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

Geneva, Switzerland – 28 June 2021 – The port of Barcelona reopened at the weekend for international cruises when MSC Grandiosa became the first ship to embark Spanish guests and holidaymakers from other Schengen countries.

The 7-night cruise holiday 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 cruise terminal, which is due for completion in 2024.

MSC Cruises’ worked together with Spanish authorities, centrally and locally, including the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Sanidad) and Ports of the State (Puertos del Estado) to ensure that the health and safety measures implemented as part of the restart met and exceeded all local and national regulations, this included testing for guests who disembark in Barcelona to to complete an antigen test within 48 hours of disembarkation at the end of their cruise. MSC Cruises developed an industry-leading health and safety protocol that was first implemented in August 2020 when MSC Grandiosa began sailing in the Mediterranean and since then the Company has safely welcomed on board tens of thousands of guests.

 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. For more details on the ship and its itinerary, please see.

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 3 July from her homeport of Kiel in Germany with 7-night sailings to Sweden and Estonia and MSC Seaside on 4 July 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 20 May has operated cruises around the UK for British guests only.

MSC Meraviglia from 2 August will resume Caribbean cruises from Miami and will be joined in the region from 18 September when MSC Divina restarts sailing from Port Canaveral near Orlando in Florida.

MSC Seashore will come into service in August with voyages in the West Mediterranean before the Company’s newest flagship transfers in November to Miami for a season in the Caribbean.