Today, June 26, the cruise ship MSC Grandiosa arrived at the Port of Barcelona becoming the first international ship to call at the Catalan capital since the start of the pandemic. The arrival of the ship marks the restart of the cruise activity in Barcelona with about 2,000 cruise passengers onboard MSC Grandiosa, mostly Italians and Germans.

The restart of cruise activity will be gradual, said the Deputy Director General of Sales and Marketing of the Port of Barcelona, Carla Salvadó in a press conference from the World Trade Center of Barcelona. "We are aware of our responsibility to ensure public health and we believe that the resumption of activity should be done when the figures for contagion and vaccination in Spain allow it," said Salvadó. 

We celebrate the arrival of cruises to the #PortofBarcelona after the halt caused by the Covid-19 with the arrival of the #MSCGrandiosa from @MSCCrucerosESP. ¡Welcome back, cruises!

We restart the activity in a safe, arranged and sustainable way. pic.twitter.com/LFWFmsUTqj

— Port of Barcelona (@portofbarcelona) June 26, 2021

In order to ensure social distancing, the capacity is limited to 70%, although MSC Grandiosa arrived in Barcelona with around 50% occupancy. The company's goal is about 1,000 passengers to board in Barcelona each week in August.

The health and safety protocols by the Port of Barcelona are established by Sanitat Exterior, and  the Ministry of Health. In addition to basic hygiene measures, such as the use of face masks, hydroalcoholic gel and safety distance, cruise companies are required to report on their health plan and ensure implementation. This includes specific information about the ship's medical facilities and diagnostic capacity on board, but also about the company's procedures before embarking passengers.

Port of Barcelona will see increased activity in the following weeks with the arrival of TUI Cruises  Mein Schiff 2 on June 29, Costa Smeralda on July 5, and the' AidaPerla on July 9.