MSC CRUISES BECOMES FIRST CRUISE LINE TO RESUME INTERNATIONAL SAILINGS FROM BARCELONA

The port of Barcelona reopened at the weekend for international cruises when MSC Grandiosa became the first ship to embark Spanish guests and vacationers from other Schengen countries.

The 7-night cruise calls at the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia for Rome, Naples and Palermo, plus Valetta, Malta.

Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises, said, “Barcelona is an integral part of our year-round itineraries in the Mediterranean and to see it reopen for our guests from Spain and other countries in Europe is extremely gratifying. This was a very welcome addition to the ever-increasing number of ports that are opening for business after such a long pause in operations. As the first cruise line to offer international cruises from Spain we are sure that our Spanish guests will enjoy the convenience of embarkation in Barcelona on Saturdays and enjoy the popular itinerary that MSC Grandiosa offers in the Mediterranean.”

The port of Barcelona is of strategic importance to MSC Cruises’ position as the market leader in Europe and earlier this month the Company received the official approval to operate and manage an exclusive 11,670 m2 (≈125,615 sq. ft.) cruise terminal, which is due for completion in 2024.

MSC Cruises’ restart at the weekend in Barcelona follows approvals by the relevant Spanish authorities for the Company’s industry-leading health and safety protocol, which was designed and introduced in August 2020 to protect the wellbeing of guests, crew and communities visited by its fleet of ships.

MSC Grandiosa’s itinerary from the end of July will see the addition of another important Spanish port, Valencia with embarkation on Fridays. The ship will then call Barcelona, and onto the Italian ports of Genoa, La Spezia for Florence and Pisa, and Civitavecchia for Rome.

MSC Grandiosa is one of the most environmentally-advanced ships in the MSC Cruises fleet and features state-of-the-art selective catalytic reduction and advanced wastewater treatment systems. MSC Grandiosa last year received the ‘biosafe ship’ class certification from classification society, RINA.

More ports will reopen in the coming weeks across Europe and MSC Cruises’ phased restart of operations is continuing as planned with the Company offering a choice of six different ships and itineraries this summer across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

MSC Seaview will start Baltic Sea cruises beginning July 3 from her homeport of Kiel in Germany with 7-night sailings to Sweden and Estonia and MSC Seaside on July 4 will mark the official reopening of Marseille, France to cruising.

MSC Magnifica resumed sailings last week in the East Mediterranean to join MSC Splendida and MSC Orchestra in the region. MSC Virtuosa since May 20 has operated cruises around the UK for British guests only.

MSC Meraviglia from August 2 will resume cruises in The Bahamas from Miami, featuring MSC Cruises’ private island destination, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. She will be joined by MSC Divina for 3, 4 and 7-night cruises to The Bahamas and Caribbean from Orlando (Port Canaveral) starting September 18.

MSC Seashore will come into service in August with voyages in the West Mediterranean before the Company’s newest flagship journeys to her new homeport in Miami for cruises to The Bahamas and Caribbean.