Stockjock

Just to provide a bit more information, I just got off of the phone with an MSC agent. We discussed this issue and he seemed unaware of the glitch/problem with MSC's systems and middle names. However, he did say that he's been getting a lot of calls asking why MSC no longer allows one to enter their middle name on new bookings (do a mock online booking & you'll see this.) I'm guessing that most at MSC (and here at CruiseCritic), are not aware of the issue. Again, the main issue is the fact that MSC's system's cannot properly process/understand middle names, in some or many instances. At times, even when things are working fine, their systems combine the first and middle names to make one odd looking first name. So, I believe, their solution was to only request first and last names on new bookings. However, many of us have Voyager's Club accounts that contain a middle name, which creates a mismatch on the booking, and thus a "mismatched" booking is not visible when logging into your MSC account. What my solution is, was to have them modify my GF's account so that it looks like mine does currently, i.e. first and last name only. Their systems are very peculiar and fussy. I just double-checked and they did modify her Voyager's Club account to remove her middle name. It does now match the booking and the booking is now visible on her account and on mine. One more tip. If you call MSC, they will probably provide you with an e-mail address to use when you make the request. My suggestion is don't do this. I went back and forth for 2 months and not only was it generally not corrected properly, but at some point, they just stopped replying. This can be fixed with a single call while you are on the phone. However, the agent will probably need to send them a message and put you on hold while they address the issue. Remember, the booking and Voyager's Club names need to match precisely, and usually it's better if they list first and last name only. It's odd. It's MSC. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm wasting your time with this stuff. I write this info to try and help people, but I don't sense that it's appreciated. Oh well.

This is a subject that I've touched upon multiple times in the past. But it's becoming more and more clear to me that MSC hates middle names, or at least, their systems do. Some time ago, I had countless problems viewing or updating information on my GF's MSC account. She used her maiden name as her middle name and MSC's system's couldn't figure out how to deal with that. In the end, MSC made her maiden name her middle name and that seemed to solve the issue at that time, although we did have to delete her MSC account and re-enroll. More recently, I noted that MSC had lumped my first and middle name together on my MSC account, and they did the same on my GF's. So if my name was David Emerson Smith, everything would refer to me as David Emerson. Same deal for the GF. Her maiden name, which MSC carried as her middle name, magically because a part of her first name. So if she was Susan Ortiz Jones, she'd be referred to as Susan Ortiz, only as if Ortiz was a part of her first name. Recently, I noticed that I could no longer view a 2025 booking under my MSC account. I went back and forth with MSC for a couple of months, and this included a deletion of my Voyager's Club account, and then I had to sign up all over again. They told me to be sure to sign up as David (first name) Emerson (middle name) Smith (last name). I did all of that, and for a brief moment, things seemed fine. I'd log in and see, "Hello David!" (not my real name.) But shortly thereafter, the system once again combined my first and middle names as if they were my first name. "Hello David Emerson!" And thus, once again, I was not able to view my reservation on my MSC account. Why? Apparently this is due to a mismatch of the name on the booking, versus the crazy middle name situation on MSC. Their system combines the first and middle name as one first name, in 2 parts, while the reservation may be correct. But the mismatch does not allow one to view it in your MSC account. Because MSC could not solve the issue, months later, I cancelled the reservation and rebooked it (same price, no penalty.) But I noticed that on this new booking, they only asked for my first and last names, middle name was not even requested for me or my GF. Logged into my account and still could not see it. Why not? Because the new booking was under David Smith and Voyager's Club/MSC account was under David Emerson Smith, again a mismatch. Previously, MSC told me that the *only* way to modify a name was to cancel the MSC account and start from scratch. But this time, I called and someone was "magically" able to simply delete my middle name on my MSC account. MSC account = David Smith, check. Reservation = David Smith, check. So I was in good shape. But now, once again, we could not access my GF's booking within her MSC account. Why not? MSC account = Susan Ortiz Jones. New reservation = Susan Jones. Mismatch, and thus reservation not visible. Here we go again... Pretty sure they know about this, or at least someone does, and that's why new bookings don't ask for a middle name anymore. But it's clear to me that MSC hates middle names, or at least their system does. Just one more error to deal with. I suppose the next step will be to try to delete her middle name from her MSC account. Pray for me.

The problem is that we only had 3 days in Venice. The first day, we were jet-lagged and beat. So we wanted to have one day where we really got in a lot to get the lay of the land. The 3rd day, we just played it loose and did what we wanted to. But at least for us, if it's a place we've not visited, and we're not there for long, it can make sense to take a day where you really jam a lot into a short period of time. I enjoyed the tour, and again 4.9 out of 5 star rated, so obviously others have also enjoyed it.

For anyone interested, here's the tour we did. Not exactly cheap, but a good value imo and did include a gondola ride, admissions, etc. 9 hours long, so a lot is crammed into one tour. And the rating as of this writing, is 4.9 out of 5 stars, so it seems to be well-regarded. https://thetourguy.com/tours/venice/hidden-venice-express-st-mark-rialto-gondola

It's kind of like buying anti-griping for infinity insurance. She'd tell everyone that I was too cheap to buy a gondola ride in Venice for as long as we are together, and throw it back at me often. So I'd rather just do the gondola ride, and again, have it included in a broader tour.

Answers in bold italics below: I have cruised with Princess, P&O, Carnival and RCCL but never with MSC. A. I think it's great to try different cruise lines, as there are sometimes major differences. We are looking at potentially booking a cruise for Aug 25 on the MSC Seascape out of Miami, but i have a few questions. Are the drinks packages and dining packages worth it? A. Generally, yes. In my view, MSC tends to offer the best pricing on both drinks packages and dining packages. The best deals are when you can get drinks and wi-fi baked into the price. Also, if they offer a dining package promo, *at the time of booking*, that's usually a better offer than what you may see later. Is there a piano bar? A. Different ships have different venues. I can often find someone playing a piano, but not always. It's not uncommon though. On some ships, we can often find a pianist, perhaps with vocals or guitar, in the Sky Lounge. We were recently on World Europa, and there was no Sky Lounge, which I deeply missed, but we did find a pianist in the Raj Polo Teahouse. The kids will be 11 and 13 - does anyone have experience of the kids club on MSC and could give me an idea of the kinds of activities they do in kids club for those ages? A. No experience, but we've wandered through the areas designed for kids and they seem to have good offerings. Not sure about 11 and 13 year-olds though, as they are a bit older. Any tips for a first time MSC cruise? A. Try not to call customer service, unless you have to. They have good intentions, but often screw things up due to MSC's screwy system. Also, you may have more announcements in many languages, so be aware of that. Be aware that MSC has an excellent status match program, so explore this if you have status on other cruise lines or hotel chains. Thanks for any info! A. Enjoy, and report back once you've returned. Keep an open mind, as MSC can be a bit different in some ways.

I’m particularly interested in somebody that had to file the claim with them. The pricing that they are offering on a cruise that I recently booked seems pretty good at $138 US for the two of us. I suppose the downside is that the limits are a lot lower than perhaps adding something on my own. Any thoughts on this? On an unrelated note, I mentioned in another thread that MSC could not figure out a way to make my booking appear in my MSC account, so I canceled it yesterday and rebooked it. They credited my deposit today, so less than a 24 hour turnaround. I think that’s the fastest refund I’ve seen from any cruise line so far.

We were in Venice last year. My GF *really* wanted to do a gondola ride. I didn't especially care, and I thought they seemed to be a bit pricey. But if we visited Venice and didn't do a gondola ride, I'm pretty sure I would not have heard the end of it, so I booked a tour that included one and a lot more. This was a third party tour that included a tour of Venice, boat rides to the nearby islands of Murano and Burano, and a gondola ride for I think 30 or 45 minutes. I felt like I got a better value for my money by baking the gondola ride into a much more comprehensive tour. I think this was a good way to do this, but Murano in particular was underwhelming, as we only had time to visit one shop and watch them make glass. It was interesting, but I would have preferred more time to walk around. Our time on Burano was also very limited. As to your question about getting on and off, it could be tricky. Depends on how bad your knee is. But there is a pretty big step-down into some gondolas, and they can move around a lot. One more tip: Some of the smaller streets simply end at the canal. One night, we almost walked into the canal while on our phones trying to get back to the hotel. Neither my GF nor I swim, so it could have ended badly. No light, no sign, no fence, the street simply ended at the canal. So be careful where you walk, particularly at night.

I don't know any reason why I shouldn't be able to document a long-running series of errors by MSC. If you don't like it, don't read it. Better yet, simply block me, which is a nice feature of Cruise Critic. It's actually far less repetitive than the "new" posts, which are typically the same questions asked and answered over and over again. I also think there's good info here, as an example, today's remark that if one opts out under privacy options, they may not have the ability to bid on an upgrade in the future. I'll bet most didn't know that. FWIW, I've cancelled the booking today, since MSC cannot figure out how to associate an MSC booking with my MSC online account. I may re-book at some point in the future.

As a follow-up to my most recent message, MSC restored my ability to log on, but my home address was missing and I could not access my privacy settings or see my booking. Plus, there was no way to modify any of these. I went back and forth with them for the past month by e-mail. They did restore my home address, although the formatting is wrong (my unit number listed first), but I'm not going to mess with that. Magically, one day, I was able to update my privacy preferences. This is important because if you opt-out, you may not have the ability to bid on an upgraded cabin via the MSC Upgrade program, as it's handled by a third-party. Anyone who doesn't receive those, should check their privacy settings and opt-in. Ultimately, they stopped replying to my periodic messages, so I called MSC this morning. She said, "Try to add your booking number now." I did and it worked. So I got off the phone, tried it again, and now I cannot view or add it once again. Fixing issues like this shouldn't be so difficult or time-consuming.

It's a conspiracy!!! I kid. I hope the person in medical distress has a prompt and complete recovery.

Celebrity does potentially qualify. As I mentioned earlier, certain promotions may not qualify, such as exciting deals.

I believe it only applies to American Express Platinum card holders. Basically, if you book cruises through an Amex Qualified Travel Agent, you may receive some perks when you use your Amex. Platinum card. Many travel agents have this qualification, but not all, so for those looking for the perks, it's important to ask. Right now, I have 2 bookings with 2 unrelated TAs and both have that qualification. You do have to make the request, as it doesn't happen automatically. Direct bookings don't qualify, so again, to get the perks, one must use a Amex qualified TA to do the booking, and the entire balance must be paid w/the Amex Platinum card. There are also some nice trip interruption/ medical evacuation benefits backed into the card's benefits. It's pricey, but I get a lot out of it. What the perks are depends on the cruise line, number of days in the sailing, and category of cabin booked. For example, we have an Oceania cruise upcoming and I think for pretty much any category booked, I receive $300 in OBC, a bottle of wine of my choice from their tastings menu, and an invite to a wine tasting. Usually, I get $200-$300 OBC on my Celebrity bookings, but it depends. This is in addition to any OBC that your travel agent may provide in their normal course of business. Often, they include an extra amenity, which could include specialty dining, or similar. Here's a link that may be helpful.https://www.americanexpress.com/icc/cards/benefits/travel/cruise-privileges-and-discounts.html

We will be doing Ascent this summer out of “Rome”, so we are both looking forward to that one. She had a limited amount of time available later in the year due to her work schedule, so I saw a seven day Caribbean that fit our needs on Oceania, and booked it.

Some of them are legit sales. The short cruise out of L.A. was pretty much Carnival cheap even on Concierge Class.