Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2021

3 8 protocols surpass the requirements of European authorities and that guests are refused re-embarkation if they do not adhere to these mandatory rules. “We had to contact every tour operator, transfer provider and individual attraction to properly vet them and put the right health and safety measures in place. It was painstaking work but worth it to enable our guests to go ashore safely.” The strict measures have been warmly welcomed by guests and many of the protected shore excursions have completely sold out. “Guests have come back to the ship from these shore excursions happy and clearly not afraid to go ashore,” says Iaccarino. “They were reassured by the fact that the tour operators and guides had the same high standards towards health and safety as we did onboard our ship. This has been very rewarding. When we introduced protected shore excursions there was no precedent that we could benchmark ourselves against and when we announced them, there were a handful of commentators who doubted whether guests would choose the land tours.” Now that more ships are returning to service, Iaccarino’s team is planning protected excursions in multiple regions of the world. “The undertaking is substantial, but we work with tour operators and suppliers that know us well and we have had a great relationship with in the past,” says Iaccarino. “They are all aware that they must have health and safety protocols in place that mirror our own, and most have already done just that. So, when other parts of the world where we’ve traditionally operated open up, we’ll be ready to offer a great range of attractive excursions ashore.” Changes have been made to further improve health and safety onboard the ships too, particularly in highly interactive spaces, such as shops. “One of the most important measures in the shops from a health and safety point of view is enforcing social distancing and not allowing too many people in the shops at the same time,” says Adrian Pittaway, head of retail for MSC Cruises. “We also work with all our different suppliers and brand partners to develop specific guidelines for handling products safely, whether it be watches, jewellery, clothing, perfumes or make-up. Plus, we have signage so guests can easily understand where to go or not go, and what they can or cannot do.” MSC Cruises also trained crew to familiarise them with the new guidelines. “For example, we organised multiple sessions on Microsoft Teams with our team onboard MSC Virtuosa while they were in quarantine and went through various training with them,” says Pittaway, adding that this included sharing guidance on how to tailor service to British guests. “We also teamed up with the Duty Free World Council and provided a ‘best-in- class’ academy programme to all our team members, making sure they all received certification. Our onboard shop team is now doing a weekly refresher training to ensure it is always able to uphold these guidelines, since the health and safety of our guests is of the utmost importance.” While adapting to the pandemic and restarting operations have been MSC Cruises’ top priorities for the past MSC Virtuosa offers various luxurious onboard amenities including a new speciality restaurant named Indochine, which serves Vietnamese cuisine with a French twist COVER STORY