests
- Crew testing has been increased from twice monthly to weekly; that's in addition to all pre-boarding testing for all crew and other ongoing health monitoring measures
- Increased frequency of onboard sanitation, particularly in public areas and at 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 information, visit www.msccruisesusa.com.
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