- MSC Cruises is one of the first major companies to test the waters with a big ship, and cruise industry experts see it as a crucial test.
- The challenge now facing cruise operators around the world is how to recover safely and effectively while convincing travelers to return.
- Before boarding, MSC Cruises passengers were tested for Covid-19 via a primary antigen test and a secondary molecular test.
- On board, cleaning methods have been stepped up, including hospital-grade disinfectant and the use of UV-C light technology.
- The maximum 70% capacity rule is there to ensure social distancing is followed, while all activities on board are catered toward smaller groups.
- For the ports used to cruisers crowding out their terminals, the past few months have also been a time for reckoning.
Cruise trips are back but this is what they look like now, reports CNN. The MSC Grandiosa is one of the first cruise ships to be returning to the sea since the industry’s global shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Valeria Belardi’s experience
Boarding in the Italian port of Genoa for a seven-day Mediterranean cruise on August 16, travel agent Valeria Belardi prepared herself for a voyage like no other.
- The voyage will be dealt with Covid testing, social distancing, hand sanitizing and temperature checks, but it was, Belardi told CNN, also relaxing and enjoyable.
- The voyage was characterized by More importantly it was, reportedly, virus-free.
- MSC Cruises wouldn’t confirm exact numbers, but the Grandiosa was operating at about 60% of its 6,300 passenger capacity.
“I think cruises could be the safest holiday, right now,” said Belardi, who owns travel company Vivere & Viaggiare Roma Pittaluga.
Mounting challenge for cruise operators
The challenge now cruise ships face is how to recover safely and effectively while convincing travelers to return.
“we know that for every 1% drop in cruising that occurs worldwide, up to 9,100 jobs can be lost,” Bari Golin-Blaugrund, a spokeswoman for industry body Cruise Lines International Association, told CNN.
“By the end of September, the worldwide impact will be $77 billion, 518,000 jobs and $23 billion in wages lost.”
The new normal
Before boarding, MSC Cruises passengers were tested for Covid-19 via a primary antigen test and a secondary molecular test.
Alongside testing, passengers must complete a temperature check and health questionnaire.
Crew members are also tested for the virus prior to boarding and, according to MSC Cruises, “regularly during their contract.”
“In accordance with the protocol, the passenger as well as his traveling party were denied boarding,” said MSC Cruises representative Luca Biondolillo.
“Additionally, other passengers who had reached the ship with the same van were denied boarding as they were close contacts of the one passenger who tested positive.”
Cruise ships
MSC Cruises’ European voyage will no doubt be under scrutiny by Italian company Costa Cruises, which is dispatching its ship Costa Deliziosa from the Italian city Trieste on September 6 for a trial voyage to a series of Italian ports.
MSC and Costa operate large vessels that, in usual circumstances, house thousands of passengers.
Even with reduced numbers, there will still be a substantial number of people on board these floating palaces.
Other cruise ships that have returned to the water in recent months have been significantly smaller, but still problematic.
State of play
For the cruise industry, the stakes are incredibly high.
In the past decade, cruising experienced a major boom, with 30 million passengers in 2019, creating a demand for bigger, better, grander ships and a $150 billion industry that sustains 1.2 million jobs.
That exponential growth was already causing image problems amid concerns about overtourism and environmental impact.
Then came the PR disaster of coronavirus, with cruise ships branded high risk for Covid-19 during the height of the pandemic after several significant outbreaks left ships scrambling for safe port and crews stranded at sea.
Cruise line perspective
While a couple of MSC and Costa ships may be tentatively returning to the seas, most big vessels remain out of action — docked in ports across the world and unlikely to sail again until 2021.
Meanwhile, Holland America also announced plans to offload four of its 14 ships: Amsterdam, Maasdam, Rotterdam and Veendam.
“It’s always difficult to see any ship leave the fleet, especially those that have a long and storied history with our company,” said Stein Kruse, chief executive officer of Holland America Group and Carnival UK, in a statement.
Port perspective
In some port cities, like Venice, campaigns against big ships have been ongoing for some time.
CLIA’s Bari Golin-Blaugrund said the pause in operations has allowed for further consideration on the topic of cleaner fuels and more sustainable practices.
Pre-pandemic, the CLIA had already started working in partnership with the Croatian city of Dubrovnik to develop responsible tourism, amid concerns about the impact of cruises on a city that has seen a sharp rise in visitors in recent years.
New rules were subsequently introduced last year, limiting the city’s harbor to a maximum of two ships at any one time. Venice has also seen campaigns for cruise companies to rethink their operations in the city.
Crew perspective
Getting crew members home — amid reports of on board protests and mental health crises — has been a controversial topic.
There are still cruise workers awaiting repatriation, stranded by closed borders, red tape and complicated travel arrangements.
The CLIA’s Golin-Blaugrund says caring for and repatriating crewmembers remains a top priority for its cruise lines.
Austrian dancer Conny Seidler, who was working on the Costa Deliziosa when the pandemic hit, has been watching developments within the cruise industry with keen interest.
As someone who’s spent a lot of time on board cruise ships, Seidler reckons the future of the industry will be determined by a “learning-by-doing process.”
Ports with more number of guests
A lot of port across the world have been earlier filled with too many guests but now struggling from a lack of tourists.
In the Bahamas, where cruise ships brought in 5.4 million tourists in 2019, the industry standstill has been “economically traumatic,” according to the country’s tourism minister, Dionisio D’Aguilar.
