- The first major cruise ship to resume tours of the Mediterranean since the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe set sail from the Italian city of Genoa.
- MSC Grandiosa became the first ship from the MSC Cruises fleet to welcome guests back and the first ship to implement the Company’s health and safety protocol.
- In light of the outbreak situation, prior to boarding all guests arriving at the cruise terminal experienced stringent screening measures.
MSC Cruises has been given the green light by Italian authorities to resume limited cruises in the Mediterranean this month, reports Safety4sea.
MSC Grandiosa sets sail
MSC Grandiosa today became the first ship from the MSC Cruises fleet to restart cruising in the Mediterranean after a five month pause.
The 6,200-passenger ship which will embark and disembark around 2,500 passengers over the course of the week, set sail from Genoa today and will call in at Naples, Palermo and then Valetta in Malta, before returning to Genoa on Sunday.
MSC Grandiosa is the first ship to to implement the line’s strict health and safety protocols, which include universal health screening at embarkation, daily temperature checks, a health questionnaire and increased and enhanced sanitation onboard.
“It is a real pleasure for me to be here and sail on board the first of our ships to return to service and to be able to welcome back our guests,” said Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO.
“Our main goal during these last months has been to put in place the right measures that will protect the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit,” he added.
Strict screening measures
The first guests began embarking the flagship on August 17, arriving at the cruise terminal according to their allocated time slots and followed the new universal screening procedures.
- Over the past several weeks, all crew members have gone through similarly stringent health screening measures, which included three COVID-19 tests in various phases as well as a period of isolation before commencing their duties.
- Each crew member will then be regularly tested and their health monitored.
MSC Magnifica will resume cruising in the Eastern Mediterranean later this month, followed by the gradual resumption of the rest of the fleet.
At present, the cruises are only available to citizens of Schengen countries.
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Source: Safety4sea
