MSC Cruises announced it will restart cruises from Italy later this month, and there will be newly enhanced health protocols onboard.

MSC will resume cruises in the Mediterranean beginning January 24 with the MSC Grandiosa. On February 14 MSC Magnifica will also return at sea to perform her scheduled itineraries of 11 nights in Italy, Greece and Malta.

In addition to the health protocols MSC cruise ships have been using on its ships since the summer, four new measures will be added:

MSC Cruises announced it would temporarily stop Mediterranean cruises on two of its ships due to new Italian government restrictions.

Sailings on MSC Grandiosa later this month are cancelled and the planned restart of MSC Magnifica has been moved to January.

MSC Cruises announced it would extend its suspension of U.S. cruises through the end of February 2021.

Like all the other major cruises lines, MSC will delay its restart plans for North America.

Three MSC cruise ships are affected by the announcement:

MSC Cruises announced on Thursday the current health crisis in Europe has forced them to shut down some cruises again.

MSC noted that significant restrictions of movement, in particular in France and Germany, forced the cruise line to temporarily suspend further sailings of MSC Magnifica from November 8 through to December 18, 2020. 

MSC Cruises announced on Monday it has cancelled its December 2020 cruises through to and including December 31, 2020.

The new round of cancellations affects three ships in Florida: MSC Seaside in Port Canaveral, and MSC Meraviglia and MSC Armonia both in PortMiami.

MSC Cruises announced the MSC Seashore cruise ship will be the first ship feature new advanced air sanitation technology aimed at reducing virus threat.

Dubbed "Safe Air", the new air sanitation system will be fitted on MSC Seashore, which is currently under construction at the Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard.

Update, 12/7/2020: On October 31, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed its no-sail order to expire and issued a conditional sailing framework, to which all ships must adhere in order to resume cruising. Since that time, MSC Cruises has suspended its North America sailings through February 28, 2021.

MSC Cruises announced it has delayed the restart of the MSC Magnifica until October 19, 2020.

This is the second time Magnifica has been delayed in restarting.  She was previously scheduled to sail on September 26, after being delayed from August 29.

As a result of the delay, MSC Magnifica’s four proposed seven-night cruises from Bari, Italy between September 26 to October 24, 2020 have been cancelled.

Cruises have a lot of moving parts, so it can be confusing to choose the best one for you, particularly because you're not always comparing apples to apples. If you're looking for a breakdown of MSC vs. Norwegian cruises, you've come to the right place. Below we've rounded up information on cabins, dining, things to do and more.

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