Eliminator55

You obviously have little to no understanding of this issue and further discussion obviously will do little to eradicate your lack of knowledge on this topic.

I didn't say anything about utilizing a fake address to make a booking with MSC. I was speaking hypothetically about the other individual's situation. He had booked a cruise with a US TA and he's a British national. I was simply stating that at the worst he would have to utilize an American address on the web check-in. I then went on to state that as long as his passport information is accurate, I wouldn't foresee it being an issue. Anything is possible though. But I think you're grossly overstating the risks of booking an out-of-market cruise. Yeah, there's always an amount of risk with everything. But if others choose to do something, I'm not going to stand in their way and act like it's the end of the world. You're more than welcome to endlessly peddle paranoia and hysteria.

So from what I can gather it actually will allow you to choose any nationality for your identity document, which in almost all cases will be a passport. Separately elsewhere on the check-in form it asks for your address of residence. That is the dropdown box that is hard coded to the corresponding country. So, if you were to book on msccruises.ie, the dropdown box for your address of residence would be hard coded to Ireland. But here's the thing, if it lets you choose any nationality for your identity document, then the address one uses in the other part of the form is essentially irrelevant. You're not going to be asked for a drivers license. Your passport will be used as the pre-eminent identity document at the point of embarkation. So, someone with only a UK passport could book through msccruisesusa.com and essentially use any feasible address in the United States. But the accuracy of that address appears to be essentially irrelevant as long as that person has filled out the passport info accurately. They could actually be residing permanently at any address they choose to list in America. But MSC has no means or interest in somehow confirming that said individual(s) due indeed reside at the given address. They'd have no reason to do so. They cruise fare has been paid at that point and their main concern is to get captive customers, I mean passengers, onto their ships.

So you didn't have any other issues than having to deal with the Netherlands MSC Call Center? I've spoken with the German call center once. The rep seemed to be fluent in English, just as you'd expect from most western Europeans.

I do not think you'll have any issues. The MSC customer service line in America told me that it doesn't matter which MSC regional site you book on. They just said that you'll be inconvenienced by having to call the corresponding MSC customer support center to have them override the drop-down menu where you select nationality. Due to this issue, you'll only be able to check-in by calling the appropriate MSC customer service center. The online check-in will likely not work. Was that what you experienced or were you able to choose UK as your nationality when checking in on MSC's USA website? Hope all goes well.

Very thorough. The box where you choose nationality is hard coded. But you're not required to input a specific address prior to payment. I'm certainly not a veteran cruiser. Only been on eight cruises with five different companies. That's a minimal amount of experience compared to the veterans on here. You also have to take into account that certain regional MSC sites just direct users back to the American version of their website. So in the end I don't think one's nationality makes much of a difference when they go to board as long as they have a valid passport and any required visas. But in the end they're a multi-billion dollar company that you certainly wouldn't want to be tangling with. So there's always that as you clearly laid out in your comment. I appreciate your input any point of view on this topic.

I follow what you're saying. So you don't think it's much of a problem for someone with an American passport to book through a European agent? I scoured the terms and conditions on the Irish MSC site and see nothing at mentioned about residency. It's also not correct to say that one must enter an address that corresponds to the version of the website that they're on. Most European MSC sites merely have a box for nationality prefilled and other than that you go straight to the payment page and there's no requirement at all to enter a specific address. There's especially no requirement to have an address validated or anything like that. The only information besides first & surname as well as DOB is a phone number, which has a drop-down to pick any country code. But that's it.

I have multiple cards that don't charge a fee for foreign transactions. So that's not at all an issue. I've used these cards many times in other countries and the market rate listed on Google is basically what you end up getting charged. If the transaction is over say $500, then it may end up being a few cents different than the amount you'd get from Google depending on when the transaction goes through. Currency pairs are always changing ever so slightly.

I didn't know that. I guess I understand why it's like that though. Many people would just be making recommendations based off their own experiences. But there would invariably also be individuals pumping up certain agencies with ulterior motives in mind.

I've made a few observations regarding this matter. On the American MSC Website(msccruisesusa.com) as you go to pay for a booking, it states in bold that "The primary guest must be a U.S. or Puerto Rico resident in order to complete the booking." The various European MSC websites have no equivalent statement that appears as you proceed to pay for a booking. Additionally, I thoroughly reviewed the terms & conditions on MSC's Irish website and there aren't any residency requirements listed. So, I don't see how they could invalidate your paid contract simply because of an incorrect address. But, I agree that caution should be taken and it's likely not even worth the headache. I did read elsewhere that a few others have used travel agencies outside of their home country. In such cases, those individuals mentioned that the travel agencies were able to choose any nation for the address and not just the one that corresponds with the MSC domain name. I guess it's probably worth it just to eat the potential savings and not even worry about it though.

What agent did or site did you use to make your booking? Sometimes it becomes a hassle to even deal with a travel agent. I've booked cruises with and without utilizing a travel agent. I've never seen TAs offer the level of perks that you mentioned. Normally they'll offer a mere $50 or something small like that. But maybe I'm just going to the wrong agencies.

Did you proceed to book it through their other site and if so how did it go? I have the same questions that you mention in your post.

What method did you end up going with for that booking? I'm American and have found the official Irish & UK websites to be substantially less than the American site. I'd like to see if I can save further by utilizing an Irish or British travel agent. Are there any agents that you recommend? Part of the reason for those other sites being cheaper is that MSC doesn't add the onboard service fees to those fares. But that doesn't account for the total savings. The other 40-60% of the savings comes from price of the cruise itself. Any advice you have on preferred agents is highly appreciated. I'm hoping I can score some OBC or just a better price than what MSC offers. Thank you.

Did you have the premium WiFi on that transatlantic voyage or was it just the complimentary WiFi? It's hard to believe that you can stream and video chat on the standard WiFi. But, I'll certainly take your word for it, if that was what you experienced. THANKS for sharing your experience with this. It helps others know what to expect on their voyage(s). So it's really appreciated.

It's not necessarily a priority. I just like to be able to stream video and audio content while at sea. I especially don't like being unable to stream content on YouTube.

I was aware of the difference between the included vs the premium service. But I still appreciate the explanation. I like to watch YouTube as well as YouTube TV while on board. So, I'd most definitely need the premium to do that. I guess the included service is only suitable for viewing webpages with text and photos.

Thanks for that information. I'm trying to decide what type of stateroom to book. The April 22 voyage doesn't seem to be very full. I think it's only at like 30% capacity at the moment. Thus, I considered booking the lowest rate and then bidding for an upgrade to a Central Sea Terrace. It seems like that would work since decks 8-11 are wide open. I just don't care for the uncertainty that goes along with that. So it's possible I'll decide against it.

Why is the premium WiFi not being offered on the April 22 itinerary? Plenty of other ships offer their top tier WiFi service on transatlantic voyages. Why can't Virgin Voyages do the same? And if they can't offer the premium service, even for a fee, that must mean the complimentary service will be either unavailable or outrageously slow. It's very disappointing.

*far more attractive. Please excuse that error. My brain must've dipped out for a sec. What does "ex-miami" mean? Are you saying that the premium WiFi is limited to certain itineraries only?

*far more attractive. Please excuse that error. My brain must've dipped out for a sec.

I can certainly understand that sentiment. But these additional perks definitely make the voyage for more attractive. The premium WiFi and priority boarding are the big ones for me.

This whole situation is ridiculous. I'm considering whether or not to book the transatlantic voyage on the Valiant Lady that departs on April 22. I'd have already booked it if I knew that the Deep Blue Extras would be applicable to that voyage. I've chatted with sailor services and have also inquired about this matter with them by phone. They kindly said that they will not be updated on the situation until the current promotional period ends or just before it ends on March 31. It's very disappointing. I'm gold with MSC Voyagers Club and am thus eligible for the Match & More offer. But with all this being up in the air, there's no way to know what benefits may or may not be available on voyages departing after March 31, 2023. The two sailor services representatives that I communicated with did not have any details on when the full-scale loyalty program will launch. So, I don't get the sense that it will launch anytime soon. The third or fourth quarter of 2023 would be my estimate for the actual launch. If they just commit to extending the Deep Blue Extras until the full-scale loyalty program launches, then they could launch it in 2024 or 2025 as far as I'm concerned. And I don't think other sailors would mind such a delay either as long as they continue offering the Deep Blue Extras. Hopefully they realize this and will announce something sometime soon. It's unacceptable to leave their customers, especially the loyal ones, in the dark.