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Visa issues leave 1,500 passengers stranded on MSC Armony cruise ship in Spain

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Spanish state news agency Efe and other media said that some 1,500 passengers were meanwhile on board the MSC Armony hoping to continue the cruise to Croatia.

A statement from the Bolivian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the Bolivian Embassy in Spain and the country’s consulate General in Barcelona “are carrying out the pertinent steps to address this case,” coordinating with Spanish authorities, as well as with the MSC Cruises Company.

Passengers on the cruise ship MSC Armony on Wednesday. Photo: AP

MSC Cruises said in a statement the Bolivians included families and children.

It said the “passengers appeared to have proper documentation upon boarding in Brazil. We have been informed by the authorities that the visas are not valid for entry into the Schengen area.

As a result, passengers have not been able to disembark in Barcelona, which was their final destination.”

Authorities said a group of 69 Bolivians are not being allowed to disembark from a cruise ship in the port of Barcelona because they lack valid documents to enter the European Union’s Schengen area. Photo: AP

The company said the ship remained in port while it works with authorities to facilitate the process.

The Schengen area is an ID-check-free travel zone comprising 29 European Union countries along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

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