What to do when cabin mate has to cancel

[unicorn46]

MSC Fantasia .... MSC would not accept a booking for a solo traveler, so I found someone who might be able to go with me, and provided their name when I booked. The probability is low that this person will be able to go. So once they tell me definitely NO, what is my best course of action ... notify the travel agent right away or just have the person be a "no show" on date of departure? Would I be reimbursed for the drink package that person purchased ?? (I'm paying all the expenses for the cabin)

[6rugrats]

Same advice as your other thread asking basically the same question. Contact your TA.

[cocod08]

I say go and have the person be a no show it’s not like they’ll kick you off the ship.

 

 

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[zqvol]

DO NOT CONTACT the TA or MSC. Just have the person no show. If you contact MSC you risk having everything canceled.

[navybankerteacher]

MSC Fantasia .... MSC would not accept a booking for a solo traveler, so I found someone who might be able to go with me, and provided their name when I booked. The probability is low that this person will be able to go. So once they tell me definitely NO, what is my best course of action ... notify the travel agent right away or just have the person be a "no show" on date of departure? Would I be reimbursed for the drink package that person purchased ?? (I'm paying all the expenses for the cabin)

 

If you are "paying all the expenses for the cabin", why bother with a likely no-show? --- just book it yourself. If you think you might not have to pay his fare anyway because of the single supplement, I think you will be disappointed.

[SRF]

If you are "paying all the expenses for the cabin", why bother with a likely no-show? --- just book it yourself. If you think you might not have to pay his fare anyway because of the single supplement, I think you will be disappointed.

 

Maybe because ...

 

MSC would not accept a booking for a solo traveler

As per the original post.

[Shmoo here]

Maybe because ...

 

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As per the original post.

I find it odd that a cruise line will not let him/her book. Maybe there was some misunderstanding in that a cruise line will not reduce prices and have one person in a room (for half the cost). Certainly many of us are aware of the single supplement - basically you must pay for a minimum of 2 people in a room, but you certainly can put only one person on the reservation.

 

From the MSC contract/website:

 

Passenger shall not have the right to exclusive occupancy of a cabin with two (2) or more berths unless he has paid supplement for exclusive occupation. The Company reserves the right to transfer the Passenger from one cabin to another and may adjust the Fare accordingly.

tThat seems to say that a single passenger can occupy a room. As long as the passenger is willing to pay the cost.

[navybankerteacher]

 

 

tThat seems to say that a single passenger can occupy a room. As long as the passenger is willing to pay the cost.

 

Precisely : MSC is delighted to sell cabins for single occupancy --- as long as said single occupant is willing to pay the single supplement. I can't help wondering if OP thought he had a way of booking the cabin while just paying the per-passenger fare .

[Maugrim]

I’m travelling as a single. MSC happily sold me a ticket, so long as I paid for the whole cabin, no discount was given when I rang them to ask. I don’t mind, a decent double upgrade has made it better value.

[Homosassa]

Has MSC changed it single passenger fare structure? When my sister booked as a single, her fare was not double the cost of a passenger booked in a double room. It was the cost of of passenger one and half of what passenger two would have paid (i.e.; 75% of the cost of a two passenger cabin).

 

This is why MSC has limited single passenger fares on its cruises.

[mom2tcdx2]

MSC Quite often stops selling a cabin for a single. There are multiple threads in which this has been stated. Sometimes it will let you and other times when it tells them there is only 1 person the system shows no cabins available. I would say this is what the OP encountered, basically why they gave a second person.

[cruiseguyinorl]

Precisely : MSC is delighted to sell cabins for single occupancy --- as long as said single occupant is willing to pay the single supplement.

 

Unfortunately, you are misinformed. MSC only allows singles on a particular sailing up to a certain percentage of cabins (of which I have been sworn to secrecy). Once that has been reached, only double occupancy cabins or higher are allowed, unlike most other cruise lines. When this occurs, the only way around this is to book a fictitious second person in the cabin. And no, it does not create problems during embarkation for this "person" to be a "no-show".

 

Having booked MSC for over nine years now, this is a common issue and pops up frequently. Contrary to what may be said here, the OP does know what they are talking about.

 

Bret

[Shmoo here]

Has MSC changed it single passenger fare structure? When my sister booked as a single, her fare was not double the cost of a passenger booked in a double room. It was the cost of of passenger one and half of what passenger two would have paid (i.e.; 75% of the cost of a two passenger cabin).

 

...

 

Unfortunately, you are misinformed. MSC only allows singles on a particular sailing up to a certain percentage of cabins (of which I have been sworn to secrecy). Once that has been reached, only double occupancy cabins or higher are allowed, unlike most other cruise lines. When this occurs, the only way around this is to book a fictitious second person in the cabin. And no, it does not create problems during embarkation for this "person" to be a "no-show".

 

Having booked MSC for over nine years now, this is a common issue and pops up frequently. Contrary to what may be said here, the OP does know what they are talking about.

 

Bret

 

That makes sense. MSC allowing single bookings at a reduced price (150%) until a certain percentage of rooms are singles. Then requiring an actual double occupancy booking after that. They make more money that way.

[nautica34]

If you end up booking a fictitious 2nd passenger, you'll have to pay the taxes and fees up front (in addition to the cruise fare) and then get reimbursed when you return. I cruised beginning of March and still trying to get my refund. When you check in on embarkation day just say the other person was a no show.

 

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[AmoMondo]

It used to. E really easy to book any cruise as a so.o

Assembler. Just after the credit crunch, you could even get some sailings with no single supplement. Then it became almost impossible (at least in the U.K.). There were some sailings where they wouldn’t accept any solo bookings. Had the ridiculous situation that they had around 20cabins unsold for the Dubai sailings 3weeks out and preferred to leave them unsold rather than sell it to me even at 200%.

 

They appear to have relented somewhat but do appear to ration the number of solos on a particular cruise. Last time I looked (last year) they was no availability at all on the newer bigger ships. No matter which dates you looked, until you changed the pax number to 2.

 

 

Used to sail solo with them 2,3or even 4 times a year but rarely do now. They went from being solo friendly to unfriendly, then completely degraded the Club benefits. Plenty other places to spend my holiday budget!

[8420PR]

As recently as March 2018 MSC were offering quite a few cruises (only Cuba or re-positioning though) for solo travelers with no solo supplement.

 

Nothing available at the moment:

https://www.msccruises.co.uk/en-gb/Cruise-Deals/Solo-Cruises.aspx

[unicorn46]

If you are "paying all the expenses for the cabin", why bother with a likely no-show? --- just book it yourself. If you think you might not have to pay his fare anyway because of the single supplement, I think you will be disappointed.

 

They would not let me book as a single. My TA told me that MSC only allows a certain number of solo travelers per cruise, and I guess that had already been exceeded.

[unicorn46]

Same advice as your other thread asking basically the same question. Contact your TA.

 

 

Sorry for duplicate posts; I'm new to the forum and wasn't sure if my first post was specific to an MSC cruise (someone else recommended posting specifically to MSC, when I asked another question). I won't ask any more questions of the forum. Thanks.

[unicorn46]

I find it odd that a cruise line will not let him/her book. Maybe there was some misunderstanding in that a cruise line will not reduce prices and have one person in a room (for half the cost). Certainly many of us are aware of the single supplement - basically you must pay for a minimum of 2 people in a room, but you certainly can put only one person on the reservation.

 

From the MSC contract/website:

 

Passenger shall not have the right to exclusive occupancy of a cabin with two (2) or more berths unless he has paid supplement for exclusive occupation. The Company reserves the right to transfer the Passenger from one cabin to another and may adjust the Fare accordingly.

tThat seems to say that a single passenger can occupy a room. As long as the passenger is willing to pay the cost.

 

 

I was told by a travel agent that MSC restricts the number of solo rooms it will sell. And she could not book a single for me. I called another agent and was told the same thing. I can go on the MSC website and put one for the number of passengers, and it will not even show the ship as being available for the same date I'm booked. Changed the number of passengers to 2, and it lets me continue. I fully understand the double occupancy rule. I just feel like I'm lying when I have to add someone's name to the booking just get the cabin I want, and then have that person be a 'no-show' so it doesn't cost me even more ....

[thegraminator]

Sorry for duplicate posts; I'm new to the forum and wasn't sure if my first post was specific to an MSC cruise (someone else recommended posting specifically to MSC, when I asked another question). I won't ask any more questions of the forum. Thanks.

 

Zoe&Shadow please don't be discouraged by rude comments ! There are a few nasty people on these boards and a few topics that set some folks off, but generally you will find truly helpful people here. We were all new posters at one time, and believe me I have been flamed more than once!

 

Please post your questions and comments . Let the haters hate. There are plenty who welcome you.

[CruiseGal999]

MSC Fantasia .... MSC would not accept a booking for a solo traveler, so I found someone who might be able to go with me, and provided their name when I booked. The probability is low that this person will be able to go. So once they tell me definitely NO, what is my best course of action ... notify the travel agent right away or just have the person be a "no show" on date of departure? Would I be reimbursed for the drink package that person purchased ?? (I'm paying all the expenses for the cabin)

 

What's the details of the cruise .... when, where, were trying to book Bella? Did you try booking Fantastica?

 

I ask, because I just put a deposit on an MSC cruise and I couldn't 'SELECT' a cabin under Bella but I could CHOOSE my own cabin as a solo cruiser under Fantastica. It cost $120 more ... but worth getting the location I want and NOT having to deal with a guaranteed.

 

I know that time of year, itinerary, etc. all matters with MSC and IF or how many solo cruisers they allow.

[pappahbuttz]

I personally think that to avoid all this confusion, upset etc. why can't MSC, and other cruise lines for that matter, just post this kind of information online instead of folks having to guess, go online etc and get false or misleading information. It is 100% clear that cruise lines are in tit for every cent profit possible, which is why they are in business in the first place, however they could be better at explaining this and other issues to the customers. I have traveled solo once before and this June again on the Seaview. I was quite shocked before when I was going to book a cruise on RCCL, which had studio cabins ( made for the solo cruiser), but it was cheaper to take a much larger better cabin, which makes no sense.

[Hey Tina]

I personally think that to avoid all this confusion, upset etc. why can't MSC, and other cruise lines for that matter, just post this kind of information online instead of folks having to guess, go online etc and get false or misleading information. It is 100% clear that cruise lines are in tit for every cent profit possible, which is why they are in business in the first place, however they could be better at explaining this and other issues to the customers. I have traveled solo once before and this June again on the Seaview. I was quite shocked before when I was going to book a cruise on RCCL, which had studio cabins ( made for the solo cruiser), but it was cheaper to take a much larger better cabin, which makes no sense.

 

It wouldn't matter if it was posted online, people would still post here (and on other forums) asking questions that could VERY easily be answered by information on the official website.

[unicorn46]

Zoe&Shadow please don't be discouraged by rude comments ! There are a few nasty people on these boards and a few topics that set some folks off, but generally you will find truly helpful people here. We were all new posters at one time, and believe me I have been flamed more than once!

 

Please post your questions and comments . Let the haters hate. There are plenty who welcome you.

 

 

Thank you ! :)

[unicorn46]

What's the details of the cruise .... when, where, were trying to book Bella? Did you try booking Fantastica?

 

I ask, because I just put a deposit on an MSC cruise and I couldn't 'SELECT' a cabin under Bella but I could CHOOSE my own cabin as a solo cruiser under Fantastica. It cost $120 more ... but worth getting the location I want and NOT having to deal with a guaranteed.

 

I know that time of year, itinerary, etc. all matters with MSC and IF or how many solo cruisers they allow.

 

Mediterranean Cruise, Sept 2018. I worked with a travel agent. I wanted a balcony cabin. She told me there were no cabins at any level/price point that MSC would sell to a solo traveler. It is because of their rule that only a certain number / percentage of cabins can be sold to a solo traveler. I even read on one of these posts that they would rather not sell the cabin than to sell to a solo traveler. I don't understand the logic behind that, but it is what it is !!