midwife

6 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

That's why a TA would have been good to have.

 On a recent cruise, they made changes and the TA did get the money for me as a result of the change fees.

We did book through a TA. They have been pretty useless. I and several others are making frequent phone calls and e-mails to the TA and all they say is it is MSC not them. Getting very frustrated. 
 

Peta 

On 2/4/2023 at 12:16 PM, Louisfry said:

I have been told not to contact MSC direct, regarding the cancelled cruise component of our holiday package, because I have a contract with the TA not MSC. (i.e. I paid the TA not MSC).  I have phoned them regardless.  And they told me things that don't align with my TA's comments.  I have been instructed again, in no uncertain terms, by my TA not to contact MSC again and to just sit and wait - Period.  The next thing I will be informed of is the return of our holiday costs, including the bits that aren't MSC, to out credit card or bank or what ever, (IF) when it happens.  I hate being talked down to by someone to whom I have paid a lot of money, to provide a service or product, which hasn't been provided.  Especially four months after the event.  But it would appear I have no other recourse.  😡😡🤬

It is now mid May (9 months since we received our cancellation notice) and we still haven’t received any refund. LoiseFry have you received anything? I have been ringing g frequently and sending emails with very little to show for it. 
 

Peta

37 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Not sure if the link will work for you

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value

 

Thanks for the information 

I can’t find anything about buying extra internet access. Does anyone know the cost of purchasing extra? 
 

thanks 

Peta

11 hours ago, CDR2001 said:

I’ve asked for a PDF  of previous excursions with prices from Viking via the online Chat. I’ve received a list every time by email.  The agent will warn that prices and times may not be accurate for your sailing, and excursions offered may differ. ( I tell the chat agent that I need the list as my kids like to gift us with specific excursions.. birthday, holidays, etc) Good luck. 

We booked directly with Viking, I have contacted them and they said the didn’t know which tours were being offered yet. Thanks Peta

Clay thanks for this was very helpful. Had to do a calculation as we are in Australia. At least gives us an idea. 
 

Peta

We are going on the Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond
Bergen to New York City, New York cruise in August. The shore excursions are not available yet. I have done a mock booking and can see the description of the general tours but no price. Has anyone done tours in these destinations and have the approximate price please? 
 

Thanks

Peta

In my experience basic cover won’t have COVID cover. I found it quite difficult as well as some such as RAC will indicate they will cover you for your cruise but then a disclaimer will come up saying they won’t cover you. 
I have been looking also. We used 1Cover last year. I found this article yesterday it was very helpful. 
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/56299d65-9c5d-4b6d-9fdd-78bf5bbd9755

hope this helps. 

On 2/1/2023 at 9:47 AM, Louisfry said:

Hi Patti and Louis from Australia.... Been reading this thread as we were impacted by the cancellation of our cruise (Genoa to Dubai sailing 6 nov 22), and looking for answers as to when anyone is getting their refunds.  We were advised of the cancellation on 15 Sept 22 and responded that we would accept their compensation offer on 28 Sept 22.  This notification was thru our travel agent, NOT MSC.  They have advised us YET AGAIN (4 months) that the T.A. won't do anything until all their suppliers (airfares, accommodated etc) & MSC have refunded them...Oh, and we also have shore excursions booked thru the ship/cruise direct with MSC, which will (should, might) be refunded direct to our credit card, maybe.... by MSC direct.

 

So from here it starts.  Time to contact MSC direct, I think every hour on the hour with URGENT emails.  Might help, might not.  Then Cruise Critic open reviews stating how unhappy I am wth MSC. Probably Facebook and any other social media outlet I can find....  Might help, might not, but sitting on one's hands waiting for a response is sh!itt!ng me to tears right at the moment.  Remember the old joke about the two vultures sitting watching the dying animal... and one response to the other..."patience my ass, I want to k!ll something !"

We were on the same cruise as you but left from Barcelona to Dubai. We were told 6 months for the refund which would be March 2023. So I am planning to start ringing MSC on 1st of March to see where we are with our refund. 

On 10/5/2022 at 9:39 PM, Kleighlight said:

Making Lemonade out of Lemons...

Like many others, I am disappointed the cruise is cancelled, but:

I used the cancellation as an opportunity and booked an apartment in Dubai. I did not need to re-arrange flights and will spend the week as a Dubai tourist.

..

A cruise out of Durban, South Africa had already been booked and after several calls; an MSC employee (that knows how to make their system work) applied previously paid funds from the Opera cruise to the next one.

..

I hope things work out as well for you.

Glad things have worked for you. Enjoy your holiday. We leave home in just over a week and still haven’t got any confirmation from MSC. Has anybody else heard anything? 
 

Peta

On 9/25/2022 at 5:37 PM, The Batman said:

After sheer determination and numerous email I have now got something from my Travel Agent.  Having vowed we will NEVER book another MSC cruise, we have chosen option ONE.  We hope this helps others and good luck with your choice.

 

Option 1:

Therefore, should you wish to cancel the reservation, you will receive a full refund of the expenditure to date with MSC Cruises, whether it be a deposit, full fare, or pre-paid packages. Additionally, on this occasion we will offer for the first two full paying guests in each cabin a cash compensation of £85 or $/€ 100 for the first two full paying guests in each cabin, to acknowledge the disappointment and inconvenience caused.

                                                                                                                              Option 2:

However, should you prefer not to cancel, we would like to offer you the possibility to book any other cruise currently available for sale, granting you the most convenient price between the original and new product, provided that the same accommodation category is reserved.

 

Therefore, if the cost of the sailing of your choice is more expensive than your cruise originally booked, there will be no extra charge required on your cruise fare. While if the cost works out to be less expensive, your guest will receive a refund of the difference.

 

Please note that if you choose the alternative of a new cruise, you will also receive as an additional benefit a refundable on-board credit equal to £170 or $/€200 for the first two full paying guests in each cabin, dependent on the area sailing for your new reservation.

 

Option 3:

As an alternative, you can request a Future Cruise Credit Voucher, equal to the value of the amount collected by MSC Cruises, which can be applied to any cruise fare published on our communication channels and can be redeemed on all departures/canvas open for sale.

The additional benefits of double refundable on-board credit will be applied to the new reservation: the first equal to £170 or $/€200 on board credit per cabin (£85 or $/€100 onboard credit for single occupancy) to your future cruise, which cannot be combined with any previous voucher-related onboard credit already added to the original reservation.

 

And the second on-board credit equal to £170 or $/€200 (£85 or $/€100 onboard credit for single occupancy). In addition to the Future Cruise Credit, they will also receive a full refund of any pre-paid package purchased with credit card on MYMSC AREA. The refund will be processed as soon as possible.

Please be aware that the offer

mentioned was not made to us here in Australia. This is the problem when sharing information, those in the US and UK will get different offers to those of us living in other areas of the world. The offer here was not as generous 🙁

On 9/25/2022 at 5:37 PM, The Batman said:

After sheer determination and numerous email I have now got something from my Travel Agent.  Having vowed we will NEVER book another MSC cruise, we have chosen option ONE.  We hope this helps others and good luck with your choice.

 

Option 1:

Therefore, should you wish to cancel the reservation, you will receive a full refund of the expenditure to date with MSC Cruises, whether it be a deposit, full fare, or pre-paid packages. Additionally, on this occasion we will offer for the first two full paying guests in each cabin a cash compensation of £85 or $/€ 100 for the first two full paying guests in each cabin, to acknowledge the disappointment and inconvenience caused.

                                                                                                                              Option 2:

However, should you prefer not to cancel, we would like to offer you the possibility to book any other cruise currently available for sale, granting you the most convenient price between the original and new product, provided that the same accommodation category is reserved.

 

Therefore, if the cost of the sailing of your choice is more expensive than your cruise originally booked, there will be no extra charge required on your cruise fare. While if the cost works out to be less expensive, your guest will receive a refund of the difference.

 

Please note that if you choose the alternative of a new cruise, you will also receive as an additional benefit a refundable on-board credit equal to £170 or $/€200 for the first two full paying guests in each cabin, dependent on the area sailing for your new reservation.

 

Option 3:

As an alternative, you can request a Future Cruise Credit Voucher, equal to the value of the amount collected by MSC Cruises, which can be applied to any cruise fare published on our communication channels and can be redeemed on all departures/canvas open for sale.

The additional benefits of double refundable on-board credit will be applied to the new reservation: the first equal to £170 or $/€200 on board credit per cabin (£85 or $/€100 onboard credit for single occupancy) to your future cruise, which cannot be combined with any previous voucher-related onboard credit already added to the original reservation.

 

And the second on-board credit equal to £170 or $/€200 (£85 or $/€100 onboard credit for single occupancy). In addition to the Future Cruise Credit, they will also receive a full refund of any pre-paid package purchased with credit card on MYMSC AREA. The refund will be processed as soon as possible.

Please be aware that the offer

mentioned was not made to us here in Australia. This is the problem when sharing information, those in the US and UK will get different offers to those of us living in other areas of the world. The offer here was not as generous 🙁

13 hours ago, Sandiego1704 said:

We are booked on this cruise also starting in Barcelona on November 1.  I have not received an email regarding a cancellation / modification and checked with my TA. They have not received an email either. I can no longer get into my reservation and when you call MSC, the response is very confusing.  First they say the cruise is cancelled and then they say it is being modified.  They say I need to wait until I get the email.  Why would some people get notification and others not, even almost a week later?    This is poor customer service!  This was to be our first MSC cruise and after reading the comments above, I'm going to take the refund and be done with MSC.   I want to rebook on a similar Norwegian Cruise line cruise later in November, but can not do so until I know for sure if this is cancelled.     Frustrating!!!

I understand your pain. We were notified on Thursday 15th that the cruise is cancelled. They are offering alternate cruise but only 13nights rather than 26 that we paid for. It is the 6month wait for refund that pushed us to take the alternate cruise. It is frustrating when your TA hasn’t been notified yet. 

We have been told 6 months for a refund. It is ridiculous. For this reason we have taken the replacement cruise. We are only 6 weeks from sailing and 4 from us leaving home. I’m nervously waiting for our new details from our TA. 

6 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

So true; it's going from one of the oldest ships in fleet to one of the newer ones!... I believe it will be a Premium Aurea Suite, or at very least an Aurea balcony cabin, once the OP has an Aurea experience booked.

We wouldn’t be happy downgrading to a balcony when we have booked a suite. Might have to see what they can do for a Yacht Club suite😀

MSC Opera Barcelona to Dubai 26nights leaving the 1st November, I believe the 27th sailing is cancelled also. The Bellissina cruise is only 13. Not really the itinerary we wanted but we will enjoy it. 
 

We booked a package through a TA. We were able to keep everything in the package and just need to add 5 nights in Barcelona prior to our new cruise. 

We have just had our cruise cancelled on MSC Opera where we had an SR1 category suite. We have been offered to swap to the equivalent category suite on MSC Bellissima. When I look at the deck plans for Bellissima they don’t have the SR1 room category. Does anyone know what is the equivalent category please? 
 

Peta

Thanks would not surprise me if that is the case. 

Hi we have also been affected by the change to Opera’s opening schedule. We were leaving on 1st November for 26nights. We’re offered refund of difference between this and the new 13night cruise leaving 6th November . Have decided to go ahead with the change given that a refund would take at least 6 months. We are able to take the land content as arranged but need to book 5 more nights in Barcelona before the cruise. 
it is a very difficult decision to make I know, my husband and I went through everything and thought it was better to go than get a full refund. 
 

good luck

Have noted a UK and US cruiser topic. As there seems to be a lot of Australian and New Zealanders on the boards are the hosts able to create a topic for Australia/New Zealand please? 
 

Peta

I feel for you we are also having issues with the website.🙁

Are there currently issues with the MSC website?  I have been able to do our Web Checkin using our booking number,  but when I go to book excursions etc it does not recognize our booking number. Also if I try to log into our Voyageur account where we are Diamond level it says the membership number is allocated to someone else. 
I spoke to MSC last week and they confirmed our numbers and they can see our booking. So all the information I am entering is correct. 
 

Any ideas. 

How have you found the cost compared to booking directly with the airline? 

Looking at doing a Viking cruise next year. Interested in finding out about Viking Air trips from Australia. Has anyone taken Viking Air  and which airlines do they use? I would be flying from Perth to Bergen.