thetaro

50 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's probably the case with US-based agents, too, but just as an example, I found balconies on NCL that were $500 per person cheaper than we what we paid on MSC. If the lost deposit is only $100 pp, we'd still come out ahead. 

Make sure you check if those cruises have voyagers discount. I rebooked the same week in Dec for Meraviglia with 5+15% discount + $50 obc pp. 

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

I see that the Meraviglia and Divina have sailings about the same time as our current reservation (in December). And from what I can tell, lower prices than what we paid for the Armonia. With the elimination of Cuba, the itineraries are now pretty similar. Now I'm wondering if we should just switch to one of the other ships and save the $$. Hmm. 🤔

That's what I plan to do. I have mine booked in Dec.

I am switching to MSC Meraviglia or NCL Escape. $400 OBC just won't cut it for a small old ship which is overpriced only because of the Cuba call.

Fine is BS  it's just part of the cost of doing business for these companies.

Banning them from US ports only hurt honest workers. Prosecute the executives who make this kind of decision and send them to jail.

I hope they offer 20% discount for switching ship. You may think $400 is a lot, but Cuba cruise is priced higher and price is going to drop when they can't fill these old ships. I am just going to cancel and rebook something else.

MSC is replacing Havana with Key West, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; George Town, Cayman Islands; or Cozumel, Mexico.

8 minutes ago, EngIceDave said:

I don't mean to be "arguing"

I though we were engaging in a conversation about Cuba being taken off the US Cruises map, what line is doing what, what MSC is doing, and is that fair?

 

My apologies

It's pointless arguing about the legal standpoint, which we all understand and accept it as is.

"Not my fault, not my problem" mindset doesn't work in the hospitality industry. They are in the business of keeping customers happy so they would come back. It's simply part of the business cost.

I think NCL's compensation is fair and they probably still come out ahead if people book another cruise with the credit. It's all about win-win.  

There is always apologist trying to defend Cruiseline's T&C like they are lobbying for these companies. It's worse when people think this is an entitlement issue. 

8 minutes ago, sidari said:

You do realise that the actual number of those doing the Cuba cruise from the US is a small ercentage of the total number of people on the ship ? In reality they do not have to offer anything under their terms and conditions. If you owned a business and you were forced to pay customers money for a third party issue would you just do it!

What exactly is your point? The cruise industry is highly competitive and who's at fault is irrelevant. It's a buyer's market. 

They can sue the US Government if they want to. If someone stole your credit card and used it, you would expect the bank to cover it. If you bought something on eBay and the post office lost it, you would expect PayPal or seller to refund you. It's just part of the cost of doing business. You win some and lose some. You can argue about the T&C all you want, but people are going to expect some compensation or at least allow cancelation especially when other cruise lines are doing it.

To be fair. NCL has been profiting on these Cuba cruises for years and they can absorb the loss if people want to cancel.

Cuba cruises are priced higher and on an old ship that people don't care. 

They d better offer something, at least a similar compensation like what NCL offered.

All these Cuba cruises are priced higher than the other Carribean itinerary and are usually on an old ship that most people don't care. 

These cruise lines have been profiting from it for years and they can easily absorb the loss for customer satisfaction. 

It's pointless calling customer service before higher management makes a decision. 

go to the MDR for lunch

2 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

There were so few Americans onboard our cruise that they wouldn't have been missed had they not been onboard.  They don't seem to be having much problems filling their ships that sail from Miami as it is;  otherwise they wouldn't be sending Meraviglia down to join Seaside, Divina and Armonia for Winter 2019/2020.

Maybe they can send Armonia back to homeport in Havana. There are plenty of flights to Cuba from Europe. American can still sneak in Cuba from Mexico anyway.

I don't mind switching to Meraviglia or Seaside. 

The only reason people picked the ARMONIA is for Cuba.

There are about 400K domestic workers in Hong Kong mainly from Philippines and Indonesia. They make about $7000 USD/year and have to work over 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. 

So 19K is great for them when you compare how much they make in their own countries. 

yes, full fare and they charge you full DSC for 3 years+.

Main reason I switch to MSC.

19 minutes ago, HLR said:

Hi Thetaro!

 

Can you give some examples of what you mean by "Slow Cooked" meats? Were they good though?

Do you mean dishes like pork or lamb shank? Osso Buco? Short ribs?

 

Howard

They are good, but it gets boring for having similar stuff every day. Basically all kinds of meat that you slow cook/pressure cook to make it tender. It's the best way to use a cheap cut of meat. It's easy to prep and almost impossible to overcook. Perfect for MDR when you need to serve so many meals at the same time.

I ordered like 10 mojitos in my last cruise and only a couple got it right.  smh

There was cheesecake in MDR and rock lobster for an upcharge. For someone who's from NYC, I didn't care about cheesecake and lobster. 

I wish there are more variety of salad and soup. It's usually just the same soup from the buffet. Meat in MDR is mostly cheap cut and slow-cooked. I would rather have a wider variety of foreign cuisines.  The kids' menu is basically a junk-food menu. 

The MDR menu is a disguised buffet that is plated and served. It's designed to save cost and time. You can put on a beautiful dress or a tux, but it's not fine dining if it's not cooked to order.

Food is delicious, but it's just boring by day 5. The menu is basically

Same salad + buffet soup + seared/grilled/baked fish + slow-cooked (beef/chicken/duck/lamb/pork)  + pasta/risotto

For the price of the cruise, I am not really complaining, but I think the chef can be more creative with the menu. 

8 minutes ago, Joyful2020 said:

We're going on MSC cruise at end of June 2019 booked in Oct 2018. In March 2019, received cruise ticket with Fantastica Drink Package on it. On Thurs. 5/30, MSC re-issued ticket without Fantastica Drink Package on it. I called my TA - Vacations To Go (they are horrible by they way) and the manager established a conf. call with MSC. The MSC rep said ask GS on board. However, I wanted to get this straightened out before I embark, therefore, I asked that a MSC supervisor call the TA supervisor to straighten this matter out. Both organizations IMO are inept and I'm not really expecting much. I did lodge a dispute with my credit card company, b/c this is classic bait and switch. I will ask GS once on board, however, I will not allow this to spoil my long awaited vacation. I already know that I will not use Vacations To Go in the future. Whether I will go on another cruise with MSC depends on how this turns out and how things go on the cruise but right now it's looking like 1 and done with MSC.

In summary,  here are the steps I'm taking...

1. Contact TA (done)

2. Conf. Call with MSC management (done)

3. Talk with GS once on board

4. Have gratuities removed from my account once on board

5. Issue dispute with credit card company - deduct the amount for the fantastica drink package

6. Never use Vacations To Go or MSC again

 

Please let me know if there is any other things I should do concerning this matter. 

 

or you could just print the old ticket that shows the Fantastica package and get your voucher at guest service. Easy peasy.

2 hours ago, jcathers1 said:

 

Why choose a particular cruise line if you "don't care" about what their standards are? Are there any other cruise line policies that you feel free to disregard simply because it is inconvenient for you?

You do notice it says "Suggested" right? So it's not a policy.

The only thing that is not permitted is shorts. Jeans and Polo are acceptable.

6 hours ago, Oxo said:

MSC just like most of the other cruise lines do not enforce any suggested dress code. On formal night on the SEaside, there were men and boys in shorts, jeans, etc. Hate to see it, but that is the real story. 

I kinda wanna wear shorts just to piss off people. That food and plating in the Main dining room are nowhere near fine dining. Putting on a Tux doesn't make that food any better. People sound like seeing people in jeans would affect your appetite. 

12187 should be fine. You should avoid those flipped inside.

I had 10066. It's non-stop banging noise from 9pm-1am. The whole wall would be shaking. 

I don't know how they handle luggage, it's almost like there is a trash chute behind my bed and there is constantly luggage throwing down the chute. 

If you are sailing Meditteranean, it would be a daily thing. Then they start banging service doors at 7 am.

The noise is simply unbearable. I went down to complain at 7 am to get my room changed.

I 've seen Jeans on an elegant night. You can easily sneak in anyway.

NCL Platinum and Platinum Plus both matched to Gold last month.

The Cuban sandwich is an American thing.