Let me say this up front: had I known that cases across Europe would surge the way they have for the past few weeks, with all that entails, we wouldn’t have booked our recent cruise. Alas…

So, let me take you back to last spring, after the worst of the pandemic’s first wave was over and we saw a deceptive proverbial light. Last Christmas we had booked a one-week cruise for the end of June on the MSC Grandiosa, their latest and biggest vessel, from Genoa to the Western Mediterranean, including a handful of new ports we hadn’t been to yet. After cruising had come to a grinding halt and our cruise had been cancelled, things started to look brighter in early May, and we chose to re-book our cruise to the final week of October, which happened to be fall break for our son. Since he’s in school, we are restricted to vacation dates. At the time we thought “the pandemic will be a distant memory then.”

Biggest challenge: getting to Genoa

Never ever did I think that I’d have to say this, but the biggest challenge for this cruise was getting to our departure port, Genoa! What was a four to five hour trip with one stop prior to the pandemic, was now a game of chance. Slashed and highly volatile airline timetables implied no less than six changes to our flight schedule, and a twenty-four hour trip each way, plus two hotel nights no airline would obviously pay for. I can understand the airlines, but as a customer, it’s frustrating to try to fly and have your flights cancelled at every corner.

Let’s talk cruise, soon…

Alas, getting there wasn’t the only challenge. The new health procedures that MSC (and other European cruise lines) introduced also included defining risk countries. Firstly, only residents from Schengen-treaty countries were even allowed on board. So no Brits, Canadians or Americans (to name but a few.) Secondly, they used an intricate system based on numbers from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) to define which countries were safe and which were not. When cruising resumed, our country was deemed “unsafe”, then we were “safe-listed" for a month or so, only to become unsafe again at the end. This meant that we had to do a PCR-test no later than 72 hrs prior to boarding to present at check-in. Cost? $200 a person. Mind you the challenge of getting the test done (and the results back!) in the time-slot allowed, given that we’d be traveling for 24 hrs. We got tested early on Friday morning, flew our first leg Friday night and arrived in Genoa Saturday afternoon. We got our test results on the way to the airport! Imagine a positive result. This was easily the most nerve-wrecking week of my life.

Also, I’d rather have spent that money on other stuff, trust me. On top of flights and the cruise, we were already $600 plus two hotel nights in the red. Oh, did I mention that we could only fly to Milan and had to rent a car to take us the rest of the way? Another $400 out the door. I’m sure you begin to understand the reasoning behind the first paragraph above.

Check-in

To make it clear: the cruise was amazing and we felt safer than we ever could back home. Every passenger was given a very specific check-in time. Upon arrival, our PCR-test results were checked and we were then taken to a testing area in the terminal. It was a bit eerie, as there were people in those white safety coveralls with face shields and masks everywhere. It all reminded me a bit of a horror movie. The test was administered to all passengers, a quick PCR-test with a swab in the nostril. Our seven-year-old was a trooper and complained a lot less than some adults nearby. There were about twenty testing stations and progress was swift. 

We were then taken to a waiting area. After our results came back negative, we were taken aboard, complete with a proximity bracelet / key card. Very nifty. All staff members also wear bracelets to help with proximity tracing. 

Healthy and safety on board

I have to hand it to them. They have thought of everything. From extra cleaning of the cabins to disinfecting public areas, hand sanitizer everywhere, they even built hand-washing stations at the entrance to the buffet restaurant (where you’re served at every station.) We stayed in the Yacht Club, which is a more exclusive “ship-in-ship” experience, and our restaurant also had two new built-in wash basins on top of the hand sanitizer stations. We had the same table for every meal and some tables were not used to help with social distancing. Masks are of course mandated everywhere, even outdoors, except when you sit at a table, lie on a sun bed, are in a pool/jacuzzi or are in your cabin. We used the stairs a lot. Healthy, of course, as only four people were allowed into elevators.

The ship was about half-empty and it never felt crowded, anywhere. The safety briefing is now a movie you watch in your cabin before you walk down to your muster station. You need to call to a specific number to confirm that you’ve seen the safety briefing. That way you know where to go without making the place crowded. And yes, they checked our key cards. Since MSC boards new passengers at almost every harbor, their safety briefings never felt as crowded as they can be on other ships, and this was even better.

The experience

The cruise itself was great. Weather in southern Europe this time of year is like summer up here in Scandinavia. We had stops in Rome, Naples, Palermo and Valletta, followed by two sea days. The shore excursions which are now exclusively available through the cruise line, to create safe bubbles, were a mixed bag, some great, some not so great. We were ‘gifted’ three tours but only used one. We normally tend to do private tours or just walk around on our own. Having said that, the groups were small (not more than 15 people on the bus) and it was super easy to keep your distance. We all were equipped with walky-talkies. The food was as good as ever (but with details such as salt & pepper being served, not on the table to reduce physical touch points) and entertainment was available. The shows we saw were not what you’d get from a normal cruise. The theater was at partial capacity and the same can be said for the people on stage. One show was good, the other cringe-worthy.

Gay MSC?

This was our third cruise with MSC and we noticed that there is a distinct difference between MSC in the Americas and MSC in Europe. There’s no “Dorothy clubs” in Europe, while those get-togethers were scheduled daily in the US. I’d lie if I said I missed that aspect, partially because you’re not supposed to “mix” with strangers during the pandemic anyway, but also because it’s not something I really crave. 

Having said that, this was probably the gayest cruise I’ve ever been on. Never before have I been on a cruise with so many gay couples/families on board. Maybe it’s the fact that we are more adventurous to travel during these times, or maybe it was just a fluke, but just in the Yacht Club there were four or five other couples, from several European countries, some in their early thirties, the oldest were septuagenarians. 

Some traveled with a parent, others with children. The best part was to see how this has become such a natural part of our society. I’m old enough to still ‘notice’ another gay couple, going ‘wow’ in the depths of my subconscious mind. Yet for all the servers and staff members I observed, not one of them reacted in a way that I could object to. I’m sure you know what I mean. And we’re talking about people from countries where LGBTQ rights are far from given, the Philippines, Madagascar, and MSC employs a ton of staff from Mauritius. 

Friendliness everywhere. The service was top notch with very few exceptions and throughout the entire week we had this feeling that everyone was just happy that we were sailing again.

Disembarking

The cruise ended as it began, with a PCR test, mandatory for all passengers. We were handed a certificate in time for us to take home to help some avoid quarantine where applied. Imagine: three PCR-tests in one week. What else can you expect? I think cruising has never been safer, and the cruise lines are working their best to make sure not to repeat any Princess Cruise mishaps. So far, so good.

We left the ship through their main shopping area where the new MSC vessels have a LED-lid dome. To the tunes of “Time to say goodbye” we walked down this long hallway and I couldn’t stop tears from flowing as hundreds of pictures of staff and guests waving at us were displayed on the LED dome. It was such an amazing week, despite the restrictions and all, and I for one can’t wait to do it again. 

However, I think we will wait to book our next cruise until the vaccines are out and we can be reasonably sure that we can reach the ship, timely and safely. As things stand right now, that is a much bigger threat to cruising than being on the ship itself, one we had completely forgotten about when we booked this cruise. Be it local lockdowns, curfews, quarantines, government travel bans or flight disruptions, those are all much bigger threats to cruise passenger hopefuls than anything else.

Happy cruising: whenever, wherever.

Hans