Yesterday morning, the first guests embarked on the MSC Cruises flagship in the port of Genoa , Italy, arriving at the cruise terminal according to their assigned time slots and following new universal screening procedures in accordance with the Company's own Health and Safety Protocol, which includes a temperature check, a health questionnaire and a COVID-19 antigen swab test.

Once these measures had been completed and the results of the test had been obtained while in the terminal, the guests who were fit to fly then embarked on the ship in compliance with the revised protocols for health and safety, including hand hygiene and luggage storage.

All guests have received a complimentary MSC for Me wristband, which gives them contactless options when on board, such as opening the cabin or making payments, and can also help promote proximity and contact tracing, if appropriate.

“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. 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. But at the same time, we have worked to ensure that we are able to provide our guests with a cruise holiday that they can enjoy and still experience all of the elements that they know and love from entertainment and activities on board through to protected ashore visits," Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO commented.

Following the arrival of the new guests today in Civitavecchia, more guests will also embark on the ports of Naples and Palermo, and the ship will call Valetta in Malta before returning to Genoa on Sunday.

On the ship's itinerary, guests will be able to go ashore to enjoy the different ports of call, but only as part of the MSC Cruises shore excursion to enjoy the different ports of call as an additional level of security, so that their ashore experience follows the same high levels of health and safety as on board.

Maritime Business World