THE WORST CRUISE I'VE TAKEN and the RESPONSE FROM MSC.

[scorpiony3358]

On the recommendation of my TA I booked the inaugural cruise on the MSC Seascape from Rome to NYC. I am a seasoned cruiser with over 30 cruises under my belt, but never had I sailed with MSC. This cruise left Rome on November 19th. 

I sent the following letter to MSC and my TA sent her own. 

 

My name is                      and I'm contacting you directly because my travel agent has not received a response from you regarding my sailing on the inaugural cruise of the MSC Seascape from Rome to New York November 19, 2022 - December 6, 2022.

 

This was my first cruise with MSC taken on the recommendation of my travel agent. I've previously cruised on Regent, Silversea, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess, NCL and Oceania since 1999. 

 

I'll begin by saying the Seascape is a beautiful ship and even though it was an inaugural cruise I was shocked by how poor for the most part your services were. I will go down point by point why I am taking the time to notify you of my dissatisfaction.

 

Prior to embarkation my Travel Agent requested that I have an extension cord and distilled water for my CPAP machine plus a disposal container for my needles. Upon entering my cabin 12258 I found a letter stating I needed to go to the customer service desk. I went to the desk 4 times before I was handed the extension cord. I had to return 4 more times and finally spoke with the head of the department who personally brought me the distilled water on two separate occasions. The disposal container was brought after my second visit. This was a total waste of my time having to wait in a long line each time only to be told it was being taken care of. 

 

Thank God that there was not an emergency because your safety drill was very disorganized. 

 

Prior to booking this cruise both my travel agent and I asked about a cigar smoking lounge and was told that the Seascape had one. This was an out and out lie. The smoking areas for the most part were for the most part wide open spaces which were very inconvenient. No cover for rain and no barriers to break up the wind except in one location. 

 

The bar service in the smoking locations was very inconsistent. 

 

As this was not my first transatlantic cruise I was shocked at the TV channel selection. The excuse given was total BS. You did have the World Cup which was great except the feed in my cabin was not in English, but was in English in the sports bar. Your movies were pay per view which should have been free since your TV went dark for at least 5 days. Only 3 English speaking channels 2 were business and one was sky news. All other channels were in different languages. I understand that there are people from many countries then you should have more channels available. 

 

When there finally was TV available the channel selection was poor at best! 

 

The buffet was probably the worst I've ever had on over 30 cruises that I've done. Whoever heard of no ice cream except at 4pm. None available with lunch or dinner. Granted you wanted to sell overpriced Gelato.  Your selection and layout was also terrible. I did enjoy your pizza. 

 

Regarding the food in the restaurant, I'm used to much better quality and a wider selection. 

 

I pre purchased the specialty restaurant package and I stated that I didn't eat Mexican food and I was told no problem to switch to another restaurant. I switched to Teppanyaki and was charged  $73.60. The food was great. I also ate in the steakhouse which was also very good. 

 

Regarding pre-paying for the specialty restaurants and the drink package both charges were not taken off of my $500 on board credit which was not told to me when I was charged. I could have purchased both packages while on board. I was given a $100 additional credit by your head of customer service, but still I had $311.40 that was not spent. That I feel is being taken advantage of and I expect a refund.  

 

As a former music industry executive, I will also say that the main theater shows were mediocre except for the Flamingo guitarist. Your major shows were all basically the same with different songs and costumes. The dancers were very talented, but only 2 of the 4 main singers were good. 

 

The other performers in the main theater like the magician I wouldn't hire for a children's party. The female singer on stage was lost without a live band. The soprano sang songs normally sung by tenors. 

 

I met with the cruise director and gave him my thoughts. On other transatlantic cruises there is usually a band performing at the pool daily or in a lounge. Not on this cruise. Also the music at the pool would be playing while in the smoking area the music would also be playing which was terrible. 

 

The jazz group in the loft was ok, but they alternated with a solo performer who wasn't very good. 

 

Your dueling piano singers voices didn't blend very well on most songs they performed. Since I live in Las Vegas I'm used to seeing many different dueling piano acts. 

 

I can go on, but there are other issues I have like in ports there would always be a free shuttle but not with MSC. Also docking locations were poor. In Madara it was a 2 mile walk and in Barcelona on my last cruise I walked off the ship and was at the beginning of Las Ramblas.

 

I've been on an inaugural cruise and there is something given out to commemorate the occasion. MSC gave nothing!

 

In closing I am giving MSC the opportunity to right the wrongs of my trip and expect to receive compensation for my trip. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

 

Now the response I received from MSC 

 

Good Afternoon 

First, please allow me to apologize for the length of time your request has taken for us to respond to you.

Thank you for sharing your candid comments about your experience onboard our ship. We take your comments very seriously and appreciate your taking the time to share them with us.

We  understand that the problems you pointed out could detract from that enjoyment and sincerely regret if your cruise did not meet your expectations.

Surveys are sent randomly. You may not get one after each sailing however you can always email us your feedback. and we will be happy to review for and do our best to resolution your grievances.

At MSC Cruises, customer satisfaction is our primary goal, we are committed to offering our guests the best possible vacation experience and your comments will help us do that. We truly appreciate your patronage and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back onboard.

Sincerely,

Chase

MSC Customer Service

 

I did respond to Chase and as of today have not received a response. The fact that not one of my issues were addressed in his response is totally unacceptable. I would not have posted this except for the fact that MSC didn't address me directly and in my opinion Chase just blew me off. 

 

I hope that all who read this understand that as a customer we are entitled to direct answers. I realize that MSC wants our business, but in my opinion this cruise line should treat it's customers with respect. Customer service is what drives all business and MSC needs to understand that. 

 

 

[styles27]

MSC is a privately owned multi billion dollar shipping and cruise company who doesn't have to answer to shareholders  
What does that mean for us the consumer? They don't care about your grievances or mine.  

We may take our business elsewhere but there are thousands lined up to board their cruise ships at rock bottom prices.

That's how they'll survive.  

[JT1962]

Inaugural sailings rarely goes smoothly. Hopefully being a seasoned traveler, you had a good travel insurance policy that will reimburse you for some of the issues.

[Georgia_Peaches]

It should not be left up to interpretation….the OP had a horrible cruise. The one thing the very detailed letter to MSC is lacking is what restitution the OP is expecting. Compensation in what form?  A refund or discount on a future cruise?  The fact is, they owe the op nothing.  It’s unfortunate that expectations weren’t met. But unless there are significant damages as a result of this trip, the OP is not owed anything for their disappointment. 
 

OP, sorry your cruise was terrible. I guess now you know that MSC is not for you. 

[Selion]

The real issues I heard were: special requests not ready upon boarding and billing issues.  The rest were some sort of 'I don't like this and I don't like that.'  Yeah, MSC's customer service blew you off without addressing the real issues.  I don't expect them to tailor their food, music and entertainment offerings just to suit your tastes.

[nednrom]

I've also been cruising for over 25 years and I've had some bad cruises myself.  I don't think that compensation is warrented here. Whether you like something or not is subjective and not a reason to compensate a passenger.  You might have been better off just bringing up the billing issue.  Even then:

 

1. If you're given on board credit, you cannot spend it before getting onboard.  That is true for all cruise lines - you prepaid for a drink package and dinner package and had $500 on board credit to spend after that.

2. Some of the onboard credit can be non-refundable (on any cruise line) - whether it's refundable or non-refundable should be on your invoice.

3. You can't get compensated for a cruise becase you didn't like the entertainment, food, service etc.  espcially since you didn't miss any ports. My travel agent was told that Seascape could not guarantee an extension cord for my husband's CPAP so we took both water and extension cord with us.  Maybe your TA is not too familiar with MSC.

 

This kind of principle holds true for all service industries. If you're in the music industry you may know - I can't return tickets to a concert or I couldn't return a music CD once I opened it whether I liked the music on it or not.

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by nednrom

[jean87510]

Smoking sections and C-Pap is an interesting combo.

[8420PR]

I find the TA mostly to blame.  They just took the commission, but should have explained that:

- if you pay half the cost compared to other lines then expectations need to me reduced appropriately.  

- It's an Italian cruise line sailing from Italy - not everything will be in English.

- OBC can only be spent onboard, not for pre-ordering items.   

 

You say MSC gave you $100 compensation.  What exactly were you expecting them to reply to your letter apart from more apologies?

[Denversail]

You don’t sound like an experienced cruiser. These complaints seem petty to me. Waste of time to write a letter about it. 

[Saab4444]

And docking locations for such big ships are no longer close to downtown in most ports, this is not convenient but a fact. 

[KennyFla]

This seems to be a part of the "Everybody Wants To Be Treated Like A Celebrity" society.

[dexddd]

You lost me a couple sentences in.  Blah blah blah.

[shipgeeks]

Surely seeing a Flamingo guitarist would compensate for some of the inconveniences.

[kernow]

I'm sorry you were disappointed but it sounds to me as if you just didn't like the way MSC do things. Nothing seemed to go massively wrong so why do you want them to compensate you. TV channels, Speciality restaurants, entertainment all sound like standard MSC which you have now found out isn't for you. They are not an American company, they are European and European companies don't tend to hand out compensation for minor complaints. 

 

You don't say which level of experience you purchased but if you are used to Regent, Silversea and Oceania you probably should have spent that sort of money and sailed in Yacht Club, I think that would have been more to your liking.

[mscdivina2016]

You already got $100 and you took it.

 

You may have been on many USA cruise company sailings but that doesn't make you seasoned . You booked an Italian cruise and your lack of seasoning shows.

 My wife and I have been on cruises where only 4 of us speak English. We have been on sailings with announcements in 8-10 different languages.

Regent, Silver sea, and Oceania and you pick the Italian carnival cruise line. Your TA is an idiot on many levels.

With your prior experience you should have been in Yacht club at a minimum, that is only how we sail MSC now.

Your TA should have pointed out that this is not a USA cruise company and all the idiosyncrasies that accompany that.

 

MSC has a great yacht club product but IT and customer service are the worst.

MSC does not care about customers. You don't like it,go elsewhere. They will treat you like crap and do whatever they want if it suits them.

 

They even downgraded me on a sailing. Bumped me from a yacht club grand suite to a regular cabin on deck 8 with no reduction in fare. If I don't like cancel with an offer of no penalty.

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

13 hours ago, scorpiony3358 said:

I met with the cruise director and gave him my thoughts

Everything you listed I found to be true.(We were on the week after yours) The mistake your travel agent made was selling an authority, like yourself, a cabin outside the Yacht Club. One would not have stood in any lines and would have receive prompt service from either the concierge, butler, and/or room steward.

  We also spoke to CD Gene Young when he had his coffee chat in the Loft Cafe one morning about the entertainment not being up snuff like past guest performers on Seaside and Seashore. He said it was most difficult to find anyone right now. He gave the example of the 3 exceptional tenors they had that garnered standing ovations nearly every performance. They went to Venice and are making more money being street performers and cannot be coaxed back. That MSC has backed their own production company to create stage shows, all trained and choreographed in Italy. Felt they were kind of all the same, no story line, just singing, dancing and acrobatics woven into the show. Went on the new Celebrity Beyond and found their show productions the same. Went back on the Seascape a month later and saw the same production shows, but this time new guest performers in the Cabaret Rouge, atrium, Uptown Lounge and Loft Cafe. (Actually thought the production shows in the Chora Theatre were getting better).

  All in all, everything you listed, we find nothing to be a 'deal breaker' other than having made the mistake of booking outside the YC, especially when one has 'special' needs.

Edited February 10, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[JoLoca2208]

3 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Smoking sections and C-Pap is an interesting combo.

My thoughts exactly 

[Dgshooter]

Just remember, A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work.

[Brighton Line]

Do you actually think MSC read that novel of a letter?

Complaint letters need to be succinct and to the point. Sure it probably felt better as you vented into pages and pages of text but you should have deleted it and kept it to a couple of paragraphs at most. 

[perakcruiser]

What a boring rant. 

 

The person did not like MSC, why not just staying away from them?

I think that with this small problems, mostly self-inflicted, MSC was too generous to give $100 additional credit 😄 

[Stockjock]

14 minutes ago, Brighton Line said:

Do you actually think MSC read that novel of a letter?

Complaint letters need to be succinct and to the point. Sure it probably felt better as you vented into pages and pages of text but you should have deleted it and kept it to a couple of paragraphs at most. 

This.  I didn't read it because it was too long, with all due respect, of course.

For my friends on Facebook, I do a "Tip of the Day" almost every day.  It could be about pretty much anything.  This was my tip yesterday...

 

Tip of the Day:

If you write something really long, no one will read it. Few paragraphs is worse. Being concise is important.

[KennyFla]

13 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

What a boring rant. 

 

The person did not like MSC, why not just staying away from them?

 

I know.  I don't like Spirit Airlines.  I certainly don't spend time in their discussion group talking about them.

[bafinegan]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Smoking sections and C-Pap is an interesting combo.

As a nurse I REALLY find this an interesting combo.....🤐

[Homosassa]

MSC is not for you.

 

By the way, loss of satellite feed for the cabin TVs is common on different cruise itineraries due to the path of the satellites and blockage of the signatures due to the earth's curvature  or the surrounding geological features.

 

Some itineraries that satellite fee can be expected include parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, Caribbean  or blockage by the mountains in Alaska or other  sailings through mountainous terrain.

[RD64]

I am sorry - but why do you feel that you deserve compensation? Is it a free cruise that you are looking for?