MSC Cruises has rolled out a comprehensive travel insurance plan via Europe Assistance covering passengers for COVID-19 related medical costs and cancellations.

The COVID-19 protection plan covers passengers booking any of MSC Cruises’ itineraries in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Red Sea out of Saudi Arabia.

MSC’s travel insurance covers potential COVID-19 medical costs for passengers during and after their cruise

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The COVID-19 travel insurance plan was introduced by MSC Cruises as part of its massive air-lift program to ensure accessibility to its various cruise departure ports from cities across Europe.

MSC Cruises has chartered more airliners than any other cruise line to provide a seamless journey for guests from their homes in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland to the ship.

“As more of our fleet continues to return to service this summer, and our returning and new guests look to plan their holidays on one of our ships across Europe, we felt we had to respond to the impact that the pandemic has had on many airlines,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises.

“As many are still not yet operating with a normal flight timetable, we wanted to give our guests from across Europe the peace of mind that they can reach their embarkation port in a seamless and safe way,” he added.

The plan was introduced as part of a wider flight charter announcement connection key European cities with MSC’s embarkation ports for its cruise resumption

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MSC Cruises’ health and safety protocol will be extended to apply to the chartered flights, which will be operated by Europe’s leading airlines. The COVID-19 health insurance will also cover air travel.

MSC Cruises will charter more than 26,000 seats between July and October from airlines, including Iberia, Alitalia, Air France, Eurowings and Neos.

The charter flights will provide access to the following ships:

Western Mediterranean – MSC Grandiosa and MSC Seaside

Eastern Mediterranean – MSC Splendida, MSC Orchestra and MSC Magnifica

Northern Europe – MSC Seaview

Although MSC Cruises has not yet indicated whether it will be operating charter flights for access to its MSC Magnifica cruises out of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, the cruise line has confirmed that its COVID-19 travel insurance will apply to these itineraries at a cost of 29 Euros per guest.