MSC Becomes First Cruise Line To Resume International Sailings From Barcelona

The port of Barcelona reopened at the weekend for international cruises when the MSC Grandiosa became the first ship to embark with Spanish guests and holidaymakers from other Schengen countries.

This was announced by MSC Cruises in a press release.

The seven-night cruise holiday calls at the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia for Rome, Naples and Palermo, plus Valetta, Malta.

“Barcelona is an integral part of our year-round itineraries in the Mediterranean and to see it reopen for our guests from Spain and other countries in Europe is extremely gratifying. This was a very welcome addition to the ever-increasing number of ports that are opening for business after such a long pause in operations. As the first cruise line to offer international cruises from Spain we are sure that our Spanish guests will enjoy the convenience of embarkation in Barcelona on Saturdays and enjoy the popular itinerary that MSC Grandiosa offers in the Mediterranean,” said MSC’s CEO Gianni Onorato.

According to the press release, the port of Barcelona is of strategic importance to MSC Cruises’ position as the market leader in Europe and earlier this month the company received the official approval to operate and manage an exclusive 11,670 squared-meter cruise terminal, which is due for completion in 2024.

MSC said that it worked together with Spanish national and local including the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Sanidad) and Ports of the State (Puertos del Estado) to “ensure that the health and safety measures implemented as part of the restart met and exceeded all local and national regulations.” According to the cruise line, this includes arranging for guests who disembark in Barcelona to complete an antigen test within 48 hours of ending their cruise.

MSC’s health and safety protocol was first implemented in August 2020 when the MSC Grandiosa began sailing in the Mediterranean and, since then, the company has safely welcomed onboard tens of thousands of guests.

The Grandiosa’s itinerary from the end of July will see the addition of another important Spanish port, Valencia with embarkation on Fridays. The ship will then call Barcelona, and onto the Italian ports of Genoa, La Spezia for Florence and Pisa, and Civitavecchia for Rome.

More ports will reopen in the coming weeks across Europe and MSC Cruises’ phased restart of operations is “continuing as planned,” the cruise line said, with the company “offering a choice of six different ships and itineraries this summer across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.”

The MSC Seaview will start Baltic Sea cruises beginning July 3 from her homeport of Kiel in Germany with seven-night sailings to Sweden and Estonia and the MSC Seaside on July 4 will mark the official reopening of Marseille, France to cruising.

The MSC Magnifica resumed sailings last week in the East Mediterranean to join the MSC Splendida and MSC Orchestra in the region. The MSC Virtuosa since May 20 has been operating cruises around the UK for British guests only.

The MSC Meraviglia from Aug. 2 will resume Caribbean cruises from Miami and will be joined in the region from Sept. 18 when the MSC Divina restarts sailing from Port Canaveral near Orlando in Florida.

Royal Caribbean Appoints Asia Pacific Director of Sales

Royal Caribbean has announced the appointment of Kenneth Yeo as its regional director of sales for the Asia Pacific. The company said that the position is new and designed to drive growth in the region.

Yeo, who brings over two decades of commercial experience across diverse industries, will lead the trade, corporate, and retail sales teams based in Singapore, supporting the Asia Pacific region. He will also work closely with the trade marketing, and operations divisions.

Royal Caribbean said it has enjoyed exceptional engagement with its trade partners in recent years – working closely to deliver strong promotional campaigns, enabling valuable guest support, and navigating the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yeo will continue to build on this as the company gears up to progressively return to service across the region.

 Angie Stephen, managing director, Asia Pacific, Royal Caribbean International, said: “It is time to expand our senior leadership team and we are thrilled to welcome Kenneth onboard. His wide-ranging experience and leadership roles – both locally and internationally – together with his understanding of the diverse needs of consumers across the region will be invaluable to Royal Caribbean. The region holds tremendous opportunity for growth. Kenneth will be key to driving collaboration with our trade partners, who remain instrumental in providing added value to us and our guests.”

Yeo also commented: “Embarking on this journey with Royal Caribbean is certainly a career-defining moment for me. I look forward to steering the team to even more extraordinary wins, building on our successes to further the growth of the cruising industry amidst and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruising is back and will be better than ever.”

Celebrity Cruises and Port Everglades Ready for First Major U.S. Cruise-In 15 Months

When Celebrity Edge departs Port Everglades on Saturday, it will mark the first revenue cruise with paying passengers on a large cruise ship sailing from a U.S. port in more than 15 months.

It’s also another major news item for Royal Caribbean Group, which owns Celebrity Cruises, and has had a busy month with the Celebrity Millennium and Adventure of the Seas relaunching service in the Caribbean, and the Freedom of the Seas recently completing a test cruise for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier in the week.

Saturday Port Everglades Highlights:

• The city of Ft. Lauderdale along with Broward County and Royal Caribbean Group will open the day at 10 a.m. with a press conference.
• Press conference speakers are Jonathan Daniels, Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director;  Michael Udine, Broward County Vice Mayor; Brian Abel, Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations, Celebrity; Richard Fain, Chairman & CEO, Royal Caribbean Group and Captain Kate McCue, Celebrity Edge Captain.

Edge Sailing Details:

• The Edge will be under the command of American Captain Kate McCue.
• The week-long itinerary is expected to depart from Terminal 25 at Port Everglades, which is said to be one of the most modern cruise terminals in operation. 
• Port Everglades will host a virtual sail-away party on Facebook Live starting at 6 p.m., while locals are encouraged to cheer on the ship at Harbor Beach or Dr Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park.
• Calls include Costa Maya, Cozumel and Nassau, with three days at sea.

Onboard

• 1,195 guests for an occupancy rate of 41.2 per cent. The 2018-built ship can take 2,900 guests at 100 per cent occupancy.
• Two unvaccinated adults.
• 24 unvaccinated children.
• 100 per cent of crew have been vaccinated.