Spain will reopen ports to international cruise ships from June 7, 2021 the government announced, citing improving pandemic situation and the vaccination rollout. The news was announced in a resolution by the General Directorate of the Spanish Merchant Navy, tweeted by the Spanish government ministry of transport. The government announcement on Saturday said that ships must follow the Ministry of Health's regulations for the safety of passengers and communities they visit.

"The positive evolution of the pandemic in recent weeks", explains the resolution, "as well as the increase in vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and the decrease of the level of risk of autonomous communities with ports that receive this type of ships, allows the resumption of the cruise activity used for international voyages with destinations in Spanish ports. This activity is considered safe, both for passengers on cruise ships and for the population of the ports they visit.”

Spain, which relies heavily on tourism, had banned ships from docking in ports since June 23, 2020. Before the start of the pandemic, Spain was the second most popular destination for international cruise ships with 10.7 million cruise passangers visiting Spanish ports in 2019.

It is expected that several cruise lines will react to this announcement and adapt their itineraries including some of the most popular cruise destinations in Spain. MSC Cruises and Costa which are already operating cruises in the Mediterranean are expected to be among the first to include Spain in their itineraries.