MSC Change Port From Amsterdam to Rotterdam

[janny444]

Hi....apologies if this topic has already been covered but I can't seem to find it.

Today after checking my booking online I notice that MSC have changed our overnight POC from Amsterdam to Rotterdam next April....I have not been notified of this change ....just " pot luck" that I noticed it.

Now....Rotterdam may be a nice POC but I don't think it compares in any degree with wonderful Amsterdam so for us is not a change for the better.

To rub salt in the wounds if we want to visit Amsterdam we can...at a charge of £35pp. Am I wrong in thinking that seeing as we already have this cruise booked before they decided to implement this change that an extra £35 pp doesn't feel right. New bookings ....yes....existing bookings....mmmm.

I understand the change of POC is that Amsterdam is now levying a charge pp  for "cruise tourists....think it is 8 euros.....I would gladly pay that extra so that we can be in Amsterdam. 

Would like your thoughts please....am I being unreasonable to feel so disappointed?

[Beamafar]

No ... you're not being unreasonable;  it's perfectly understandable that you'd be disappointed.  I'd be more than "disappointed"  I can assure you!

 

I did see a thread on this subject a while back;  can't remember what it contained as it doesn't impact me - sorry!

[Captain-John]

Something similar happened to me in the summer (albeit NCL, not MSC).

 

We were supposed to be docking in Stockholm proper, but instead docked in Nynashamn (about an hour away). We had booked far enough in advance that our original itinerary showed Stockholm. Any bookings after a certain date showed Nynashamn.

 

Let me tell you, NCL were appalling in the way they handled it. It took multiple e-mails to senior people from myself and many others. They eventually agreed to arrange a 'free' shuttle transfer to Stockholm (the least they could do!) if you booked before the change was made. I'm not surprised MSC have offered to take you to Amsterdam for a charge. Stick to your guns, e-mail the UK CEO if you have to, and I'm confident they will offer it free.

 

I say it's the bare minimum they can do - because who wants to spend 2 hours out of their day traveling to get somewhere they should have been at already? A free transfer is still a slap in the face for all the hassle it entails. I think we got a partial refund on port fees too though - I'd need to check on that one and it wasn't a significant amount at all.

 

I won't get into it here, but I also had to have a very stern conversation with the Hotel Director on NCL, because our 'free' transfer tickets were not delivered to our cabin (or several other cabins of people we were speaking to, on different floors and in different cabin types). Reception then blamed ME for not coming to them sooner about the missing tickets!

 

I hate to say it - you are absolutely right to be disappointed - and unfortunately I get the feeling you are going to have to fight to get a satisfactory resolution - but please do fight it.

Edited December 30, 2018 by Captain-John

[janny444]

I have just spoken with my TA who says that they have not been informed of any changes. When he went on MSC system he could see the change of POC. He is going to email MSC and see what is the reason for change and is a free shuttle being offered to clients who have already booked before the change. I said at the very least that I would consider that but because of inconvenience....big time....not so easy to stroll back into Amsterdam in the evening is it....I expect more than just a free shuttle. The travel time each way must be about an hour. We are sooooo disappointed with this change.

The TA said there would be many more complaints over this from their other clients....they have a considerable amount of passengers booked on this particular cruise....mmmm.....we shall see

[sidari]

Janny ... MSC changed the port due to a tourist tax of €8 pp being imposed on cruise passengers from January, I read it in a cruise journal about a month ago. MSC class this as a minor change, we know from experience.

Edited December 30, 2018 by sidari

[mvh]

54 minutes ago, janny444 said:

I have just spoken with my TA who says that they have not been informed of any changes. When he went on MSC system he could see the change of POC. He is going to email MSC and see what is the reason for change and is a free shuttle being offered to clients who have already booked before the change. I said at the very least that I would consider that but because of inconvenience....big time....not so easy to stroll back into Amsterdam in the evening is it....I expect more than just a free shuttle. The travel time each way must be about an hour. We are sooooo disappointed with this change.

The TA said there would be many more complaints over this from their other clients....they have a considerable amount of passengers booked on this particular cruise....mmmm.....we shall see

I too am in this predicament. However, my cruise starts in Rotterdam, which was originally Amsterdam. Of course we have all the flights and hotels booked for the night before. Really hoping they do something for us. At least a free shuttle. Really have my doubts. What really ticks me me is absolutely no communication.  There has got to be more to it than $8. Who would refuse to pay that? They also don’t even offer my cruise dates anymore on September 13, 2019. The whole thing leaves a bad taste. I will also try writing and calling MSC for what it’s worth.

[janny444]

20 minutes ago, sidari said:

Janny ... MSC changed the port due to a tourist tax of €8 pp being imposed on cruise passengers from January, I read it in a cruise journal about a month ago. MSC class this as a minor change, we know from experience.

Hi....yes 8 euros pp....I would gladly pay that ....not surprised MSC class it as a minor change....making it a case of " shut up & suck it up"...but for us.....and I suspect many others... it is far more than a minor change as mvh previous post states. For us Amsterdam is one of our favourite POC....so much to see and do so on previous cruises we just come and gone as we pleased with the ship being docked so near.It's knocked the shine off the cruise

[cruiser82]

Yup, I'm in this situation too. It's also my first MSC cruise and it's not making me want to book another with them. I realize the ports can be changed at any time but usually it's communicated to the passengers and something is offered as a goodwill gesture.

[Guinness9]

Hi,

 

Myself and my partner are also going on our first cruise with MSC which had Amsterdam as a POC but that has been changed to Rotterdam

We called MSC as we had no communication (there was a thread in the P&O board which is where I first saw the change as we have been on P&O before) and they advised us to call our TA. TA said that they thought the change was only for future bookings and that they only sell the holidays and that MSC are who should have told us!

I know it is easy enough going to Amsterdam from Rotterdam but having been to Rotterdam before, I wouldn’t have booked the cruise as I personally don’t like Rotterdam! Plus train travel, whilst cheap enough is another expense that I don’t think we should have to pay

I can’t see me booking another with MSC, we had an itinerary change on P & O but they notified us by email and letter and offered OBC, but wanted to give MSC a try as the ships look beautiful and there’s more activities for the younger traveller! 

[mizzoufinal4]

I read an article a couple of weeks ago about this and Sidari is correct they are not going to Amsterdam due to the new port tax. apparently most cruise lines are pulling out of there as a protest of this tax.

[korpo024]

For all of you who think that Rotterdam is a bad choice. This city is SO much better than Amsterdam. Apart from all of the annoying tourists in Amsterdam, and all of the filth of Amsterdam. Rotterdam is a beautiful, modern city, with a lot to do!

If you are looking for a good hotel near the cruise terminal, Nhow is the place to be! This super modern hotel is just next to the cruise terminal. From the cruise terminal you should go by watertaxi to the centre of the city, where there are a lot of good restaurants and bars. Also museum Boymans van Beuningen, and The Kunsthal are very good for tourists that need a little bit of art!

So when you complain about MSC that is abandoning Amsterdam as a cruise city, you really should be blaming the far leftwing party GroenLinks, they do not want cruiseships in their city, and they do not want anymore tourists in Amsterdam. They even removed the big letters I AM AMSTERDAM (because this is too individualistic). That's how crazy this city council is....these are leftwing enviromentalist fundementalist green people....the kind you have never seen in the USA. 

Luckily in Rotterdam we have still normal people in the city council...

[mvh]

1 hour ago, korpo024 said:

For all of you who think that Rotterdam is a bad choice. This city is SO much better than Amsterdam. Apart from all of the annoying tourists in Amsterdam, and all of the filth of Amsterdam. Rotterdam is a beautiful, modern city, with a lot to do!

If you are looking for a good hotel near the cruise terminal, Nhow is the place to be! This super modern hotel is just next to the cruise terminal. From the cruise terminal you should go by watertaxi to the centre of the city, where there are a lot of good restaurants and bars. Also museum Boymans van Beuningen, and The Kunsthal are very good for tourists that need a little bit of art!

So when you complain about MSC that is abandoning Amsterdam as a cruise city, you really should be blaming the far leftwing party GroenLinks, they do not want cruiseships in their city, and they do not want anymore tourists in Amsterdam. They even removed the big letters I AM AMSTERDAM (because this is too individualistic). That's how crazy this city council is....these are leftwing enviromentalist fundementalist green people....the kind you have never seen in the USA. 

Luckily in Rotterdam we have still normal people in the city council...

So we should blame the left wing environmentalists for not letting all the passengers know about the change? Ask 100 passengers where they would rather port and I would be willing to bet 95 would say Amsterdam.  Rotterdam is not a bad port, but it not Amsterdam. You or anyone else cannot convince me that this is a change for the better. The only response I got from MSC was a quote from the contract basically saying they can change ports at will and owe us suckers nothing. This is probably no different than any other cruise line however. 

[korpo024]

16 minutes ago, mvh said:

So we should blame the left wing environmentalists for not letting all the passengers know about the change? Ask 100 passengers where they would rather port and I would be willing to bet 95 would say Amsterdam.  Rotterdam is not a bad port, but it not Amsterdam. You or anyone else cannot convince me that this is a change for the better. The only response I got from MSC was a quote from the contract basically saying they can change ports at will and owe us suckers nothing. This is probably no different than any other cruise line however. 

Rotterdam is better...every Dutch man knows that....

[Hlitner]

MSC seems to have a nasty habit of changing ports and port times on a too regular basis.  We have cruised on 14 other lines and are used to booking cruises and ultimately getting the itinerary we booked.  With MSC we now realize it is smart to check the itinerary of booked cruises to see if there are changes.

 

And by the way,  I am not a "Dutch Man" so forgive me if we state that Amsterdam is a far more interesting port then Rotterdam (and we have been in both places quite a few times).  But a long port day in Rotterdam does make it pretty easy to take the train over to Delft (very cute town) or even to Amsterdam.

 

Hank

[BermudaBound2014]

On 12/30/2018 at 7:24 PM, mizzoufinal4 said:

I read an article a couple of weeks ago about this and Sidari is correct they are not going to Amsterdam due to the new port tax. apparently most cruise lines are pulling out of there as a protest of this tax.

 

I don't believe this statement is accurate '"most cruise lines are pulling out of there as a protest to this tax".  Cruisemapper still shows Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Ncl,  Costa, Crystal, Viking, p&O, Cunard, etc.. all arriving into the port of Amsterdam during the summer of 2019. As of today, Cruisemapper only shows MSC and most CMV ships having made the change into Rotterdam.

 

Holland America seems to be an oddity with some ships sailing into Amsterdam and others using Rotterdam but if I'm not mistaken, Rotterdam is an embarkation port for HAL.

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/amsterdam-port-56?tab=schedule&month=2019-07#schedule

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/rotterdam-port-54?tab=schedule&month=2019-08#schedule

 

Of course, it's possible that all the other cruise lines just haven't updated yet, but based on information available today, it seems only all MSC and most CMV  ships are protesting the tax by moving their ships to Rotterdam. The rest are sailing into Amsterdam as planned. 

 

This article published by cruise critic also implies that most cruise lines won't be making the change to Rotterdam:.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3619/

 

As with everything in the travel industry, subject to change of course :). 

 

[janny444]

Hi....finally received the " official" letter from MSC informing us of the change of POC from Amsterdam to Rotterdam.

Their " compensation" offer is....a free shuttle from Rotterdam to Amsterdam which I feel may be more like a " free for all" shuttle given the amount of passengers on board...plus....a couple of reduced price excursions ....mmmm....when I go onto my booking online and look at the excursions they are the same price as the " offer"....haven't given much there have they? OR we can cancel our booking with no penalty charge including any extra transport costs. So there we are....they have offered something but I don't think it is overwhelming....really it boils down to the free shuttle which could be a bit of a picnic if they don't run very often. Usually shuttle buses are quite frequent but with it being a good hour's journey the buses may be very limited so hence queues may be quite lengthy....not sure if I can be bothered doing that.  

[mvh]

3 hours ago, janny444 said:

Hi....finally received the " official" letter from MSC informing us of the change of POC from Amsterdam to Rotterdam.

Their " compensation" offer is....a free shuttle from Rotterdam to Amsterdam which I feel may be more like a " free for all" shuttle given the amount of passengers on board...plus....a couple of reduced price excursions ....mmmm....when I go onto my booking online and look at the excursions they are the same price as the " offer"....haven't given much there have they? OR we can cancel our booking with no penalty charge including any extra transport costs. So there we are....they have offered something but I don't think it is overwhelming....really it boils down to the free shuttle which could be a bit of a picnic if they don't run very often. Usually shuttle buses are quite frequent but with it being a good hour's journey the buses may be very limited so hence queues may be quite lengthy....not sure if I can be bothered doing that.  

When was your sailing date and we’re y sent an email? I sail in September and haven’t received anything. Maybe because Rotterdam is my embarkation point. I will gladly take the free shuttle and smile. They don’t have to offer anything.

[cockneyjock]

Although they have offered a free bus from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. There's no mention of a return journey.

[janny444]

19 minutes ago, cockneyjock said:

Although they have offered a free bus from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. There's no mention of a return journey.

Hi....yes I noticed that....only says Rotterdam to Amsterdam.....mmmmm

[cruiser82]

I haven't received anything yet, nor did they respond to the tweet I sent last week. I'll keep you guys updated on if/when I hear anything.

[XLVIII]

We have not received the letter yet - we sail mid May. If we are responsible for our own return transportation, the train between Amsterdam and Rotterdam is quite reasonable, as long as you can get a group of at least 4 together (30 Euros for 4 people one way, then 4 Euros each for the Metro from Rotterdam Centraal to the ship). It works out even less per person if you have 5 - 7 people. Details here: https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/meest-gekocht/p/groepsticket-daluren  

 

Unless MSC decided to offer a very late return shuttle, we would probably end up doing this anyway.

[Captain-John]

5 hours ago, mvh said:

. They don’t have to offer anything.

 

You're right, they don't have to, but it's pretty shoddy business etiquette not to, especially as this is a move designed to save MSC money.

 

Nothing to smile about here.

[Hlitner]

Why assume its a money saving issue for MSC?  Cruise lines generally pass along all the port taxes, pilot fees, etc. to the passengers via the "fees & taxes" added to cruise fares.   Cruising to Amsterdam generally means significant time to get through the North Sea Canal.  Rotterdam, on the other hand, is the busiest port in Europe with relatively easy access.  In terms of operational issues, Rotterdam has many advantages.

 

Hank

[Captain-John]

8 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Why assume its a money saving issue for MSC?  Cruise lines generally pass along all the port taxes, pilot fees, etc. to the passengers via the "fees & taxes" added to cruise fares.   Cruising to Amsterdam generally means significant time to get through the North Sea Canal.  Rotterdam, on the other hand, is the busiest port in Europe with relatively easy access.  In terms of operational issues, Rotterdam has many advantages.

 

Hank

 

Hi Hank

 

Let's assume it's not money. Despite operating out of Amsterdam previously (many lines still do), and selling that as a destination, they've pulled the rug out and unilaterally changed people's plans - whatever their motive.

 

Delivering what the customer originally wanted and booked is the most important thing. So again, getting a 'free shuttle' is really the very bare minimum they can do, and absolutely nothing to be pleased about. Although there's no out of pocket expense for a 'free' shuttle, it's additional travel time which is not exactly an enthralling way to spend time in port.

 

I don't care what their reason is (I just assumed financial due to Amsterdam's passenger tax), but to expect people to just roll with it without protest or comment is unreasonable, IMO.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Captain-John

[XLVIII]

We just got our letter tonight informing us of the change. Interestingly, there was no mention of a complimentary shuttle to Amsterdam (I wonder if this had something to do with us booking through the US site). They did indicate that we could cancel for a full refund, including "possible proven own expenses." We've already paid close to $2000 in airfare alone.

 

I've asked MSC for clarification on the shuttle and refund of expenses - will pass along what I find out.