The Port of Valencia has announced the first call of the MSC Grandiosa on July 30, after which the ship will call every Friday until the conclusion of the summer season on November 5.
According to port projections, Valencia expects to see more than 100 calls this year. In 2019, Valencia reported 203 cruise calls and 435,000 passengers, 16 percent of which were said to embark and disembark in the port.
Aurelio Martinez, president of the Valencia Port Authority, said that cruises activity has resumed with the highest level of health guarantees, both for passengers and crew, and also for the citizens of the destinations visited. Thus, he said, the passengers of the Grandiosa will be able to take excursions in so-called bubble groups following the safety protocols established by local authorities and by MSC Cruises.
“We have drawn up very rigorous and strict protocols based on international and national regulations, together with a group of experts, to be able to resume cruise activity with the highest level of safety,” explained Gianluca Suprani, vice president of MSC Cruises. “We have dynamic protocols that adapt to the evolution of the epidemiological situation, including the bubble excursions to also guarantee the safety of the communities we visit.”
The Grandiosa, which has a maximum guest capacity of about 6,000 passengers, is sailing at reduced capacity with 70 percent occupancy.
In addition to Valencia, other ports of call are Barcelona, Genoa, La Spezia and Civitavecchia.
Suprani noted that MSC Cruises has been able to put eight ships back in service so far, in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, and will begin sailing in the Caribbean in August.
He also said that Valencia will also be a port of call for MSC Cruises new luxury brand, Explora Journeys.
Since its suspension on March 13, 2020, domestic cruise service resumed in Spain on May 6 and international cruises on June 7. Valencia saw its first domestic call on June 27 by Mein Schiff 2, sailing an all-Spanish itinerary, and the first international call on July 8 by the AIDA Perla.
“It is important that the (cruise) sector is slowly returning to normality. It is an important industry for the city and the surroundings. The suspension of cruise activities, which has lasted for 15 months, has had a negative impact which we estimate at around 72 million euros, affecting tour operators, guides, transportation, taxi drivers, hotels and tourist attractions,” commented Martinez.
Photo: At a press conference in Valencia, Gianluca Suprani, vice president, MSC Cruises; Aurelio Matinez, president of the Valencia Port Authority; and Francisco Lorente, CEO of MSC Spain.
