• Line to extend requirement that already existed in other regions to its ships operating in the Mediterranean
• All MSC Cruises winter sailings fleet-wide now to require guests to be fully vaccinated and take a COVID-19 test prior to embarkation
• Reinforced measures are part of MSC Cruises’ industry-leading health and safety protocol designed to adapt to the evolution of the pandemic ashore to ensure the maximum level of protection

  MSC Cruises announced that all guests for its winter sailings fleet-wide must now be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and also take a COVID-19 test before their scheduled embarkation date.

The measures have already been in place for all of the line’s winter voyages in other regions and now Mediterranean sailings have been added with the new requirements thus extending to guests booked on both MSC Grandiosa and MSC Fantasia.

Guests on any of the line’s winter sailings on its two ships operating in the Mediterranean travelling from 4 December will now also need to be fully vaccinated.  Guests are considered vaccinated if they have received the full set of COVID-19 shots more than 14 days before the start of their holiday at sea.  All guests will also be required to undertake a COVID-19 test up to 72 hours of the ship’s departure time.

The measures apply to all guests aged 12 years-old and above and are on top of existing health and safety rules first introduced by MSC Cruises in summer 2020 and that today constituted the line’s industry leading protocol. These include an additional COVID-19 test at embarkation as well as other measures during the sailing, all designed to offer all guests and crew the maximum level of protection of their health and safety.

Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises, said, “Our health and safety protocol has led the way in the industry not just because we were the first major cruise line to resume international operations but also because of its flexibility to adapt to the evolution of the pandemic ashore.

“This approach has reassured our guests, our crew and the destinations we visit with our ships and we saw last winter with our sailings in the Mediterranean that even during a new peak of the pandemic ashore we were able to adapt our health and safety measures appropriately and continue to offer the highest level of protection to our guests and crew.

“This is the case once more as some countries in Europe are seeing an increase in infection rates ashore and to ensure the wellbeing of those on board our ships and at the communities they call, our approach again demonstrates that health and safety is our number one priority.”

The new measures will now also apply to MSC Grandiosa and MSC Fantasia and their winter sailings in the Mediterranean this season, in addition to the line’s other ships operating in Northern Europe, North America, South America, South Africa and the Middle East.

Any existing guest who will not be fully vaccinated in time for their departure date can opt to either postpone their holiday with us at a later date or request a refund.

Guests under 12 years of age, since not eligible for vaccination, will continue to be welcome on board under the current measures.

For more details re: the new measures and their application, guests should consult their travel agent partner or the line’s website here.

MSC Grandiosa will sail from Barcelona, Spain with 7-night voyages to Marseilles, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo and Valetta before returning to her Spanish homeport. For more information on her itinerary, please click here.

MSC Fantasia’s 7-night itinerary: Genoa, Italy to La Spezia, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Marseille. For more information on her itinerary, please click here.