MSC Cruises will restart cruising from U.S. ports, beginning in August, on two ships from Florida. <\/p>\n
The line will not mandate that passengers have a Covid-19 vaccination, but MSC encourages it. Those who are not vaccinated will be subject to requirements such as additional testing as well as restrictions to be announced at a later date. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith our vast experience cruising in Europe since August 2020 along with our industry-leading health and safety protocol, our guests can book with confidence knowing we are well prepared for a successful restart in the U.S.,\u201d Rub\u00e9n Rodriguez, president of MSC Cruises USA, said in a statement.\u00a0\u201cTo ensure the safest experience for our guests, we previously announced a fleet-wide vaccination program for all crew \u2026 and we expect that the majority of our guests booking a cruise this summer will plan to be vaccinated prior to sail. The rapid distribution of vaccines in the U.S. has been a positive step toward helping vacationers get back to traveling, and we encourage our guests to take advantage of this added layer of protection when resuming travel this summer.\u201d <\/p>\n
MSC said the MSC Meraviglia will restart on Aug. 2 with three- and four-night cruises from Miami to the Bahamas and MSC\u2019s private island destination, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. It will add seven-day cruises on September 18. The MSC Divina will launch three-, four- and seven-day cruises from Port Canaveral on Sept. 16 to the Bahamas and Caribbean, also including Ocean Cay. The CDC approved the MSC Meraviglia\u2019s simulated sailing from PortMiami on July 17.<\/p>\n