All Grandiosa-Cruises from Genova in Nov & Dec are "zeroed out"

[monsterl]

Next round of cancellations...MSC has taken all cruises on Grandiosa with embarkation in Genova out of sale throughout November & December.

 

Edit: The Grandiosa can currently be booked from Civitavecchia. Perhaps only Genova will be canceled as the embarkation port? 

 

The reason is probably due to increasing Covid19 cases across Europe, new travel restrictions and declining bookings from switzerland (Liguria is for Switzerland a "risk area") and the rest (schengen countries).

 

Source: bookingsystem

Edited September 28, 2020 by monsterl

[Até]

Both Magnifica and Grandiosa Nov/Dec sailings are still open for booking from Genova on the Italian site.

 

ETA:  I also see only Magnifica for November on the German site.

Edited September 28, 2020 by Até

[drsel]

Both Magnifica and Grandiosa Nov/Dec sailings are still open for booking from Genova on the Italian site.

 

ETA:  I also see only Magnifica for November on the German site.

On which MSC country site is the price the lowest-- UK, US, Germany, Italy or ?

 

[Até]

18 minutes ago, drsel said:

On which MSC country site is the price the lowest-- UK, US, Germany, Italy or ?

These cannot be booked on the US or UK site.  Looking at Grandiosa from Civitavecchia on 7 Dec, 2020 a Fanstastica balcony is €1.398 on German site and €1.438 on Italian site, and that small difference seems to be across the sailings and cabin types.

Edited September 28, 2020 by Até

[drsel]

These cannot be booked on the US or UK site. 

I meant in general for MSC 2021 Cruises, which country website is cheapest?

[hamrag]

25 minutes ago, drsel said:

 

I meant in general for MSC 2021 Cruises, which country website is cheapest?

That is impossible to assess, it will vary based on supply & demand!

[Até]

I only book on the US site because that is where I currently live so I don't usually comparatively shop.  I looked at a Seaview one week Med cruise next Fall for a YC interior; on German site it's €2.898, Italian site it's €2.978, and on US it's $2,871.  A US based Seashore one week in the Spring of 2022 for a Bella Balcony; on German site it's €1.898, Italian site it's €2.220 and on US it's $1,924.  So at the current exchange rate the US bookings for these two are cheaper (not counting any conversion fees it's currently equivalent to €2.461 and €1.649 respectively).  These are for the same rates/inclusions but even if it was the other way there are too many factors that would currently prevent me from booking in another country.  Some sites require the gratuities, consumer protection laws vary greatly and also the booking terms, such as refundable deposits, can vary widely.  Booking in the US seems more than fair so I'll stick with that for now.

 

ETA:  I do agree with hamrag that once the sail date gets closer there are too many regional factors that can affect each country's pricing.

Edited September 28, 2020 by Até

[LouChamp]

Ill wait 

[hamrag]

10 hours ago, Até said:

.....I do agree with hamrag that once the sail date gets closer there are too many regional factors that can affect each country's pricing.

 

Across 49 cruises, probably 20 were booked on a US site and a couple in Canadian all with significant savings compared to UK.....most recently a US booking with Azamara in December past. Generally, in recent times, with the poor GBP to USD exchange rate UK pricing has been at least comparable with US and often better.

 

Generally speaking, we book outwith the UK only if the total saving in doing so is at least 5% and over £100.

[Liviucostin]

On the MSC global site the first cruise for Magnifica that can be booked is on December 26th. For Grandiosa the first cruise is on December 27th. For Splendida the first cruise is on April 20th the repo Genoa to Kiel.

[Até]

These first MSC cruises are only for Schengen residents so will only appear on those sites.  Why only the German site's Grandiosa specifically from Genoa disappeared prior to Dec 27th no one knows.  But the cruises are still available on other MSC sites.

 

[drsel]

 

429 euros for 10 nights is very cheap. 

Does this include the 5 + 5% = 10% discount and 50 + 50 = 100 OBC for Voyagers club members?

[Até]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

Does this include the 5 + 5% = 10% discount and 50 + 50 = 100 OBC for Voyagers club members?

No, and those sailings are listed on the Italian site as Voyage Selection 5+5% sailings.

 

ETA: So MSC is definitely pushing bookings for Magnifica.  What's more interesting is this splash page price includes taxes and port fees.  So €858 minus 5% minus 5% yields €774 total.  On this sailing MSC Italy does require a €90pp mandatory service charge (you can delay payment until once on board) so €954 total.  Bella inside gets €50pp OBC for being voyagers member, balcony and above gets an additional €50pp OBC.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Até

[Até]

Too late to add:  Yes, the service charge is supposed to be €10pp per night but for some reason when you go through the booking it is only charging €90pp.

[drsel]

.

[drsel]

Too late to add:  Yes, the service charge is supposed to be €10pp per night but for some reason when you go through the booking it is only charging €90pp.

MSc UK site includes the gratuities and hence is more expensive

[Até]

17 minutes ago, drsel said:

This is cheaper than the prices on the US site

Not sure I understand.  The only/first ten night Magnifica sailings available on the US site start Dec 26 and are a very different itinerary.  I agree it is way overpriced at $1,599pp for a Bella inside, plus $280 taxes and port fees.  On the Italian site it's €859pp plus the service charges.

[drsel]

Not sure I understand.  The only/first ten night Magnifica sailings available on the US site start Dec 26 and are a very different itinerary.  I agree it is way overpriced at $1,599pp for a Bella inside, plus $280 taxes and port fees.  On the Italian site it's €859pp plus the service charges.

So, which is the Italian site and which is the cheapest country site of MSc?

[grandiosa]

Feeling a bit sick to read your post about the Grandiosa Nov cancellations.

we are booked on 8th November from Genoa.

Haven't heard anything from MSC.

Our booking is still there and we are due to pay the balance by 8 Oct.

Leaving it to the last minute, obviously.

We're English living in Italy and want to celebrate our special number anniversary.

Is this what normally happens, they pull the bookings and then inform the passengers?

One sad person now.

[grandiosa]

Tweeted Antonio Paradiso, MSC, who responsed immediately ' we are not cancelling anything,we're just updating our system with some itinerary changes. No idea who is saying such things'

 

Next time, better to check facts before posting. I was very upset for nothing!

[megaelch]

just booked two balconies for Grandiosa Nov. 1st in germany, looks like ship is almost completely booked, only guarantees left in the moment.

[crazyank]

On 9/30/2020 at 5:12 PM, grandiosa said:

Feeling a bit sick to read your post about the Grandiosa Nov cancellations.

we are booked on 8th November from Genoa.

Haven't heard anything from MSC.

Our booking is still there and we are due to pay the balance by 8 Oct.

Leaving it to the last minute, obviously.

We're English living in Italy and want to celebrate our special number anniversary.

Is this what normally happens, they pull the bookings and then inform the passengers?

One sad person now.

Nothing has been canceled.  Spoke to MSC customer service in Munich a few minutes ago. Just for info,  be sure you bring proof of residence in Italy. 

Edited October 2, 2020 by crazyank

[crazyank]

On 10/1/2020 at 10:02 AM, megaelch said:

just booked two balconies for Grandiosa Nov. 1st in germany, looks like ship is almost completely booked, only guarantees left in the moment.

Yes it's almost sold out.  We booked as soon as 1 Nov was available and got a very good price. 

[crazyank]

Update!  As of yesterday 28 Oct,  All sales of cruises on MSC Grandiosa and Magnifica have been paused.  No word yet about cruises due to sail in the near future.  Because of travel restrictions put in place by the German government we decided to change our cruise on Grandiosa to a date in 2021.  MSC is being very cooperative, our TA got an answer to our request in less than 24 hours.  Cruise date changed and no fee charged for making the change.

[cruiseboy89130]

1 hour ago, crazyank said:

Update!  As of yesterday 28 Oct,  All sales of cruises on MSC Grandiosa and Magnifica have been paused.  No word yet about cruises due to sail in the near future.  Because of travel restrictions put in place by the German government we decided to change our cruise on Grandiosa to a date in 2021.  MSC is being very cooperative, our TA got an answer to our request in less than 24 hours.  Cruise date changed and no fee charged for making the change.

Sorry but your information is just wrong - no sales restrictions! Ship sailing as planned at this point of time!