Tag Archives: MSC Cruises

Costa Cruises to limit resumption in sailings to Italian passengers only

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Costa Cruises to limit resumption in sailings to Italian passengers only

Costa Cruises return to operations next month will be restricted to passengers from its home country of Italy only.

However, the company also confirmed the extension of its pause in operations until September 30 for all the other cruises.

The Carnival Corporation brand is to resume sailing with one-week itineraries on two ships.

Costa Deliziosa will depart from Trieste and Costa Diadema from Genoa.

The cruises “will be reserved exclusively for Italian guests, with one-week itineraries calling at Italian ports only, allowing to rediscover in safety Italy’s finest destinations,” the company said.

“The decision was made considering the evolution of the epidemiological scenario and taking in account the regulation issued by the Italian Ministry of Health regarding mandatory checks for travellers returning from some European and foreign destinations, which suggests a cautious approach.

“Therefore, this solution will allow Costa guests to better enjoy their holiday, with fewer worries.”

Costa Deliziosa will sail on September 6, 13, 20, 27 and Costa Diadema on September 19, with further itineraries to be announced: “as soon as possible”.

The line said: “Costa is working for a responsible and safe resumption of its cruises starting from 6 September, as already announced in recent days, tirelessly monitoring the epidemiological situation that is constantly evolving.

“The company hopes that from October the situation will allow to welcome onboard its ships also guests of other nationalities.”

The company added: “Costa is continuing to work in close cooperation with flag state authorities, Italian regions, local institutions, health authorities, harbour master’s offices, ports and terminals and RINA to ensure a responsible, smooth and well-organised application of the new regulations and protocols approved by the Italian government for the restart of cruises.”

The move follows rival MSC Cruises announcing the resumption of sailings in the Mediterranean from Sunday (August 16).

MSC Extends Pause, Retools Summer 2021 Program

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MSC Divina
MSC Divina.

MSC Cruises announced that it will further extend the temporary fleet-wide halt of its cruise operations through July 31, 2020.

Today, the Swiss-based cruise line also reconfirmed its March – November 2021 program, which will include two new ships currently under construction and a series of new or enriched itineraries and homeports, including a new home for MSC Divina in Central Florida at Port Canaveral.

Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises: “While today we have taken the difficult decision to further extend the halt of operations of all our ships, it is important that we also look ahead as we know that our customers are dreaming of travel and are wanting to plan their holidays for next year. For this reason, we have now also confirmed our March – November program for 2021.”

“Shorter-term,” added Onorato, “Our ships will return to service only when the time is right, in phases and by region, and following guidance from the relevant national and international health and other regulatory authorities and the support of a new operating protocol especially focused on health and safety, which we will announce soon. This way, gradually, all of our ships will return to sea between then and the beginning of our summer 2021 season.”

MSC Meraviglia - Wikipedia
MSC Meraviglia.

The MSC Meraviglia will offer seven-night cruises from Miami, Florida departing every Saturday, while the classic and charming MSC Armonia will offer new three- and four-night getaway cruises, also from Miami, departing on Mondays and Fridays and calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.

New for next summer, the MSC Divina will sail for the first time from Port Canaveral, Florida – a new homeport  – and offer a mix of three-, four- and seven-night cruises departing on Sundays and Thursdays.

MSC’s three Seaside-class ships will all be deployed together for the first time in the Western Mediterranean for Summer 2021.

The MSC Seashore will now come into service August 1, 2021, due to the delay caused by the temporary closure of the shipyard as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for this period, MSC Fantasia will temporarily cover her itinerary.

The MSC Seashore will have the highest ratio of outdoor space per guest of any ship in MSC Cruises’ fleet and will offer the popular Six Pearls itinerary calling the Italian cities of Genoa and, visits to Pompeii, Naples; Messina, Sicily; Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain and Marseille, France.

Fincantieri | MSC Seaside
MSC Seashore due June 2021

She will be joined by sister ships MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview in their Genoa homeport and operate seven-night cruises. The company will also return to Tunisia in August when MSC Fantasia performs seven-night cruises from Genoa calling at Marseille, Barcelona, the port of La Goulette in Tunis, Palermo and Civitavecchia.

There are also nine- to 12-night cruises will also be available from Genoa, Italy in late summer to Morocco, the Canary Islands, Madeira and Portugal, Greece and Israel with MSC Poesia calling in the beautiful port of Haifa.

New for summer 2021, MSC Lirica will be deployed from Venice, Italy and will also offer embarkation in the northern Italian port of Trieste with a stunning itinerary calling Zadar, Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro and Corfu in Greece.

In addition, MSC Musica, MSC Orchestra, MSC Opera and MSC Sinfonia, will offer seven-night itineraries also departing from Venice and calling the Greek islands, Montenegro and Croatia.

Starting in May, the new MSC Virtuosa will spend her first summer season with seven- to 14-night cruises from Kiel, alternating between the fjords and the Baltic capitals, with all itineraries offering embarkation in both Kiel and Copenhagen, Denmark.

MSC Virtuosa's float-out in Saint-Nazaire | MSC Fans
MSC Virtuosa floats out.

The fjords of the Norwegian west coast and the Baltic Capitals can also be enjoyed on a seven-night to 14-night (back to back) itinerary available on MSC Splendida and she will also offer longer 10- and 11-night cruises to the Baltic capitals or North Cape.

The MSC Magnifica will homeport in Southampton, UK and offer seven-night itineraries to the fjords of Norway, 14-nights to the Baltic capitals or the Mediterranean in mid-August, 12-nights to the Canary Islands and a seven-night cruise calling the Northern Pearls of Hamburg, Germany; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Zeebrugge, Belgium and Le Havre, France.

The MSC Preziosa will offer from nine- to 14-night itineraries from Hamburg with destinations in Ireland, Iceland and North Cape and Spitzbergen in Norway.

Carnival Cruise bookings up 600 PERCENT

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  • Carnival Cruise Line bookings rose 600 per cent after the company said it will resume some of its cruises in August
  • That’s 200 per cent more bookings than this same time last year, reports a travel industry representative
  • Customers were primarily focused on locking down reservations and getting premium deals, says an American Express travel agent
  • Most of the travellers calling are described as young, healthy and eager to travel after being forced to stay home during COVID-19 lockdowns
  • The customers are ‘not a bit concerned about travelling at this time,’ says the representative

Carnival Cruise Line bookings rose 600 per cent after the company said it will resume some of its cruises in August, says a member of the travel industry.

The sharp rise in bookings is 200 per cent higher than this same time last year, reports an American Express travel agent.

An Instagram post from Carnival (pictured) explains 'enhanced protocols and social gathering guidelines will be put in place' once the company starts sailing again

Customers were primarily focused on locking down reservations and getting premium deals, says the agent.

Most of the travellers calling in at the moment were described as young, healthy and eager to travel after being forced to stay home during nationwide coronavirus quarantines, TMZ reports.

The customers are ‘not a bit concerned about travelling at this time,’ the representative told the news outlet.

So far, there have been 1,366,962 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 80,696 deaths.

An Instagram post from Carnival explains that ‘enhanced protocols and social gathering guidelines will be put in place’ once the company starts sailing again.

While Carnival says it hopes to get back on the high seas by August, the company warns that plans could change and that there are no guarantees because of the potential for further delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1,’ Carnival wrote in its announcement.

Carnival had previously hoped to return in April or May after it first suspended its voyages in March. The date was later pushed to June 26 and now August 1.

One-fifth of all global ocean cruise ships were infected with the coronavirus after the outbreak began, leaving at least 2,592 crew and passengers infected and killing at least 65, according to research compiled last month detailing the pandemic’s impact on the cruise ship industry.

The data revealed that cases of the deadly virus were directly linked to at least 54 cruise ships, as they continued to travel the waters while the pandemic ravaged communities on land.

All four of the world’s largest cruise lines – Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises – were struck by outbreaks, as well as several smaller lines.

At least 922 of those infected and 11 who died were crew members working on the ships.

The stark findings, collated into a study by the Miami Herald using data from the CDC, cruise companies and passenger testimonies, show that the situation on board ships was far worse than official figures revealed.