On Friday 21st August the 2019 built 332 metre long cruise liner MSC GRANDIOSA entered Grand Harbour, Malta at 0520 hrs coming from Palermo, Sicily marking her the first cruise liner berthing at Valletta Cruise Port with passengers since March after the Pandemic Disease COVID-19 shutdown and the second cruise liner to berth at Pinto 1 and 2 wharves.
With around 1,300 passengers embarked, 400 of them were expected to go on six separate guided excursions in Malta.
MSC is implementing strict rules to ensure passengers and crew are safe and to avoid COVID-19 outbreak onboard.
All passengers were tested for the COVID-19 virus before the cruise set off and those disembarking at the different ports will not be allowed to explore on their own. Instead, they will visit places as part of groups organised by the company. In fact an unnamed Italian family wasn’t allowed to embark the liner after leaving their organised excursion to sightsee on their own, violating the ship’s new anti-Covid regulations, the company has said.
Originally she departed from Genoa, Italy on Sunday 16th August calling at Civitavecchia on Monday 17th August, then to Naples on Tuesday 18th August, Palermo on Wednesday 20th August for a seven-day tour at 70 percent passenger capacity, part of a series of measures taken to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection on board and heading to Genoa, Italy arriving on Sunday 23rd August.
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Published – Friday 21st August, 2020.
