As the major cruise lines continue to be shunned by Australia, MSC Cruises resumed operations for international sailings out of Europe 12 months ago.
First off the rank was MSC Grandiosa (pictured) when she departed Genoa for a seven-night voyage in the West Mediterranean. Meanwhile in Australia, major operator Royal Caribbean has already cancelled cruises out of Sydney scheduled to start in late January 2022. RCL destinations included New Zealand viewed as a relative safe COVID destination and our first bubble travel partner.
Local, regional and national authorities in Europe sanctioned a Health and Safety protocol that MSC Cruises developed with an external panel of medical and public health experts designed for the wellbeing of guests, crew and communities. The company believes this protocol set the standard for the industry and paved the way for more lines to restart.
Now more than half of this major line’s fleet is safely back at sea – sailing around the UK, both the Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea in Europe, North America and the Caribbean and the Red Sea in the Middle East. More ships are scheduled to resume operations in the coming weeks and months as part of the line’s phased plan for returning the full fleet to operations by next year.
MSC Grandiosa
Written by Ian Mcintosh
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