MSC Comedy of Errors

[optimusprime82]

Dealing with MSC customer service is always an adventure. I just called to tonight to make a small payment over the phone since their website still won't allow you to make payments that are not for the full remaining balance. Placed my call at 7:53pm ET and received a message stating that their office was closed and that their weekday hours were 8am to 9pm ET. I guess they closed early tonight or haven't updated their message to reflect new hours of operations. Thank goodness I enjoy the onboard experience so much because I'd much rather deal with Carnival or NCL's website.

[Stockjock]

Their recording and business hours have been off for awhile, it's not just today.

According to MSC, my GF and I are on the Magnifica right now.  They had changed our October 10 night sailing to a sailing out of London tonight.  Thus, the reservation has dropped off my screen.  No one at MSC seems to know what's going on.

Is the cruise cancelled?  Maybe.

Will something take its place?  Maybe.

Will it be the same ship or a different one?  Who knows?!

Would a replacement itinerary be similar or radically different?  Great question!

Any credit being offered?  Your guess is as good as MSC's!

Will we receive any notification as to what's going on?  Maybe, at some point, if you're lucky!

If they do cancel, how long will it take to return the deposit?  At least 2-3 months!

I could go on, but you get the idea.

To contrast that, I had a cruise booked on Celebrity.  They changed ships and let me know what was going on promptly.  Put me in the same cabin number on a better ship, added one night to the itinerary with no additional charge.  Quick resolution to an issue, prompt communication, and I was put in a better position than I had been before.  That's the way to do it.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Stockjock

[drsel]

On 5/15/2021 at 8:36 AM, Stockjock said:

To contrast that, I had a cruise booked on Celebrity.  They changed ships and let me know what was going on promptly.  Put me in the same cabin number on a better ship, added one night to the itinerary with no additional charge.  Quick resolution to an issue, prompt communication, and I was put in a better position than I had been before.  That's the way to do it.

Not only that, Celebrity has amazing, HUGE price drops 45 to 90 days prior to sailing in order to fill up the last few cabins.

Edited May 16, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

I remember paying USD 903 for two adults in an Ocean view cabin with 300 OBC for a 9 night Cruise on Celebrity constellation from Abu Dhabi.

This was including all port fees and taxes, but excluding gratuities.

 

After deducting the OBC it worked out to an incredible USD 302 per head for a fabulous 9  night Cruise, including all port fees and taxes.

 

Just waiting for history to repeat itself.

Edited May 16, 2021 by drsel

[Stockjock]

I think the cruise I just booked on Celebrity was a good one.  7 night Alaska on the Millennium as a group rate for $620 OV guarantee.  I've already been assigned (1 day) and it was on the bow of the ship, but they let me move back a bit.

The travel agent said drinks, tips and wi-fi are not included because it's a group rate, but the Celebrity agent said that they were included, as they had gone to an "Always Included" format.  If that's the case, it's a great deal for cruise, drinks, tips and wi-fi.  If I don't get the perks for some reason, still a good deal, imo.

What I like about Celebrity is that I'm typically not going to have continuous problems like I do with MSC.  Some would say, "Then just book Celebrity".  And while that's definitely an option, I'd love to see MSC clean up their act with respect to customer service, as there are things to like about MSC.  But they are certainly capable of doing much, much better.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Stockjock

[optimusprime82]

My wife called to make a small cruise payment today. The phone rep mentioned that we were missing our Voyager's Club discount, 5% I think, and wanted to make sure we were getting the correct discounted price.

 

The CSR's best intentions have caused a lot more problems lol. As far as I can tell no new discount has been applied. Honestly I think MSC had already applied the VC discount when we booked this cruise last year. Not only is there no new discount on our cruise, the $780 FCC that was previously applied was removed today and could not be reapplied by the CSR. The CSR was apologetic to my wife and said we'd have to email the Existing Reservation Department to have our FCC reapplied. 

 

Tonight I emailed MSC's Existing Reservation Department about the VC discount and our FCC to see if they can correctly apply them both and provide us with an up-to-date balance due.

 

The road to hell is paved with good intentions lol.

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, optimusprime82 said:

My wife called to make a small cruise payment today. The phone rep mentioned that we were missing our Voyager's Club discount, 5% I think, and wanted to make sure we were getting the correct discounted price.

 

The CSR's best intentions have caused a lot more problems lol. As far as I can tell no new discount has been applied. Honestly I think MSC had already applied the VC discount when we booked this cruise last year. Not only is there no new discount on our cruise, the $780 FCC that was previously applied was removed today and could not be reapplied by the CSR. The CSR was apologetic to my wife and said we'd have to email the Existing Reservation Department to have our FCC reapplied. 

 

Tonight I emailed MSC's Existing Reservation Department about the VC discount and our FCC to see if they can correctly apply them both and provide us with an up-to-date balance due.

 

The road to hell is paved with good intentions lol.

This ties in with my prior comments regarding MSC customer service.  Once you have your booking more or less the way you want it to look, don't call MSC!

Most of their agents are very nice, and as you noted, likely have very good intentions, but in my experience, if you change anything there is at least a 50% chance something is going to get fouled up and the agents are often powerless to fix it.

[Stockjock]

I guess I'll add this to the comedy of errors thread.

Currently, I have 4 bookings on MSC, 2 of which appear to have been cancelled.  To my knowledge, these cancellations are not covid-related.

Today, I got a message stating that my Future Cruise Credit is now available for 1 of the 2 sailings.  I had previously been told that they were trying to "rework" one or both of my sailings.  So rather than having to book a new cruise, they would offer to move me into a similar cruise at the old price I paid.  Currently, something very similar to what I had before (similar ship, same number of days, same departure point, almost the same day, worse itinerary), is about $600 USD more expensive, plus I had a balcony on the other, this would be an Oceanview Guarantee.  So it would definitely be preferable to be moved into a similar sailing at the old price, if possible.

Called MSC today, as instructed in the e-mail.  Despite receiving the FCC certificate, which still does not mention that the cruise has been cancelled, I'm told I'm still in a locked status with my reservations in a "placeholder" status, and that something different may or may not be offered.  There may be more information forthcoming, but they don't know when or what.  Might be at the end of the month, or maybe by the middle of next month.  I was told that the FCC notice may have been sent out "prematurely".

Hard to reschedule lives when you can't get good information so that you can rearrange flights, hotels, work schedules and such.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Stockjock

[optimusprime82]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

I guess I'll add this to the comedy of errors thread.

Currently, I have 4 bookings on MSC, 2 of which appear to have been cancelled.  To my knowledge, these cancellations are not covid-related.

Today, I got a message stating that my Future Cruise Credit is now available for 1 of the 2 sailings.  I had previously been told that they were trying to "rework" one or both of my sailings.  So rather than having to book a new cruise, they would offer to move me into a similar cruise at the old price I paid.  Currently, something very similar to what I had before (similar ship, same number of days, same departure point, almost the same day, worse itinerary), is about $600 USD more expensive, plus I had a balcony on the other, this would be an Oceanview Guarantee.  So it would definitely be preferable to be moved into a similar sailing at the old price, if possible.

Called MSC today, as instructed in the e-mail.  Despite receiving the FCC certificate, which still does not mention that the cruise has been cancelled, I'm told I'm still in a locked status with my reservations in a "placeholder" status, and that something different may or may not be offered.  There may be more information forthcoming, but they don't know when or what.  Might be at the end of the month, or maybe by the middle of next month.  I was told that the FCC notice may have been sent out "prematurely".

Hard to reschedule lives when you can't get good information so that you can rearrange flights, hotels, work schedules and such.

 

Yeah, that entire situation appears to suck.

 

Early last year when we booked out upcoming sailing it was on the Divina from NYC to Miami. We never got an email telling us our sailing had changed, I just logged in after I heard that MSC had cancelled all future NYC sailings and found out that we were rebooked on a B2B Miami to Miami trip. We were sort of irritated about not being notified but I'm also aware that 2020 was absolute chaos for the entire industry. We were also happy to see that our travel dates didn't change and our balcony room on the Meravigilia had a hot tub (which the Divina's did not). The itinerary isn't very good in my opinion but after twenty-four months of between cruises I'll be happy to sail just about anywhere at this point. 

[drsel]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

I guess I'll add this to the comedy of errors thread.

Currently, I have 4 bookings on MSC, 2 of which appear to have been cancelled.  To my knowledge, these cancellations are not covid-related.

Today, I got a message stating that my Future Cruise Credit is now available for 1 of the 2 sailings.  I had previously been told that they were trying to "rework" one or both of my sailings.  So rather than having to book a new cruise, they would offer to move me into a similar cruise at the old price I paid.  Currently, something very similar to what I had before (similar ship, same number of days, same departure point, almost the same day, worse itinerary), is about $600 USD more expensive, plus I had a balcony on the other, this would be an Oceanview Guarantee.  So it would definitely be preferable to be moved into a similar sailing at the old price, if possible.

Called MSC today, as instructed in the e-mail.  Despite receiving the FCC certificate, which still does not mention that the cruise has been cancelled, I'm told I'm still in a locked status with my reservations in a "placeholder" status, and that something different may or may not be offered.  There may be more information forthcoming, but they don't know when or what.  Might be at the end of the month, or maybe by the middle of next month.  I was told that the FCC notice may have been sent out "prematurely".

Hard to reschedule lives when you can't get good information so that you can rearrange flights, hotels, work schedules and such.

I  just received a FCC + USD 200 for only 1 cancelled cruise.

I am trying to use it to book  a new longer much more expensive cruise on almost the same date, same port.

 

Their plan was to initially offer amazingly cheap cruises, then cancel them & force you to book  much more expensive cruises (double the cost per night for the same cabin category) or wait a long time for a refund.

Edited May 25, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

But, great news!

My FCC was immediately applied to my new cruise with no fresh cash deposit required.

I got the $ 200 OBC also along with my agents 8% discount on the basic commissionable fare (which excludes taxes & port fees)

Edited May 25, 2021 by drsel

[Stockjock]

5 minutes ago, drsel said:

But, great news!

My FCC was immediately applied to my new cruise with no fresh cash deposit required.

I got the $ 200 OBC also along with my agents 8% discount on the basic fare.

I was going to suggest that you wait and see if they do in fact make you a better offer by moving you into a new similar booking, but if you found a cruise you like at a reasonable price, that's what really matters.

For now, I'm just standing pat on the assumption that more info will be forthcoming.  But at some point, one has to bite the bullet and lock something or other in (or not) in order to establish flights, hotel, time off from work (if applicable), etc.

[drsel]

16 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I was going to suggest that you wait and see if they do in fact make you a better offer by moving you into a new similar booking, but if you found a cruise you like at a reasonable price, that's what really matters.

For now, I'm just standing pat on the assumption that more info will be forthcoming.  But at some point, one has to bite the bullet and lock something or other in (or not) in order to establish flights, hotel, time off from work (if applicable), etc.

Once U get a FCC + $200 OBC, thats it!

The $200 is the bonus for having to book a much more expensive new cruise

No further offer will be given. Either use the FCC +$200 OBC or ask for a refund. Fair enough

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by drsel

[optimusprime82]

Emailed Monday night, got a reply on Wednesday saying that my email was being forwarded to the right department and got another email today with a booking pdf but no other text. Logged into the MSC website and my booking is back to normal. Not sure who they forwarded my email to since I know I already sent it to the right place the first time. No additional discount was applied so I don't know why we had to go through this in the first place. No harm, no foul, just a waste of several emails. 

[Envelope21]

I got an email on 5/25 with a big bold headline stating, "Your Future Cruise Credit Is Here". I called to book a new cruise with the credit and they said it won't become available until June 14. I wanted to take advantage of the Memorial Day sale, but cannot because the credit won't appear until 2 weeks later.

 

Sigh

 

[dexddd]

26 minutes ago, Envelope21 said:

I got an email on 5/25 with a big bold headline stating, "Your Future Cruise Credit Is Here". I called to book a new cruise with the credit and they said it won't become available until June 14. I wanted to take advantage of the Memorial Day sale, but cannot because the credit won't appear until 2 weeks later.

 

Sigh

 

I wish I'd get that type of email.  Just passed 14 months waiting for FCC.

[drsel]

4 hours ago, dexddd said:

I wish I'd get that type of email.  Just passed 14 months waiting for FCC.

Maybe you had earlier asked for a full refund,  hence they did not process the FCC .

Also FCCs are normally issued for fully paid cruises which MSc cancelled due to Covid.

Edited May 29, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

5 hours ago, Envelope21 said:

I got an email on 5/25 with a big bold headline stating, "Your Future Cruise Credit Is Here". I called to book a new cruise with the credit and they said it won't become available until June 14. I wanted to take advantage of the Memorial Day sale..

What exactly is this memorial day sale and what is the discount given?

 

I just noticed that the price including free drinks, Wi-Fi and $100 OBC is substantially higher than the previous Cruise only fare.

So, it's not really a big deal

Edited May 29, 2021 by drsel

[Itchy&Scratchy]

4 hours ago, drsel said:

I just noticed that the price including free drinks, Wi-Fi and $100 OBC is substantially higher than the previous Cruise only fare.

Funny thing about the Memorial day sale. The website says: FREE drinks and wifi, so you assume that FREE drinks and wifi will simply be added to the bare bones fare, but - no. "FREE drinks and wifi Memorial Day sale" fare is $80 pp per week higher, which is still a great deal in my eyes. Other cruise lines offer drink packages for $40-70 pp per day. Here it looks like we are paying $80pp for a drink package and wifi for the entire week.

[drsel]

6 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Funny thing about the Memorial day sale. The website says: FREE drinks and wifi, so you assume that FREE drinks and wifi will simply be added to the bare bones fare, but - no. "FREE drinks and wifi Memorial Day sale" fare is $80 pp per week higher, which is still a great deal in my eyes. Other cruise lines offer drink packages for $40-70 pp per day. Here it looks like we are paying $80pp for a drink package and wifi for the entire week.

For Europe Cruises out of Barcelona the difference is $300 to 400  for 7 nights

Edited May 30, 2021 by drsel

[Roger88]

12 hours ago, drsel said:

What exactly is this memorial day sale and what is the discount given?

 

I just noticed that the price including free drinks, Wi-Fi and $100 OBC is substantially higher than the previous Cruise only fare.

So, it's not really a big deal

This can be anything. They might come up with any celebration just to make a sicount on a cruise that they need to be fully packed before sail 

[Stockjock]

I finally cancelled a cruise that I found out was actually cancelled November 8, 2020.  There was never notification of any kind that this cruise was actually cancelled and that's true to this day, nearly 8 months later.

Even on the day of cancellation, I received mixed stories from customer service.  One said it was cancelled but that I'd likely be moved into a new sailing, but I couldn't even request a refund for over a month.  The other said I could get a refund now, but there's no way they were moving us into a different sailing.  In any event, the deed is done.  But as usual, it was a comedy of errors in terms of a total lack of communication and misinformation when I asked.

[drsel]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I finally cancelled a cruise that I found out was actually cancelled November 8, 2020.  There was never notification of any kind that this cruise was actually cancelled and that's true to this day, nearly 8 months later.

Even on the day of cancellation, I received mixed stories from customer service.  One said it was cancelled but that I'd likely be moved into a new sailing, but I couldn't even request a refund for over a month.  The other said I could get a refund now, but there's no way they were moving us into a different sailing.  In any event, the deed is done.  But as usual, it was a comedy of errors in terms of a total lack of communication and misinformation when I asked.

If I were you, I would demand 100% FCC plus $200 OBC.

A refund will take a minimum of 60 days.

Also I cannot find any more good deals on Cruises, other than MSC.

 

Other Cruise lines have become too expensive, including Celebrity, Norwegian, Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean. (These are all supposedly better than MSC).

 

Carnival is still affordable by and large, while Costa has low prices only in the near future.

But then MSC is much better than Costa.

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by drsel

[DCGuy64]

It's very hard for me to believe that an upcoming cruise was cancelled last November. Something about that doesn't seem right. There's more to the story, I'm sure. All the more reason to use a professional travel agent. There's no WAY it'd have taken him 8 months to inform us.

[optimusprime82]

Our fourteen night cruise on the Meraviglia is a mess now. We have two separate bookings now, in two different cabins. Sent an email to the Existing Reservations email address per the suggestion of the phone rep that was assisting us in mid-June. Heard back within a week acknowledging that some work needed to be done on to correct our booking and MSC requested a good contact number and time to call me. Replied the same day and have emailed two more times since but no one has ever called me. Their email asking for a good contact number and time to call was received ten days ago. Not really sure what to do since the normal phone reps don’t seem equipped to fix most complicated issues. Our final payment is due at the end of the month and right now the website shows we $5,000 more than we’re supposed to lol.