The revelation came after it was revealed to the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association on Tuesday (8 June) that MSC Virtuosa would be denied the right to dock in Greenock on Wednesday (9 June).
The Scottish government edict emerged less than 36 hours before the ship was due to arrive in the port, near Glasgow. MSC confirmed to TTG on Tuesday evening the call in Greenock would be cancelled.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: "We fully understand the impact of the current restrictions on domestic cruises. We explained our concerns about the transmission risks posed by cruise vessels in an update to industry on the 24 May and confirmed we would clarify the position in June.
"Following extensive engagement with stakeholders, we have now confirmed domestic cruises can restart when all of Scotland reaches level one. and we have made industry – including the operator – aware of this.
"This decision has been informed by the combination of risks that exists between both cruises and the wider travel context, including the current trajectory of Covid infections and the unknowns around the new Delta variant, in addition to the potential for high risk of uncontained rapid transmission on the cruise."
The spokesperson added affected passengers should contact their travel or cruise operator for further information regarding their trip.
The government, though, has committed to publishing guidance for domestic cruising in advance of Scotland entering level one.
MSC has confirmed its calls in Greenock, and future departures fixed for 16 and 23 June, have been cancelled.
An MSC spokesperson said: "In light of recent information received, we are now awaiting further clarification from the relevant authorities in Scotland about the situation for cruising which regrettably means that we have had to cancel our proposed visit to Greenock tomorrow.
"We hope that our calls to Scotland with our special cruises can commence soon considering how much we were looking forward to welcoming our Scottish guests onboard MSC Virtuosa and how we are aware of the important and widespread contribution that the cruise industry makes to Scotland."
Virtuosa embarked on a seven-day sailing starting with a maiden call in Liverpool on Tuesday.
