INTERNATIONAL. In a boost to the reputation of cruising in the COVID-19 age, MSC Cruises’ drive to set sail again safely has been profiled on Good Morning America, one of the biggest daytime shows on US television.
The ABC channel crew went onboard the MSC Grandiosa to examine the strict new protocols in place, which include crew and passenger testing. The report featured in several news items on Good Morning America on Tuesday (one of which we feature below).
The programme’s reporter Maggie Rulli highlighted the ship as a possible test case for the future of cruising. She said: “While ships in the US wait for the ‘no sail’ order to end, all eyes are on the MSC Grandiosa, one of the world’s largest cruise ships, now back on the high seas off the coast of Italy, with thousands of passengers onboard and strict new safety protocols in place.”
MSC Cruises Head of Retail Adrian Pittaway hailed the programme, noting that it was “sharing the positive news into the most important cruise market in the world”.
As reported, MSC relaunched seven-day sailings on selected routes in the mediterranean in late August. Its ships were the first to implement a comprehensive health and safety protocol (click here to view) that was approved by the relevant national authorities.
In line with the new standards in place across MSC ships, MSC Retailing has significantly adapted its own processes to ensure an enhanced level of safety. Pittaway said in a note to partners last month: “We have created a comprehensive set of retail protocols with assistance from Duty Free World Council, Aspen Medical, our partners and our in-house experts, and we are ready to welcome our loyal guests to shop safely with us onboard.
“This really is the first important step in a long journey back for us, our onboard retail family and all our travel retail trade partners. We look forward working with the rest of the cruise retail sector to help steer the learnings and develop industry-wide best practice.”
*MSC Cruises Head of Retail Adrian Pittaway is a speaker at the Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo (12-16 October). He joins a stellar line-up of speakers who will speak about the new world of travel retail during the week. Click here to register.
