MSC Cruises took strong action against passengers who had violated the newly implemented COVID-19 protection and fitness protocol when the cruise ship resumed navigation after the global closure pandemic in March.
On Tuesday, the cruise line refused to ask a circle of relatives to board the Great MSC after an excursion that MSC Cruises said had damaged the “social bubble” created to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Great took off from Genoa, Italy, on Sunday for what was announced as the first cruise in the Mediterranean after the closure of the pandemic in Italy.
“We had to deny re-boarding to a circle of relatives who interrupted their shore excursion during a stopover in Naples, Italy,” Paige Rosenthal, spokesman for MSC Cruises, told USA TODAY on Wednesday.
Other stops in the Great Comes with Palermo, Italy and Valletta, Malta. Malta is one of 4 Mediterranean countries from which Italy asks incoming travellers to pass COVID-19 tests.
The MSC prevented the circle of relatives from boarding the ship to ensure the suitability and protection of passengers and equipment on board, he said, noting that as the organization leaves the organized shore excursion, it would pose a threat to others on their journey. back to the Great.
“This circle of relatives broke the “social bubble” created for them and all the other guests, and they may not be allowed to board the ship,” Rosenthal said.
Organized ground tours allow the MSC to “meet the same higher standards,” he said, which are kept on board.
Some of these measures include:
There are precautions on board MSC vessels.
Anyone who has tested positive or has a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 will be denied boarding, the company said. Passengers should wear a mask on elevators and other spaces where social distance is not possible. The ship’s team spent time in quarantine before the start of the cruiser.
Earlier this month, the Italian government agreed to allow cruise ships to leave Italian ports again. But cruise ships are limited to 70% of their capacity.
For now, MSC limits its consumers to those living in the Schengen visa-free area, which has 26 European countries.
The MSC stated that the guest and the team member on board would obtain a wristband that would “facilitate contactless transactions around the ship and track contacts and proximity.”
MSC declined to say how many passengers on the cruiser.
The cruise remains suspended in U.S. waters until November 1 at the earliest.
As the cruise resumes: in some parts of the world, several cruise ships affected by new COVID-19 instances
Contribute: The Associated Press