Healthcare Discount

[thesnoopster2]

3 hours ago, SirWolf said:

 

The MSC representative never questioned our credentials (we both work in a Clinical Laboratory). We got Healthcare Worker Discounts applied to all of our sailings in 2021 and 2022 without a problem.

 

The reason for denying the Healthcare Worker Discount is (quote MSC eMail) :

”  Please note that the health care discount is not on this sailing. AS per terms and conditions the health care is Subject to availability. I apologize for the inconvenience. “ 

 

I feel misled by MSC advertising of Healthcare Worker Discount and sequence of booking & processing of Healthcare Worker Discount request.

MSC makes the guest commit to a booking with non-refundable Yacht Club deposit and denies Healthcare Worker Discount based on a reason which was not disclosed during online booking process. No disclaimer that this sailing doesn’t qualify for Healthcare Worker Discount. I asked two times where it’s stated that the discount doesn’t apply to this sailing but the MSC representative ignored my questions. She also ignored my request to escalate the issue to management.

Very disappointing..

 

 

My last cruise was 11/2021.  I booked that 12/2020.  At the time, they said discounts between 10% and 50% based on availability.  So, first 5 people that booked got the 50%, then the next got 40 so on and so forth.  I can't remember which one I got.  I do find it annoying that at that time, they wanted you to book, then deal with the HealthCare people to find out which one you qualified for.  I could have booked it once, back then it was wait for a week to see which discount you got.  If they only had 10% available for that sailing, you could then cancel, book for the next week, and go through the process again.  The basic phone reps said they had no clue what sailing qualified for what discounts.  You could have gone back and forth for 10 sailings, go back to the first and whatever you were originally offered could then be gone.

 

Basically, I agree with you.  They should have that info on the front end so you can figure out which one you want to go do.  My next one I had a window of 10/2023 - 12/2023 I could take a cruise.  I got lucky in that my sailing qualified, you got screwed.  If I was told no, I could have just switched to a different date.

 

The ONLY thing I can give them a pass on is you don't want phone reps telling people they qualify for xxx 'based on approval of documents' and then you have people that are lazy, don't turn in their paperwork for 6 months and now that discount is gone and people are upset....BUT YOU TOLD ME DISCOUNT WAS AVAILABLE!!!   Solution is, hey, looks like there are only 5 spots left for that sailing so we can book you for it, just depends on how fast you get your docs approved and how many people are already in the pipeline ahead of you.  I'd rather have an honest answer upfront.  If I book it, get told it may/may not qualify because the number of slots is dwindling, I can either take my chances on that one, or book a different one with a likely higher rate of successful discount.

[SirWolf]

25 minutes ago, thesnoopster2 said:

The ONLY thing I can give them a pass on is you don't want phone reps telling people they qualify for xxx 'based on approval of documents' and then you have people that are lazy, don't turn in their paperwork for 6 months and now that discount is gone and people are upset....BUT YOU TOLD ME DISCOUNT WAS AVAILABLE!!!   Solution is, hey, looks like there are only 5 spots left for that sailing so we can book you for it, just depends on how fast you get your docs approved and how many people are already in the pipeline ahead of you.  I'd rather have an honest answer upfront.  If I book it, get told it may/may not qualify because the number of slots is dwindling, I can either take my chances on that one, or book a different one with a likely higher rate of successful discount.

 

They never told me about limited number of spots for Healthcare Worker Discount on any sailing.

The cruise is far out (December 2023) with plenty vacancies.

 

The advertisement states

” HEALTHCARE HEROES OFFER

Terms & Conditions:

• Up to 10% OFF ALL Cruises (except World Cruises)
• 5% for Inside and Oceanview categories, 10% for Balcony, Suite, and Yacht Club categories. Subject to availability.
  See Terms & Conditions for details. “

 

No explanation of “availability” in Terms & Conditions.

[SirWolf]

Update:

Dealing with the representative of MSC USA responsible for Healthcare Worker Discount is getting frustrating.

She even refused to escalate the issue and have a supervisor look into it and contact me.

Quote: “ This is not an option “.

Wow !  She showed some attitude in her responses.

Reviewing the eMail exchange.. this is a perfect example how not to handle a guest request properly.. and could be used for training purposes.

I thought cable companies, utility companies and airlines have the worst customer service.. but MSC USA put themselves on spot #1 !

 

I don’t know if MSC is monitoring forums like CC but it seems they are not interested in valid complaints from guests.

[ciabelle]

I was flat out told I was not eligible for the discount as a home health care aide last year. I found that to be frustrating given that I have far less control over the risk of exposure to COVID or other diseases working inside clients' homes versus a clinical setting where sanitation and visitor access is much more strictly controlled. 

Given that the 3-day cruise fare was low enough that the discount would have been less than $50 anyway, I didn't fight it, but still felt snubbed by my first interaction with MSC customer service (which apparently seems par for the course.)