It’s every guest’s responsibility to verify the travel requirements before the cruise departure. MSC Cruises has worked with the authorities in all of the regions and countries in which the ships operate to ensure its protocol meets and exceed the required health and safety measures. The below details are subject to change.
Before booking your cruise, please check HERE if you are allowed to embark according to your country of residence. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there might be international travel restrictions depending on your cruise destination and your country of residence.
The below requirements are valid for current and following sailings (health and safety measures are subject to change and will adapt according to the evolution of the pandemic).
Please note that all Guests over 12 years old will need to follow one of these requirements to be allowed on board.
- Be fully vaccinated
AND provide a certificate of a negative RT-PCR or antigen test taken within 48 hours before embarkation. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal. If you embark on your cruise at 15:00 on a Saturday, you should take your COVID-19 test on the Thursday as of 15:00.
- Have recovered from COVID-19 within the last 180 days and have a verification certificate or QR Code confirming as such AND provide a certificate of a negative RT-PCR or antigen test taken within 48 hours before embarkation. If you embark on your cruise at 15:00 on a Saturday, you should take your COVID-19 test on the Thursday as of 15:00.
Guests 2-11 years of age must present a negative RT-PCR or antigen test taken within 48 hours before embarkation. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal. There are no testing or vaccination requirements for guests under 2 years of age.
Guests are considered fully vaccinated if:
Within the last 9 months and 14 or more days prior to departure they have completed two set of vaccines in accordance with local regulations including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax. (all Guests 12 years or older vaccinated with “Janssen” (Johnson & Johnson) are now required mandatory a second shot 14 days prior ship’s departure in order to be considered as “fully vaccinated”). A “mix-and-match” combination of the above list of vaccines is also accepted. If more than 9 months (270 days) have passed since receiving the two set of vaccine shots, a booster vaccine will be required to embark with the exception of guests ages 12-17. Starting from 14th of May, a booster dose is not mandatory for guests between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. Guests ages 12-17 are considered fully vaccinated if they have completed the primary vaccination cycle - 2 DOSES OF VACCINE (in accordance with local regulations).
Guests who have received the full set of vaccines and have either received a booster shot or recovered from Covid-19 are considered fully vaccinated and their certificate is considered valid without an expiration date.
Guests who recovered from Covid-19 with one shot of vaccine are considered as fully vaccinated (it will be necessary to provide a QR or alternative validation documentation). The vaccination certificate must be valid for the duration of the entire cruise.
To note: Antigen self-test is not accepted for embarkation.
Additional Requirements for Germany
**Two doses of a non European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved vaccine plus an European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved booster (including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax) will be accepted for embarkation only if Guests provide a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate or equivalent or an antigen test taken 24 hours prior arrival in Germany.
Additional Requirements for Southampton (UK)
All Guests (2 years old and over) embarking on MSC Virtuosa, need to provide a certificate of a negative Antigen/Lateral Flow Test or RT-PCR test taken within the 2 days before the day of embarkation. Antigen self-tests are accepted as long as they’re accompanied by an official certificate/email (some of the suppliers that are accepted: Randox, Expresstest, Collinsons, ect.). NHS certificates not accepted..
Additional Requirements for Guests embarking and in transit in Lisbon (Portugal)
**Two doses of a non European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved vaccine plus an European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved booster (including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax) will be accepted for embarkation only if Guests provide a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate or equivalent or an antigen test taken 24 hours prior arrival Lisbon.
The original test and vaccination certificate must be presented at the terminal (paper or electronic format) and must be in one of the following languages: English, Italian, German, French or Spanish. The COVID 19 test certificate must contain: guest’s personal data (verifiable with the other travel documents), date of the test, identification / contact details of the centre that performed the analysis, technique used and negative test result.