MSC Cruises

Geneva, Switzerland, 30 January, 2020 – In light of the coronavirus outbreak in China, MSC Cruises is immediately taking further precautionary measures for the health and well-being of its guests and crew on all of its global fleet.

MSC Cruises has undertaken a series of actions since 24 January, and due to the latest coronavirus developments, today implemented additional public health measures across its fleet.While there are no cases of coronavirus on board any of MSC Cruises’ ships these measures are additional steps to secure the health and well-being of all guests and crew.

Guests from all nationalities are required to fill out a pre-embarkation questionnaire to ensure no-one boards their ship who has travelled from mainland China or visited mainland China in the past 30 days. Anyone who has travelled from mainland China or visited mainland China in the past 30 days will be denied access to the ship;
Mandatory non-touch thermal scans conducted for all guests and crew prior to embarkation for every cruise operated by the company anywhere in the world, and persons with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will be denied embarkation;
Elevated deep-sanitation on every ship in the line’s entire fleet;
Guests who may have fever symptoms will be isolated in their cabin and the same measure applies for their close contacts, including guests staying in the same cabin and family members, as well as any crew member who may have served these guests.

These measures follow previous actions that were taken last week. Guests and crew who travelled last week from mainland China were already screened for symptoms upon embarkation, and were requested to report any symptoms of illness to the onboard medical centre.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, MSC Cruises has been closely monitoring the public health and safety situation in each of the regions its ships sail. The company has been consulting with international and local health authorities to follow their advice and recommendations.

STATEMENT ON MSC MERAVIGLIA’S WEST CARIBBEAN CRUISE THIS WEEK

MSC MERAVIGLIA GIVEN ‘CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH’

Mexican health authorities confirm ‘no coronavirus’ onboard ship.
Guests cleared for disembarkation in Cozumel.

Geneva, Switzerland, 28 February 2020 – MSC Cruises has said its ship MSC Meraviglia has been given ‘a clean bill of health’ by Mexican health officials following medical checks on a crew member and a young female guest who both had common seasonal flu after the vessel arrived in Cozumel, Mexico.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises, said: ”The Mexican authorities followed the correct maritime protocols whereby a ship in advance provides medical records of any passenger or crew member who is or has been unwell to the next port she visits.”

Health experts boarded the ship to check the medical condition of one crew member and one young female guest who had seasonal flu. In addition to the checks that are customarily run to give a ship a clean bill of health, out of an excess of precaution they conducted overnight additional tests on both of them.

The results were tested at a Mexican Ministry of Public Health laboratory in the city of Chetumal and determined that the condition of both the crew member and guest was in no way whatsoever associated with the COVID-19 coronavirus. The ship was given a clean bill of health.

MSC Meraviglia previously had been unable to make scheduled calls to both Ocho Rios, Jamaica and George Town, Grand Cayman. Passengers couldn’t disembark at either island because local authorities had decided to ignore the same established health protocols that today saw the ship receive a clean bill of health.

Mr Vago added, ”We would like to thank the Mexican authorities for their preventative health professionalism, which is the only way to demonstrate certainty to populations ashore, as well as to guests and crew on board.

”The disappointing decisions by Jamaica and Grand Cayman to bar our ship to allow our passengers to disembark and enjoy their islands was born out of fear, not best medical practice. This led to unnecessary and unjustifiable anxiety, not only for our passengers and crew on board, but right across the Caribbean’s tourism sector, and possibly even further beyond.”

Passengers on board MSC Meraviglia will be able to spend a full day today (Friday 28 February) ashore in Cozumel. The ship will depart later tonight to return to her homeport of Miami, Florida on Sunday 1 March.

MSC Cruises has told all of its 4,580 guests on board that they will receive a 100 per cent refund of their cruise fare due to the disruptive nature of their holiday.

UPDATE MEDIA STATEMENT – 28/02/2020, 6 am CET

MSC Cruises has now received official confirmation from the Mexican health authorities – following medical testing conducted by them overnight – that the two people on board MSC Meraviglia in Cozumel are affected only by seasonal flu and not Covid-19 Coronavirus. The ship has consequently been cleared for disembarkation.

MSC CRUISES STATEMENT AS OF 2 PM ET (8 PM CET) ON 27/2/2020

Mexican health authorities earlier today boarded MSC Meraviglia. Out of an excess of precaution, they administered additional testing on the crew member – now free of symptoms – and a young female guest who has since developed mild symptoms also of seasonal flu. Results from the two tests are expected to take anywhere from a few to 12 hours. The ship will be alongside in Cozumel while waiting for the results. Once she gets clearance to disembark, she will stay in Cozumel through to the end of the day tomorrow Friday 28 February to allow guests to enjoy the city and its attractions. Guests on board have already been informed.

UPDATED MEDIA STATEMENT – 27/02/2020, 14:30 pm CET

MSC Meraviglia has berthed at Cozumel, Mexico and is currently waiting for local health officials to board the ship to conduct customary checks provided for by maritime protocols.

UPDATED MEDIA STATEMENT – 04:00 hrs GMT 27th February 2020

As anticipated, MSC Meraviglia arrived off the West Coast of Cozumel on 26 February around 9:30 PM ET (3:30 AM CET). Due to unfavorable weather conditions, including 35-40 knot winds and stormy conditions, MSC Meraviglia is currently awaiting near pilot station for winds to decrease and the ship to be able to safely board pilot and enter port. The maximum wind speed permitted by the port of Cozumel for berthing is 25 knot winds.
Based on current weather forecast, weather conditions are expected to improve by tomorrow morning at around 8 AM ET (2 PM CET). As soon as this happens, the ship has already agreed with the local port authorities to board the pilot and head into port.
As previously announced, over the course of the day MSC Cruises has received formal and final authorization from the local health authorities in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico to go to Cozumel.

UPDATED MEDIA STATEMENT – 22:00 hrs GMT 26th February 2020

“MSC Cruises is pleased to confirm that it has just received formal and final authorization from the local health authorities in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico to get to Cozumel. The ship is due to arrive there later this evening, local time.”

UPDATED MSC Cruises’ statement: 26/2/2020, 12:45 pm CET

MSC Cruises is extremely disappointed that Jamaican authorities yesterday delayed a decision for many hours to give our ship the necessary clearance to disembark guests, despite us having provided detailed medical records to the local health and national authorities ahead of its arrival as per normal protocol.

Similarly, the decision taken overnight by the Grand Cayman authorities to refuse disembarkation at Georgetown was made without even reviewing the ship’s medical records, which show one single case of common seasonal flu (type A influenza) affecting one crew member with a travel history clearly showing no passages through territories either affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus) or subject to any international health restrictions. In both instances, the ship was effectively turned away simply based on fears.

MSC Meraviglia is currently at sea on her way to Cozumel, Mexico, her next scheduled port of call. Ship’s command and Company’s management are in contact with local health authorities to ensure that their decision will be based on a factual review of the ship’s medical records, as well as consideration for the pre-embarkation screening and on board medical and deep sanitation protocols that are in place across MSC Cruises’ entire fleet.

All MSC Meraviglia’s guests and crew have been screened individually upon embarkation, both in terms of their travel history as well as their health. MSC Cruises denies embarkation to anyone – crew and guest alike – who has travelled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, as well as to people who during the past 14 days have travelled to, from or through any of the municipalities that are subject to quarantine in central northern Italy. In addition to this, all MSC Cruises ships also conduct individual pre-boarding screening by thermal cameras to identify guests or crew members with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing. This will also result in denied embarkation.

The crewmember who was diagnosed with common seasonal flu is in a stable condition, receiving anti-viral treatment and medication, and is now free of fever and nearly recovered. Out of precaution he was isolated from other crew members and guests from the moment that he showed symptoms and will remain so until he is fully recovered. No other cases of type A influenza have been reported on board MSC Meraviglia.

Moreover, no cases of COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) have been reported on board MSC Meraviglia or any other ship in MSC Cruises’ fleet.

MSC Cruises apologizes for any inconvenience caused and the disappointment to its guests in connection with the missed calls in Ocho Rios and Georgetown this week.

MSC Cruises’ statement : 25/2/2020, 10 pm CET

As is standard practice when a vessel approaches each port of call during a cruise, the ship’s command has to report any illness on board to the relevant local health authorities. Upon arrival this morning MSC Meraviglia reported one single case of common seasonal flu (type A influenza) affecting a crew member from the Philippines.

The crew member had embarked at the beginning of the cruise in Miami, after passing the mandatory health screening that all our guests and crew members receive before joining the cruise, a precautionary measure that we have implemented fleetwide.

The local port health authority in Ocho Rios today requested further guidance from the National Ministry of Health in Jamaica’s capital of Kingston. After waiting in port for nearly four hours for formal clearance, ship’s command decided to leave Ocho Rios for the next port of call as the long wait had compromised the passengers’ proposed time at the destination.

All MSC Meraviglia’s guests and crew have been screened individually upon embarkation, both in terms of their travel history as well as their health. MSC Cruises denies embarkation to anyone – crew and guest alike – who has travelled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, as well as to people who during the past 14 days have travelled to, from or through any of the municipalities that are subject to quarantine in central northern Italy. In addition to this, all MSC Cruises ships also conduct individual pre-boarding screening by thermal cameras to identify guests or crew members with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing. This will also result in denied embarkation.

The crew member had travelled to Miami from Manila, via direct connection in Istanbul. He developed symptoms of common flu and tested positive to type A influenza after he visited the ship’s 24/7 Medical Centre while already on board. He has no other symptoms.

NEW ENHANCED PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES FOR ALL GUESTS AND CREW

UPDATE: 3 March 2020

We have today updated our precautionary health measures for all guests and all crew who are due to travel on any of our cruises.

The enhanced changes are to ensure the health and well-being of everyone on board every one of our ships.

These are additional measures to the ones we introduced on 24 January in light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak that originated in China.

We want to reassure you that everyone’s health and safety on our ships is our top priority and we can confirm there have been no cases of coronavirus on board any of our ships.

Guests embarking on a cruise are requested to take the following into account:

Rigorous pre-embarkation screening:

MSC Cruises has conducted and continues to conduct pre-boarding screening by thermal cameras to exclude persons who may be at risk, and passengers with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will be denied embarkation. The same rules apply to their travel companions and will also result in a denial of boarding;

Keeping the ship free from infectious diseases:

Throughout the cruise, at ports of call, guests and crew embarking and disembarking will be frequently checked by thermal cameras for fever symptoms;
In addition, there has been and will continue to be an elevated deep-sanitation on every ship in our entire fleet. There is increased continuous disinfection of public areas especially frequently touched areas such as handrails, elevator buttons, door handles and reception desks, and people are reminded constantly to thoroughly hand-wash and use alcohol-based hand-sanitizers.

We are denying boarding to anyone from high-risk areas:

Anyone who has travelled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, Iran and South Korea (or transited via airports) in the past 14 days, or visited, will be denied access to the ship. The same rules apply to such passengers’ travel companions (parent, spouse, child, siblings, or a companion who shares a cabin).
Similarly, anyone who lives in, or has travelled to, from or through any of the following towns in central northern Italy in the past 14 days, or visited, will be denied access: Casalpusterlengo, Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo, San Fiorano and Vò. These are the municipalities that are subject to quarantine measures put in place by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This policy is aligned with CLIA guidelines.

For guests embarking on MSC Bellissima and MSC Lirica from Dubai only. On top of the restrictions above we are denying boarding also to anyone who lives in, or has travelled to, from or through Japan, Singapore and South Korea. This restriction does not apply if guests have only transited in sterile areas of relevant Singapore, Japan and South Korea airports as coming from other non affected areas; With reference specifically to departure LX 29/02/2020, in respect to the instructions received from the Indian Government, access to the ship will be denied also to guests from all nationalities who have travelled to, from or through Italy, South Korea and Iran since 10th February ;
Anyone who, within 14 days before embarkation, has had close contact with, or helped care for, anyone suspected or diagnosed as having coronavirus, or who is currently subject to health monitoring for possible exposure to novel coronavirus, will be denied boarding;

Guests who have any further questions, should not hesitate to contact their Travel Agent or the MSC Cruises contact centre.

For more information please download the full screening procedures infographic.

TRAVEL ADVICE UPDATE: 14 February 2020

To protect the health and safety of our guests and crew onboard, MSC Cruises has taken a series of precautionary actions since 24 January across its fleet with respect to the novel coronavirus that originated in China. While there are no cases of coronavirus on board any of MSC Cruises’ ships these measures are additional steps to secure the health and well-being of all guests and crew.

Guests who are embarking on a cruise are requested to take the following into account:

Anyone who has travelled to, from or through Chinese mainland, Hong Kong or Macau in the past 30 days, or visited or transited via airports, will be denied access to the ship. The same rules apply to such passengers’ travel companions (parent, spouse, child, siblings, or a companion who shares a cabin);
Passengers with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will be denied embarkation. The same rules apply to their travel companions;
Anyone who, within 14 days before embarkation, has had close contact with, or helped care for, anyone suspected or diagnosed as having coronavirus, or who is currently subject to health monitoring for possible exposure to novel coronavirus, will be denied boarding;
MSC Cruises will continue to conduct preboarding screening necessary to effectuate these preventative measures;
Passengers with a Chinese passport who have not travelled from or through Chinese mainland, Hong Kong or Macau in the past 30 days, and who are in good health, can access the ship. However, authorities in certain countries are temporarily not allowing holders of a Chinese passport to travel into their territories. At the date of publishing, holders of Chinese passports are not allowed to travel into: Singapore, Malaysian ports and Thailand. Please note this list may change based on future government regulations;

Guests who are restricted by any of the above measures are requested to contact their travel agent or the MSC Cruises contact centre number at the top of this page.

31 JANUARY 2020

Dear embarking guest, please note that if you have traveled from or visited Chinese mainland, Hong Kong or Macau over the 30 days prior to your embarkation date, or have fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or symptoms of illness we will unfortunately be unable to allow you on board our ship. This is a precautionary measure that we have taken to protect our guests and crew in connection with the corona virus situation (click here for more information).