MSC Customer Service

[bklun]

Well, today I had to cancel our transatlantic on the Seashore.  We're so disappointed.  

 

Our original cruise was on the Seaside leaving on March 14, 2020 which was the day that all of the cruises were cancelled.  This was my wife's 60th birthday cruise in the yacht club and was disappointment number one.  When we realized that  there wouldn't be any cruising for a long time we opted to get the FCC and rebook something else.  Since we usually do a transatlantic every year we decided to do the 16 day on the Seashore from Barcelona to Miami.  Knowing that the Yacht Club cabins would fill up quickly, I booked one as soon as they were available since it only required a $100 deposit.

 

So...fast forward to Jan 21. I decided to apply the FCC to this cruise assuming it would go the same as every other cruise line and just apply it to this cruise.  But of course,  that's not how MSC does it.  They told me that they would have to cancel my reservation and rebook it to use the FCC.  I informed them I would really be angry if this got messed up and they assured me that they would just cancel this booking and immediately book the same cabin.  While still on the phone I confirmed that the room was rebooked but the price had gone up $500.  I argued that this was about half of the 25% I was getting for booking a future cruise and they sent the reservation to the front office to see if they would match the original booking price.  I hung up thinking I would have to make more phone calls when they refused to match the price but, to my surprise, I got an email confirming that the matched the price.

 

So today, I was looking at flights to Barcelona and decided to look at the reservation to confirm dates and I noticed they had switched me to a Grand Suite and not in the Yacht club.  This is what they considered matching the price?  I called MSC today to complain but as I figured, there are no cabins available in the Yacht Club for this cruise so I cancelled and asked for a refund.

 

Quite frankly, we are very disappointed in the whole experience especially after spending hours on the phone trying to straighten this out (including 45 min on hold today waiting for an agent),  I know that none of the cruise lines has very good customer service but MSC is by far the worst.  Be warned - do not accept anything that they tell you on the phone as you will not find out what they actually do until you get a confirmation.  We love the Yacht Club but I'm not sure when or if we will ever book another cruise with MSC.

Edited May 29, 2021 by bklun
wrong date

[guardia]

OMG, I had the same experience,  had a Grand Voyage booked in March 2022 on the Seaside with an FCC from a 2020 cancelled cruise.   In addition I have a cruise booked for this coming September to the Caribbean on the MSC Meraviglia.  I had to cancel the Grand Voyage in 2022 and asked them to use the FCC on the Meraviglia cruise this September.  OMG what a circus act that was!  They had to cancel my Meraviglia cruise and the Seaside cruise and then rebook the Meraviglia cruise on the booking showing the FCC.  I did get the same price etc but the Meraviglia had one additional shipboard credit they could not honour because I 'cancelled' the cruise.   It wasn't about the $50 credit that irked me but the fact that they are blaming me for cancelling the cruise and them  having to now cancel two cruises and reinstate one on the booking where the FCC is shown.  Honestly?  Is it my fault that their antiquated system cannot handle these things? I don't blame the agents but I sure give them an earful every time I have to deal with them.  On the whole I find them friendly and really want to help but it's their system that ties their hands.  In the end, they reinstated all my onboard credits and am waiting to see what happens to the deposit I put on the Meraviglia because right now the booking is showing the original price plus my FCC but it doesn't show the $199 deposit I paid for this cruise.  Me thinks more gray hair are coming my way.   I love cruising on MSC but I do agree that their reservation systems need major upgrading.

[MotownVoice]

So let me get this straight:

 

Your cruise was cancelled.

 

So you decided to rebook something else.   So you got on the phone and became confrontational with them about problems that hadn’t even happened yet.

 

Then “much to your surprise” they were accommodating.    But you hung up the phone before they could confirm your suite and when you finally decided to look at it, it wasn’t what you wanted because what you wanted was already sold out for that cruise?

 

And now MSC is the worst  company with the worst customer service ever?

 

ugh.

Edited May 29, 2021 by MotownVoice

[Two Wheels Only]

In my case similar to yours, I was VERY SPECIFIC with my stateroom number and made sure that the correct price was matched to the (later) more expensive cruise.

 

I'm sorry that it didn't work out in your case but MSC eventually got everything right with my FCC on an already booked cruise.

[bklun]

2 hours ago, MotownVoice said:

So let me get this straight:

 

Your cruise was cancelled.

 

So you decided to rebook something else.   So you got on the phone and became confrontational with them about problems that hadn’t even happened yet.

 

Then “much to your surprise” they were accommodating.    But you hung up the phone before they could confirm your suite and when you finally decided to look at it, it wasn’t what you wanted because what you wanted was already sold out for that cruise?

 

And now MSC is the worst  company with the worst customer service ever?

 

ugh.

You totally misunderstood.  I called to use my FCC and they cancelled my existing reservation to apply it to MY EXISTING RESERVATION and then lost my room and replaced it with a totally different class of cabin.  I was on the phone when they confirmed I had the same room on the existing reservation.  Several days later they sent me a confirmation with the totally different cabin.  The argument was over the price I was charged when they redid the reservation.   My bad for not confirming at the time but this never would have happened if they could just apply the FCC without redoing the reservation.

 

UGH

Edited May 29, 2021 by bklun

[bklun]

2 hours ago, MotownVoice said:

So let me get this straight:

 

Your cruise was cancelled.

 

So you decided to rebook something else.   So you got on the phone and became confrontational with them about problems that hadn’t even happened yet.

 

Then “much to your surprise” they were accommodating.    But you hung up the phone before they could confirm your suite and when you finally decided to look at it, it wasn’t what you wanted because what you wanted was already sold out for that cruise?

 

And now MSC is the worst  company with the worst customer service ever?

 

ugh.

Also, I was not confrontational with them.  They were very nice and tried to help me.  They spent a good effort trying to get this strait, but it didn't work out .  I thanked them for their time and told them I didn't blame the agent but the system sucks.  I was expecting to have to call them based on past experience wth them "fixing" a problem.

[sidari]

43 minutes ago, bklun said:

You totally misunderstood.  I called to use my FCC and they cancelled my existing reservation to apply it to MY EXISTING RESERVATION and then lost my room and replaced it with a totally different class of cabin.  I was on the phone when they confirmed I had the same room on the existing reservation.  Several days later they sent me a confirmation with the totally different cabin.  The argument was over the price I was charged when they redid the reservation.   My bad for not confirming at the time but this never would have happened if they could just apply the FCC without redoing the reservation.

 

UGH

The antiquated system MSC use in using the old booking number has caused countless problems with re bookings, the FCC should be issued with no recourse to what was previously, and then allowed customers to use the FCC on new bookings with a new booking reference.

[Stockjock]

You have experienced the type of problem(s) I described in my MSC Comedy of Errors thread.

We are trying to figure out if we can cruise this fall.  I have a cruise that is being cancelled but "reworked" and a "back up plan" cruise booked where, the price has gone up quite a lot.  Agent offered to rebook that "back up plan" cruise, in order to apply a $200 credit from another cancelled cruise.

But having dealt with MSC, I already know what would likely happen.  They'd rebook the cruise and charge me $1,000 more.  If I had a good cabin, they'd change it to something less desirable.  But they would apply the $200 OBC.  When I complained, they'd say they were powerless and would have to consult with Italy.  We'd go back and forth for at least 6 months.

Since the "back up" reservation is in good shape, I don't want them to put their hands on it.  I know what will happen.

Previously, I switched drink package promotions on a booking and was assured they could rebook at essentially the same price with no changes and the same cabin.  The price did remain about the same, but I went from an unobstructed midship balcony to one of the worst obstructed balcony cabins on the ship.  It took *so* many calls and probably cost me a year or two off of my lifespan to get it (sort of) fixed.  I never did get the original cabin back though.  Shortly before the cruise, the moved me to an Aurea cabin, which sounds like an upgrade, but was at the very bow of the ship.  And I didn't get any of the Aurea benefits, so I was better off with the original midship cabin.

This is why I often write that if one's reservation is in good shape, don't let them touch it, as it won't likely end well!

Edited May 30, 2021 by Stockjock

[drsel]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

This is why I often write that if one's reservation is in good shape, don't let them touch it, as it won't likely end well!

But what should I do with my 2 NAR cancelled September Cruises which were supposed to have sailed in early May.?

 

I need to transfer their deposits to 2 other (already booked) Cruises and get $200 OBC for each

Edited May 30, 2021 by drsel

[Stockjock]

8 hours ago, drsel said:

But what should I do with my 2 NAR cancelled September Cruises which were supposed to have sailed in early May.?

 

I need to transfer their deposits to 2 other (already booked) Cruises and get $200 OBC for each

The first thing to do is to be 100% certain that your canceled cruises are actually canceled. I suspect that they probably are, but in the same breath, I was told that both of mine were as well and the reality is that one of them is canceled and the other one appears to be in the process of being reworked.  But the one that definitely was canceled is similar to your situation which is why I think they probably are cancelled. I think that it will all be official hopefully within a matter of days, so that should provide at least a little bit of clarity.

 

if the prices are about the same on the cruises that you have recently booked then hopefully they can rebook and add that credit. Don’t be shocked if you end up with a different cabin, that could go either way.  Just make sure that you have a copy of the new booking(s) before you make any changes, in case they mess things up. I think it is safer to let resolutions do it than to let the regular customer service agents do it (if they even can), and I assume that you have the resolutions department phone number? If there have been big changes in the price of the cruise, there are some risks involved.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Stockjock

[dexddd]

I wish I could be sympathetic.  We were to sail a week after you and we have not even gotten our fcc to use. On the thread about that subject a couple posters had similar issues as you.

[phissy]

40 minutes ago, dexddd said:

I wish I could be sympathetic.  We were to sail a week after you and we have not even gotten our fcc to use. On the thread about that subject a couple posters had similar issues as you.

WOW, so sorry you still  have not received your FCC.  MSC needs to step up their dispute department…perhaps other CC members can post contact information for MSC escalation .

Edited May 30, 2021 by phissy

[drsel]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

If the prices are about the same on the cruises that you have recently booked then hopefully they can rebook and add that credit.

I think it is safer to let resolutions do it than to let the regular customer service agents do it (if they even can), and I assume that you have the resolutions department phone number? If there have been big changes in the price of the cruise, there are some risks involved.

The prices on the new cruises that are sailing have gone up significantly.

But I just want to add the deposits ($398) of the cancelled cruises to the low priced bookings that I already have.

Kindly give me the resolutions department toll free number

[DCGuy64]

I’ve personally never had a problem with MSC customer service. We’ve only had one cruise cancelled to date, which was May of 2020. Our next cruise (August 29th) is up in the air at the moment due to the original ports not being open (not MSC’s fault, obviously), so I’m currently looking at 3-4 other ships and itineraries for the same week. We use a travel agent and he’s always been able to get us great rates on cabins and perks like OBC. I would urge anyone dealing with MSC to use a travel agent. It would cut down on the aggravation many have experienced by dealing with customer service themselves. 

[shipgeeks]

DC, I concur wholeheartedly.

[drsel]

Yes there is no stress at all when dealing with US travel agents.

they are efficient and offer huge discounts of 8 to 10% on the basic fare excluding port fees and taxes

Edited May 31, 2021 by drsel

[DCGuy64]

I don’t know about all travel agents, but there’s no drama with ours. He’s a personal friend and former colleague from work. Never had a problem with him. But then, we’re pretty easygoing and not demanding, we don’t have to be in the fanciest cabins or the “best” location so that may have something to do with our satisfaction level. 

[shipgeeks]

Same here.   We are not big spenders, but we have never changed or cancelled a booking, never asked for a price adjustment, never requested more perks.  He appreciates that, and always gets us a good booking, done right, no drama, no errors.

[dexddd]

On 5/30/2021 at 12:03 PM, phissy said:

WOW, so sorry you still  have not received your FCC.  MSC needs to step up their dispute department…perhaps other CC members can post contact information for MSC escalation .

Nope, well sort of.  Last week TA said MSC has told them to book with 100% fcc and they'll add the 25% then.  Hmmm.  Someone did post two email addresses.  One came back undeliverable and nothing from other. Sent letter in mail month ago, nothing.