It comes as no surprise that MSC Cruises has now suspended U.S. operation through June 2021. MSC follows other major cruise lines that have already canceled sailings until July, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line.
The cruise industry in the U.S. is quickly losing hope of resuming cruises this summer, with only July and August remaining. At the same time, the CDC is not making it easy for cruise lines to follow its Conditional Sailing Order (CSO).
MSC Cruises Cancels Through June
The cruise line has now canceled all U.S. departures through June 2021, which means the first departures are not expected until July at the very earliest. The MSC website is also no longer listing any June cruises out of PortMiami and Port Canaveral, which the cruise line was planning on sailing from.
The further cancellations impact the MSC Armonia and MSC Meraviglia out of PortMiami and MSC Divina out of Port Canaveral. At the moment the MSC Divina is on hold at the Port of Civitavecchia in Italy. MSC Meraviglia and and MSC Armonia are on hold at MSc’s private island in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay.
This will no doubt disappoint many guests who were hoping for an end of further cancellations. MSC Cruises is offering compensation options to guests including a Future Cruise Credit and up to $200 of an onboard credit.
MSc Cruises had previously suspended operation in the U.S. through May 31, 2021, this was quietly revealed on march 1, 2021.
Also Read: When Will Cruises Resume in 2021?
When Could MSC Cruises Resume?
That truly is the ultimate question! There is too much going at the moment between the cruise industry and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Even though the CDC has released its phase two technical instructions, cruise lines have found it difficult to work through them, and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has said they are “largely unworkable.”
There have been growing calls for the CDC to lift its Conditional Sailing Order by July 4 along with letters to the White House, a new “CRUISE Act” to overrule the CDC, and even Florida filing a lawsuit.
Getting cruises to resume for this summer is becoming more unlikely as it also takes at least 60 days to get cruise ships prepared once the green light is given, possibly even longer. There is hope towards July if the order can be lifted suddenly, but day by day, that hope is moving away.
MSC Cruises has already resumed limited cruises in Italy and has actually lead the way in keeping some operations running through the global shutdown. Even the shiny new MSC Virtuosa will debut with UK domestic sailings from May 20, 2021.
