MSC CRUISES’ MSC MAGNIFICA SETS SAIL WITH 10-NIGHT CRUISE HOLIDAYS IN WEST AND EAST MEDITERRANEAN

Geneva, Switzerland, 20 October 2020 – MSC Magnifica departed Genoa, Italy yesterday and became the second MSC Cruises ship to welcome guests back on board since Europe’s leading cruise line restarted operations in August.

The ship has commenced a stunning 10-night voyage of relaxation and discovery in the West and East Mediterranean Sea with planned calls at the port of Livorno for visits to Florence and Pisa, Messina in Sicily, Piraeus for Athens, Katakolon for Olympia, Valletta in Malta, and Civitavecchia for Rome, before returning to Genoa. MSC Magnifica will operate six enriched, long Mediterranean cruises before the end of the year, including a special 8-night Christmas voyage that will depart Genoa on 18 December.
This is the second ship to implement MSC Cruises’ comprehensive health and safety protocol, that has been endorsed by external medical experts and formally approved by the relevant national and regional authorities. The comprehensive safety-first measures designed to protect the wellbeing of guests, crew and communities visited were first implemented in August when MSC Grandiosa became the world’s first major cruise vessel to return to service and the Company’s flagship has now completed nine 7-night voyages and positively demonstrated the protocol’s effectiveness. The measures include protected “social bubble” ashore visits for guests to allow them to also enjoy destinations at each port of call.


The MSC Cruises health and safety protocol includes universal health screening of everyone – guests and crew – which includes tests for COVID-19 before they can board a ship; elevated sanitation and cleaning measures throughout the vessel; managed social distancing; wearing of face masks in public areas and technology to aid track and trace on board. In this initial phase, the ship’s capacity has also been reduced to 70 per cent to ensure social distancing can be guaranteed on board.