REALLY MSC - change a cruise and don't even tell the guests!!!!

[love to cruise 2017]

well i should of gone with the reviews, MSC cancelled our 11 day cruise for March 2022 moved us to a 5 a day thing from Venice to Jordan!!!!  and a year early ...what the hell no wonder they were bottom of 2020 cruise lines. they dont give a poop about there guests!!! not answer contact requests.....

 

now i have to fight to get my money back and hope i can plan my wife 60th birthday and Europe tour....with a proper cruise line. 

 

NEVER EVER, EVER THINK OF CRUISING WITH THIS LINE!.....

[DMH15]

I once got CANCELLED Twice for my cruise on NCL and knew about it both times on Cruise Critic before NCL told me.  First time they pulled out of Houston so our cruise was totally canceled the second time after we switched to the Jade it was chartered in full for a music concert…

 

You know, just about every cruise line does stuff like this.    

[8420PR]

Every cruise line that has restarted after COVID-19 has restarted with new deployments and routes - canceling and rebooking customers.   It is part commercial reasons and part travel restrictions (Magnifica displaced by Virtuosa in UK (caused by covid travel restrictions), so must be redeployed - but a change for March 2022 seems more like a commercial decision).

 

I hope by the winter schedule things are back to normal, but I don't count on it.  I wonder of Divina will make it to US this year.  There will be a lot more posts like this coming up.

 

The MSC UK and German offices have been good at communicating changes to me by email, but I can see from the posts others in your position. There are definitely issues - I was emailed that my April 2021 cruise was cancelled in early January 2021, but it was still being shown on the website through to the end of February.

[crazyank]

6 hours ago, love to cruise 2017 said:

well i should of gone with the reviews, MSC cancelled our 11 day cruise for March 2022 moved us to a 5 a day thing from Venice to Jordan!!!!  and a year early ...what the hell no wonder they were bottom of 2020 cruise lines. they dont give a poop about there guests!!! not answer contact requests.....

 

now i have to fight to get my money back and hope i can plan my wife 60th birthday and Europe tour....with a proper cruise line. 

 

NEVER EVER, EVER THINK OF CRUISING WITH THIS LINE!.....

We completely agree,  never book anything with MSC!

[dexddd]

Donna, I've followed NCL for years.  I've never been happy to see their cancels and changes, usually due to them moving a sailing to charter.  We've had NCL change ships on us, delayed sailing only to find out here first.

 

With regards to MSC, before or after current events, they are way worse than NCL in changes and lack of communication.  

[love to cruise 2017]

we talked to out TA last night..he was totally side swiped by this. we have 10 cabins on that sailing thats now gone. MSC according to him closed early last night lol and could not get hold of them. its just shows they dont give a damm and the stories you read about there customer service is true...shame on you MSC  

[quattrohead]

They did this to us a few years back, changed a spring break cruise to a gay cruise....what in the world were they thinking. Found out when I went to add another family, cruise was gone so I looked here.

CANCELLED lol

[Paphillyguy]

16 minutes ago, quattrohead said:

They did this to us a few years back, changed a spring break cruise to a gay cruise....what in the world were they thinking. Found out when I went to add another family, cruise was gone so I looked here.

CANCELLED lol

This post leads me to so many questions.  Was the entire cruise cancelled because it was chartered?  Or was it sold out because a larger group was on the cruise?

[quattrohead]

We cancelled not the cruise. Not sure if whole cruise or just some was that group but not suitable for a family vacation that's for sure.

[Tapi]

I’ve enjoyed my MSC cruises tremendously, and I do think that they have a wonderful product once you’re one the ship, but the customer service and communication pre cruise is definitely one of their biggest weaknesses. 
 

They did the same thing to us last year (moved us from a canceled 5 night cruise from one port to a 3 night cruise from a completely different port) and I only found out about it because I looked up my booking on their website and it was showing the new sailing.

 

In all fairness, I called them up immediately and they canceled my booking and refunded my money in a few business days. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

1 minute ago, Tapi said:

I’ve enjoyed my MSC cruises tremendously, and I do think that they have a wonderful product once you’re one the ship, but the customer service and communication pre cruise is definitely one of their biggest weaknesses. 
 

They did the same thing to us last year (moved us from a canceled 5 night cruise from one port to a 3 night cruise from a completely different port) and I only found out about it because I looked up my booking on their website and it was showing the new sailing.

 

In all fairness, I called them up immediately and they canceled my booking and refunded my money in a few business days. 

So many people sharing similar experiences about MSC changing cruise dates, embarkation ports, cruise lengths... all without notifying.  After seeing a few I thought maybe the email went to the spam or some other miscommunication.  But seeing how it appears MSC really does do what cruisers are saying, I don't understand how they stay in business... unless it's only happened to a handful of people and they all frequent cruisecritic (unlikely).  I still want to try them in July or August since they matched status and I'm suffering wanderlust for Europe as much/more than cruising, but only because Carnival doesn't appear to be sailing in July or August.

[EDLOS]

18 hours ago, love to cruise 2017 said:

well i should of gone with the reviews, MSC cancelled our 11 day cruise for March 2022 moved us to a 5 a day thing from Venice to Jordan!!!!  and a year early ...what the hell no wonder they were bottom of 2020 cruise lines. they dont give a poop about there guests!!! not answer contact requests.....

 

now i have to fight to get my money back and hope i can plan my wife 60th birthday and Europe tour....with a proper cruise line. 

 

NEVER EVER, EVER THINK OF CRUISING WITH THIS LINE!.....

HOW TO BORROW CASH FROM YOUR CUSTOMER:

You create itineraries and prices for cruises you never intend to fulfill at great prices (MSC and others)

Cruisers book and send in their deposits (cash flow).  You also move up final payment dates from 60 to 90, maybe even 120 days (more cash flow). Your customers are told " you can get your money back and/or Future Cruise Credit (with a discount).

Surprise ! Your cruise is canceled !  You or your TA apply for credit. Oh Dear !!!! MSC is so backed up handling these returns, it will be Three (3) to six (6) months before it's credited back to your credit card.  You are better than  a bank, you don't charge interest as you loose your interest income

I am surprised Travel Agent Associations are letting this happen !!!!!

[love to cruise 2017]

reading that response regarding how to borrow cash ..is exactly what they are doing!!!! spoke with TA today, MSC told him they were too busy to help today and would get get to him in a week...what sort of real business does that!!!! the TA is just sitting there open mouth lol....

 

MSC seems to do this a lot ..posted, cancel and keep your cash for a long period !!! maybe time to call the credit card company as well..we are at a lost with all the flights booked, 20 people ready to go...and now i have to tell them "guess what....the cruise has gone poof!!"   

[DCGuy64]

MSC succeeds, in part, because of the following, and I believe each of these is extremely important:

 

1. They have incredible ships, very beautiful and attractive to the eye

2. They are very competitively priced compared to other lines. (Ex: a cabin we'd pay $1,500 for on MSC in the Yacht Club could easily cost $3,000 on NCL in The Haven)

3. They cater to a mostly European clientele, even for cruises originating in the US

 

The vast majority of cruisers aren't on Cruise Critic to begin with, and even fewer when it comes to MSC customers because a lot of them don't use CC. Those who do and enjoy MSC don't take the time to post reviews, which is true in general. It's often the angry customers who vent online and the truly "cheerleader" types who do.

MSC gets a bad rap on this site, but the onboard experience is VASTLY different. Most Americans, like me, assume that a bad pre-cruise experience with customer service or bookings AUTOMATICALLY MEANS the cruise itself will be a disappointment. NOT SO. Not by a long shot.

We only use travel agent (who's also cruised with MSC, by the way) for our bookings and have never had a problem.

If you don't like MSC, don't cruise with them. But they are very popular for a reason.

 

[Stockjock]

I think that 4 of my last 6 MSC cruises have been rescheduled, including one rescheduled and then cancelled.  Only 1 was due to Covid.  To my knowledge, I was not informed of any of the changes by MSC.

I've mentioned that once they moved me from a 4 night out of Barcelona to a 20 night out of Brazil, changed the date even, and I never received any form of notification.

 

 

[GStuart]

So my 14 night on the Splendida from Marseille in Oct of 2022 may or may not be a thing?

 

Good to know, I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for sharing everyone, I enjoy hearing about the positive on-board experiences per @DCGuy64 but the pre-cruise stuff is a little concerning as a first time MSC-er if I'm being honest.

[hamrag]

11 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

MSC succeeds, in part, because of the following:

 

2. They are very competitively priced compared to other lines. (Ex: a cabin we'd pay $1,500 for on MSC in the Yacht Club could easily cost $3,000 on NCL in The Haven).....

 

 

 

Shhhh! 😉

[dexddd]

15 hours ago, EDLOS said:

HOW TO BORROW CASH FROM YOUR CUSTOMER:

You create itineraries and prices for cruises you never intend to fulfill at great prices (MSC and others)

Cruisers book and send in their deposits (cash flow).  You also move up final payment dates from 60 to 90, maybe even 120 days (more cash flow). Your customers are told " you can get your money back and/or Future Cruise Credit (with a discount).

Surprise ! Your cruise is canceled !  You or your TA apply for credit. Oh Dear !!!! MSC is so backed up handling these returns, it will be Three (3) to six (6) months before it's credited back to your credit card.  You are better than  a bank, you don't charge interest as you loose your interest income

I am surprised Travel Agent Associations are letting this happen !!!!!

That is being very kind to MSC.  We are past 13 months for FCC!  Many of us here on CC were in same situation - see the ...March refunds thread.

[DCGuy64]

9 hours ago, GStuart said:

So my 14 night on the Splendida from Marseille in Oct of 2022 may or may not be a thing?

 

Good to know, I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for sharing everyone, I enjoy hearing about the positive on-board experiences per @DCGuy64 but the pre-cruise stuff is a little concerning as a first time MSC-er if I'm being honest.

A lot of it is based on people's expectations. Many people on here have complained that MSC "isn't like the other big cruise lines." And that's true, it isn't. Many American cruisers (and I know you're from Canada) have compared MSC unfavorably to lines like Carnival and Royal because they expect the sort of "the customer is always right" type treatment. I'd liken it to my experience having traveled to Italy many times. The service model is different there than what I'd receive at home, but that's fine with me. I'd say MSC isn't for everybody. As long as you understand and embrace the difference MSC offers, you'll have a wonderful time. We have, and we have another cruise booked with them for later this year.

[EDLOS]

On 4/28/2021 at 7:17 AM, dexddd said:

Donna, I've followed NCL for years.  I've never been happy to see their cancels and changes, usually due to them moving a sailing to charter.  We've had NCL change ships on us, delayed sailing only to find out here first.

 

With regards to MSC, before or after current events, they are way worse than NCL in changes and lack of communication.  

WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL AGENT INCOME ?

Upon questioning a TA as to whether they are paid to handle all these cancelations by cruise lines, I got a vague answer of "Some do, Some don't".

Any TA want to fess up about what is going on ??????

[drsel]

4 hours ago, EDLOS said:

WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL AGENT INCOME ?

Upon questioning a TA as to whether they are paid to handle all these cancelations by cruise lines, I got a vague answer of "Some do, Some don't".

Any TA want to fess up about what is going on ??????

If the cancelled Cruise is fully paid for, then the travel agent gets 10 to 16 % commission (on the basic fare, excluding port fees and taxes).

if its not fully paid for, he doesn't get anything

Edited April 29, 2021 by drsel

[dexddd]

19 hours ago, EDLOS said:

WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL AGENT INCOME ?

Upon questioning a TA as to whether they are paid to handle all these cancelations by cruise lines, I got a vague answer of "Some do, Some don't".

Any TA want to fess up about what is going on ??????

TA devastated, bare bones.  Even in good times, MSC had delegation visit them to learn and improve.  Nothing changed.  

 

TA getting no where with FCC from MSC.  Been escalated more times than I have fingers.

 

Recent cancel we did, it took MSC 45 days to refund but only 5 for TA once MSC approved.

[EDLOS]

On 4/28/2021 at 5:41 PM, DCGuy64 said:

MSC succeeds, in part, because of the following, and I believe each of these is extremely important:

 

1. They have incredible ships, very beautiful and attractive to the eye

2. They are very competitively priced compared to other lines. (Ex: a cabin we'd pay $1,500 for on MSC in the Yacht Club could easily cost $3,000 on NCL in The Haven)

3. They cater to a mostly European clientele, even for cruises originating in the US

 

The vast majority of cruisers aren't on Cruise Critic to begin with, and even fewer when it comes to MSC customers because a lot of them don't use CC. Those who do and enjoy MSC don't take the time to post reviews, which is true in general. It's often the angry customers who vent online and the truly "cheerleader" types who do.

MSC gets a bad rap on this site, but the onboard experience is VASTLY different. Most Americans, like me, assume that a bad pre-cruise experience with customer service or bookings AUTOMATICALLY MEANS the cruise itself will be a disappointment. NOT SO. Not by a long shot.

We only use travel agent (who's also cruised with MSC, by the way) for our bookings and have never had a problem.

If you don't like MSC, don't cruise with them. But they are very popular for a reason.

 

I have cruised with MSC twice and Viva la Difference, listening to multiple language announcement is slightly annoying, but you are saying its okay that their business practices should be tolerated because they are MSC is not logical.  Ethical practices are universal !

[DCGuy64]

Just now, EDLOS said:

I have cruised with MSC twice and Viva la Difference, listening to multiple language announcement is slightly annoying, but you are saying its okay that their business practices should be tolerated because they are MSC is not logical.  Ethical practices are universal !

What in the world are you talking about?

[love to cruise 2017]

another week of no communication from MSC will not talk to our TA about the booking or ship nor will they speak to us. no the cruise to no where booking they placed us on has gone.....AND MSC HAS NOT SAID A WORD. 

 

they may have a good on board product but there customer service sucks!!! NO WAY TO TREAT CUSTOMERS MSC YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!!