Change of Itinerary and Dates Divina - 17 weeks out

[marcoigna]

Can u believe this.

We booked the Divina in June of 2013 - to sail to Brazil for the World Cup departing Miami on the 24th of May

 

This past Tuesday we were notified that for "Technical Reasons" - the ship is now departing 5 days earlier from Miami - on the 19th of May - and arriving into Santos 5 days earlier on the 7th of June instead of the schedule arrival of the 12th of June.

 

Did I mention they cancelled the 17th of May departure as well

 

They have also altered the Itinerary as well with more Caribbean ports and less Brazilian Ports

 

Personally - my out of pocket expense is currently close to 950.00 to change our outbound tickets to Florida and return back from São Paulo

 

Okay they offered a usd 300.00 pp ship board credit but still does not cover the expense or the headaches involved

 

What were they thinking

 

Am I still going - u bet but really disappointed.....

 

Still working out with cruise line on the airline change fee issues.

 

Wish us luck

Edited January 18, 2014 by marcoigna

[riclop]

Can u believe this.

We booked the Divina in June of 2013 - to sail to Brazil for the World Cup departing Miami on the 24th of May

 

This past Tuesday we were notified that for "Technical Reasons" - the ship is now departing 5 days earlier from Miami - on the 19th of May - and arriving into Santos 5 days earlier on the 7th of June instead of the schedule arrival of the 12th of June.

 

Did I mention they cancelled the 17th of May departure as well

 

They have also altered the Itinerary as well with more Caribbean ports and less Brazilian Ports

 

Personally - my out of pocket expense is currently close to 950.00 to change our outbound tickets to Florida and return back from São Paulo

 

Okay they offered a usd 300.00 pp ship board credit but still does not cover the expense or the headaches involved

 

What were they thinking

 

Am I still going - u bet but really disappointed.....

 

Still working out with cruise line on the airline change fee issues.

 

Wish us luck

What a shame.

[sidari]

No surprise really! at least they did not tell you it was so you could have an Exciting day somewhere.

 

I guess that you are lucky that you are able to be able to change to the new dates, a lot of people will not be so lucky.

 

There is at least one other person on the boards who is doing the return leg to Miami.

[moomoocow]

No surprise really! at least they did not tell you it was so you could have an Exciting day somewhere.

 

I guess that you are lucky that you are able to be able to change to the new dates, a lot of people will not be so lucky.

 

There is at least one other person on the boards who is doing the return leg to Miami.

 

Yeah and I'm waiting to book my flights...........

[MM42]

No surprise really! at least they did not tell you it was so you could have an Exciting day somewhere.

 

Thank you so much for this reply. You just made my day with this one :D

[aprilmay15]

Can u believe this.

We booked the Divina in June of 2013 - to sail to Brazil for the World Cup departing Miami on the 24th of May

 

This past Tuesday we were notified that for "Technical Reasons" - the ship is now departing 5 days earlier from Miami - on the 19th of May - and arriving into Santos 5 days earlier on the 7th of June instead of the schedule arrival of the 12th of June.

 

Did I mention they cancelled the 17th of May departure as well

 

They have also altered the Itinerary as well with more Caribbean ports and less Brazilian Ports

 

Personally - my out of pocket expense is currently close to 950.00 to change our outbound tickets to Florida and return back from São Paulo

 

Okay they offered a usd 300.00 pp ship board credit but still does not cover the expense or the headaches involved

 

What were they thinking

 

Am I still going - u bet but really disappointed.....

 

Still working out with cruise line on the airline change fee issues.

 

Wish us luck

 

I am on the same sailing and can not get a confirmed day of when I get off the ship. I was booked to get off in Rio on the 18 day cruise. Since the change that would allowed me 1/2 day in Rio and then to get to the airport. The change of flight would be $950 Rio airport.

 

I call MSC myself yesterday about staying on to Santos and they told me no problem no extra charge. The flight change was only $100 to fly out from Sao Paulo.

 

Today I was told by my TA I was still getting off in Rio. I already changed my flight and would like to spend a full day in RIO.

 

What to do?? If I had not spent $400 on visas I would not be going.

[Rose Wanderer]

AprilMay - I would ditch the Travel Agent & get MSC to make the change, after all they are the ones in control here.

And to both you & Marcoigno - send all your invoices for your out of pocket expenses to MSC and demand reimbursement.

My experience so far from the Australian office is that they are in serious 'damage control', and will be compliant with your requests.

Still a disgraceful move & I feel sorry for their customer service agents having to deal with angry passengers.

I'm up to about $1300 AUD out of pocket expenses so far with flight changes, extra accommodation & even going to claim daily expenses for the extra 5 days - I'll keep you all posted how I go.

Also - what an awful itinerary it is now - 8 consecutive port days (yes, they are lovely stops but really, how many Caribbean ports do you need to visit on one cruise? Only one Brazil stop, and 5 straight days at sea! We'll be mutinous by the time we get to the next port lol!

Yes Marco - what were they thinking? Not about their passengers - that's obvious.

[World Juggler]

Rose Wanderer--keep us posted how your negotiations go.

 

I'm also on this sail (though exploring other plans due to the changed ports). Msc USA told is to deal with our travel agent rather than direct.

[MM42]

 

I'm also on this sail (though exploring other plans due to the changed ports). Msc USA told is to deal with our travel agent rather than direct.

 

True. If you booked through a TA you cannot deal with MSC. You have to talk with your TA. The same thing goes with every cruise line.

[bigalex72]

Interesting... our TA told us to work with the MSC.

Please keep this discussion going - how did the negotiations go?

Edited January 19, 2014 by bigalex72

[aprilmay15]

AprilMay - I would ditch the Travel Agent & get MSC to make the change, after all they are the ones in control here.

And to both you & Marcoigno - send all your invoices for your out of pocket expenses to MSC and demand reimbursement.

My experience so far from the Australian office is that they are in serious 'damage control', and will be compliant with your requests.

Still a disgraceful move & I feel sorry for their customer service agents having to deal with angry passengers.

I'm up to about $1300 AUD out of pocket expenses so far with flight changes, extra accommodation & even going to claim daily expenses for the extra 5 days - I'll keep you all posted how I go.

Also - what an awful itinerary it is now - 8 consecutive port days (yes, they are lovely stops but really, how many Caribbean ports do you need to visit on one cruise? Only one Brazil stop, and 5 straight days at sea! We'll be mutinous by the time we get to the next port lol!

Yes Marco - what were they thinking? Not about their passengers - that's obvious.

 

Yes, MSC told me to speak with my TA. I told them I needed answers ASAP(so i can book flights before they are gone since I used points)and not getting them fast enough from TA.(not in office, not returning emails) Asked them if this is the norm for MSC as I recently became a travel agent. I have seen other changes on other bookings. Wish I could take over my own booking as I am getting some answers but not the same as my TA.

[marcoigna]

AprilMay - I would ditch the Travel Agent & get MSC to make the change, after all they are the ones in control here.

 

good day - I am a travel agent and take great pride in my job - and when i see these posts it totally upsets me....

 

With MSC every booking country is different - the air department for this sailing is re-directed to Global Marine Travel for USA bookings - a travel agency who works with a series of cruise lines - it is NOT MSC Cruise / Air as 1 package - air is still a separate entity.

 

i am working very closely with MSC, who inturn is working with Global Marine Travel and the airlines - as they have all of our booking numbers, to try to resolve our many issues for your GROUP!!! ....

 

So, as i say - each booking is done differently, so please dont give bad advise to DITCH THE TRAVEL AGENT -

 

IMO, they changed the itinerary / sailing dates etc without thinking about the penalties on all these air tickets -

 

I know the ship needed to arrive prior to its scheduled date, and am hoping that either MSC has some insurance to cover this, or perhaps it is going to be billed back to the Charter Company who needed the ship there in advance (if this is indeed the case) - - - -

 

Will try to keep posted on events - - - hoping over the weekend, that meetings have taken place to figure out this recovery mode they are in.

 

BTW, I am still very excited to be sailing aboard MSC and the Divina, nothing with change that -

[aprilmay15]

good day - I am a travel agent and take great pride in my job - and when i see these posts it totally upsets me....

 

With MSC every booking country is different - the air department for this sailing is re-directed to Global Marine Travel for USA bookings - a travel agency who works with a series of cruise lines - it is NOT MSC Cruise / Air as 1 package - air is still a separate entity.

 

i am working very closely with MSC, who inturn is working with Global Marine Travel and the airlines - as they have all of our booking numbers, to try to resolve our many issues for your GROUP!!! ....

 

So, as i say - each booking is done differently, so please dont give bad advise to DITCH THE TRAVEL AGENT -

 

IMO, they changed the itinerary / sailing dates etc without thinking about the penalties on all these air tickets -

 

I know the ship needed to arrive prior to its scheduled date, and am hoping that either MSC has some insurance to cover this, or perhaps it is going to be billed back to the Charter Company who needed the ship there in advance (if this is indeed the case) - - - -

 

Will try to keep posted on events - - - hoping over the weekend, that meetings have taken place to figure out this recovery mode they are in.

 

BTW, I am still very excited to be sailing aboard MSC and the Divina, nothing with change that -

 

Thanks for the info! Please keep us informed if you hear anything.

[Rose Wanderer]

good day - I am a travel agent and take great pride in my job - and when i see these posts it totally upsets me....

 

Marcoigno,

 

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anyone else with my statement. I meant no disrespect to travel agents at all, they are excellent at their jobs, and I just meant that sometimes it is easier to speak with MSC direct - after all, this is their doing, not the poor travel agents. Of course in hindsight - I booked my cruise directly through MSC Cruises (Australia), so they were my immediate 'port of call' on receiving their email. My apologies.

 

Thanks for your research into this situation, and do keep us posted. I am intrigued as to the real reason for the change - must be a good one, to risk the losses they may incur.

 

Like you, I am still excited about the cruise and I'm sure the Divina will be a beautiful experience. Still not thrilled about 5 days at sea in a row though :)

 

I have sent my email with costs incurred to MSC this morning - I will keep everyone updated.

 

Cheers for now,

Judi.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Rose Wanderer

[Rose Wanderer]

Interesting... our TA told us to work with the MSC.

Please keep this discussion going - how did the negotiations go?

 

Just a quick update:

I have emailed all my invoices & booking confirmations for the extra costs to MSC Australia - their reply:

"Thank you , I have now received your updates. I will forward it to our head office and will let you know as soon as we get a response from them."

 

At least it's a start :)

[sidari]

Almost 8 weeks so far waiting for a response!