***** MSC: US Cruisers ***

[Amy Paperlady]

On 3/27/2020 at 10:23 AM, stoneman56 said:

Anyway back on track.

According to UK law they must offer you a cash refund. (Do not get this mixed up with the ABTA/ATOL suggestion that they might offer credit, this is not law)  I would send them a letter before action giving them 14 days to give the refund (they must refund within 14 days by law) and then start county Court action, you must do this quickly before the law gets changed.

 

UK law doesn't apply here, as this thread is for US cruisers 😕

[stoneman56]

1 hour ago, Amy Paperlady said:

 

UK law doesn't apply here, as this thread is for US cruisers 😕

Sorry I thought I was on the UK thread🤦

[Maikell]

Urgent message of CDC:

 

This message only applies to cruises that would take place in the American territory.

 

Because America is currently the most affected country in the world with covid-19 due to late intervention, all cruises are canceled in America for the next hundred days.

 

MSC cruiseships in US waters departing from the world's largest disaster area to flock to other continents where covid-19 measures are properly enforced and where is improvement against the virus, such as in Northern Europe. 

The MSC ships will leave US waters the coming days.

 

MSC cruises will resume sailings in these improved covid-19 continents on May 29. You can read the entire message from CDC here;

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-04-10/cdc-s-no-sail-order-for-cruise-ships-extended-by-100-more-days

 

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Maikell

[QueenBee7]

Has anyone seen an update from MSC on US sailings in June?  Their website still says that Cruises leaving Miami after May 30th are on as scheduled but with the latest CDC order, they are not permitted to sail.  Am I missing something?  Is MSC just behind in canceling the June sailings?

[Maikell]

@QueenBee7

 

it seems logical to me that we are talking here about a european cruise line that is operational worldwide. Since the corona crisis is under control in many places in Europe and society seems to be opening up there again, the US is only at the beginning of this crisis and has a long way to go. The ships of MSC will withdraw from the US in the coming weeks to sail where there is an appropriate policy. Plans are currently being made to allow the cruises in (Northern) Europe, for example, to take place with all kinds of adjustments such as distributing passengers over two ships on the same route, serving crew at the buffet so that the food is served at the counters, washing hands when entering public areas and heat scans upon boarding. You can assume that the cruises in US are canceled this summer and MSC cruises are repositioning. So they are very bussy but will let you know in next weeks to come.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Maikell

[glittergal1]

Hello I know we really have no idea how long this Corona virus will go on for and effect cruising, We live in the UK so are more aware of whats happening in Europe and I know many of you on here are from the USA. 

So although no one knows for sure how confident should we be or (not confident) that our MSC Seaside cruise February 2021 will go ahead.

We will be flying from the UK to Miami (flights are available but we have not booked yet)

[Cullyman15]

On 4/3/2020 at 11:20 AM, chrisgalwv said:

 

For all waiting for MSC refunds..... I was on the first cruise affected by COVID-19, the Meraviglia that sailed on 2/23/2020. The original 'coronacruise" that was turned away from all ports except Cozumel where we sat and waited 16 hours for clearance.

I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REFUND. It's been a month and a week and still nothing. I have called 3 times and emailed more times than I can count, and get nothing but the runaround every time. I'm reading on here of people who have already been refunded for cruises they never even got to go on, yet here I am, one of the first and most affected and have gotten Z E R O money back or any help at all. Seriously considering getting legal representation at this point. 

Our first MSC cruise on the Divina was awful, and we swore we'd never go again. Cold food, terrible service, a rude room steward who never spoke to us, a much less took time to learn our names, a store employee who referred to us as cheap Americans. When MSC practically begged us for a second chance, we caved and booked this cruise, and this is the thanks we get. NEVER AGAIN. NEVER EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER WILL I STEP FOOT ON AN MSC SHIP AGAIN. E V E R.

Anyone else onboard having the same issue with these refunds? I'm looking for others who may want to join the fight. This is ridiculous.

They are not paying their employees now so that is not good.

[shipgeeks]

7 hours ago, Cullyman15 said:

They are not paying their employees now so that is not good.

Source?

[Cullyman15]

7 hours ago, Cullyman15 said:

They are not paying their employees now so that is not good.

Google it !

[Cullyman15]

8 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Source?

Google it.

[chrisgalwv]

They asked to have until May 1 to refund my money. For some reason a cruise I booked in WV is being refunded by an office in Italy. STUPID. I booked in the US, refund in the US. At 8am on May 2, I hire a lawyer and it will cost them WAY more than the $700 they owe me. This is ridiculous. Treated like ***** on the boat by all their rude ass employees and guests (I boarded in Miami, USA therefore I'm not the second class citizen they acted like I was) and treated even worse by the lack of customer service I have received since I stepped off that boat. Can"t even get an answer via email anymore, yet I'm having to make payments on a credit card that they cant seem to hit the refund button for. BEYOND ANNOYING. 

NEVER EVER EVER EVER AGAIN. EVER. IN THE HISTORY OF EVER will I give them another penny of my money. Should have known better to start with.

[Caledonia Boy]

On 4/21/2020 at 1:27 PM, chrisgalwv said:

They asked to have until May 1 to refund my money. For some reason a cruise I booked in WV is being refunded by an office in Italy. STUPID. I booked in the US, refund in the US. At 8am on May 2, I hire a lawyer and it will cost them WAY more than the $700 they owe me. This is ridiculous. Treated like ***** on the boat by all their rude ass employees and guests (I boarded in Miami, USA therefore I'm not the second class citizen they acted like I was) and treated even worse by the lack of customer service I have received since I stepped off that boat. Can"t even get an answer via email anymore, yet I'm having to make payments on a credit card that they cant seem to hit the refund button for. BEYOND ANNOYING. 

NEVER EVER EVER EVER AGAIN. EVER. IN THE HISTORY OF EVER will I give them another penny of my money. Should have known better to start with.

I was on this same cruise and was looking on this site to see if anyone else had any info as I have still not been refunded either.

 

I have the letter from the Captain that said we would be refunded within 30 days and we got off the boat Mar. 1/20. I'm sure you do as well. I gave them the 30 days before asking again. I am from Canada and on Apr. 2/20 got through to a nice young woman at MSC Canada. She gave me the Canadian web site to send an email to which I promptly did. She also mentioned verbally that it would now probably more like 60 - 90 days.

 

On Apr. 9/20 I received an email for MSC telling me to contact Sunwing as they would be "refunding the cruise only and directly to them". Sunwing is a Canadian tour operator. They are more than a travel agency as they have their own planes, etc. We paid an all in one price for the flight, transfers, drink package and cruise. This leaves me to wonder how much Sunwing will refund me.

 

On Apr. 9/20 (same day) I sent an email and asked how much MSC would refund Sunwing on my account and on Apr. 13/20, I received an email telling me that the prices between Sunwing and MSC are confidential (which I do understand). 

 

Today is Apr. 23 and I still do not have a refund. Most of the other posts that I have read do not apply to me (us) as they deal with cancelling cruises or cruises being cancelled. We are in a totally different situation. This isn't a breach of a contract like your passenger bill of rights. This was a"promise", albeit in writing, to give us something back for a bad cruise that wouldn't let us off on any islands. 

 

I am posting this in the hopes that someone has some good news and got a refund for our trip. My Sister in law and her husband were on this trip, booked direct with the cruise line and still haven't received anything either. I have seen many posts saying that people got refunds when cancelling or being cancelled on. I have also seen posts where people have a rock solid contract and the cruise line is only offering Future Cruise Credits even though the people want a refund.

 

I do realize in this upside down world of Coronavirus that things may be confusing, take a little longer or get muddled but I would like someone to give me a direct answer. 

 

Take care and stay safe

Caledonia boy

 

 

[chrisgalwv]

Still nothing here. I also booked direct on the MSC/USA website. The last lady I was able to get through to on the telephone told me this particular cruise was being refunded at the "home" office in Italy and my account was being worked on. She said give it 60 days from debark which would be May 1st. That"s the day my patience runs out, I hire an Italian to translate and I start calling Italy. I don't even get responses to emails anymore, and the only thing I ever really got was the generic standard reply. The customer service (or lack of) of this company is the biggest downfall for them. . Both on land and at sea. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We were the FIRST cruise that had any problems, and we should have been the FIRST to be refunded. There is ZERO excuse for this. If I ever do get the refund, I'll pass it along, but I am not holding my breath at this point. MSC has been nothing but a letdown from day one, I don't expect this to be any different. I was an idiot to trust them a second time, never again.

[Jamesanr21]

Was on the feb 23 2020 covid scare disaster !! Horrible the way we were treated !! Were is the refund promised in 30 days ??  

[Caledonia Boy]

As far as this experience has been frustrating, I can't agree with your statements about being treated badly. We actually were treated very well by the staff. I have been on 21 cruises with Celebrity and Princess being my favourites. I have experienced a lot of really good and not so good when cruising. This wasn't the best we have been on but it was far from the worst. Our Waiter, Assistant Waiter and our Room Stewart were absolutely wonderful. They tried really hard and we tipped them above what they took off us daily because they earned it. It wasn't their fault that we couldn't get off the boat. 

 

I thought it was a beautiful ship. Truth be told, I would love to do the same cruise again if I could actually get off the boat. For the price point, it is very value appropriate. With a balcony room and a drink package, Princess and Celebrity are 50% - 100% more. Remember, you get what you pay for. You're shouldn't expect to get a $2,500 experience when you pay $500. 

 

My only complaint is that they aren't living up to what they said that they would do. We have a letter that says that we would get the "Cruise Only" portion back within 30 days and I am not getting a straight answer out of the land based people that I have dealt with. That is the disappointment.  

 

Take care and stay safe

Caledonia boy

 

[chrisgalwv]

On 4/26/2020 at 12:53 AM, Caledonia Boy said:

As far as this experience has been frustrating, I can't agree with your statements about being treated badly. We actually were treated very well by the staff. I have been on 21 cruises with Celebrity and Princess being my favourites. I have experienced a lot of really good and not so good when cruising. This wasn't the best we have been on but it was far from the worst. Our Waiter, Assistant Waiter and our Room Stewart were absolutely wonderful. They tried really hard and we tipped them above what they took off us daily because they earned it. It wasn't their fault that we couldn't get off the boat. 

 

I thought it was a beautiful ship. Truth be told, I would love to do the same cruise again if I could actually get off the boat. For the price point, it is very value appropriate. With a balcony room and a drink package, Princess and Celebrity are 50% - 100% more. Remember, you get what you pay for. You're shouldn't expect to get a $2,500 experience when you pay $500. 

 

My only complaint is that they aren't living up to what they said that they would do. We have a letter that says that we would get the "Cruise Only" portion back within 30 days and I am not getting a straight answer out of the land based people that I have dealt with. That is the disappointment.  

 

Take care and stay safe

Caledonia boy

 

 

Quote

I disagree a bit. I wasn't treated as well on this ship as on American cruise lines. That being said it was mostly mistreatment from other cruise passengers than the staff. I'm just not a fan of this cruise line. This was my second try, and I think I'll stick to the fun on Carnival or Royal Caribbean. I don't go on a cruise to pay an outrageous amount for people to treat me well. I go on a cruise for what I feel is a reasonable amount to have fun. Someone who paid $500 shouldn't be treated like a second class citizen just because someone else paid $5000. Just my opinion. I just want my money back so I can book another cruise to salvage this one that was RUINED. I'm beginning to wonder if that is ever going to happen 😞

 

[frannie]

had the mereviglia booked for march 29th cancelled by cruise line . Wanted a full refund as we may never cruise again . Has anyone received a refund that was requested . Just so sad they are saying 60 days . I have never had a business take that long to process a refund for service not provided .  they process payments within days . Very angry we booked on US site before Canadian site established 

Edited May 3, 2020 by frannie

[Caledonia Boy]

1 hour ago, frannie said:

had the mereviglia booked for march 29th cancelled by cruise line . Wanted a full refund as we may never cruise again . Has anyone received a refund that was requested . Just so sad they are saying 60 days . I have never had a business take that long to process a refund for service not provided .  they process payments within days . Very angry we booked on US site before Canadian site established 

I was on the Feb. 23 - Mar. 1 cruise that didn't have Coronavirus but wasn't allowed to dock. We were promised 100% of the cruise only fare refunded. On May 1 (60 days) I sent another email asking for the status and a case #. Still waiting.

Take care 

Caledonia boy

BTW - My daughter lives in Halifax and works near Truro. 

[Jamesanr21]

Hello ! Hope you and your family is safe ! I was in the cruise feb23 when we weren’t alowed to port and 2 islands  was givin a letter saying 30 days 100% refund.  Then a email saying 40 days.  Then called and was told 60 days because it’s a whole ship and they fell behind that it should be the most another 2 weeks that she sees movement  GOOD LUCK

[shipgeeks]

For those waiting for a refund, here are my thoughts.

There is a health crisis in the world, which no one was prepared for.  Many jobs have been affected.

In my case, I had to forfeit my university teaching for the summer term because I was not experienced with Zoom and do not have the equipment I would need to teach from home.

I expect most MSC employees, like everyone else, are trying to work from home, perhaps without the benefit of their office equipment, access to files, access to supervisors, etc.  Of course things are going to take longer.  The system was not built to accommodate this crisis.

Patience is a virtue.

[frannie]

I Can understand your situation But MSC knew exactly who were on these cruises . The programmers can do a program to refund all tickets for those who are requesting refunds many took FCC . the refunds may help those people from needing to apply for government assistance

[Jamesanr21]

Then they shouldn’t say 30 days and 40 days  just 60 days and also they knew exactly they let the crew member aboard upon arrival in Miami so yea they knew ! Besides they have To  program  a computer to give refunds out  I’m in the hardest hit part in the country and my wife is a supervisor for call centers and she sits home and redirects refunds and all so like I said 60 days we need our money 

[rbtcpa]

On 4/24/2020 at 9:55 AM, chrisgalwv said:

Still nothing here. I also booked direct on the MSC/USA website. The last lady I was able to get through to on the telephone told me this particular cruise was being refunded at the "home" office in Italy and my account was being worked on. She said give it 60 days from debark which would be May 1st. That's the day my patience runs out, I hire an Italian to translate and I start calling Italy. I don't even get responses to emails anymore, and the only thing I ever really got was the generic standard reply. The customer service (or lack of) of this company is the biggest downfall for them. . Both on land and at sea. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We were the FIRST cruise that had any problems, and we should have been the FIRST to be refunded. There is ZERO excuse for this. If I ever do get the refund, I'll pass it along, but I am not holding my breath at this point. MSC has been nothing but a letdown from day one, I don't expect this to be any different. I was an idiot to trust them a second time, never again.

I agree completely and have had a very similar experience.

They charged me a cancellation fee of 90% I paid and got no refund or future credit even after the cruise was cancelled by them! - they keep changing the terminology - future cruise credit - cruise assurance program - what does it all mean? Very confusing.

Now they want me to fill out a cruise assurance form, which I have already done at least twice.

I am a senior citizen and would apreciate some advice as to what I should do.

Thanks for your time

[SmitteeB11]

We are on day 95 waiting for a refund. We had a sailing for Sept which we promptly cancelled in early February. We knew this virus was going to go global, but never expected a shutdown of global commerce. 
 

At this point, I worry that MSC will go bankrupt and none of us will see our money again.

[Jamesanr21]

Was on the  feb 23 sailing received email that our refunds will arrive before May 20 ! So they coming just behind