Which MSC country website has the lowest price?

[drsel]

MSC Canada is around 5% less than MSC USA.

What about the other country websites like UK, Italy, etc?

Does anyone know which has the lowest prices?

[Beamafar]

It depends on which region the ships are sailing.   For instance, MSC is more likely to have offers in the US for US sailings - for example:  MSC UK never have drinks packages included for US sailings.   Germany and Italy tend to get great offers for cruises from Italian ports and, here in Ireland, we’ll get some good offers from time to time for sailings from Barcelona or Venice as they’re very accessible ports with reasonable prices for flights to those cities.

[drsel]

Someone wrote that according  to a youtube vlogger,  MSC UK is 20% less

Edited June 14, 2021 by drsel

[CruiseIreland]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

Someone wrote that according  to a youtube vlogger,  MSC UK is 20% less

I don't find it consistent. For example,  I booked a cruise for May 2022 from Barcelona.  MSC UK was much the same as MSC Ireland (really just a website address, same staff answer the phones). As I was booking with a UK travel agent which was cheaper than both, a U.S. travel agent came in with a better price. It varies from ship to ship, itinerary to itinerary. Some European countries have better prices a lot of the time.

[drsel]

31 minutes ago, CruiseIreland said:

I don't find it consistent. For example,  I booked a cruise for May 2022 from Barcelona.  MSC UK was much the same as MSC Ireland (really just a website address, same staff answer the phones). As I was booking with a UK travel agent which was cheaper than both, a U.S. travel agent came in with a better price. It varies from ship to ship, itinerary to itinerary. Some European countries have better prices a lot of the time.

Thanks, I always thought that US travel agents with 8% discount  offer the lowest prices

[korpo024]

Mostly the German MSC site is cheaper than the Dutch site. Sometimes the Dutch site is a little bit cheaper. The Italian site is cheap. For us in the Netherlands the UK site is expensive. Most people in Holland don't like to cruise. They prefer camping (is much, much cheaper!). So the cruise market is very small in our country.

[Pebbels]

I once booked  a cruise with Costa on their UK website, saved about 50%! But I remember how nervous I was when we checked in, so havnt done it since, but have checked prices, a little to save, but not worth it too save 5-10% It said those prices were for people with a uk adress only/residents only.... 

 

Now I just checked the MSC UK website, for a transatlantic cruise in 2022. I can save about 20% on the cruisefare, hot drinks and water included   (not even water is incl if I book through my Scandinavian website!)-  and all service charge is included (about 700 USD if I book with the Scandinavian website)! 

 

I have no problems logging in on the UK website with my voyager number! 

 

What could happen if I book, and somehow they notice later or at check-in that I am neither a UK resident or have a UK passport? 

[MarkusToe]

We tried to book MSC in the US using our TA there, the rep told me she is not allowed to book non US guest... Dont know may be EU is one market for them, may be not.... 

[korpo024]

51 minutes ago, MarkusToe said:

We tried to book MSC in the US using our TA there, the rep told me she is not allowed to book non US guest... Dont know may be EU is one market for them, may be not.... 

There are many online TA which to choose from. We did book via an online discountcruises website in the US and did have very good deals. But nowadays the dollar is not so cheap and the premium drink packages are very expensive for US bookings

[soloadventurer]

don't forget about childrens ages - difference ( 16yrs or 18yrs )

[Eliminator55]

On 6/14/2021 at 2:26 PM, CruiseIreland said:

I don't find it consistent. For example,  I booked a cruise for May 2022 from Barcelona.  MSC UK was much the same as MSC Ireland (really just a website address, same staff answer the phones). As I was booking with a UK travel agent which was cheaper than both, a U.S. travel agent came in with a better price. It varies from ship to ship, itinerary to itinerary. Some European countries have better prices a lot of the time.

 

What method did you end up going with for that booking? I'm American and have found the official Irish & UK websites to be substantially less than the American site. I'd like to see if I can save further by utilizing an Irish or British travel agent. Are there any agents that you recommend? Part of the reason for those other sites being cheaper is that MSC doesn't add the onboard service fees to those fares. But that doesn't account for the total savings. The other 40-60% of the savings comes from price of the cruise itself. 

 

Any advice you have on preferred agents is highly appreciated. I'm hoping I can score some OBC or just a better price than what MSC offers. Thank you. 

[Eliminator55]

On 6/20/2021 at 4:17 PM, Pebbels said:

I once booked  a cruise with Costa on their UK website, saved about 50%! But I remember how nervous I was when we checked in, so havnt done it since, but have checked prices, a little to save, but not worth it too save 5-10% It said those prices were for people with a uk adress only/residents only.... 

 

Now I just checked the MSC UK website, for a transatlantic cruise in 2022. I can save about 20% on the cruisefare, hot drinks and water included   (not even water is incl if I book through my Scandinavian website!)-  and all service charge is included (about 700 USD if I book with the Scandinavian website)! 

 

I have no problems logging in on the UK website with my voyager number! 

 

What could happen if I book, and somehow they notice later or at check-in that I am neither a UK resident or have a UK passport? 

 

Did you proceed to book it through their other site and if so how did it go? I have the same questions that you mention in your post. 

[Morgsmom]

1 hour ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

Did you proceed to book it through their other site and if so how did it go? I have the same questions that you mention in your post. 

I've often wondered about this myself.  I have seen at times where it'd be cheaper to book on the Italian website HOWEVER it defaults to Italy as a country of origin and you cannot change.  I really did not want to risk showing up and being denied boarding because of some weird mis match on addresses.

[Aussie Jeep]

On 6/21/2021 at 6:17 AM, Pebbels said:

I once booked  a cruise with Costa on their UK website, saved about 50%! But I remember how nervous I was when we checked in, so havnt done it since, but have checked prices, a little to save, but not worth it too save 5-10% It said those prices were for people with a uk adress only/residents only.... 

 

Now I just checked the MSC UK website, for a transatlantic cruise in 2022. I can save about 20% on the cruisefare, hot drinks and water included   (not even water is incl if I book through my Scandinavian website!)-  and all service charge is included (about 700 USD if I book with the Scandinavian website)! 

 

I have no problems logging in on the UK website with my voyager number! 

 

What could happen if I book, and somehow they notice later or at check-in that I am neither a UK resident or have a UK passport? 

I booked a TA in October yesterday. The booking was done through Australia which included the drinks package.  If you adjust for the drinks package included in the Australian booking and the Gratuities that are included in the UK booking site price is very similar.  The US costing for the same cruise was more than $1000- different

[B_A_H]

This is a huge caveat emptor for anyone wanting to attempt it.  I've booked on other country websites and everything's fine until it isn't.  First, if you book on another country's site, they are the one you have to work with on all aspects of your booking.  The U.S. can't even see another country's reservations nor do they display on the U.S. website. A NL booked reservation is only visible on the NL website and so on.  

 

I booked a cruise during Covid-times with MSC NL.  They were very nice and helpful and assisted me with many cruise changes.  But they are an 8 hour time difference away and you have to make an international call at your own expense to reach them.  Their website is obviously in Dutch and all of my cruise documents were as well.  

 

To discourage people from booking outside their country of residence, MSC mandates you input an address from the booking country in to the customer information section of the booking.  I had a valid NL address to use so that wasn't a problem.  If anyone here doesn't, and puts a fake address in, you're essentially lying.  Whether that comes back to bite you or not is to be seen. Also, don't forget, MSC's cancellation and change fees vary greatly by region as do their insurance requirements. Insurance is still mandatory on the Italian site for example.  

 

So tread cautiously my friends, this could blow up in your face should things go south.  

[styles27]

4 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

I've often wondered about this myself.  I have seen at times where it'd be cheaper to book on the Italian website HOWEVER it defaults to Italy as a country of origin and you cannot change.  I really did not want to risk showing up and being denied boarding because of some weird mis match on addresses.

Exactly. Not worth the stress in my opinion. 
I’ve found booking with a TA makes up the price difference with the perks they give. 
Just received $300 OBC, paid gratuities and 2 nights in a specialty restaurant by using a TA. Adds up to over $700 of perks. 

[Eliminator55]

2 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Exactly. Not worth the stress in my opinion. 
I’ve found booking with a TA makes up the price difference with the perks they give. 
Just received $300 OBC, paid gratuities and 2 nights in a specialty restaurant by using a TA. Adds up to over $700 of perks. 

 

What agent did or site did you use to make your booking? Sometimes it becomes a hassle to even deal with a travel agent. I've booked cruises with and without utilizing a travel agent. I've never seen TAs offer the level of perks that you mentioned. Normally they'll offer a mere $50 or something small like that. But maybe I'm just going to the wrong agencies. 

[styles27]

18 minutes ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

What agent did or site did you use to make your booking? Sometimes it becomes a hassle to even deal with a travel agent. I've booked cruises with and without utilizing a travel agent. I've never seen TAs offer the level of perks that you mentioned. Normally they'll offer a mere $50 or something small like that. But maybe I'm just going to the wrong agencies. 

Unfortunately we can’t make TA recommendations here on Cruise Critic   
I’ve always booked direct with the cruise lines because I like having control but some CC veterans swayed me to start looking at some of the large TA’s and I couldn’t believe what I’d been losing by not using one of them. 

I can still go on line and book my specialty dining and things like that so I still have some control. I was also able to bid on an upgrade without having to engage the agent. 
 

My advice is to look at the large companies they seem to offer the best perks. I had a small TA offer us $50 OBC and when I showed them the quote I had in writing with those perks I mentioned above they said, and I quote “we can’t match that it would come out of our pocket” 

 

The large companies sell thousands of cruises so they get better perks from the cruise lines. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by styles27

[Eliminator55]

2 hours ago, B_A_H said:

This is a huge caveat emptor for anyone wanting to attempt it.  I've booked on other country websites and everything's fine until it isn't.  First, if you book on another country's site, they are the one you have to work with on all aspects of your booking.  The U.S. can't even see another country's reservations nor do they display on the U.S. website. A NL booked reservation is only visible on the NL website and so on.  

 

I booked a cruise during Covid-times with MSC NL.  They were very nice and helpful and assisted me with many cruise changes.  But they are an 8 hour time difference away and you have to make an international call at your own expense to reach them.  Their website is obviously in Dutch and all of my cruise documents were as well.  

 

To discourage people from booking outside their country of residence, MSC mandates you input an address from the booking country in to the customer information section of the booking.  I had a valid NL address to use so that wasn't a problem.  If anyone here doesn't, and puts a fake address in, you're essentially lying.  Whether that comes back to bite you or not is to be seen. Also, don't forget, MSC's cancellation and change fees vary greatly by region as do their insurance requirements. Insurance is still mandatory on the Italian site for example.  

 

So tread cautiously my friends, this could blow up in your face should things go south.  

 

I've made a few observations regarding this matter. On the American MSC Website(msccruisesusa.com) as you go to pay for a booking, it states in bold that  "The primary guest must be a U.S. or Puerto Rico resident in order to complete the booking." The various European MSC websites have no equivalent statement that appears as you proceed to pay for a booking. Additionally, I thoroughly reviewed the terms & conditions on MSC's Irish website and there aren't any residency requirements listed. So, I don't see how they could invalidate your paid contract simply because of an incorrect address. But, I agree that caution should be taken and it's likely not even worth the headache.

 

I did read elsewhere that a few others have used travel agencies outside of their home country. In such cases, those individuals mentioned that the travel agencies were able to choose any nation for the address and not just the one that corresponds with the MSC domain name. I guess it's probably worth it just to eat the potential savings and not even worry about it though. 

[Eliminator55]

11 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Unfortunately we can’t make TA recommendations here on Cruise Critic   
I’ve always booked direct with the cruise lines because I like having control but some CC veterans swayed me to start looking at some of the large TA’s and I couldn’t believe what I’d been losing by not using one of them. 

I can still go on line and book my specialty dining and things like that so I still have some control. I was also able to bid on an upgrade without having to engage the agent. 
 

My advice is to look at the large companies they seem to offer the best perks. I had a small TA offer us $50 OBC and when I showed them the quote I had in writing with those perks I mentioned above they said, and I quote “we can’t match that it would come out of our pocket” 

 

The large companies sell thousands of cruises so they get better perks from the cruise lines. 

 

I didn't know that. I guess I understand why it's like that though. Many people would just be making recommendations based off their own experiences. But there would invariably also be individuals pumping up certain agencies with ulterior motives in mind. 

[styles27]

30 minutes ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

I didn't know that. I guess I understand why it's like that though. Many people would just be making recommendations based off their own experiences. But there would invariably also be individuals pumping up certain agencies with ulterior motives in mind. 

I also think they don’t want the boards taken over by TA’s ads. 

[B_A_H]

Here's a sample of what I'm referring to.  In the booking path you have to input your address.  "Italy" is hard coded on the Italian website with no other selections available.  It also verifies what's input in the postal code field to ensure the address entered is a valid Italian address.  You can't get past it so if you don't have a valid Italian address you'd have to input a fictitious address in Italy to continue the booking.  Same thing applies to the other regional MSC booking sites. 

 

Clearly MSC wants everyone booking on the site corresponding to the region of their primary residence.  Also, unless you have a credit card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee you're going to pay for the conversion from Euros to whatever your credit card's currency is.

 

My January Divina cruise from Miami was booked via MSC NL but it didn't affect my check-in process.  1/3 of the ship was from the EU so I'm sure I wasn't the only whose boarding documents weren't in English.   

 

.  

 

 

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

I've never seen TAs offer the level of perks that you mentioned. Normally they'll offer a mere $50 or something small like that. But maybe I'm just going to the wrong agencies. 

I've used a large on-line agency for a decade.  My TA always gives us a discounted fare (between 7% and 12%) plus occasional OBC (between $50 and $100) but you would never know that by just looking at their on-line pricing because they have an agreement with cruise lines not to publish their reduced fares.  You have to reach out by phone or email to get a quote. 

[Eliminator55]

1 hour ago, B_A_H said:

Here's a sample of what I'm referring to.  In the booking path you have to input your address.  "Italy" is hard coded on the Italian website with no other selections available.  It also verifies what's input in the postal code field to ensure the address entered is a valid Italian address.  You can't get past it so if you don't have a valid Italian address you'd have to input a fictitious address in Italy to continue the booking.  Same thing applies to the other regional MSC booking sites. 

 

Clearly MSC wants everyone booking on the site corresponding to the region of their primary residence.  Also, unless you have a credit card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee you're going to pay for the conversion from Euros to whatever your credit card's currency is.

 

My January Divina cruise from Miami was booked via MSC NL but it didn't affect my check-in process.  1/3 of the ship was from the EU so I'm sure I wasn't the only whose boarding documents weren't in English.   

 

.  

 

 

 

 

I have multiple cards that don't charge a fee for foreign transactions. So that's not at all an issue. I've used these cards many times in other countries and the market rate listed on Google is basically what you end up getting charged. If the transaction is over say $500, then it may end up being a few cents different than the amount you'd get from Google depending on when the transaction goes through. Currency pairs are always changing ever so slightly.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Eliminator55

[CruiseIreland]

@Eliminator55

I booked with the UK travel agent who I can't name here but I would take the cruise 1st!

Incidentally,  the US travel agent is not allowed by MSC to book non US/Canadian residents on their cruises. We cancelled that cruise(buyer's remorse) but we booked a HAL cruise with the US TA no problem. As BAH said, different Ts & Cs apply in different countries. Ken