We collect personal data about you whenever you use our services (whether these services are provided by us or by other companies or agents acting on our behalf), including when you travel with us, when you use our website or mobile application, or interact with us via email or by calling our contact center.

In addition, we may receive personal information about you from third parties, such as:

– Companies contracted by us to provide services to you;
– Companies involved in your travel plans, including airlines, and customs and immigration authorities;
– Companies that participate in our loyalty schemes and other customer programs;
– Companies that act as our third-party business partners with whom you have interacted and with whom you have consented to provide us with your data to receive marketing communications.
Please also note that when you provide us with data about others (e.g., details of passengers travelling with you, emergency contact data, credit card information belonging to another person), such as a co-traveller or minor, we kindly inform you that it is your responsibility to ensure that such individuals have authorized you to do so and that they are aware and have understood and accepted how our company uses their information (as described in this Privacy Notice).
Below you will find the main purposes as to why your data is processed.

a. Responding to your requests (via website, call center or e-mail)

You can submit your request regarding our activities and services through different channels (phone, e-mail, SMS, messaging systems, etc.). In order for us to respond to your request, we need to process your Identity and Contact data as well as the content of your query. Without this data, we cannot provide you with the requested information. This processing is carried out to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract or to answer your request in the context of our cruises and services you purchased.

Additionally, using the different forms on the website, you can request to be contacted through different channels (phone, e-mail, SMS, messaging systems, etc.). In case you fill out our online request form for telephone contact:

– We will contact you as per your preference on the date and time you have specified in the request form;
– We will contact you on the following days as per the initial time slot indicated, if the call is not answered or the connection fails;
– We will make a maximum of 3 attempts to contact you by phone if the call is not answered or the connection fails and, if none are successful, we will contact you by e-mail to inform you of our attempts, and invite you to make a new request if you still wish to be recontacted.

Please also note that if you contact us via our call center, phone calls may be recorded for legal purposes where required by local regulations. In other cases, if the recording of the call is not mandatory under local laws, with your consent, the calls may be recorded for the protection and reproducibility of verbal commitments and may be cross-checked with other reservation data. The call recordings may also be processed based on our legitimate interest to meet quality assurance and training purposes. If the call is being recorded, you will be notified at the beginning of the call. Kindly note that this only applicable to inbound calls, as we do not record outbound calls.

b. Completing and handling the booking of a cruise (through our website, application, contact centre, or travel agency)

To travel or stay onboard our ships, we need to process your Identity and contact data as well as Financial and payment information at the booking stage. We also register your Booking and travel information, such as date and port of embarkation and disembarkation, cabin type, cruise experience, as well as information regarding packages or other products and services purchased prior to the cruise.
We process this information in order to finalize your booking and issue the relevant ticket and travel instructions. In that regard, please note that we may also send you communications or notifications via our app to provide you with relevant documents and information, as well as to inform you about necessary steps you need to take prior to your trip. These steps may include changes to embarkation or debarkation times, shore excursion changes or cancellations, ship itinerary changes or cancellations, as well as other last-minute information related to your booking (for example, due to bad weather or unforeseen circumstances).
If you have already booked your cruise, you can use your booking number, email address and date of birth to login directly through the App. This will allow you to manage your existing booking as well as view and book our services/products onboard.
If you have used the same email as your MSC account to book a cruise, then the App will automatically retrieve your booking once you login. On the other hand, if you have booked a cruise using an email that is different from the one used to register an account and login through the App, then you may retrieve your booking manually by inserting your booking number, first name, last name, and date of birth. You will then be able to manage your booking as well as purchase further products/ services for your upcoming trip.

Additionally, if you encounter any issues during the payment stage of your booking (i.e., technical problem or error with payment), we may contact you directly by phone within 24-48 hours of your attempt to finalize the booking to offer our support.
We process all the above data on the basis of our contract with you and to perform the activities prior to the purchase of our cruises and services.
You also need to provide information about valid travel documents and visas, where applicable. Furthermore, some ports of call require the use of facial-recognition technology to facilitate the validation of travel documents and you may be required to provide biometric data to embark or disembark at such ports. We process this information to comply with regulatory requirements in the ports of call, therefore on the basis of an existing legal obligation. Without such information, we will not be able to complete your travel arrangements.

c. Registering your credit card for future purchases

With your consent, we provide you with the option of registering your credit card on the app or website in order to facilitate payments and have your future onboard purchases debited directly from your card.

Please note that this feature is optional and if you do not wish to provide us with your credit card information in the App, you can simply use the totems on board to top-up your cruise card while on the ship.

d. Accommodating your special needs

During the booking process, in some cases, you may provide information and documents containing Health data or Data about religious or philosophical beliefs (for example, food preferences that indicate the observance of a specific religion – such as kosher or halal food – or medical conditions requiring special attention onboard – such as disabilities, or celiac disease). We process this data on the basis of your informed and specific consent. It is not mandatory to provide this data, but please be informed that if you do not provide it, we will be unable to accommodate your needs onboard.

e. Sending you marketing communications

With your consent, we may process your Identity and contact data, Booking and travel information, Preferences and Technical data related to online activity for marketing purposes, including to send you questionnaires/surveys, carry out market research as well as direct marketing via e-mail, Whatsapp, SMS, ordinary mail, over the phone, through push notifications/pop-up banners on our app, instant messaging, through an operator, through MSC Cruises’ official social media pages, as well as for marketing activities in the broad sense, including prize events, games and competitions, products and/or services related to our subsidiaries/ other companies of our group and our business partners (for example, tourist activities, airlines/transportation services, luxury brands, travel agency, insurance companies, etc.) and/or to other third-party products and/or services.
Additionally, as part of our efforts to provide you with relevant information and offers, we may also acquire the above personal data from our third-party business partners. This process involves receiving or accessing databases from our trusted partners to identify individuals who may be interested in our services and products and who have consented to have their data shared from these business partners to MSC Cruises.
Please, note that it is not mandatory to provide your consent to receive promotional messages and offers from us, or from third parties, but without it we will not be able to send you such communications that may be of interest to you.

Since the processing of your data for the purposes indicated above is based on your consent, you can withdraw this consent at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of a marketing email received from us, by emailing us at the email address provided for in section 1 of this notice, replying STOP to any marketing SMS or Whatsapp message received from us, or through the private area on the website. Any consent may be withdrawn at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

f. Sending your personalized communications

With your consent, we may process your personal data by way of tracking your onboard purchases, your browsing activity on our application, or based on data collected from special programs carried out from time to time. We may use such data for analysis of your preferences, habits, behavior and/or interests in order to send you personalized commercial communications and carry out targeted promotional actions.
Since the processing of your data for the purposes indicated above is based on your specific consent, you can withdraw it at any time by emailing us at the email address provided for in section 1 of this notice or as per the dedicated consent management depending on the channel used (i.e. on our website or via app).
Additionally, only if you are based outside of the EU/EEA, specifically in the United States, and with your consent, we may also process your Identity and Contact data, Booking and Travel information, Preferences and Technical data related to online activity for marketing purposes which include promoting our products and services to third parties (for example, by improving the performance of our personalized advertising campaigns by targeting like-minded customers).
We process your data for purposes indicated above by using both automated means, such as emails, text messages, advertising messages through social networks, etc. as well as non-automated means, such as ordinary mail, call from our operators, flyers in your cabin, etc. We personalise our communication by analysing your travel preferences, experiences, consumption habits and analysing market surveys in order to improve the range of services offered and send you communications that may be of interest for you.
Please also note that with your consent, we may carry out social media marketing activities. To target audiences that we believe may be interested in our offers and communications, we perform profiling activities that take into account the analysis of their interactions, preferences, and behaviour.
In addition, when you browse our Website, we use profiling cookies that can track some information about you, provided that you consent to our use of such cookies. We use this information to make the Website more intuitive and to suggest products or services that may be of interest to you. You can find more information about our use of cookie and other tracking technologies used on the Website below.
Before you board the cruise ship, we will also register your interest in receiving special personalised offers in your cabin. For example, if you are travelling with children, we will send you specific information about the events we organise for children on board.
Since the processing of your data for the purposes indicated above is based on your specific consent, please be informed that you can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of our communications, if available, or by using the contact details provided in section 1 of this notice.

g. Sending you information about similar products and services to the ones you already booked

When you give us your email address in the context of buying any of our products or services, we may use it to send you information about products or services that are similar or related to the ones you bought (including all the services and experiences you can buy and enjoy on board our ships during your cruise), unless you exercise your right to opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at the time of booking, or later via the “unsubscribe” link within the footer of our email.
This data processing is carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest of informing you of similar or related products and services that we offer and that may enhance your cruise experience. You can obtain information about the balancing test upon request by using the contact email address provided in section 1 of this notice.

h. Compliance with the applicable laws

When you provide personal data to MSC Cruises, we are obliged to process it in accordance with the applicable laws, which may include storing and reporting personal data to official authorities. Those activities include, for example the processing of personal data for compliance with tax and fiscal laws, or the tracking of boarding and disembarking from the ship by our guests and possible communication of such information to the authorities.

i. Setting up and managing your MSC Cruises account on our website or mobile application

When you create an account on our website or mobile application, you can manage your booking by accessing your personal area when you log in. This will allow you, for instance, to do the check-in online or book or view reservations already made, or visit your MSC Club membership area. For these purposes, we process your Identity and contact data, Booking and travel information, Preferences, as well as Technical data related to online activity.

Kindly note that the creation of an account for these purposes is entirely optional. We process your data for this purpose in the context of the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to perform activities prior to entering a contract with us.

j. Performing the online check-in via your MSC Cruises account or MSC app

To enhance your check-in process, and to avoid queuing at the terminal, our website and application allow you to check in online. To do this, you will need to provide some information about yourself (and any travel companions) and your booking. For this purpose, we will require you to upload certain information to proceed, such as your Identity and contact data, Travel and booking information (i.e. passport, ID, relevant visas necessary to travel) and your Security picture.

We process this information on the basis of our contract with you as well as our legal obligation to collect the necessary travel information at the terminal and ports of call. Additionally, we also process your photo in this case to ensure onboard security of our passengers and crew members pursuant to our legitimate interest.
Once you successfully perform the online check-in, you will receive your travel information, such as your ticket as well as a QR code to be used when embarking on your booked cruise. This QR code will be scanned by our personnel in order to validate your ticket when boarding.

In any case, please be informed that it is not mandatory to perform the check-in online, and you can skip this step and proceed directly to the terminal and perform the check-in with our employees instead.

k. Enabling guests to chat with each other through the MSC for Me Chat

The Chat feature of the MSC for Me app enables guests to contact each other. We collect the following personal data in order to provide the Chat service:

• Name Surname
• Cabin number
• Internet ID
• List of chat contacts, including group membership status with multiple contacts
• Sent / received messages
• Online / offline status over time
• Sent received files, photos
• Profile picture

We process the above personal data on the basis of our contract with you and to provide you with the chat service if you wish to use it.
Please note that the chat history will be automatically deleted the day after disembarkation. With reference to multimedia messages shared, such as photos and/or videos, these files be deleted after 30 days and will no longer be downloadable by the passenger.

l. Processing information through your Cruise card

When you embark on your journey, you will receive a cruise card that is unique to your specific cruise, containing your full name, cabin number, as well as a unique Internet ID.

More specifically, we process your data via the cruise card for the following purposes:

– record and manage the purchases onboard carried out with your cruise card (except for some shops, where you can pay with your personal credit card), including the purchase of WiFi packages and onboard commercial photos (as specified further below), as well as the booking of excursions or onboard activities. Please be informed that every time you make a purchase on board by scanning your cruise card, our employees view the associated Security Picture to perform a check on the identity of the purchaser.

– perform the activities necessary for embarkation and disembarkation during transits at the ports (all entries and exists from the ship are tracked by the security team by scanning the card).

All purchasing information processed through your cruise card is necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations of maintaining accurate records for accountability and taxation needs. In addition, pursuant to our legal obligations, we also require the scanning of the cruise card, which shall be matched with your onboard security picture to avoid instances of fraud and to ascertain the legality of the purchase, for instance, to ensure that we do not serve alcoholic beverages to minors that may make use of another person’s card.

We also process this data on the basis of our contract with you in order to issue invoices and payment receipts during your time onboard. Kindly note that if you do not provide us with your card, we are unable to provide you with any products and/or services that require purchasing through the scanning of your cruise card.

Moreover, we also scan your cruise card for safety reasons when you enter and exit the ship. This is based on our legitimate interest to ensure that we keep track of all our passengers onboard, especially during transit and cruising time. Additionally, a list of all passengers must be maintained based on our legal obligations to communicate it to the relevant authorities, such as during the ports of call. Kindly note that all passengers must provide their cruise card to enter or exit the ship.

m. Purchasing onboard Wi-Fi package

All guests have a unique ID printed on their cruise card (Internet ID) to use when logging in for the Wi-Fi connection. If you have already purchased an internet package during the booking phase or at the designated desk on the cruise, you can login through the MSC Wi-Fi website and connect by inserting your date of birth and internet ID. Otherwise, we will request you to proceed with purchasing a specific package depending on your consumption needs.
We process the data collected in the context of the Wi-Fi package in order to provide you with the requested service and for compliance reasons. Furthermore, we process Technical data related to online activity to track your access and usage (traffic data) of the internet for our legitimate interest to ensure adequate functioning as well as in case of complaints/claims (for instance, due to technical issues).
Kindly note that the provision of your data for the above purpose is necessary to be able to purchase and use our Wi-Fi service onboard.

n. Onboard medical assistance

In case you visit our medical centre onboard, or have a doctor come to your cabin, we need to collect your Identity and contact data, Booking and travel information and Health data (symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, etc). We process your Health data in order to attend to your medical and safety needs on the basis of your consent.

Depending on the severity of the case, your data may also be collected for security and public health purposes. In case of a medical emergency, or the need to provide ashore medical assistance, we may have to disembark you to ensure that you are properly cared for at an appropriate facility.

Following the visit, we will keep a copy of your medical report for a period of 10 years for insurance and legal compliance purposes.

Kindly note that you are not obligated to share all your personal data with us, however, without it, we will not be able to attend to your medical needs.

o. Onboard Mini-club

If you are a parent or legal guardian and want to enrol your child (up to, and including 11 years old) at the mini-club, we will request you to provide specific information about your child (including Health data, such as any medical issues or specific food preferences or dietary needs that we must consider).
We collect this data only on the basis of your consent as the legal guardian of the child.
Upon embarkation, children under the age of 11 years old will receive a locator bracelet containing a barcode containing their full name, as well as the details of their guardian that is authorized to pick them up. The barcode on the bracelet is scanned at every entrance and exit from the kids’ club.
We process this information on the basis of our legitimate interest to guarantee the safety and to ensure the whereabouts of minors onboard our ship. Kindly note that the provision of data for this purpose is not mandatory, but if you refuse to provide this information, you are not able to provide the Kids Club service, due to security reasons.

p. Handling requests, complaints and comments

We keep track of the comments and complaints that you make on board and/or after disembarkation in order to adequately respond to your requests. We process this data in connection with our provision of services to you, or based on our legitimate interest to protect the interests and rights of our company in case of litigation. You have the option of making an anonymous complaint or comment, but please be aware that in some cases, it will be impossible for us to follow up on the complaint or to provide assistance and support.
In addition, we can use the content of the request, complaint or comment to improve our services onboard. We limit as much as possible the use of data that may identify you personally in this case. This processing is carried out on the basis of our legitimate interests in developing our services in a way that ensures our guests have a pleasant experience onboard.
In the event of a refund request via our website, we will also process your Identity and contact data, Booking and travel information as well as Financial and payment data to approve and issue the refund once processed. We process this data on the basis of our contract with you, which will also be retained for the in order to comply with our legal obligations, such as for taxing and accounting purposes.

q. Ensuring onboard security

We keep track of the people who are on board at all times in order to be able to ensure everyone’s security throughout the cruise and to handle crisis situations. We therefore record your Identity and contact data as well as your Booking and travel information, Security picture and Health data (information about special needs where provided, which may require specific assistance in case of emergencies).
The security photo taken during your check-in process is also linked to your cruise card profile, as such, whenever one of our crew members scans your card, they will be able to view your security photo to ensure that the card indeed belongs to you.
We process these data on the basis of our legitimate interest to ensure public security and to manage potential crisis situations. Please note that the provision of data for this purpose is not mandatory, but if you refuse to provide this information, we may not be able to accommodate you onboard our cruises.
Additionally, when you arrive at the check-in counter at the terminal prior to boarding your ship, you will be asked by our agent whether you have had a series of symptoms in the last 48 hours prior to embarkation in order to ensure everyone’s public health onboard. In the case where you have not had any of the listed symptoms, the agent will proceed with the check-in process. On the contrary, if you or a member on the same booking has had any of the listed symptoms, you will be directed to a designed private area to be assessed by our medical staff. After a secondary screening, the medical staff will approve or deny your boarding. In the instance of the latter, you will be denied boarding due to medical reasons.
We will process your Health data for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health. Kindly note that the provision of data for this purpose is not mandatory, but if you refuse to provide this information, we may not be able to accommodate you on board our cruises due to security reasons.
Finally, we process some of your personal data with regard to fraud prevention/detection and security purposes. In this case, we rely on our legitimate interest in preventing and detecting fraud to our own detriment.
As the security onboard our cruises is entrusted to our group company located in the UK, as shipowner, we hereby inform you that the data controller for the above-mentioned activities is MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd, 5 Roundwood Avenue, London, and the data processor is MSC Cruises. This practically means that decisions on how your personal data is processed to ensure security onboard are taken by the shipowner, MSC Cruise Management (UK).

r. Loyalty Program

When you sign up to our loyalty program (MSC Voyagers Club), we will process your loyalty account details, including Identity and contact data, Travel and booking information, and Preferences, such as your points balance, account activity, cruiser milestones, and loyalty tier. We create these details for you when you join our loyalty program and update them as you credit bookings and other activity to your loyalty account. We process this information on the basis of the contract that we have with you and the terms and conditions that you accept to join our program. Consequently, the above information is needed in order to provide you with exclusive products/services dedicated to our loyalty program members and allow you to have access to specific focus groups and our community.


s. Casino

When you play in the onboard casino using your cruise card, we process you Identity and contact details as well as information of your play and spending in onboard casinos (including amount spent, loyalty reward details, points acquired and gaming patterns) if you decide to register. Otherwise, you can proceed to playing with cash without registration, and thus we will not process your Identity and contact data.
Please also note that in addition to the installation of CCTV cameras on the ship for the purposes outlined under below, these cameras are also set up in the casino to ensure the integrity of the game and prevent against fraud.
Moreover, kindly be informed that in case you wish to be distanced from the casino (for instance due to gambling addictions), you can sign a self-declaration form to enable our crew to identify you and do their best to prevent you from accessing the casino. The provision of this data is based on your consent and is entirely optional.


t. CCTV related data processing activities

We use closed circuit television (“CCTV”) onboard our ships, including at all access points and in all public areas. These CCTV cameras are continuously on and thus, images of you may appear in these recordings. CCTV footage may include sound recordings as well. We perform this activity based on our legitimate interest and use this information for security purposes to recognize, identify and maintain records of incidents, facilitate investigations and remedies, to protect our rights and the rights of our guests, to enable public health measures, to prevent and detect fraud or to comply with other legal or regulatory requirements. As all our ships are equipped with CCTV cameras, the processing of your data for the above purposes is not optional.
Additionally, in the event of a security incident, the security officers shall gather all evidence from the guests and crew involved to draft a report. If you are a witness, suspect or a victim during an incident, please note that the provision of your statement is not mandatory.
In the event of such incident, where CCTV footage is available, the footage may be extracted and can be stored for up to 5 years, and longer if necessary depending on the circumstances of the specific case (for instance, due to investigation by authorities).
Where CCTV footage/ recordings are not extracted or used, they are only stored for up to 30 days of the date of recording.

u. Assigning adequate table seating

We process some personal data about you to assign you to a dinner table at one of our main restaurants during the cruise, to make sure that you are able to enjoy your meal without having to look for an adequate table for yourself and the people you are travelling with. To assign the tables, our Maître D’ takes into account elements such as the size of the group you are travelling with, and your preferred language. You can request a different table at all times by contacting the Maître D’ or the Guest Service on-board. This data processing is conducted on the basis of our contract with you in ensuring that all passengers are assigned adequate dinner seating on-board.


v. Reviewing your data through smart TV

In your cabin, you can also make use of the TV to access the MSC for me App as well as your MSC profile to check all purchases and onboard activities that have been carried out through the cruise card. We process and display this data to you on the basis of our contract with you. This data is only displayed and available on the cabin TV during your stay onboard and will be removed as soon as you check-out.


w. Disciplinary and precautionary measures

Please note that we have the authority to deny embarkation or order disembarkation of a passenger whose presence onboard may be considered as a potential danger to themselves and/or other passengers and/or the ship, or when their behaviour may affect or compromise the comfort and enjoyment of other passengers onboard. To handle such cases, we may process data necessary for this purpose, including Identity and contact information, Booking and travel information, Security pictures, as well as information about the cause of the measure on the basis of our contract with the relevant passenger and our legitimate interest. As the security onboard our cruises is entrusted to our group company located in the UK, as shipowner, we hereby inform you that the data controller for the above-mentioned activities is MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd, 5 Roundwood Avenue, London, and the data processor is Explora. This practically means that decisions on how your personal data is processed to ensure security onboard are taken by the shipowner, MSC Cruise Management (UK).

x. Onboard commercial photos

Onboard our ships, there are a number of kiosks managed by our third party partners where you can view, purchase and print all the photographs and videos that have been taken of you throughout the cruise. In case you would like to view your photos at a later stage, you can purchase and download them online after disembarkation at mymscphotos.com, creating an account and using your Internet ID on your cruise card. We process this personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest to display and allow you to purchase your photos. Biometric data, such as through the use of facial-recognition technology, may be used to associate your photos with your account or cabin number. We process your data in this regard in accordance with our contractual relationship with you. In case of special events or commercial photos to be publicly displayed onboard, we will provide you with a specific form to request your consent.
Personal data processed for this purpose will be kept by MSC Cruises and our partners in our digital archives for a period of 3 months, after which, photos available for purchase will be deleted.


y. Additional data processing activities onboard

Some additional information about you may be collected during the cruise on paperback forms in order to enable you to participate in specific activities (for example, the gym or the spa) or to handle the request of specific packages. The data processed varies depending to the specific activity onboard, however, we make sure to only collect the data strictly necessary to achieve the specific purposes. Please refer to the onboard forms given to you prior to your participation in such activities for further details.