March Refunds Only - is there a "big black hole"

[dexddd]

1 minute ago, Couple-Somerset said:

Question as I thought I had read this somewhere..........

 

Does MSC UK process all of the bookings for the USA market or is there a dedicated admin dept in the US ?

 

Appreciate there will be a sales office in the US, but just asking about the actual back-office admin.

 

Well, we are now on page 15 of this.  As far as ACTIVE CC participants on the MSC boards, it is relatively small all things considered.  However, there are at least three of us here, and a fourth recently resolved, still waiting a year.  To me, that indicates possibly many non CC also waiting.

 

I'd have to check, but from what I gleaned from the reports is the processing was out of Switzerland.

[dexddd]

I should add that I doubt there is a US department handling this as TA getting major run around and no answers other than maybe if Miami is intermediary also getting straight arm from Europe.

[jmbadean]

We are still waiting for $622 MSC insurance from 3/20/20 sailing...

at the time of cruises being cancelled we had 17,000 invested in cruises. No rhyme or reason to how refunds are processed. TA gets same runaround. Give it a few months. 

[notme2012]

15 hours ago, versuco said:

Never again will they get a penny of our money!

 

Sadly for us, we received the FCC. It did include our taxes, drink packages, and show tickets. I challenged the charge for a shore ex. and it was refunded. So we will have to sail with them to get our money's worth. But that will be it! Never again after that one cruise. I was a travel agent for almost 30 years. I have never, ever dealt with such an uncaring travel supplier. Horrible is what this is doing to MSC's image. They are totally clueless and could care less....

[dexddd]

17 hours ago, notme2012 said:

Sadly for us, we received the FCC. It did include our taxes, drink packages, and show tickets. I challenged the charge for a shore ex. and it was refunded. So we will have to sail with them to get our money's worth. But that will be it! Never again after that one cruise. I was a travel agent for almost 30 years. I have never, ever dealt with such an uncaring travel supplier. Horrible is what this is doing to MSC's image. They are totally clueless and could care less....

My first response would be a feeling this is all due to operations out of Europe which might be true.  I wrote a very specific letter to Miami about a month ago and they haven't even had courtesy to respond to a loyal customer, that says a lot.  

 

A few years back, MSC sent a group to our large TA to learn and improve.  The feedback I got from TA was nothing got better and their continued frustration with MSC.

[GypsyCarrol]

Too bad we can't warn cruisers on this site NOT to book with MSC if they think they will have

to cancel for whatever reason.  Moving from U.S. to Italy for refunds.  WHAT?? 

We were booked on an October/20 cruise.  We decided in May that we didn't want to go on it 

because we didn't know what was happening with the virus.

I cancelled on June 1, 2020 and as of today March 25/21, I have not received my refund of

$1715.00.  

I get the run around every month when I call.  I think they hope cruisers will get Covid and die and then 

they wouldn't have to pay anyone.

It is absolutely disgusting.  

As a senior this is alot of money to lose, especially for a Canadian when it is U.S. funds.

Thanks for listening.

 

 

 

 

[versuco]

On 3/24/2021 at 1:07 PM, notme2012 said:

Sadly for us, we received the FCC. It did include our taxes, drink packages, and show tickets. I challenged the charge for a shore ex. and it was refunded. So we will have to sail with them to get our money's worth. But that will be it! Never again after that one cruise. I was a travel agent for almost 30 years. I have never, ever dealt with such an uncaring travel supplier. Horrible is what this is doing to MSC's image. They are totally clueless and could care less....

It's my understanding that if you canceled in March, 2020 and are unable to use the FCC by December, 2021 your money will be automatically refunded to you.  I've already been waiting for 12 months, guess I  can wait another 9.  I will not be stepping onto another MSC ship.

[shipgeeks]

I posted a number of months ago that our FCC was sent to us last summer, with taxes posted to our credit card at the same time.  We put off making any more bookings until we felt more confident that sailings will occur.  However, last week, husband said "When we get our second shots, let's book", so we did.  The entire process was completed by our TA in just a few minutes.  We emailed him (new agent at our usual agency), and in just a short time he had completed everything, right down to our dining time.  There is FCC left over, which if we don't use onboard, will be refunded to us.  

That was our experience with our previous MSC cruises, as well.  No hassle, no delays, everything done right and efficiently.  I'm still surprised when people say they have problems with MSC.

[dexddd]

15 hours ago, GypsyCarrol said:

Too bad we can't warn cruisers on this site NOT to book with MSC if they think they will have

to cancel for whatever reason.  Moving from U.S. to Italy for refunds.  WHAT?? 

We were booked on an October/20 cruise.  We decided in May that we didn't want to go on it 

because we didn't know what was happening with the virus.

I cancelled on June 1, 2020 and as of today March 25/21, I have not received my refund of

$1715.00.  

I get the run around every month when I call.  I think they hope cruisers will get Covid and die and then 

they wouldn't have to pay anyone.

It is absolutely disgusting.  

As a senior this is alot of money to lose, especially for a Canadian when it is U.S. funds.

Thanks for listening.

 

 

 

 

So June 2020 is a black hole too.

[dexddd]

12 hours ago, versuco said:

It's my understanding that if you canceled in March, 2020 and are unable to use the FCC by December, 2021 your money will be automatically refunded to you.  I've already been waiting for 12 months, guess I  can wait another 9.  I will not be stepping onto another MSC ship.

That is what they said and partially feel the same way yet like I said before, how long will that refund take?

[dexddd]

11 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I posted a number of months ago that our FCC was sent to us last summer, with taxes posted to our credit card at the same time.  We put off making any more bookings until we felt more confident that sailings will occur.  However, last week, husband said "When we get our second shots, let's book", so we did.  The entire process was completed by our TA in just a few minutes.  We emailed him (new agent at our usual agency), and in just a short time he had completed everything, right down to our dining time.  There is FCC left over, which if we don't use onboard, will be refunded to us.  

That was our experience with our previous MSC cruises, as well.  No hassle, no delays, everything done right and efficiently.  I'm still surprised when people say they have problems with MSC.

Taking new, regular reservations they generally do OK with from observations.  From observations over the years, and our experience on the booking end, asking for discounts and looking for specific rooms can be challenging.  I normally let TA deal with the bumps.

[versuco]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

That is what they said and partially feel the same way yet like I said before, how long will that refund take?

Probably at least another year!  

[dexddd]

On 3/26/2021 at 7:52 AM, Couple-Somerset said:

 

Richard Sasso – Chairman, MSC Cruises USA

 

richard.sasso@msccruisesusa.com

rick.sasso@msccruisesusa.com

 

one of the above should work - at least get you in to executive office.

 

 

Thanks for the info.  The first one bounced back that I didn't have permission to send to it.  Not sure if the second one will work.

[drsel]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Thanks for the info.  The first one bounced back that I didn't have permission to send to it.  Not sure if the second one will work.

Since when does one need permission to send an email?

[versuco]

We finally got our refunds after 375 days of MSC aggravation.  MSC refused the chargeback, so our credit card company refunded the money back to us as they agreed we had a valid claim.  

 

We are finished now with this horrible company.  Good luck to you all.

[dexddd]

19 hours ago, versuco said:

We finally got our refunds after 375 days of MSC aggravation.  MSC refused the chargeback, so our credit card company refunded the money back to us as they agreed we had a valid claim.  

 

We are finished now with this horrible company.  Good luck to you all.

That's great news credit card went to bat for you.

[dexddd]

Wrote to TA yesterday.  They contacted MSC.  Guess what.  MSC has done nothing in the last month since they only issued the 100% FCC in error.

[Orange Blossom]

March 13, 2020 sail date.. Just received final refund today. 392 days after they left us on the dock in Marseille. Placed a full refund request a few days later. Glad to finally be paid. It has been a long journey.  

 

My advice.... Keep the pressure going. I called my TA  every two weeks and had them do a three way call with MSC. They never gave a damn nor did I get new information but I wanted to make sure I didn't fall through the cracks. 

[Orange Blossom]

On 4/2/2021 at 8:52 AM, dexddd said:

Wrote to TA yesterday.  They contacted MSC.  Guess what.  MSC has done nothing in the last month since they only issued the 100% FCC in error.

It took a full 90 days after they did the same to me. 

[dexddd]

On 4/9/2021 at 9:07 AM, Orange Blossom said:

March 13, 2020 sail date.. Just received final refund today. 392 days after they left us on the dock in Marseille. Placed a full refund request a few days later. Glad to finally be paid. It has been a long journey.  

 

My advice.... Keep the pressure going. I called my TA  every two weeks and had them do a three way call with MSC. They never gave a damn nor did I get new information but I wanted to make sure I didn't fall through the cracks. 

Glad you are finally settled.

[dexddd]

6 hours ago, Couple-Somerset said:

It's shocking how long its taking you to get refunds in the US / Canada - which is why I asked previously if the accounts were being dealt with in the US or another Country.

 

I can only share my experience in the UK based on 3 cancelled MSC cruises in 2020 - all of them were refunded in full within 3 weeks - OK, so the various cancellation invoices they sent didn't make any sense to me but the money refunded was in full.

 

Did any of you try the email addresses I gave a few posts ago? - I have no idea if they get through but unless people try we wont know (the "denied access to send email" reported by one person was more to do with their end I think and they didnt say if they then tried the other email)

 

 

I did try both.  First address got ...not allowed... message.  Never seen that type of message through our email system.  Second one apparently sent but no response.

[Orange Blossom]

On 4/10/2021 at 2:25 AM, Couple-Somerset said:

It's shocking how long its taking you to get refunds in the US / Canada - which is why I asked previously if the accounts were being dealt with in the US or another Country.

 

I can only share my experience in the UK based on 3 cancelled MSC cruises in 2020 - all of them were refunded in full within 3 weeks - OK, so the various cancellation invoices they sent didn't make any sense to me but the money refunded was in full.

 

Did any of you try the email addresses I gave a few posts ago? - I have no idea if they get through but unless people try we wont know (the "denied access to send email" reported by one person was more to do with their end I think and they didnt say if they then tried the other email)

 

 

I tried everything. If I came across an email, I tried it. It would either get an immediate reply saying undeliverable or I received nothing. I found the CEO on Twitter and sent numerous tweets to him. I also sent tweets to the MSC USA and Italy account. I asked for action on their Facebook and Instagram account.

 

I had a year of trying. After the first 60 days after I requested a refund (and I didn't receive anything), I started calling weekly for about five months. Then every other week. At the beginning I would be on hold for over six hours for my TA to say there was nothing I can do but the person they were speaking with expedited it. I heard that weekly and wasted hundreds of hours on the phone on hold. Thankfully the wait times ended mid-May where the hold times were 15-30 minutes. I tried calling directly to a MSC but I was always told I needed to work with my travel agent. Although MSC did tell me that I could do three-way calls with my TA on the line. And I started doing that about 100 days of waiting for a refund. It was a long journey to get refunded and seriously they took their sweet time. I was basically lied to by MSC numerous times saying that I would be getting a refund within 30 days. After the 30 days passed I would be told another 30 days and it's going to be expedited not to worry. Basically they lied to get me off the phone with them. I have to say about October they started saying they have no idea when I would receive a refund. But I was always told it's in the system. When it was finally approved to receive a refund, when I was told the exact amount for each cabin, it took 5 months. Originally when it was approved they said I would receive it within 20 days. When I called back they said I would receive a credit card refund... then a check... then it was credit card again. I'm not sure if I would have received the cabin refund sooner since if I purchased directly through MSC? I waited for the drink, show, dinner, wifi refund for several months and that was purchased directly from MSC. Overall they have a very broken system. MSC USA was the one speaking to us but it was the main Accounting Office in Europe that was holding everything up. 

 

What is sad, they're trying to make a presence here in the US. As of now they're on the East Coast. Regardless I will never purchase a cruise from them again.

[crazyank]

35 minutes ago, Orange Blossom said:

What is sad, they're trying to make a presence here in the US. As of now they're on the East Coast. Regardless I will never purchase a cruise from them again.

That's the best decision you can make.

[GlobalMethod]

39 minutes ago, Orange Blossom said:

I tried everything. If I came across an email, I tried it. It would either get an immediate reply saying undeliverable or I received nothing. I found the CEO on Twitter and sent numerous tweets to him. I also sent tweets to the MSC USA and Italy account. I asked for action on their Facebook and Instagram account.

 

I had a year of trying. After the first 60 days after I requested a refund (and I didn't receive anything), I started calling weekly for about five months. Then every other week. At the beginning I would be on hold for over six hours for my TA to say there was nothing I can do but the person they were speaking with expedited it. I heard that weekly and wasted hundreds of hours on the phone on hold. Thankfully the wait times ended mid-May where the hold times were 15-30 minutes. I tried calling directly to a MSC but I was always told I needed to work with my travel agent. Although MSC did tell me that I could do three-way calls with my TA on the line. And I started doing that about 100 days of waiting for a refund. It was a long journey to get refunded and seriously they took their sweet time. I was basically lied to by MSC numerous times saying that I would be getting a refund within 30 days. After the 30 days passed I would be told another 30 days and it's going to be expedited not to worry. Basically they lied to get me off the phone with them. I have to say about October they started saying they have no idea when I would receive a refund. But I was always told it's in the system. When it was finally approved to receive a refund, when I was told the exact amount for each cabin, it took 5 months. Originally when it was approved they said I would receive it within 20 days. When I called back they said I would receive a credit card refund... then a check... then it was credit card again. I'm not sure if I would have received the cabin refund sooner since if I purchased directly through MSC? I waited for the drink, show, dinner, wifi refund for several months and that was purchased directly from MSC. Overall they have a very broken system. MSC USA was the one speaking to us but it was the main Accounting Office in Europe that was holding everything up. 

 

What is sad, they're trying to make a presence here in the US. As of now they're on the East Coast. Regardless I will never purchase a cruise from them again.

This is such a sad topic.

 

These travel companiess are all in a financial bind so nothing should surprise any of us. A couple of suggestions for things that could be done in a dispute process ... after a telephone call wherein you got a name and title of the promising person and notes on what was said and discussed, considering elevating your response to a certified letter to the home office referencing your point of view expressed by telephone. Give them a date to repond prior to further action on your part.

 

To elevate a still slow response, I have an attorney who will let me write a draft of a 'demand' letter to the party I am in conflict with ... he will, of course, review it and usually make some small change, but I am pretty good at this and he knows it. I am usually only charged for 1/4 of an hour of his time.

 

There is something magical when an attorney's letterhead arrives by certified mail ... you are suddenly taken seriously and an apology letter for all the delay arrives with the refund.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by GlobalMethod

[dexddd]

2 hours ago, GlobalMethod said:

This is such a sad topic.

 

These travel companiess are all in a financial bind so nothing should surprise any of us. A couple of suggestions for things that could be done in a dispute process ... after a telephone call wherein you got a name and title of the promising person and notes on what was said and discussed, considering elevating your response to a certified letter to the home office referencing your point of view expressed by telephone. Give them a date to repond prior to further action on your part.

 

To elevate a still slow response, I have an attorney who will let me write a draft of a 'demand' letter to the party I am in conflict with ... he will, of course, review it and usually make some small change, but I am pretty good at this and he knows it. I am usually only charged for 1/4 of an hour of his time.

 

There is something magical when an attorney's letterhead arrives by certified mail ... you are suddenly taken seriously and an apology letter for all the delay arrives with the refund.

 

 

This is now a sixteen page thread.  Over 13 months later.  They clearly have zero interest in doing the right thing.  I hardly doubt MSC as a whole in financial bind.