MSC drama Venice

[WeeCountyMan]

Friends of mine were on the next ship, also an MSC cruise liner, waiting to berth when Opera was involved in the accident - as a result they were 5 hours late and missed their homeward flight.

 

Apparently staff on their MSC ship stated that no form of compensation was appropriate as it was not their liner that caused the incident.

 

However, as MSC are the parent cruise line would it be appropriate for them to accept responsibility and reimburse flight costs ?

 

My friends are only looking for the cost of their flight home.

 

Any thoughts from people in the know ?

 

 

[mef_57]

Have they tried to claim on their travel insurance? 

Experience is that no provider is going to volunteer up reimbursements for delays that are not directly of their doing...particularly at the low MSC price point. MSC will have their hands full just dealing with the immediate Opera passengers. If I recall, the cruise ships that participated in searches for man(woman) overboard provided no compensation to their passengers either.

One can write to the MSC home office and see what they can get, but the ship staff isn't going to be as conversant with that sort of complaint.  The Opera passengers aren't getting straight answers either as far as compensation for missed flights.

The more I read the more I realize, particularly for Med cruises, one needs to provide a day or two buffer on either end of a cruise. 

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by mef_57

[sidari]

Today Opera passengers have been told that they will not sail today nor is it likely tomorrow, the have been offered a full refund and the cost of flights home or they can stay on the ship for the rest of the week.

[Babyeddiedog]

1 hour ago, WeeCountyMan said:

Friends of mine were on the next ship, also an MSC cruise liner, waiting to berth when Opera was involved in the accident - as a result they were 5 hours late and missed their homeward flight.

 

Apparently staff on their MSC ship stated that no form of compensation was appropriate as it was not their liner that caused the incident.

 

However, as MSC are the parent cruise line would it be appropriate for them to accept responsibility and reimburse flight costs ?

 

My friends are only looking for the cost of their flight home.

 

Any thoughts from people in the know ?

 

 

 

If they booked a full package with MSC which included flights they may be offered something, but they might have more luck contacting their insurance company

[ready2cruzagain]

This is why we buy insurance. 

[Homosassa]

3 hours ago, WeeCountyMan said:

 

However, as MSC are the parent cruise line would it be appropriate for them to accept responsibility and reimburse flight costs ?

 

My friends are only looking for the cost of their flight home.

 

Any thoughts from people in the know ?

 

 

 

MSC doesn't owe them anything.

[emmas gran]

I’m sorry but the negative comments aren’t helpful would your response be the same if you missed a flight back to the USA

[psuboater]

We just got off the Celebrity Summit and we were 4 hours delayed disembarking because of a RCCL ship that had to take our port spot due to a medical emergency. Celebrity worked with the airlines to waive change fees, or a $250 credit towards changing our flight. This was for customers that didn't book through Celebrity - anyone who did was automatically rebooked if need be. They also gave a free phone call and 2 hours of internet so people could rebook their flights or rearrange getting home. Guests that parked in the garage were comped additional hours as well.  I'm really surprised they're not doing something for the passengers. 

[hamrag]

3 hours ago, WeeCountyMan said:

Friends of mine were on the next ship, also an MSC cruise liner, waiting to berth when Opera was involved in the accident - as a result they were 5 hours late and missed their homeward flight.

 

Apparently staff on their MSC ship stated that no form of compensation was appropriate as it was not their liner that caused the incident.

 

However, as MSC are the parent cruise line would it be appropriate for them to accept responsibility and reimburse flight costs ?

 

My friends are only looking for the cost of their flight home.

 

Any thoughts from people in the know ?

 

 

 

I would agree entirely with the MSC response, such is life especially in travel. Their travel insurance should cover an incident like this, although they may need to pay up front and sort it once home. They must notify their insurer without delay, to have any chance of a genuine claim.

[1fifthavenue]

20 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

I’m sorry but the negative comments aren’t helpful would your response be the same if you missed a flight back to the USA

Of course the negative responses wont seem helpful, however delays in to port could happen for any number of reasons, and that's why insurance is so important, or build in a stay in the port of arrival

[sidari]

Ships are often held up outside of Venice due to Fog! 

 

"Apparently staff on their MSC ship stated that no form of compensation was appropriate as it was not their liner that caused the incident."

 

I think they will find that the plethora of videos on social media will prove otherwise!

[WeeCountyMan]

"Apparently staff on their MSC ship stated that no form of compensation was appropriate as it was not their liner that caused the incident."

 

That opinion is from staff on the other MSC liner which was waiting to berth, not the Opera.

[G.M.T.]

4 hours ago, WeeCountyMan said:

"Apparently staff on their MSC ship stated that no form of compensation was appropriate as it was not their liner that caused the incident."

 

That opinion is from staff on the other MSC liner which was waiting to berth, not the Opera.

One should never bit the postman.

 

I believe Sidari (Dave) is on Opera right now, so he has first hand knowledge.

[Beamafar]

22 minutes ago, G.M.T. said:

One should never bit the postman.

 

I believe Sidari (Dave) is on Opera right now, so he has first hand knowledge.

 

No, he isn't (though another poster has a daughter who is currently on Opera and has been relaying information he's been receiving from her).

 

It's true that MSC is not obliged to cover the costs of people missing their flights due to their ship being delayed (I'm not talking about those on Opera;  I'm referring to the other MSC ship that was mentioned by WeeCountyMan).  Those booking cruises should factor delays in reaching their disembarkation port into the equation when booking flights.

[sidari]

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/msc-opera-remains-in-venice-for-repairs-investigation.html

[Homosassa]

On 6/3/2019 at 3:34 PM, emmas gran said:

I’m sorry but the negative comments aren’t helpful would your response be the same if you missed a flight back to the USA

If your comment is directed at my post which is directly above yours, yes,  my response would be the same.

 

MSC would owe me nothing in this case.

 

[Nunagoras]

This is for what there is something named travel insurance. TBHH, when I travel I usually buy such a good and reliable travel insurance plan, and by that I am not talking about those "crap" insurance packages some companies impose on you on your base line prices. I am talking about professional travel insurance plans that will effectively work. Fortunately I have never need to use them. Good luck on me, but... We never know!...

 

Meanwhile, if you purchased air tickets directly from MSC, they will certainly to find some solutions... But nothing really more than to facilitate things as far as possible.

 

Have a nice day!... 🙂