“All precautions have been taken with only 70% of the boat's boarding capacity, respecting barrier gestures and wearing a mask, but also a test before boarding, and two others planned in the middle of the cruise and at the end, ”says Jean-François Suhas, president of the cruise club of a port which welcomed 1.8 million cruise passengers in 2019 for 1.5 billion euros in economic benefits.
"On the terminal, the Covid-19 detection dogs of the firefighters will also be mobilized and the gray water of the ships will be analyzed to detect a possible presence of the virus on board", he adds.
The planned excursions will be in the form of “bubbles”, without contact with the population of the ports visited and, in the event of contamination, repatriation by medical taxi is planned.
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"The resumption of activities of MSC Cruises in France is made possible by the application of a robust health protocol guaranteeing the safety of passengers, crew members and local populations", assures the company which continued its activities in Italy during the pandemic.
The real return of cruises to Marseille should take place on July 4 with ship departures from the Costa company. The cruise terminal should accommodate four boats per week throughout the summer, or 39 stopovers in all. The arrival of American cruise passengers, vaccinated, is expected in mid-August.