MSC Cruises today announced that one of its most innovative ships MSC Seaside will be deployed for the first time in Europe since her launch in 2017, joining the Company’s flagship MSC Grandiosa in the Mediterranean from 1 May. MSC Seaside will be performing a brand-new itinerary featuring 7-night cruises calling Genoa, Valetta in Malta and Civitavecchia with two first time ports of call – Siracusa in Sicily and Taranto in Puglia.
MSC Seaside will implement for the protections of its guests and crew MSC Cruises’ industry-leading health and safety protocol that has been tried and tested since August 2020. Measures will include universal testing at embarkation as well as mid-cruise, weekly testing of crew, social distancing, the wearing of masks in public areas, only protected shore excursions as well as enhanced deep sanitation and ongoing cleaning procedures.
MSC Grandiosa’s current successful itinerary will be extended through to the end of May with the ship calling at the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia, Naples, Palermo as well as Valetta in Malta. MSC Grandiosa has been welcoming guests for a holiday at sea from August of last year and has since safely and responsibly carried more than 40,000 guests. MSC Seaside and MSC Grandiosa itineraries are currently available to residents from Schengen countries and Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania.
OTHER ITINERARY UPDATES
MSC Cruises today also updated the itineraries for the start of its summer season as a result of the delay in the return to availability of certain ports across Europe and is cancelling all other itineraries in the West Mediterranean for April and May, with cruises there resuming from June as planned. Similarly, in the East Mediterranean cruises are cancelled for April, with cruises resuming from May as planned. In Northern Europe, all itineraries are cancelled in April. The following sailings on MSC Magnifica are not included in this cancellation for UK & Irish guests as a separate announcement will follow for them.
| Date | Embarkation | No. of Nights |
| 14th May 2021 | SOU/SOU | 2 nights |
| 16th May 2021 | SOU/SOU | 12 nights |
| 28th May 2021 | SOU/SOU | 3 nights |
| 31st May 2021 | SOU/SOU | 12 nights |
Finally, in the Caribbean all itineraries are cancelled through to 31 May. Guests impacted by these changes will be able to rebook on another cruise – including MSC Seaside and MSC Grandiosa in the Mediterranean – and should check with their travel advisor for specific updates to their ship or visit www.msccruises.co.uk.
