Travel documents & visas
It is the sole responsibility of the Guest to identify and obtain all required travel documents for the entire cruise vacation and have them available when necessary. Please check with your travel agent, government agency, Embassy or Consulate to ensure that you have all the proper documentation to board the ship and enter each of the countries on your cruise. Guests without proper traveling documentation will be denied boarding. Travel restrictions for each destination country may vary according to a Guest's citizenship. No refunds will be given to individuals who fail to bring proper documentation.
Please select your cruise destination to verify all the required documents
SUMMER 2024
MINORS POLICY
We have recently updated our Corporate Minors Policy, effective July 1st, 2024, to ensure the well-being of all individuals on board. You can find these changes below, and we trust they will help you better assist you in choosing the perfect family cruise.
1. Infants on board
Infants under one year* are admitted on board, except for cruises of 11 nights or longer when they must be at least one year. This policy is due to long cruises often having multiple days at sea, which can impede our ability to provide urgent medical care for infants.
2. Minors on board
Generally, MSC Cruises does not permit minors (those under 21 on U.S. itineraries, or under 18 on others) to occupy a cabin without the presence of at least one adult. To be considered an adult, passengers must be 18 or 21 years old at the time of embarkation, depending on the itinerary.
However, an exception applies for minors under 18 traveling with one parent or legal guardian, provided the following conditions are met:
For MSC Lirica, Musica, and Fantasia class ships:
For all other MSC ships:
3. Travelling Alone on U.S. Itineraries
Travellers of all nationalities must be at least 21 years old to travel alone on cruises embarking from or traveling to the US. However, guests aged 18-20 may stay in a cabin alone if traveling with someone aged 21 or older, without needing to meet the additional cabin requirements.
These updates are designed to ensure the safety and well-being of all passengers.
Full details are in our Booking Terms and Conditions and Conditions of Carriage. All the changes will be managed directly through our Contact Center.
For more details, see our FAQ.
Please note:
* Infants are permitted on 11-night cruises or longer only if they turn one year old on or before the day of embarkation.
** “Adjacent cabins” is defined as two cabins, at least one without a balcony, which have no more than 3 cabins between them, and that pertain to the same assembly station and corridor. “Connecting cabins” is defined as to cabins that are connected by an internal door.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RUSSIAN TOURIST PASSPORT HOLDERS ENTERING NORWAY
Please do note that, as per Official instructions received from the Norwegian relevant Ministry, all Russian Tourist passport holders cannot enter Norway from 29th of May.
After merging with Local Authorities, relating all cruises arriving in Norway through a Schengen Port (MSC Euribia, MSC Poesia and MSC Preziosa), all Russian Touristic passport holders in possession of a Schengen Visa issued ONLY by Norway after the 30th of May 2022 or with a valid Schengen Residence Permit (under renewal not accepted) and ONLY transiting Norway (not embarking/disembarking) will be exceptionally accepted onboard.
Holders of Diplomatic, Service, Special Passports need to receive pre-approval before showing up for the embarkation.
For all other cruises calling extra-Schengen Ports before Norway (MSC Virtuosa), mentioned guests will not be allowed to embark.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CRUISES CALLING IN MALTA (FRENCH GUESTS)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CANADIAN PASSENGERS TRAVELLING TO EGYPT
Effective September 3rd, 2023, Nationals of Canada will need to obtain a visa to go to Egypt. Guests can apply for an online e-visa here.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PASSENGERS VISITING SOKHNA (EGYPT)
TRANSIT ISRAEL IMPORTANT UPDATE UNTILL FURTHER NOTICE :
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CRUISES CALLING IN THE UK
• Please note Guests must present only valid passport with at least residual validity 3 months at their arrival in the UK.
• EU ID Card is not accepted, even in case willing to remain on board during the call in the UK.
• Please check before embarking on Northern Europe cruises any visa requirements for UK.
IMPORTANT NOTE : Starting from 15th November 2023, Qatar Nationals must apply for an UK ETA.
Starting from 22th Februrary 2024 also Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Jordan Nationals must apply for the UK ETA visiting the webstite: https://www.etauk.uk/
For all the other nationalities further information will be following.
PASSENGERS BOARDING US CRUISES WHO HAVE VISITED CUBA SINCE 12th JANUARY 2021 SPECIFICATION
The USA Immigration has reiterated to all ESTA eligible passengers that, starting from the 7th of July 2023, those who have stayed in Cuba after January 12th, 2021 cannot travel to the United States simply through the Visa Free Travel Program (VWP) also know as ESTA. The mentioned VWP travel restriction also applies to individuals who have dual citizenship of a VWP country and Cuba at the time they apply for ESTA.
Passengers who have visited the island before 12th January 2021 are not affected by this measure.
Citizens of a Visa Waiver Program Country not notified about the issue, need to apply for a non-immigrant USA Visa well in advance: in case the cruise is imminent, guests can request an emergency visa appointment through https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-it/niv including in the request the date and purpose of the trip, as well as the information contained in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection message received regarding the ESTA status.
SAUDI ARABIA TRANSIT E-VISA APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS VALID FOR GRAND VOYAGES, MSC WORLD EUROPA AND SPLENDIDA ITINERARIES ONLY
Please click here for instructions on how to submit a request for the Transit e-visa by Sea.
Important : We are aware of technical problems in applying for the Transit by Sea electronic visa, which is required and without which entry to Saudi Arabia is not allowed. For those who are not able to finalise the request, via the link https://visa.mofa.gov.sa, embarkation will be allowed and, once on board, with the support of MSC Cruises staff, they will be able to try again with their own device or via the ship's Internet stations