MSC Cruises announced that it had chartered the industry-largest air charter (fly-cruise) program for summer 2021 to make more homeports (embarkation cruise ports) easily accessible from a range of European countries.
Passengers will have access to a seamless trip from their homes to the cruise ship for their sea holidays, all under the protection of the line’s industry-leading health & safety program now extended to cover air travel. This opens a wide choice of ships, ports, and itineraries for MSC Cruises’ guests from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland for East Mediterranean, West Mediterranean, and Northern Europe cruises.
The industry-leading health & safety protocol of MSC Cruises will be extended to apply to the chartered flights, operated together with some of the leading airlines in Europe.
MSC Cruises committed to charter flights between July-October (26,000+ seats from the airlines Air France, Alitalia, Eurowings, Neos, Iberia) to fly from convenient airports across Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany so that vacationers can arrive at convenient times at an airport close to the embarkation port ahead of the start of their voyage.
With a lot of airlines having to alter flight schedules at short notice as a result of travel restrictions, MSC decided to charter aircraft to assure its passengers that their air transport connections take off as planned and their holiday plans will not be affected.
MSC Cruises will operate 8 ships in Europe this summer, 6 of which benefit from the full and rich fly & cruise program. These include:
- MSC Grandiosa and MSC Seaside - Western Mediterranean
- MSC Magnifica, MSC Orchestra, and MSC Splendida - Eastern Mediterranean
- MSC Seaview - Northern Europe.
Once vacationers land at airports they'll travel to the port ready for embarkation via private MSC transfers that are protected with the high standards of the company's industry-leading health & safety protocol onboard its fleet of ships and now onboard its chartered planes.
In a further commitment to ensure the wellbeing of its guests and offer stress-free holidays, MSC Cruises has worked with the largest insurance provider in Europe, Europ Assistance, to have a COVID protection plan in place, priced at EUR 25 per person to cover passengers before, during and after a cruise.