Booked with MSC...First Impressions Are Not Good

[GadgetRick]

Thanks to Capitalbarry, getting some movement. They have finally sent me my matching status for Voyagers Club (got Silver--better than nothing). Still working on the other issues.

 

It's a shame you have to jump through hoops to get them to do their jobs over there. I'd really like to get excited about this cruise. It's sort of a birthday gift for me as well as a family cruise.

[tkportersat]

I checked today and my booking is gone as well. I called and the lady was like "our website is fine". Obviously it is not. I am not impressed with their website, hopefully everything else will be great. It seems like they have beautiful ships, great prices and good ports. I am booked for June 2018, so I can cancel up until April. So for now I take notes...Good luck to you!

 

So we booked a cruise with MSC months ago--like 6+. Originally, we were cruising in December for a pre-Christmas cruise with the family, unfortunately, plans changed and we moved it up to August (leaving in 2 weeks). I mention this because we've been trying to access our booking on their website for months and have been unable to. They keep telling us it's a problem with their website and they'll fix it and to check back. I'm now on hold with them about this (again) after doing this about once a month since then.

 

They can't seem to get their act together on the IT side. It's ridiculous to be quite honest. But, ok, I should be able to check in on the phone--annoying but, well, it's a solution. But no, can't do that either. They are having issues on their end even trying to check ME in.

 

Was able to (sort of) check in one of our cabins but, when I try to print the tickets and register our son for their kids club, it tells me all info hasn't been filled in (when I filled in EVERYTHING they asked for). When I click on that error, it just takes me back to the summary page with no info on what I need to put in.

 

Honestly, if I weren't 2 weeks out, I'd cancel and go with someone else. I'd go into more detail but it's so frustrating. I've wasted hours of my time over the past 6ish months trying to deal with this. I really believe I'm going to show up in the port in Miami and they are going to have some problem and I'll spend a long time trying to straighten it out.

 

For a company who is trying to make a splash here in the US, the first impression I have of them is about as bad as it can get. Each of the people on the phone I've talked about have also told me they have been dealing with these kinds of problems for months and they keep asking for it to be fixed. I get the impression this is a MAJOR issue with them. I really don't understand.

 

So, instead of being excited to go away, I'm dreading showing up in the port just KNOWING there will be a problem. Not to mention, I'm not even able to get checked in yet! I'm in total disbelief of how bad they are.

[sanbixby]

We sail on August 5th and I am so ANXIOUS right now. We have not received any information about status match (which I could care less about right now). I called yesterday since I tried to print my documents and got an error saying I did not finish web check-in. Called and was told it was an error of something they did not do on their end and docs would be emailed to me. Never got them. Tried again today and got further online but another error message at print step. Called again (3x because I kept getting disconnected). Had them email to another email address and stay on the phone with me until I got it.

 

Just printed them and, although we took an upgrade deal to Yacht Club and I confirmed it comes with all the benefits, our booking says Fantastica package so I guess I am back to calling again tomorrow (I don't have it in me right now to call--too discouraged) I printed the email upgrade offer that shows what we should be getting as well as EVERY other email confirmation. At this point, I feel like I will be taking a binder with me (light plane reading...lol)

 

I just want to be relaxed and ready for vacation. But that feels like a dream right now.

[edspec]

I loved our MSC cruise, but the same type of stuff happened to us. Again, all ok in the end...but...this type of thing is crazy making. Just looked at the website, they've hired two new people to market North America...also on the page was the email of their PR person, who I would email w/ a link to this thread.

 

Alyssa.Goldfarb@msccruisesusa.com

[GadgetRick]

So, I received a call from someone after my email to a higher-up guy the previous day. Guy was nice enough. Wasn't very happy with how he basically tried to say people aren't having problems after I explained about the people I've come into contact online who've said they've had the same exact problems.

 

Anyway, he gave me his cell phone number in case I have any issues when we go to check in. Not much more I can ask for at this point. I'm just hoping I don't have any issues and, if I do have issues, just hoping this is actually his cell number. ;)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I loved our MSC cruise, but the same type of stuff happened to us. Again, all ok in the end...but...this type of thing is crazy making. Just looked at the website, they've hired two new people to market North America...also on the page was the email of their PR person, who I would email w/ a link to this thread.

 

Alyssa.Goldfarb@msccruisesusa.com

 

 

I was just thinking about this. I saw Alyssa post on a local mom's Facebook group that she works for MSC and her profile said PR. I was going to reach out to her about some of these issues. I would HOPE that MSC is aware of some of these not so great things happening.

 

Personally Im being hopeful. I booked myself for spring and about 7 other people with me. I would hate for them to be mad at my suggestion!! lol

[tkportersat]

I would email a link to this thread....Either way, being in denial is not going to help them. The girl I spoke to kept saying, everything is fine on my end...must be your browser, cookies, etc. I kept telling her no, I saw the booking fine previously. Thankfully I can view my booking today, tomorrow - who knows? lol. I hope you end up having a nice vacation.

 

So, I received a call from someone after my email to a higher-up guy the previous day. Guy was nice enough. Wasn't very happy with how he basically tried to say people aren't having problems after I explained about the people I've come into contact online who've said they've had the same exact problems.

 

Anyway, he gave me his cell phone number in case I have any issues when we go to check in. Not much more I can ask for at this point. I'm just hoping I don't have any issues and, if I do have issues, just hoping this is actually his cell number. ;)

[Morgsmom]

Well you know it's bad when your own TA tells you (as mine did today) what a hot mess they are at the MSC Miami office. Even she gets the run-around. Because I got my status match and the 5% discount was applied MSC pushed up the date of their final payment an extra 15 days (new 75 days old rule, not 60), which meant that I was already late at the time the discount was applied yesterday. (Because the discount was considered a "re-faring")!!!!!

 

She made me feel better by saying that once onboard she had a nice time and that they over-delivered for the price paid in her experience. Fingers crossed.

[Morgsmom]

We sail on August 5th and I am so ANXIOUS right now.

 

Just printed them and, although we took an upgrade deal to Yacht Club and I confirmed it comes with all the benefits, our booking says Fantastica package so I guess I am back to calling again tomorrow (I don't have it in me right now to call--too discouraged) I printed the email upgrade offer that shows what we should be getting as well as EVERY other email confirmation. At this point, I feel like I will be taking a binder with me (light plane reading...lol)

 

I just want to be relaxed and ready for vacation. But that feels like a dream right now.

 

can I ask from what level? were you Balcony Fantastica? I'm hoping for an upsell opportunity myself, but everything seems so random

[CTBob]

I was just thinking about this. I saw Alyssa post on a local mom's Facebook group that she works for MSC and her profile said PR. I was going to reach out to her about some of these issues. I would HOPE that MSC is aware of some of these not so great things happening.

 

Personally I'm being hopeful. I booked myself for spring and about 7 other people with me. I would hate for them to be mad at my suggestion!! lol

I just heard from the new Senior Vice President of Sales for North America and he said that his top priority is to get the website working to the expectations of MSC's partners and guests.

[computerworks]

I just heard from the new Senior Vice President of Sales for North America and he said that his top priority is to get the website working to the expectations of MSC's partners and guests.

 

That will be no small feat... and perhaps not within his scope. :cool:

[trvlgirlmq]

I cancelled 2 cruises due to all of the issues I was having. You are correct that the website is their first impression and it is not a good one. Also, after seeing those food pictures and reading about all of the issues from Meraviglia I was totally turned off. I am still waiting for my refund too and really dread having to call.

[Cap'n Ron]

I cancelled 2 cruises due to all of the issues I was having. You are correct that the website is their first impression and it is not a good one. Also, after seeing those food pictures and reading about all of the issues from Meraviglia I was totally turned off. I am still waiting for my refund too and really dread having to call.

 

I too cancelled 2 cruises with MSC (1 on Divina and 1 on Seaside) due to the lack of confidence and issues I had with MSC. They changed the cabin on one of my reservations without telling me and it took 3 months to get all the refund issues resolved due to all the systematic issues they were having. Don't wait, call after the 7-10 day business window if you don't see the refunds. I won't get into all the details, but it took many calls and elevations to the VP to get resolution. Contrast that with Carnival where you merely select "Cancel" on their website, you get a confirmation email of the cancellation, and the refund is automatically applied to your credit card.

 

Amazing to me that MSC is still having these issues considering how much money they are spending on all the new ships. They have to get the fundamentals right, and I think the Meraviglia rollout only confirms they still don't have it down. Unfortunate, as we were really excited about Seaside. Maybe I'll try them again, but it won't be until the reviews are much improved and all the repeat issues are resolved.

[Two Wheels Only]

I just heard from the new Senior Vice President of Sales for North America and he said that his top priority is to get the website working to the expectations of MSC's partners and guests.

 

Just show him the following....

 

Again we appreciate your input and will continue to improve our website and online support.

 

Sincerely,

 

MSC Cruises USA

... from almost 5 years ago. :rolleyes:

[kikki21]

I too cancelled 2 cruises with MSC (1 on Divina and 1 on Seaside) due to the lack of confidence and issues I had with MSC. They changed the cabin on one of my reservations without telling me and it took 3 months to get all the refund issues resolved due to all the systematic issues they were having. Don't wait' date=' call after the 7-10 day business window if you don't see the refunds. I won't get into all the details, but it took many calls and elevations to the VP to get resolution. Contrast that with Carnival where you merely select "Cancel" on their website, you get a confirmation email of the cancellation, and the refund is automatically applied to your credit card.

 

 

 

Amazing to me that MSC is still having these issues considering how much money they are spending on all the new ships. They have to get the fundamentals right, and I think the Meraviglia rollout only confirms they still don't have it down. Unfortunate, as we were really excited about Seaside. Maybe I'll try them again, but it won't be until the reviews are much improved and all the repeat issues are resolved.[/quote']

 

 

 

It is always worrying when a selling website doesn't have the correct information & then constantly crashes. It doesn't fill you with confidence.

There were numerous "computer" issues on the Meraviglia.

Drink ordering system crashed repeatedly.

Excursions were showing in the system but tickets weren't printed out but apparently that was ok.

The photo technology could not link 2 cruise cards pictures that were linked to the same account. They tried numerous times but couldn't do it. We wanted the pics as a digital file. Managed to make that work & they printed some pictures off for us free of charge.

The technology is much vaunted on the Meraviglia but things were already not working a month in.

Air con failed in the Aurea part of the main dining room - no doubt computer controlled.

 

 

 

 

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[Cap'n Ron]

It is always worrying when a selling website doesn't have the correct information & then constantly crashes. It doesn't fill you with confidence.

There were numerous "computer" issues on the Meraviglia.

Drink ordering system crashed repeatedly.

Excursions were showing in the system but tickets weren't printed out but apparently that was ok.

The photo technology could not link 2 cruise cards pictures that were linked to the same account. They tried numerous times but couldn't do it. We wanted the pics as a digital file. Managed to make that work & they printed some pictures off for us free of charge.

The technology is much vaunted on the Meraviglia but things were already not working a month in.

Air con failed in the Aurea part of the main dining room - no doubt computer controlled.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sorry to hear about all the issues. Hopefully, they will get the issues resolved with launching these new ships. I know the other lines have their own issues with new ship launches, but MSC's seem to be across the board. They are a strong value price wise, but outside of the Yacht Club, they have a long way to go with the overall customer service experience.

[kikki21]

Sorry to hear about all the issues. Hopefully' date=' they will get the issues resolved with launching these new ships. I know the other lines have their own issues with new ship launches, but MSC's seem to be across the board. They are a strong value price wise, but outside of the Yacht Club, they have a long way to go with the overall customer service experience.[/quote']

 

 

 

Totally agree with you. I'd be up for trying again in YC. I've sailed on a brand new ship & a ship that had been launched with the same time frame that Meraviglia had when we sailed on her & neither of these ships had any of these issues & this was in the last few years!

Price was great & a major plus point for us.

 

 

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[GadgetRick]

I'm crossing my fingers we don't have issues at the port. Everyone seems to say, once onboard, it's a good experience. So I'm hoping.

 

We got Silver status but I'm already getting a military discount--one of the good/easy things they offer--and that's more than the 5% discount for Silver. I guess I get a drink and some fruit or something in addition.

 

The lack of customer service and the issues they have had with their technology is a culture issue in the company. They must build the correct culture from the top down and they don't seem to have that happening. It's sad, especially since they're trying to break into the NA market. They seem to be modeling themselves after how Comcast does business. That's not a good thing.

 

Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed...

[Janedoe2012]

I had two cruises booked with MSC (one for Nov) and another on the Seaside in January but have cancelled my Seaside cruise due to the lack of customer service. Multiple phone calls, emails and Facebook messaging to correct a few errors on my account with no response in 4 weeks. I will book a Bermuda trip with another cruise line

[kikki21]

I'm crossing my fingers we don't have issues at the port. Everyone seems to say, once onboard, it's a good experience. So I'm hoping.

 

 

 

We got Silver status but I'm already getting a military discount--one of the good/easy things they offer--and that's more than the 5% discount for Silver. I guess I get a drink and some fruit or something in addition.

 

 

 

The lack of customer service and the issues they have had with their technology is a culture issue in the company. They must build the correct culture from the top down and they don't seem to have that happening. It's sad, especially since they're trying to break into the NA market. They seem to be modeling themselves after how Comcast does business. That's not a good thing.

 

 

 

Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed...

 

 

 

They can compete on price for sure but although a lot of cruisers are motivated by price, if the cruise experience doesn't live up to expectation then this will lead to major disappointment.

To me, MSC are trying to compete with Royal Caribbean & NCL, I don't think they can do that with Meraviglia which I presume will just replace Divina. Maybe they think that Seaside will help them & they will learn from the Meraviglia issues.

 

 

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[GOLDENBONNY]

AM I the only one who has no problem? My booking shows no problem and web works no problem. Just clean your cookies people .

[GOLDENBONNY]

More fun from the knuckleheads running the show at MSC...

 

Tried to call them this morning to speak with Customer Service and try to sort things out. What a joke. Have to call their normal number, wait on hold to get someone so you can ask for Customer Service (you get a booking agent first). Then, have to wait on hold for Customer Service. How about giving us the option to go there DIRECTLY??

I get lady 1 on the phone, explaining the problems I'm having and my concerns. She tells me--like everyone else has over the past 6+ months--everything is fine on their end. I tried to explain the problems I was having, etc. She puts me on hold and....I get disconnected. Ugh...

Call back, wait on hold, get the booking agent. The guy tries to tell me Customer Service doesn't deal with you unless you've sailed. I (politely as possible) explain to him I was just on the phone with them and was disconnected. He still wants to argue with me. I (not as politely this time) ask him to please put me through to Customer Service. So he finally does.

Wait on hold. Get told everything is fine, blah blah blah. I ask to speak with a supervisor. I get put on hold, she comes back and says she's transferring me to her supervisor...and I get VM. Of course, I left a VM but have heard nothing from them. That was almost 6 hours ago.

Honestly, I have no idea what they've got going on. I really want to get excited about this trip but I just know (in my heart), I'm going to get to Miami and there will be problems and I'll be standing there in the port trying to argue with them. I've already wasted HOURS of my time trying to sort things out. I'm totally frustrated at this point...

If I weren't 2 weeks out, I'd insist on a full refund and book with another cruise line who seems to actually care (at least a little) about their passengers. But, it's too close and we have family coming in from out of town for this.

 

 

sorry,but I don't even get what problem you have? what you want to do? Just print your documents you must have them or cal land ask them to mail it to you.

[tkportersat]

Now you sound like you work for MSC. I can tell you wholeheartedly that one day I pull up the booking and it is completely fine and then the next day it's gone. If you aren't having issues, great - very glad to hear that. But many are and MSC needs to figure it out. Nothing to do with my cookies.

 

AM I the only one who has no problem? My booking shows no problem and web works no problem. Just clean your cookies people .

[trvlgirlmq]

I too cancelled 2 cruises with MSC (1 on Divina and 1 on Seaside) due to the lack of confidence and issues I had with MSC. They changed the cabin on one of my reservations without telling me and it took 3 months to get all the refund issues resolved due to all the systematic issues they were having. Don't wait' date=' call after the 7-10 day business window if you don't see the refunds[/color']. I won't get into all the details, but it took many calls and elevations to the VP to get resolution. Contrast that with Carnival where you merely select "Cancel" on their website, you get a confirmation email of the cancellation, and the refund is automatically applied to your credit card.

 

Amazing to me that MSC is still having these issues considering how much money they are spending on all the new ships. They have to get the fundamentals right, and I think the Meraviglia rollout only confirms they still don't have it down. Unfortunate, as we were really excited about Seaside. Maybe I'll try them again, but it won't be until the reviews are much improved and all the repeat issues are resolved.

 

I called this morning because the refund still was not in my account. Guess what? It was never processed and sent to accounting! What?? How is that possible when I spoke to someone, confirmed I was cancelling and she said the refund would be back on my card in a few days. Amazing. Hopefully the person who I spoke to today did what he said he would and sent it to accounting. Ineptitude abounds. I'll be keeping an eye out again.

[GadgetRick]

Now you sound like you work for MSC. I can tell you wholeheartedly that one day I pull up the booking and it is completely fine and then the next day it's gone. If you aren't having issues, great - very glad to hear that. But many are and MSC needs to figure it out. Nothing to do with my cookies.

Exactly.

 

This sounds like the person I spoke with from the PR department who argued with me to tell me nobody is having problems and everyone is making stuff up.

 

Clear your cookies...smh...