Cuba.....uh, oh.

[abbeytravelstheworld]

For those of you that have done ruins tours from Costa Maya how doable would this be with a stroller? We had not planned to do the ruins but now we will end up with 2 stops at Costa Maya in our back to back we might look at it. We have a 10 month old with us. 

[CTurtlelvr]

5 hours ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

I'm glad we are earlier so we have Key West. Cayman is too crowded for our tastes this days and we've done everything.... I'm not a all day beach person either.

 

Yeah, I could have gone either way, never been to either place. But, DH was miffed at an 'American' port as a replacement.  I still want to go to Key West, but I am thinking of giving cruising a break next year and renting a house there for a week next summer.  Have fun on your trip!

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Just now, CTurtlelvr said:

 

Yeah, I could have gone either way, never been to either place. But, DH was miffed at an 'American' port as a replacement.  I still want to go to Key West, but I am thinking of giving cruising a break next year and renting a house there for a week next summer.  Have fun on your trip!

I've done the food tour and Hemingway's house before. Both fun. Think I might do the pub crawl one or the food one (it's different from when I did before) and door forget to check our Kermits for Key Lime.... I especially enjoy the Key Lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate... for if you go next year... 😀

[BermudaBound2014]

3 hours ago, Wyoming2010 said:

WOW, got our notification from Oceania, and we were very pleasantly surprised. 

 

Nice replacement itinerary. I would expect nothing less of Oceania :). Enjoy!!

[CTurtlelvr]

42 minutes ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

I've done the food tour and Hemingway's house before. Both fun. Think I might do the pub crawl one or the food one (it's different from when I did before) and door forget to check our Kermits for Key Lime.... I especially enjoy the Key Lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate... for if you go next year... 😀

 

All of that sounds great, thanks for the tips!

[Rou-Dyliq]

As far as the stroller issue - I remember there being a family with one on the tour with us, however I wasn't looking at it with those eyes.  I remember it being easy to get around, level walking areas, shady places to sit, etc.  I don't remember how stroller friendly it is to get up close to say, the masks.  You can look at the sites online - many many photos in google images - and see what you think.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

13 hours ago, abbeytravelstheworld said:

For those of you that have done ruins tours from Costa Maya how doable would this be with a stroller? We had not planned to do the ruins but now we will end up with 2 stops at Costa Maya in our back to back we might look at it. We have a 10 month old with us. 

I'd email them and ask if you can. Whichever your company you are looking at.

Edited June 8, 2019 by AerynSun_JohnCrighton

[mickey89]

It definitely appears that many of the American cruise lines value their customer base far more highly than MSC.

I was of the opinion that MSC were trying to break into the American Market - well their recent offer as a result of the cancellation of their Havana cruises gives a bad impression which I believe will come back and bite them hard.

 

I big, big MISTAKE.

[Beamafar]

With respect, Mickey, I've been reading similar sentiments on here since Divina first went Stateside.  MSC must be doing alright out of Miami for them to homeport 4 ships from there this Winter ... and that's with the 'F' rating from BBB that doesn't seem to concern those booking MSC.

[BermudaBound2014]

53 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

With respect, Mickey, I've been reading similar sentiments on here since Divina first went Stateside.  MSC must be doing alright out of Miami for them to homeport 4 ships from there this Winter ... and that's with the 'F' rating from BBB that doesn't seem to concern those booking MSC.

 

Totally agree, many US consumers are solely price driven and would never even consider a BBB rating. However; the current stance by MSC regarding imposing cancellation fees for Havanna supports the BBB "F" rating (since this rating is more about a companies integrity and willingness to resolve conflict). I think we all can agree that MSC often has an "our way or the highway" philosophy. As mentioned, I thought the failure rating was perhaps because MSC is an Italian line, but Costa has managed to pull out an A rating from the BBB.

 

I hypothesize, that in order to fill 4 ships from Miami this Winter, MSC will need to price themselves at the bottom of the barrel. Time will tell. 

[Reds4life]

Speaking of Armonia and the number of ships sailing out of Miami, looking at Summer 2020, only Seaside comes up as an option. Is this temporary or did they decide to pull out Armonia since Cuba is not an option?

[Mattnvick]

7 minutes ago, Reds4life said:

Speaking of Armonia and the number of ships sailing out of Miami, looking at Summer 2020, only Seaside comes up as an option. Is this temporary or did they decide to pull out Armonia since Cuba is not an option?

 

Probably not worth their while to keep Armonia in the Carribean as she is older and only now really able to offer the standard Carribean route which given the choice most would go for the newer ships.

 

To me (hope you are reading this MSC) it would be now be an ideal opportunity having had Cuba taken away to take this ship  up to Seattle/Vancouver and do an Alaskan itinerary. 

 

 

[Mattnvick]

18 hours ago, abbeytravelstheworld said:

For those of you that have done ruins tours from Costa Maya how doable would this be with a stroller? We had not planned to do the ruins but now we will end up with 2 stops at Costa Maya in our back to back we might look at it. We have a 10 month old with us. 

 

 If your stroller has fairly sturdy wheels i would say at least Kokumlich ruins are totally doable as long as you are ok with the 2 hour bus ride.

 

The only bit you couldn't do is climb to the masks together but could be done separately. Same with the palace. Have you thought of using a backpack carrier? 

 

   

[8420PR]

I guess at the least they have stopped bookings on Armonia until the itinerary is finalized.   But I wouldn't be surprised if she does move from Miami.

[Beamafar]

6 minutes ago, Mattnvick said:

 

Probably not worth their while to keep Armonia in the Carribean as she is older and only now really able to offer the standard Carribean route which given the choice most would go for the newer ships.

 

To me (hope you are reading this MSC) it would be now be an ideal opportunity having had Cuba taken away to take this ship  up to Seattle/Vancouver and do an Alaskan itinerary. 

 

 

 

Great idea, Vicky!  👍

[sidari]

3 hours ago, mickey89 said:

It definitely appears that many of the American cruise lines value their customer base far more highly than MSC.

I was of the opinion that MSC were trying to break into the American Market - well their recent offer as a result of the cancellation of their Havana cruises gives a bad impression which I believe will come back and bite them hard.

 

I big, big MISTAKE.

At the end of the day MSC have to offer diddly squat, they didn't remove Havana they were forced to just like the other lines.

[Reds4life]

40 minutes ago, Mattnvick said:

 

Probably not worth their while to keep Armonia in the Carribean as she is older and only now really able to offer the standard Carribean route which given the choice most would go for the newer ships.

 

To me (hope you are reading this MSC) it would be now be an ideal opportunity having had Cuba taken away to take this ship  up to Seattle/Vancouver and do an Alaskan itinerary. 

 

 

Agreed. Armonia would work for Bermuda also. 

[ssmea03]

34 minutes ago, sidari said:

At the end of the day MSC have to offer diddly squat, they didn't remove Havana they were forced to just like the other lines.

Yes, instead of complaining on here about MSC, they should be writing letters of complaint to their representatives in congress,  and their president. They are the one's responsible for spoiling everyone's vacation. 

[mickey89]

32 minutes ago, sidari said:

At the end of the day MSC have to offer diddly squat, they didn't remove Havana they were forced to just like the other lines.

Maybe so but it's not a good business strategy to alienate your target market. All the major cruise lines which had Cuba on their itinerary rightly offered Cancellation as an option. They equally suffered due to US Foreign policy change but had more respect for they customers unlike MSC. 

[rwdtgb]

4 hours ago, mickey89 said:

It definitely appears that many of the American cruise lines value their customer base far more highly than MSC.

I was of the opinion that MSC were trying to break into the American Market - well their recent offer as a result of the cancellation of their Havana cruises gives a bad impression which I believe will come back and bite them hard.

 

I big, big MISTAKE.

Actually Mickey I am American and I am happy  with what MSC is doing for us and our now changed sailing on the Armonia. I am also pleased with the customer service I have received from the customer service agents on the phone. We were also on The Armonia back in May and could not be happier with the product they offered and the level of service we received. We have been fortunate enough to have cruised over 50 plus times on many different lines.

[sidari]

28 minutes ago, ssmea03 said:

Yes, instead of complaining on here about MSC, they should be writing letters of complaint to their representatives in congress,  and their president. They are the one's responsible for spoiling everyone's vacation. 

So very true, but I would bet that not one of them will!

[emerald6273]

8 minutes ago, rwdtgb said:

Actually Mickey I am American and I am happy  with what MSC is doing for us and our now changed sailing on the Armonia. I am also pleased with the customer service I have received from the customer service agents on the phone. We were also on The Armonia back in May and could not be happier with the product they offered and the level of service we received. We have been fortunate enough to have cruised over 50 plus times on many different lines.

I'm from Ireland and have cruised Carribean many times. Taking into account the transatlantic airfare, we select our cruises based purely on itinerary to make that airfare and journey worthwhile. Cuba would have made that trip worthwhile. This will be our first MSC experience. 

 

I would not have chosen to cruise the same Carribean ports I've visited many times previously especially at a more expensive rate. In fact I was only in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Costa Costa Maya months ago. It is what it is!

[Jossie1960]

5 minutes ago, rwdtgb said:

Actually Mickey I am American and I am happy  with what MSC is doing for us .........

MSC promoted and sold the Armonia cruises to Cuba as a destination cruise not a typical Caribbean cruise.  It is a MAJOR change which warrants the option “to Cancel”.

The $400 credit option is fine for some but others must be regretting never choosing MSC as it is clear that Carnival, RCL or NCL would have been a better choice.

Shame on MSC but they still have time to do the right thing

[Beamafar]

It's been advised time and time again across the forums that it really isn't a good idea to book a cruise solely for the itinerary.

[Jossie1960]

Please don’t attempt to justify MSC actions.

Others cruise lines acted responsibly and it’s about time MSC did the same.