Cruises are back, as evident by the MSC Grandiosa which departed late last night from Genoa, Italy.
The trip marks the first major cruise ship to depart since the coronavirus pandemic sent most cruise liners and passenger airlines into lockdown.
The international cruise industry has been in trouble since the very beginning of the pandemic, as some of the first covid-19 cases were identified and highly-publicized from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, in Japan.
The Grandiosa is part of MSC Cruises. It will travel to the ports of Civitavecchia in Rome, Naples, Palermo and Malta over the course of seven days.
Italy makes around US$17 billion off the cruise industry alone, which is responsible for more than 50,000 jobs. Last month, Italy’s government officially gave cruise liners the green light to begin operating again.
MSC has said that it will only saily at 70 per cent of passenger capacity.
Earlier this month, Norway’s cruise liner Hurtigruten was forced to suspend operations after dozens of passengers tested positive for COVID-19.
The United States’ Centers of Disease Control has put a no-sail order in US waters until September 30.
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