MSC Cruises to Temporarily Pause Cruise Operation in the Mediterranean Due to Just-Issued Italian Government’s Severe Restrictions on People’s Mobility Over the Upcoming Holiday Season
Extensive restrictions across Italy effectively make it impossible for local and international guests to travel to and from any Italy-based embarkation ports
Three MSC Grandiosa sailings cancelled with restart set for January 10, 2021
Three MSC Magnifica voyages cancelled with restart now on January 15, 2021
Geneva, Switzerland (December 4, 2020) — MSC Cruises announced today that it will temporarily pause the operation of MSC Grandiosa later this month and move the planned restart of MSC Magnifica to January. This decision has been made in connection with the new measures just introduced by the Italian government for the Christmas and New Year period.
The new measures include extensive restrictions on people’s mobility across the entire country, which would severely impact the ability of future guests — Italian residents as well as international travelers — to reach any of the ships’ embarkation ports in Italy.
The government in Italy has announced that it will nearly completely restrict the movement of residents no longer only between regions, but now also between cities and towns in its efforts to combat the pandemic ashore. These measures will apply to residents of Italy between December 21, 2020 and January 6, 2021. They will effectively also restrict the ability of residents of other countries to travel to and through Italy.
The new decree has thus caused the cancellation of three future planned voyages of MSC Grandiosa and three sailings of MSC Magnifica.
MSC Grandiosa will temporarily pause her current program of 7-night voyages on December 20 in Genoa, Italy. The ship will then resume her Western Mediterranean cruises on January 10, 2021 also from Genoa.
MSC Magnifica, which was due to re-start 10-night voyages in the West and East Mediterranean on December 18 from Genoa, will now commence its sailing program on January 15, 2021 following the cancellation of three previous sailings.
In January MSC Cruises will welcome back guests on board MSC Grandiosa and MSC Magnifica under the protection of its comprehensive health and safety protocol which even during the past several weeks — while the pandemic ashore was at its most recent peak — proved to be working effectively for the protection of guests, crew as well as the communities its ships visit.
Since August, MSC Cruises’ industry-leading protocol has allowed the Company to safely and responsibly host more than 30,000 guests.
