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Second MSC Cruises ship to return later with longer sailings

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MSC Magnifica photo credit Dave Jones

by Phil Davies

To view images of the MSC Magnifica visit MSC Magnifica images

A second MSC Cruises ship is to resume sailings with ten-night voyages in October rather than week-long departures from next week.

This is the second time MSC Magnifica has been delayed in restarting.  The 2,550-passenger ship was previously due to sail on September 26 after being delayed from August 29.

A new re-start date of October 19 has been set for MSC Magnifica with a series of seven cruises including an eight-night Christmas itinerary departing on December 18 from Genoa in Italy.

The ship’s four proposed seven-night cruises from Bari, Italy between September 26 to October 24 have been cancelled as a result of the new scheduling

Passengers affected by the cancelled cruises will either be re-protected onto another cruise – in particular on MSC Grandiosa, which is currently sailing in the western Mediterranean – or will receive a future cruise credit valid until the end of 2021.

MSC Magnifica will follow the return to service of MSC Grandiosa, now on its fourth consecutive seven-night cruise.

Sailing an industry back to hope” – MSC Grandiosa sets off from Genoa - The Moodie Davitt Report - The Moodie Davitt Report
MSC Grandiosa

The flagship resumed sailing in August for the first time since the suspension of cruises due to the Covid-19 pandemic following approval by authorities in Italy, Greece and Malta of the company’s new health and safety operating protocol, designed to protect passengers, crew and communities that the ship calls.

MSC Grandiosa’s sailings have been extended through to the end of the year, including a Christmas cruise to depart from Genoa on December 20.

The vessel is running seven-night cruises with embarkation in the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia, Naples and Palermo, plus a calling at Valletta in Malta.

MSC Magnifica’s new programme covers both the west and the east Mediterranean from Genoa with calls at Livorno for Florence and Pisa, Messina in Sicily, Valletta in Malta, Piraeus for Athens and Katakolon for Olympia in Greece and Civitavecchia for Rome.

The ten-night itinerary is designed for passengers looking for longer voyages that offer more destinations and more time at sea.

The longer sailings are also expected to appeal to passengers flying from Schengen countries because of strong pan-European air links to both Rome and Genoa, which together with Messina, are two of the ship’s three embarkation ports.

The line also says ‘proximity cruising’ is proving to be popular with passengers who live both in Italy and in neighbouring countries.

Longer sailings are seen by the company to also appeal to consumers who typically cruise during the autumn and winter and those looking for a longer alternative to the seven-night MSC Grandiosa sailings.

MSC Magnifica is due to set off on a world cruise in 2021, for the second consecutive year, following the completion of the updated Med itinerary.

Feedback from some of the thousands of passengers who have so far sailed on MSC Grandiosa has been positive, with many calling their experience one of the safest holiday options available, according to the company.

Royal Caribbean Group ‘will learn from MSC and Tui restarts’

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MSC Grandiosa - Wikipedia

Royal Caribbean Group boss Richard Fain has pledged to learn from the “small sample” of cruise lines that have restarted operations in recent weeks.

Speaking to travel agents on a webcast on online trade hub RCL Cares, Fain, the group’s chairman and chief executive, highlighted lines such as Tui Cruises and MSC Cruises, which have both started sailing again.

Fain said that it had been “encouraging” to see their return, adding that Costa Cruises appeared to be “a few weeks” away from joining them.

Fain said: “We are not through this yet but there are more bright spots and bits of good news than there have been for quite a while.

“We are closer to the other side of this crisis every day. It is also encouraging to see cruising start-up in other parts of the world.

“In Germany, our joint venture company Tui Cruises has been operating cruises since late July. In Italy, MSC Cruises started operating there just last week and has attracted a lot of really very positive publicity.

“We understand that Costa Cruises is operating there in just a few weeks. While this is just a small sample, we always said that we’d start slowly and methodically and we’re going to learn from these early efforts.”

Fain also used the webcast to introduce Dr Calvin Johnson, the group’s recently appointed head of public health and chief medical officer.

Asked by Fain why he had decided to apply for the role, Johnson said: “I saw the opportunity to apply my skills in a really meaningful and substantive way during probably the most significant health crisis in our time.

“It is the nature of the work. It is the opportunity to serve 75,000 crew and to protect their health and to serve four to six million guests a year and to protect their health. I am all focusing on the protection of health.”

MSC Forced to Delay MSC Magnifica Program

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MSC Magnifica on the Firth of Forth

MSC Cruises announced today it will postpone the restart of MSC Magnifica until September 26, 2020 despite just having completed a first successful cruise with the MSC Grandiosa.

MSC cited the recent introduction of additional testing measures for residents of Italy having traveled to Greece.

“We are seeing cancellations and a softening in demand since the ship’s itinerary includes as many as three ports in that country. This has led to the decision to delay the restart of the ship by four weeks,” the company said.

MSC added that it believes that reservations will start to pick up again in the coming weeks due to the appeal of the itinerary.

MSC Magnifica’s sales are open to residents of the Schengen area, at the same time in this early phase of restart the majority of guests are expected to be Italian nationals and residents.

As a result, MSC Magnifica cruise departures from August 29 to September 19 have been cancelled. The first cruise will depart from Bari, Italy with an unchanged itinerary on September 26.

The MSC Grandiosa is currently offering seven-night cruises with embarkation in the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia, Naples and Palermo and also calling at Valletta, Malta.