Despite the successful first cruise during the pandemic by MSC Grandiosa, MSC Cruises delays several MSC Magnifica upcoming cruises.
MSC Magnifica was supposed to return to service at the end of August. But the new first cruise date is now September 26, 2020.
According to a press release from MSC Cruises, the cruise line is experiencing a large amount of cancellations for the upcoming cruises. The itineraries were scheduled to depart from Italy and included three ports in Greece.
New coronavirus testing requirements for residents of Italy who have traveled to Greece seem to be the main reason for passengers to cancel. MSC Cruises states, “We are seeing cancellations and a softening in demand since the ship’s itinerary includes as many as three ports in that country. This has led to the decision to delay the restart of the ship by four weeks.”
The cruise line is hopeful that despite the cruises to Greece, reservations will increase soon. Only residents of the 26 Schengen countries are permitted to sail with MSC Cruises. But the current majority of passengers are either Italian nationals or residents of Italy.
