MSC Cruises announced the suspension of all North American itineraries until 30 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[18] On 13 February 2020, MSC Bellissima was featured on Ultimate Mega Cruise Ship on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.

[25] On 21 March 2020, officials from the Indian state of Telangana reported that a 33-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

[a][27] On 2 April 2020, a 22-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima, who had quarantined himself at home in Trappeto, Sicily after returning from Dubai, announced that he had tested positive that day.

[28] On 10 April 2020, a dancer from Klagenfurt, Austria, who performed in Cirque du Soleil shows aboard MSC Bellissima, tested positive for the virus while she was still on board the ship.

[29][30] The crew member was tested a day before she was scheduled to leave for home, and the result came as a surprise as she had been asymptomatic.