As MSC Grandiosa leaves Genoa, on the fourth of its ‘post COVID 19’ itineraries, it really does begin to feel as if MSC may be providing a blueprint that the rest of Cruising can follow.  Their enhanced Health and Safety precautions seem to be working and it almost feels normal to see pictures of the ship leaving port and heading off on its Genoa, Civitavecchia, Naples, Palermo, Malta circuit.

So what are the building blocks of the MSC Experience that other cruise lines could emulate?

1) Limiting who is onboard and where they have come from. 

At present only people from within the Schengen zone can join the ship - 26 mainly EU countries who have no border controls between them - and the ship is cruising only between Schengen Countries - basically cruising within Italy with one stop at Malta.  It is an interesting way of limiting the chances of infection although obviously there may be a need to exclude a particular country in future if their local situation deteriorated. At the moment people from the UK and Ireland are excluded from the cruises even though they able to travel individually to both Italy and Malta. The exclusion of UK guests is purely due to the UK Governments anti-cruise advice that is in force at the moment. MSC UK MD Antonio Paradiso explained to portExplore “We would love to welcome Brits onboard MSC Grandiosa however we cannot do that until the FCO reviews their current advice against cruise travel.", hopefully this will change before much longer…

2) Test, test, test

Embarkation is tightly controlled with arrivals at the port organised into small groups assigned a specific arrival time. You need  to provide individual evidence of a negative Covid Test on arrival at the port but further testing also takes place both before boarding and throughout the cruise. The groups are met with temperature scans and given a comprehensive Health and Covid screening including health questionnaires, data release forms and swabs for both antigen and ‘molecular level’ tests. This all takes about an hour and if a passenger fails the screening they are denied boarding along with anyone who travelled to the port with them. A group of twelve who had travelled together from Spain were affected by this and it does strike me that travelling to the port under your own steam rather than in a coach or mini-bus seems sensible! MSC are selling a Covid19 Insurance that would cover you in this situation for just 18€ per person - which seems very reasonable.

Temperatures are scanned at every port when someone boards and again at various points around the ship. MSC continue to check temperatures  throughout the cruise. They have opened lab facilities on board so are ready to retest anyone that they become concerned about - passengers or crew. The medical centre has been extended to provide the ability to isolate and MSC have increased the medical teams too.  

3) A tougher life aboard for crew

It has to be said that the success of this is resting firmly on the shoulders of the crew. They all had to undergo a strict 14 day quarantine before joining the ship and will not have left it at all over the last few weeks cuising. As a way of restricting the possibility of anyone coming into contact with the virus it obviously works but I imagine that working onboard without ever having the opportunity to nip ashore for some essentials or just to take a break will be very tough on them.

The crew are also having constant testing with twice daily temperature checks as routine. The working uniform now includes gloves and masks and/or face shields as standard for everyone, wherever they are working. Turnaround day now includes a full ship deep clean with an antiviral ‘fogging’ technique  and ongoing cleaning is increased. There is a huge focus on an improved ship wide hygiene and disinfecting routine that also sees stewards giving cabins a full clean every day, focusing mainly on frequently touched surfaces and objects - this would be unsustainable if all cabins were full but the Meraviglia Class ship has been sailing at between 50-70% of its 6334 passenger capacity so that will be helping!

4) Restrictions on going ashore

Each cruise is being treated as a ‘bubble’ so that there is free interaction with others on board but not with people outside the ship. MSCs solution to the risk of people coming into contact with the virus ashore and then bringing it back on board is clever but divisive. They talk of you being ‘protected ashore’ which means that you can only go ashore on an official MSC excursion thus extending the ‘bubble’ out into highly curated and carefully orchestrated excursions where the guides and drivers are subject to the same restrictions and coaches and the places you might go being cleaned to MSCs specifications. They have sweetened the pill of having to take MSC excursions both by lowering the prices - with an offer of 3 excursions for €100 and also by including some free excursions in the ticket price - ranging from 4 free in Yacht Club class down to just 1 for Bella Class. There is a good choice of excursions at each port and of course you always have  the option to stay on board for the day if you wish!

This is really difficult isn’t it - personally I’m not a coach excursion type of person so would find the restriction hard but in all honesty its probably not enough to stop me cruising. The option of joining an excursion and then escaping top do your own this is DEFINITELY not worth trying - one Italian family found that out the hard way when they snuck away from their group in Naples. They were not allowed to rejoin the ship and were left behind with their luggage as the ship departed. MSC are taking this seriously and NOT mucking around . You sign a contract on embarkation to say that you will stick to the rules and if you don’t you are off! 

5) Social distancing by default and design

As previously mentioned Grandiosa is not at full capacity and MSC estimate that there is 10 square metres of public space for every passenger on board. The ships ventilation system has been adapted so that public areas and cabins are ventilated using 100% fresh air with no recirculation (which was thought to have a contributing problem in the case of the spread of infections aboard the Princess ships). Masks are compulsory while moving around inside the ship but not while out on deck or within restaurants, bars or entertainment venues.

The buffet remains open contrary to rumour but food is either individually plated or served to you to reduced cross contamination. There is no reduction in food or drink options. Many passengers are choosing to wear a mask most of the time but it is not compulsory everywhere. Masks are needed in the lifts which are limited to 4 users at once - luckily the Grandiosa features a very efficient automatic floor assigned  lift system that will cope well with the decreased numbers - mind you climbing the stairs is always a good option on an MSC cruise as there are a lot of calories to burn off!!

All facilities on the ship are open (excluding the climbing zone) including the water park spa, bowling alley, virtual and 3D venues, casino, theatre and all restaurants but there are distancing measures in place such as closing off alternate seats or restricting the number of tables or users.  Cirque de Soleil is not running at present because the parent company has gone into liquidation but the venue is being used for other activities and events. 

The activities on board have been increased and adapted so that there are fewer passengers in each activity, but the same opportunities to take part. Pre-booking is essential for almost everything. The iconic White Parties are still taking place - just a bit more spaced out. Although the entertainment crew are dancing in their masks the entertainers on board are not expected to wear them while performing - shows and dance routines are adapted for distancing but are still taking place.

6) Adapt and Survive

MSC say that they are spending 500,00€ on every cruise to make sure that everything runs smoothly and so far it seems to be going well. They are continuously monitoring at the situation and making adaptations as the situation requires, the medical centres onboard have been enhanced and have increased medical teams and added lab facilities 

Lots of small things have changed that seem to make perfect sense - rather than everyone being crammed into the same space for a multi language presentation and Muster Drill this is now achieved through a compulsory information session provided on your cabin TV. 

MSC had already invested heavily in onboard technology which has now really come into its own.  The MSC Medallion - a wrist based system like a watch - reduces physical contact on board by allowing you to remotely open your cabin door and order drinks at bars. It is also being used as a track and trace system for both staff and crew on board  -in the event of someone being diagnosed with Covid, the system will know if you have been in close proximity to them at any time. The smartphone MSC for Me App is replacing the daily information sheets and can also be used to book activities and restaurants as needed. In restaurants menus are being replaced with scannable codes allowing you to read the menu on your smartphone (although I’m assured that printed menus are still available in request). All the phone technology works with the ships free internal wifi system so no need to purchase internet packages unless you want to. 

Going Forward

MSC Grandiosa is now on its fourth cruise and all seems to be going well MSC Magnifica is due to start a second route from Venice to the Greek islands on the 26th of September which will operate through o the end of the year. Obviously British and Irish passengers are hoping that they too will soon be allowed to join those onboard!!

I don’t think this will be for everyone and if you feel that all the restrictions, testing and tracking will irritate you then I suggest you wait until things are freed up a little . For the rest of us I think this seems a good way to get back on the water and to show support for the amazingly detailed planning and investment that MSC has put in place. As I was talking to passengers who have been on board the first few cruises I was struck by two stories in particular - one, of a family who were taking their first cruise as they felt that the were less at risk on board than they would be in a conventional holiday hotel and secondly of a passenger who enjoyed his cruise so much that he immediately signed up to go round again and stayed on board for a second week! 

It may not be what we’re used to but its the pretty much the only option in the Mediterranean at the moment and I for one think that MSC should be applauded for their incredible efforts! Lets hope other cruise companies start doing the same soon.

I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on the way that MSC are handling Covid19 - please add your thoughts below in the comments section.

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Happy portExploring!

 Love 

Cathy 

xx

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