Question on Black Card dinner on Seaside

[sidari]

The Voyagers club benefits chart shows privileges earned as per person regardless of level, while the T and C now show it as per cabin.

 

The MSC for me app on my phone currently shows Complimentary speciality restaurant dinner (No Beverages)

 

The UK website currently shows Complimentary speciality restaurant dinner (no beverages).

Terms and Conditions!

4.1.3 Benefits are divided into Personal benefits and Cabin benefits. Personal benefitsare reserved for the member as an individual and are not transferable. Cabin benefitspresume the division of the benefits among all the occupants of the cabin (even ifthere is more than one member).4.1.4 Benefits may be subject to changes without warning for operational reasons. Theorder and days of allocation of the on board benefits may vary according to the durationof the cruise and the organisation of the ship and may not be disputed by members

 

• Complimentary Speciality Restaurant “Tasting Menu” Dinner (no beverages)[black] per cabin. Members are entitled to enjoy a tasting menu dinner for 2 at aspeciality restaurant once during the cruise (beverages excluded). Members mayextend their invitation to one occupant of the same cabin only once and only ifthe cabin mate is not a black card member. Privilege and speciality restaurants may not be available on all ship classes. Privilege is not available if the members decidesto eat dinner at self-service buffet. Members under 18 must be accompanied inorder to enjoy the privilege.• Complimentary Spumante with chocolate-dipped fruit [black], per cabin andonce per cruise. Privilege not available for members under 18 years old.

 

• Late cabin check-out disembarkation [black], late cabin check-out ondisembarkation for Black members can stay in the cabin till 2 hours after the shiparrives in port. A message will be delivered in cabin with more details two daysbefore the disembarkation day. Members should check transfer time to make surethey can enjoy privilege. (A bit pointless if the ship arrives at say 4 am!)

 

4.4 All the benefits described above will be given to members according to their levelof membership. The time and place of issue of the benefit may vary depending on thecruise, destination and cruise length. Benefits may be subject to changes without priornotice due to availability and/or operational reasons. For any other information onthe following or any other benefit please visit the MSC Voyagers Infopoint or theReception - Guest Service when on board or visit http://www.msccruises.co.uk.

[nikkiw60]

On the app for our cruise in a couple of weeks it says this? I can’t remember seeing it before?

 

 

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[sidari]

The info on mine for our April cruise is still the same as the earlier post.

[Beamafar]

Because the app is primarily for use on-board, the info referring you to the Cruise Consultant and VC desk makes sense. So I wouldn't read anything more into that.

 

Dave ... those T&Cs make for very interesting reading. *Benefits may change without further notice* .... then this one: *may not be disputed by members*. My reading of this is that MSC may be receiving a lot of complaints and are updating the T&Cs to counteract this.

 

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[sidari]

Yes they are lining up more changes with their backwards and inflexible approach with this wording.

 

Maybe they need to change it to " Lump it or Like it" because that appears to be the attitude.

It seems that Loyalty is a Dirty word where MSC are concerned.

[disneykins]

I think MSC goofed when they set up the status match program. In an attempt to lure more US (and Canadian) cruisers to their brand, they over compensated when matching giving a lot of us Black cards. We were more than happy to avail ourselves of their generosity, probably to the chagrin of the MSC black card holders who get there by being loyal to MSC. I think they downgraded the Black card benefits at that time and you guys weren't too happy, I don't blame you, you should have been grandfathered.

 

Now that MSC has been inundated with status match requests, they are trying to dial it back a little and cut some of the benefits. Again you guys (who earned your status by sailing MSC) are not happy. Again MSC should have grandfathered you, but I think they should have grandfathered us new black members to our perks, too.

 

I know how you feel, I wouldn't be happy if NCL where I am Platinum Plus, started allowing Carnival or Royal cruisers to status match on NCL at the same level, without having sailed NCL before.

 

I think the cruise lines (all of them) have us where they want us, we're not going to quit cruising a particular line because of something as small as these perks. Well, most of us wont.

 

I prefer to look forward to my next cruise and not get too caught up in the little things that really wont impact my enjoyment of my cruise that much. We've cruise 35 times on many different lines and our only real loyalty is decided by the price of the cruise. We don't have unlimited funds for cruising so if cruise X (never done them by the way) is $100 cheaper than NCL for similar itinerary, we'll be doing cruise X. Using this method we've never come home from a cruise and said I'd never do that one again.

 

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

Tony

[suzyed]

I think the cruise lines (all of them) have us where they want us, we're not going to quit cruising a particular line because of something as small as these perks. Well, most of us wont.

 

I prefer to look forward to my next cruise and not get too caught up in the little things that really wont impact my enjoyment of my cruise that much. We've cruise 35 times on many different lines and our only real loyalty is decided by the price of the cruise. We don't have unlimited funds for cruising so if cruise X (never done them by the way) is $100 cheaper than NCL for similar itinerary, we'll be doing cruise X. Using this method we've never come home from a cruise and said I'd never do that one again.

 

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

Tony

Agree with your assessment....I could have written your last paragraph (except that I did sail X once)

 

Trying to be optimistic....our Seaside sailing is the end of this week and I really hope we don't come back saying "never again", because we loved the Divina sailing in 2016, which was our "trial" for MSC.

Thanks Tony, for sharing your thoughts...spot on!

 

Susan

[MisterBill99]

I think the cruise lines (all of them) have us where they want us, we're not going to quit cruising a particular line because of something as small as these perks. Well, most of us wont.

You missed one important piece in this particular case. Customers who have been lured in by the status match and convinced to book Seaside based in part by the offer of two free speciality dinners. Those customers can easily just go back to the line where they already had status and say "one and done" for MSC, in part because of nonsense like this.

 

Loyal MSC customers are the ones who will have to put up with it.

[Beamafar]

You missed one important piece in this particular case. Customers who have been lured in by the status match and convinced to book Seaside based in part by the offer of two free speciality dinners. Those customers can easily just go back to the line where they already had status and say "one and done" for MSC, in part because of nonsense like this.

 

Loyal MSC customers are the ones who will have to put up with it.

 

I've been a regular customer with MSC over the last 6 years; not out of any sense of loyalty, but more because of value for money.

 

Each time we cruised brought us closer and closer to the top tier of, what was then, MSC's Loyalty Club. Points were closely checked to ensure we were awarded the correct amount and, finally, I made it to Black and looked forward to receiving all the perks that MSC had promised for attaining that level.

 

Fast forward to now, and what MSC is offering in terms of price (spiralling upwards in this neck of the woods), value of items covered in the deluxe all-inclusive drinks package (dropping), service (on a downward trajectory), Black Card benefits - slashed when Voyagers Club and status-match were introduced (being chipped away at, with the ominous-sounding T&Cs that now state that they can be changed without notice) and suddenly MSC is no longer looking like the great value it once was.

 

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[sidari]

Bea ... What you say is somewhat like how my conditions of service were eroded over a 30 year period by successive governments, newer guys and girls coming in after the 2002/3 strike were given different contracts for doing the same job and the same happened in 2006 without a strike.

Those in 2003 onwards did not have the benefits that we signed up to and could not understand our complaints at our conditions having been made worse.

 

The same it seems applies to many getting the status match.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I am disappointed to hear that Teppenyaki is no longer included in the Black Card benefit. I do not eat Seafood so Ocean Cay is out. Steak doesnt WOW me. But we love Hibachi back home and were excited to try the one on the ship. I guess we'll end up with Butchers Cut in the end.

[gkbiiii]

You can still go to Roy's, which would be my choice, over the steakhouse.

[cruisinglady65]

The new policy was published about two months ago. I have copies of before an after and it definitely used to be per member, not per cabin.

 

I just became a Black Card Member on MSC (through Status Match)...I received the email from MSC, with a little picture of the black member card...but so far have not received the new card from them .... I am going on the Seaside in October...and was wondering should i contact to see why i have not received the new Black Member Card, or should i just bring the email that i have with me, and go to guest services when i get onboard....would they be able to print me out a Black Member Card?

 

Would appreciate it very much, if you can get back to me at :

 

catfin7atgmaildotcom.....

 

Thank You,

Catherine Serafin

[suzyed]

I just became a Black Card Member on MSC (through Status Match)...I received the email from MSC, with a little picture of the black member card...but so far have not received the new card from them .... I am going on the Seaside in October...and was wondering should i contact to see why i have not received the new Black Member Card, or should i just bring the email that i have with me, and go to guest services when i get onboard....would they be able to print me out a Black Member Card?

 

Would appreciate it very much, if you can get back to me at :

 

catfin7atgmaildotcom.....

 

Thank You,

Catherine Serafin

You don't get an actual card. But when you board the card they give you for your cabin and for purchases will be a Black Card.

[sidari]

MSC have stopped giving out membership level cards since I believe they brought in the Voyagers club.

[Beamafar]

MSC have stopped giving out membership level cards since I believe they brought in the Voyagers club.

You're right, Dave. Your cruisecard is colour-coded so, you get a Black cruisecard if you're at the Black level; it becomes the de facto membership card. The card is valid for 3 years after the date on the card, unless you sail prior to that expiration date, in which case, the next cruisecard then becomes the valid membership card.

 

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[sjbdtz]

You missed one important piece in this particular case. Customers who have been lured in by the status match and convinced to book Seaside based in part by the offer of two free speciality dinners. Those customers can easily just go back to the line where they already had status and say "one and done" for MSC, in part because of nonsense like this.

 

Loyal MSC customers are the ones who will have to put up with it.

 

 

Agree with this absolutely. This is truly perplexing: even though we are both Platinum Plus on NCL, and therefore Black on MSC through SM, we are only entitled to one meal (per cabin). Okay...not great, but I guess I can wrap my head around it.

 

But the idea that I can only have 1 guest AT that meal, and they must be from my cabin....but they cannot have Black card, really means I'm getting ZERO meals....not the 2 I was expecting, nor the 1 I'm resigned to.

 

 

Or have I missed something, completely?

 

Stephen

 

.

[sidari]

No one is sure about that stupid,stupid wording but there does not so far seem to have been an issue of people getting the meal.

 

Nice to see someone complaining about it as status match, but spare a thought to all those who earned their Black cards sailing with MSC who have lost a Whole lot more since MSC brought in status match!