The MSC Grandiosa was the first cruise liner to stop in Malta after the port was reopened last month.

The liner berthed in Grand Harbour this morning on the first Mediterranean voyage since the indurst came to a halt as the spread of Coronavirus hit across Europe, including Malta.

The cruise ship company MSC has made the procedures, for crew as well as passengers, part of its new health and safety protocols. The MSC Grandiosa, which was christened last year, set sail from the northern Italian port of Genoa on Sunday evening for a seven-night cruise in the western Mediterranean, stopping in Malta this morning.

Any one testing positive, or with a fever, or having other COVID-19 symptoms was denied boarding, the company said. Guest must wear face masks in elevators and other areas where social distancing is not possible. The crew spent time in quarantine before the start of the cruise.

Before reaching Malta, the liner stopped in Naples, Palermo and Sicily.

Photos: Alenka Falzon

For now, MSC was limiting its guests to the residents of Europe's 26-nation Schengen visa free travel zone.

MSC said every guest and crew member on board will be given a wristband that "facilitates contactless transactions around the ship as well as providing contact and proximity tracing."