MSC Cruises announced that it would temporarily pause the operation of MSC Grandiosa later in December and move to January 2021 the planned restart of MSC Magnifica due to the new travel measures introduced by the government of Italy for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The new rules feature extensive restrictions to the mobility of people across the country that will impact the ability of future passengers – Italian residents, as well as those from overseas – to reach any of the cruise ships’ embarkation ports in Italy.
The government of Italy said it would completely tighten the movement of residents between towns, cities, and regions in its efforts to combat the pandemic ashore between December 21, 2020, and January 6, 2021, which will restrict the ability of vacationers from abroad to travel to/through/from Italy.
This caused the cancellation of 3 future planned cruises of MSC Grandiosa and 3 voyages of MSC Magnifica:
- MSC Grandiosa will pause her current program of 7-night sailings on December 20 in Genoa Italy and resume her Western Mediterranean sailings on January 10, 2021, also from Genoa.
- MSC Magnifica, which was scheduled to restart 10-night cruises in the West and East Mediterranean on December 18 from Genoa, will commence her programme on January 15, 2021, following the cancellation of 3 previous sailings.
In January 2021, MSC Cruises will welcome back passengers onboard MSC Magnifica and MSC Grandiosa under the protection of its health and safety protocol which during the last 4 months, when the COVID pandemic ashore was at the most recent peak, proved to be effective for the protection of passengers, crew, and the communities its vessels visit.
The Company’s protocol has to date hosted 30,000+ passengers since MSC became the first major cruise line to resume sailings following the industry’s shutdown in March 2020.