Tag Archives: CDC

MSC Readying Two Ships for Cruising; Unveils Health Plan

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MSC Grandiosa
MSC Grandiosa is ready to resume sailings.
Thanks to https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/ for the article.

MSC Cruises is preparing for a potential restart this summer in the Mediterranean and is waiting on final approvals to have the Grandiosa and Magnifica start seven-day cruises.

The MSC Grandiosa will offer seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean and MSC Magnifica will serve the East Mediterranean, according to a press release.

Their actual departure dates will be determined in accordance with the guidelines received by the relevant authorities.

The itineraries that are being planned include Greece and Malta where the authorities have not only re-opened their ports to cruising but also have approved the health and safety protocol to support MSC Cruises’ restart of operations, according to a statement.

Speaking today at a press conference held in Italy, MSC Cruises’ CEO Gianni Onorato revealed the full details of the company’s comprehensive health and safety protocol that has been developed to support the restart of operations in the Mediterranean, designed to protect the health and safety of guests and crew as well as the local communities, according to MSC.

A dedicated task force, with the input and support of leading external medical experts, developed a robust protocol with new MSC Cruises’ specific operating procedures that go beyond the actual regional and national guidelines and effectively set a new standard.

MSC Magnifica in the Firth of Forth photo credit Dave Jones

For this initial phase of the restart of operations, the two ships will initially only welcome guests who are residents in Schengen countries. Additionally, their itineraries have been designed according to the accessibility of the ports, reducing — where possible — the need for guests to make use of public transport or flights, MSC announced.

In the U.S., MSC ships will only return to service once the necessary approvals have been received from the relevant local and national authorities, including the CDC, as well as across the regions where the ships will operate.

MSC said it had set up a cross-functional task force comprised of in-house experts in the areas of Medical Services, Public Health and Sanitation, Hotel Services, HVAC and other Shipboard Engineering Systems, Information Technology and Logistics. It also hired Aspen Medical to further assist with the development of the protocol and operating procedures. In addition, MSC established a blue-ribbon COVID Expert Group.

New Health Protocols:

1. Universal health screening of guests prior to embarkation that comprises three comprehensive steps: a temperature check, a health questionnaire and a COVID-19 swab test. Depending on the screening results and according to the guest’s medical or travel history, a secondary health screening or testing will take place. Any guest who tests positive displays symptoms or temperature will be denied boarding. Following guidelines from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, guests travelling from countries categorised as high risk will be required to take a molecular RT-PCR test, to be done within 72 hours prior to joining the ship. All crew members will be tested for COVID-19 prior to embarkation as well as regularly during their contract.

2. Elevated sanitation and cleaning measures supported by the introduction of new cleaning methods, the use of hospital-grade disinfectant products and the sanitation of the air on board with UV-C light technology that kills 99.97% of microbes.

3. Social distancing will be enabled through the reduction of the overall capacity of guests onboard, allowing for more space for guests, approximately 10 m² (about 108 sq. ft) per person based on 70% overall capacity. Venue capacity will be reduced, activities will be modified to allow for smaller groups and guests should pre-book services and activities to manage guest numbers. When social distancing is not possible, guests will be asked to wear a face mask, for instance in lifts. Face masks will be provided daily to guests in their cabins and will be available around the ship.

4. Enhanced medical facilities and services with highly qualified staff trained, the necessary equipment to test, evaluate and treat suspected COVID-19 patients and the availability of free treatment at the onboard Medical Centre for any guest with symptoms. Dedicated isolation cabins will be available to enable isolation of any suspected cases and close contacts.

5. Ongoing health monitoring will be conducted throughout the cruise. Guests and crew will have their temperature checked daily either when they return from ashore or at dedicated stations around the ship to monitor the health status of every guest and crew member. During this initial phase of operations, as a further enhanced measure of protection and to avoid risks to the health of guests and their fellow cruisers, guests will only go ashore as part of an organised MSC Cruises’ excursion. This means that MSC Cruises can protect their health while ashore with excursions that will be delivered with the same high standards of health and safety as on board. We will ensure that transfers are properly sanitised and that there is adequate space. Tour guides and drivers will also undergo health screening and will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

6. A contingency response plan will be activated if a suspected case is identified, in close cooperation with the national health authorities. The suspected case and close contacts will follow isolation measures and may be disembarked according to local and national regulations.

The MSC COVID-19 Protection Plan will provide guests with additional peace of mind for the summer cruises. This will cover the guest if they become infected prior to their departure if they are not able to travel, during the cruise for medical expenses and after the cruise if the guest falls sick. The MSC COVID-19 Protection Plan is currently available only to guests from Schengen countries.

A redesigned embarkation procedure with digital check-in processes has been implemented to make the process more seamless and contactless with arrival time slots to manage guest flow.  Guests will undergo a COVID-19 swab test, a temperature check and an in-person check of the health questionnaire to ensure that they are healthy and eligible to cruise. If further checks are needed, these will be carried out by medical staff and, if needed, a further COVID-19 test could be carried out.

For guests, onboard both ships, the MSC for Me app will support and facilitate the new health and safety measures. The app can be used to book services as well as to manage their daily activities onboard and source information.

Additionally, onboard MSC Grandiosa every guest and crew member will be provided with a complimentary MSC for Me wristband, which facilitates contactless transactions around the ship as well as providing contact and proximity tracing.

Princess cancels cruises through Dec. 15

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The Diamond Princess' pool deck.
The Diamond Princess’ pool deck.

Princess Cruises is extending its suspension of nearly all cruise operations through mid-December.

Sailings in Asia, the Caribbean, California, Hawaii, Mexico, the Panama Canal, South America and Antarctica, Japan, and Tahiti and the South Pacific are paused through Dec. 15.

Cruises in and out of Australia are paused through Oct. 31.

“We share in our guests’ disappointment in cancelling these cruises,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. “We look forward to the days when we can return to travel and the happiness it brings to all who cruise.”

Princess will protect travel advisors’ commissions on bookings that were paid in full.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week extended the No Sail Order for cruise ships from U.S. ports through Sept. 30. CLIA member lines had already decided last month to voluntarily suspend operations until at least Sept. 15, saying that it was “increasingly clear that more time will be needed to resolve barriers to a resumption in the United States.”

CLIA anticipates talks with CDC on return to the sea

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MSC Magnifica at anchor in Queensferry Edinburgh

Days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended the No Sail Order for cruise ships from U.S. ports through September, CLIA expressed confidence that it was close to starting a meaningful dialogue with the agency about resuming sailings.

CLIA global chair Adam Goldstein said that so far, its engagement with the CDC has focused mostly on the health and repatriation of crew members who were still aboard ships in U.S. waters.

The CDC had not thus far engaged meaningfully with CLIA and the industry about resuming service, Goldstein said, but he was encouraged that would begin, citing commentary in the No Sail Order extension that indicated “a willingness for information exchange and development of approaches beyond what we had seen from them before.”

CLIA was also encouraged that its voluntary suspension through Sept. 15 closely aligned with the CDC’s No Sail Order extension to Sept. 30.

“The fact that we’re beginning to converge makes us more optimistic that the kind of engagement we’re looking for with the CDC as our regulator will begin in the near future and will allow their experts, our experts, our operations personnel, our leaders and their leaders to have the kind of dialogue that will result in the safe and successful resumption of service,” Goldstein said.

clia_logo_secondary_horizontal_cruisingblue – CLIA Asia

According to CLIA, being involved in such high-level talks with regulators in Europe has helped enable the resumption of limited cruise operations in Germany and Norway.

“The EU has engaged with us fairly intensively through multiple rounds of discussion to work toward an EU guidance permitting national regulators to adopt appropriate regulations, which, in combination with our protocols, we believe is what put Germany and Norway in a condition to restart under the limited conditions,” Goldstein said.

CLIA believes more European countries in the near term may also begin limited cruise operations.

“This is a reflection of one of the expectations we’ve had for a couple months now — that cruising would restart in kind of a sequential manner,” Goldstein said.

CLIA’s primary focus is still on its members’ primary source market, North America, and most popular destinations: the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda and Mexico. Goldstein said that CLIA and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association are in dialogue with destinations around North America “to work toward alignment” on how they can confidently open up to cruise ship visits.

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“In order for the North American cruise market to regenerate, two things need to be true: The cruise industry needs approval from the CDC to resume operations in and out of the U.S., and the ports of call need to accept the ships,” Goldstein said. “This critical work will take time, but it is in everyone’s interest to come to a mutually agreeable approach.”

In what seemed to be a response to the CDC’s citing a lack of consensus among cruise lines and the need for additional industry-led efforts regarding safely resuming passenger operations, Goldstein said that over the next weeks and months, CLIA expects to emerge with one or more policies that members will eventually sign onto in response to the pandemic.

“Our goal remains to emerge with a unified approach policy-wise across the associations that all member lines will sign up for,” he said. “I can’t tell you when that will occur or the steps that will get us there.”