Looks like MSC Cruises is the first major cruise line to resume operations! Their newest ship, the MSC Grandiosa is about to start sailing around Italy, offering 7-Night Cruises to Genoa, Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palermo, and Valetta.
Currently, these cruises are only available to western European citizens. The ship will have many new safety measures in place such as wearing masks in public areas and social distancing. The destinations they are visiting were selected because they have easy access to reduce crowds when getting on or off the ship.
If all goes well, MSC plans to have Grandiosa’s sister ship, the MSC Magnifica, resume operations starting on August 29th.
There have been some other smaller cruise lines that have been trying to resume, such as AIDA Cruises and Hurtigruten, with mixed results. Fingers crossed that MSC can get things moving again and their passengers can enjoy a great cruise without a hitch!