For travel requirements for US residents, check the MSC USA Website.

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).

Guests arriving to the US from international destinations prior to cruising: 

The US Government requires all international guests flying into the US to show proof of a negative antigen or RT-PCR test taken no more than 1 day prior to their flight departure bound to the US; depending on the timing of the test taken prior to flight departure and the timing of ship embarkation, the test  may or may not meet the requirements for ship’s embarkation.   If the test taken prior to flight departure is more than 2 days prior to ship embarkation, it will be necessary to take a second test no more than 2 days prior to embarking the ship.  

The original test and vaccination certificate must be presented at the terminal (paper or electronic format) and must be in English.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.The COVID 19 vaccination certificate must contain: Personal identifiers (at a minimum, full name and date of birth) that match the personal identifiers on the passport, name of official source issuing the record, vaccine manufacturer and date(s) of vaccination. 

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 will need to follow all of these requirements to be allowed on board: 

• All Guests (2 years old and over) need to provide a certificate of a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 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 Wednesday as of 15:00.

• All Guests (12 years old and over) have to be fully vaccinated (i.e full set of vaccine shots received more than 14 days before the start of the cruise, with an approved Covid-19 vaccine: Pfizer, Astrazeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson). 

• To note: Guests that recovered from Covid-19 and received only one shot of vaccine are not considered as fully vaccinated​
• A Mix-and-match combination is accepted 2 weeks after the second dose in a 2-dose series combination of a single dose Pfizer or Moderna with a single dose Astra Zeneca. The vaccination certificate must be valid for the duration of the entire cruise. The vaccination certificate must indicate that complete vaccination / booster has taken place within the last 9 months. 
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For embarkation in St. Maarten guests must present a RT-PCR test 48 hours before embarkation. If this is not possible guests must present a RT-PCR test taken within 72hours prior, plus an antigen test taken within 24 hours. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal.

Embarkation in Bridgetown – Barbados: All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, including those in transit must have a valid negative Rapid Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 1 day prior to arrival or a negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test taken within 3 days prior to arrival. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal. The test must be taken at an accredited lab and must be from a nasopharyngeal sample. Rapid antigen/antibody, self-administered tests, and home test kits are not accepted for travel to Barbados. Guests should upload their results via BIMSafe App or online at https://www.travelform.gov.bb/home and travel with a copy of their test results clearly showing the date the test was taken. For more information visit https://www.visitbarbados.org/covid-19-travel-guidelines-2020

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.

A COVID-19 test or Passenger locator form (PLF) may still be necessary for national or international mobility requirement: it’s every guest’s responsibility to verify this requirement before departure. For more information, it is recommended to check your country’s competent authorities official channels. 

St Maarten has established a mandatory health pre-authorization application through an Electronic Health Authorization System (EHAS) for every visitor arriving by air including transits, visitors and Saint Martin residents. Without the health pre-authorization boarding will not be possible. Be advised that processing time can take up to 12 hours. 

- All passengers must complete the application procedure through EHAS before departing to St Maarten. 

- Within 48 hours, before disembarking again in St Maarten at the end of the cruise, all passengers 5 years and older must have an antigen test performed by the cruise line. 

- Applying through EHAS is not necessary when returning to St Maarten at the end of the cruise. 

- The purchase of COVID-19 insurance (14 USD) is mandatory only when staying more than one (1) day in St Maarten either before or after the cruise. The insurance is only valid during the days of stay in St Maarten between the arrival date and return date to the country of origin.

To ensure peace of mind, MSC Cruises requires all guests to have a specific and mandatory Covid-19 insurance policy to embark, covering against COVID-19 related risks, i.e cancellation, interruption, repatriation expenses, quarantine, medical assistance and related expenses, as well as hospitalization. Before finalizing a reservation, it is possible to add to the cruise on this website the MSC COVID-19 Protection plan to all departures on sales from 2021-2022 Winter season onwards. A proof of the specific COVID-19 coverage insurance policy - which must be in one of the following languages: English, Italian, German, French or Spanish - must be presented at embarkation or boarding will be denied.

As per our stringent MSC Health & Safety protocol, all guests both vaccinated and unvaccinated, will need to undergo some Health and COVID 19 screenings including a COVID-19 test, a health questionnaire and a contactless temperature check, at the terminal before boarding. 

For a seamless embarkation process, please make sure to review our Health & safety measures in place in our terminals and to bring:

• A printed copy of the embarkation form (available in your cruise ticket)
• A printed copy of the mandatory health questionnaire duly completed and signed within 6 hours prior to the embarkation (available in your cruise ticket)
• The original COVID 19 test and vaccination certificate (paper or electronic format)
• A proof of COVID-19 insurance clearly showing the COVID-19 risks coverage
• A valid identity document 

We will deny boarding in case of:

• Symptoms i.e fever (>37.5 C / 99.5 F), cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle/body aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat and loss of taste/smell in the 14 days prior to embarkation
• Potential exposure to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID 19 in the 14 days prior to embarkation
• Temporary travel restrictions based on local circumstances. For example, certain countries may deny visas or prohibit entry based on travel history or nationality.
• Failure to provide the proof of the mandatory COVID-19 insurance policy (which must be in one of the following languages: English, Italian, German, French or Spanish

A COVID-19 test or Passenger locator form (PLF) may still be necessary for national or international mobility requirement: it’s every guest’s responsibility to verify this requirement before departure. For more information, it is recommended to check your country’s competent authorities official channels. 

Guests will be able to go ashore independently according to local requirements which are continually monitored and subject to change. Guests who are travelling with unvaccinated children are also able to go ashore independently. For the best ashore experience, we recommend all guests explore destinations with the comfort, convenience, and safety of an MSC Cruises Shore Excursion, bookable pre-cruise and on board. For Antilles cruises some excursions will require an official Covid certificate to access some venues (I.e. museums, churches,..) or to participate any event. More information in the FAQ section. 

St Maarten has established a mandatory health pre-authorization application through an Electronic Health Authorization System (EHAS) for every visitor arriving by air including transits, visitors and Saint Martin residents. Without the health pre-authorization boarding will not be possible. Be advised that processing time can take up to 12 hours. 

Please note: In some destinations guests travelling with unvaccinated children prior to April 1, 2022 will be able to ashore on a protected MSC Excursion only.

• All passengers must complete the application procedure through EHAS before departing to St Maarten. 
• Within 48 hours, before disembarking again in St Maarten at the end of the cruise, all passengers 5 years and older must have an antigen test performed by the cruise line. 
• Applying through EHAS is not necessary when returning to St Maarten at the end of the cruise. 
• The purchase of COVID-19 insurance (14 USD) is mandatory only when staying more than one (1) day in St Maarten either before or after the cruise. The insurance is only valid during the days of stay in St Maarten between the arrival date and return date to the country of origin.

French residents returning from Green List Countries are not required to show a negative RT-PCR or Antigent test within 48hours prior to arrival. If a test is required by the airline this can be performed on board. French residents returning from orange list countries are required to show a negative 48hours test.  

It is the responsibility of each Guest to ensure they are in compliance with any local regulations related to COVID-19 testing when returning to their final post cruise destination.