Costa Officially Allowing US Citizens...MSC Next, Please?!?

[MajestyCat]

Just noticed that the US has been added to Costa's list of countries allowed on board.  I'm hoping that means MSC will SOON follow suit, seeing as how my cruise departs in 18 days - LOL!! 😟 Anyone heard any updates?? 🙏

[drsel]

15 hours ago, MajestyCat said:

Just noticed that the US has been added to Costa's list of countries allowed on board.

Kindly provide the web link of this information, thanks

Edited July 2, 2021 by drsel

[MajestyCat]

@drsel The red list contains countries that are not allowed onboard, and the US was on that list up until a few days ago. I spoke with 2 different people at Costa and they both confirmed that US citizens are now allowed on their cruises effective immediately.  🙂  If you scroll down to the bottom of the page it explains what people from those countries must do before boarding.  

 

https://www.costacruises.com/cruising-soon-again/safety-above-all.html

 

Here's a link to the approved countries and the not-allowed countries:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQgsAE4SRnlLCo5BstaKs9QxhX5f-OxR/view

 

I understand all this might change at any time, but it's a good start and I hope MSC follows or I might be switching ships at the last minute - LOL! 

[dritan]

Great news- I may have to switch my summer cruise booking from MSC to Costa as they certainly seem to keep their countries list updated.  MSC only seem to change theirs every few months.  Feel really bad for Irish passengers who are still on the can't sail list for MSC where other non Schengen European countries are listed.   Doesn't make sense.

[drsel]

I think by October 2021, when vaccination numbers are much higher and Covid is brought under control, all FULLY VACCINATED passengers will be allowed to board, if they have proof of vaccination and Covid specific insurance

Edited July 3, 2021 by drsel

[MajestyCat]

10 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

why can we enter Barbados from the UK but Costa view Barbados as a Red Country

why cant we enter the USA but Costa welcome guests from the USA (to cruise alongside us).

 

MADNESS - AND IT'S NOW POLITICAL NOT SCIENTIFIC

Absolutely agree with you on that one!!  I understand these are unprecedented times and countries and companies alike are continuing to scramble to figure it all out, but it's reached a point of insanity. Nothing makes sense. And while I've heard pretty bad things about Costa, MSC has left much to be desired in their handling of these situations.  Barring an absolute emergency situation, keeping people in the dark until DAYS before they're scheduled to set sail is unacceptable. Just my humble opion...🙃  Still hoping we're allowed on our ship, but if not I'm probably switching to a last minute Costa cruise and just getting a refund. 

[drsel]

1 hour ago, Couple-Somerset said:

However, the one constant through it all is you'll never find me on a Costa cruise ever again lol

Why not Costa?

What if they offer you amazingly dirt cheap prices?

[drsel]

2 hours ago, Couple-Somerset said:

 

Cruised with them twice now - the first was nothing special but we had a time slot free so booked one of their very best cabins to enjoy some luxury.

 

My fault for not realising that no matter what cabin you booked, your service was just as bad as everyone elses - no perks that I can remember.

 

We did have a separate restaurant but that was just a plan oblong room with square/oblong tables - very school dining hall and with just as many unruly kids.

 

The restaurant manager was one of those who believed he was running the place for his benefit not the guests - the pompous, arrogant ****.

 

Our cabin was just one down from their top suite - so we had a lot more space and an empty jacuzzi on the enclosed balcony. EVERYTHING creaked in that cabin - especially the glass above bath shower screen that kept banging back and forth - we had to use a dressing gown tie to try and secure it.

 

We were overcharged 3 times in the Spa - but never once went in there - well not until I confronted them after the 3rd time anyway.

 

It was just a horrid, horrid cruise experience.

 

So, NO - even the best deal would not get us back on a Costa ship Im afraid.

Wow this is not just incredible, but shocking 😲

Some of their amazingly dirt cheap deals of £30 per person per night are just to get you onboard.

 

The Spa is known to be a money making racket.

Also,  they think that suite passengers have got extra money to throw, and will not notice or even bother if they overcharge

Edited July 3, 2021 by drsel

[ericfromri]

On 7/3/2021 at 1:30 PM, Couple-Somerset said:

Shows what a farce the whole thing has become

 

UK - we can get entry to Barbados no issues

UK - we cannot get entry to the USA

 

Costa - we can get onboard

Costa - USA can get onboard

Costa - Barbados cannot get onboard

 

Tell me -

 

why can we enter Barbados from the UK but Costa view Barbados as a Red Country

why cant we enter the USA but Costa welcome guests from the USA (to cruise alongside us).

 

MADNESS - AND IT'S NOW POLITICAL NOT SCIENTIFIC

 

However, the one constant through it all is you'll never find me on a Costa cruise ever again lol

 

welcome to the club!!!!   (the costa never again club)

[MajestyCat]

Our cruise is now 14 days away and we just received our cabin assignments (after losing the cabins I chose back when I made the reservation and being dropped to Guarantee)!!  I am optimistically looking at this as a good sign that US travelers will indeed be allowed to board the ship! 😃 I don't see why they would assign us cabins yet if they didn't think we would be allowed onboard - it seems they would leave them for a possible last minute traveler to purchase.  Or, of course, they could just be stringing us along to postpone having to issue refunds...! 😕 

[DCGuy64]

Just found out that MSC is extending the ban on US and non-Schengen area passengers to July 15. I called and they said it was a corporate decision. We are considering booking with Costa instead or possibly doing a landbased vacation to Italy. If the ban remains in place next month we will either move the booking to next year or get our money back. Leaning towards the latter.

[drsel]

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Just found out that MSC is extending the ban on US and non-Schengen area passengers to July 15. I called and they said it was a corporate decision. We are considering booking with Costa instead or possibly doing a landbased vacation to Italy. If the ban remains in place next month we will either move the booking to next year or get our money back. Leaning towards the latter.

mscccruises.com website mentions that the ban on non Europeans is till 31st July.

Whether or not it will extend till August will be known only by the end of July.

[Stockjock]

I'm in the USA and received my cabin assignment a week or two ago.  This is for a fall sailing.  Not sure if that assignment had anything to do with allowing Americans back onboard, or if that played no role.  I was pleased with the assignment though (Bella Oceanview upgraded to Bella Balcony w/minimal lifeboat obstruction).

The cruise that was cancelled was a much better deal (unobstructed balcony, drink package, same number nights, better itinerary, $300 USD less), but it is what it is.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Stockjock

[MajestyCat]

6 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I'm in the USA and received my cabin assignment a week or two ago.  This is for a fall sailing.  Not sure if that assignment had anything to do with allowing Americans back onboard, or if that played no role.  I was pleased with the assignment though (Bella Oceanview upgraded to Bella Balcony w/minimal lifeboat obstruction).

The cruise that was cancelled was a much better deal (unobstructed balcony, drink package, same number nights, better itinerary, $300 USD less), but it is what it is.

I was upgraded from a Bella Oceanview to a Fantastica Balcony! 😃 You know, on this cruise I more than likely will not be allowed to board…🤣

[drsel]

9 hours ago, MajestyCat said:

I was upgraded from a Bella Oceanview to a Fantastica Balcony! 😃 You know, on this cruise I more than likely will not be allowed to board…🤣

Don't worry majesty, if they were not going to allow you to board, they would have given you a free upgrade to the owners suite!

[Stockjock]

11 hours ago, MajestyCat said:

I was upgraded from a Bella Oceanview to a Fantastica Balcony! 😃 You know, on this cruise I more than likely will not be allowed to board…🤣

That's a sweet upgrade!  

The way I see it is that most other cruise lines will stay within the category one purchased and probably give them the worst cabin within the category booked.  As an example, I did a OV GUAR on Celebrity and got a great deal, but the next day they assigned me to what I consider probably the worst cabin in that category, extreme bow of the ship directly over the theater.  Fortunately, I was able to move a few cabins back within that category so I was no longer over the theater.  I don't think MSC allows that movement once the cabin is assigned.

But at least with MSC, one has a very legitimate chance at an upgrade, so credit where credit is due.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Stockjock

[aadaneboy]

When we were canceled off MSC due to being US citizens, we looked at Costa.  When I called last week to book, I was advised by Costa they were accepting US citizens, but had to quarantine for 5 days before boarding their ship in Venice.  We just couldn't arrive that early, as we were looking at sailing on 7/10.   Have they dropped the 5 day quarantine?   

 

We ended up booking a Carnival ship the following week from Texas!  UGH!

 

 

Todd

 

[drsel]

5 hours ago, aadaneboy said:

We ended up booking a Carnival ship the following week from Texas!  UGH!

Don't worry, Carnival is much better than Costa

[aadaneboy]

15 hours ago, drsel said:

Don't worry, Carnival is much better than Costa

We are elite with Princess, but have just been desperate to get back on the water!   We've done 1 Carnival in the past.   Definitely not Princess, but it was a last minute booking when Princess booked our cruise last March at 3AM on the day we were scheduled to sail.  We made the best of it!   trying out the Harbor Cove suite on this ship, the Vista.    Can't wait to get my sea legs again!

 

Todd

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, aadaneboy said:

We are elite with Princess, but have just been desperate to get back on the water!   We've done 1 Carnival in the past.   Definitely not Princess, but it was a last minute booking when Princess booked our cruise last March at 3AM on the day we were scheduled to sail.  We made the best of it!   trying out the Harbor Cove suite on this ship, the Vista.    Can't wait to get my sea legs again!

 

Todd

While Carnival is not my first choice, I've never had a cruise that I didn't enjoy.

[drsel]

14 hours ago, Stockjock said:

While Carnival is not my first choice, I've never had a cruise that I didn't enjoy.

I would take that further to say that all the cruises I have sailed have been some of the best days of my entire life!

Edited July 10, 2021 by drsel

[BoundForSea]

We’re booked on Virtuosa out of Barcelona in September. MSC extended the stay the heck out Americans ban until August (seeing Europe opened its borders to the US, this restriction annoys me). I’m out. We will try Europe next year in the Spring. It’s still way too up and down for us. We’re going to do Alaska this Fall instead. 

[DCGuy64]

19 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

We’re booked on Virtuosa out of Barcelona in September. MSC extended the stay the heck out Americans ban until August (seeing Europe opened its borders to the US, this restriction annoys me). I’m out. We will try Europe next year in the Spring. It’s still way too up and down for us. We’re going to do Alaska this Fall instead. 

Where did you see that the ban was extended until August? 

[BoundForSea]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Where did you see that the ban was extended until August? 

Through July 31, until August 1 in essence. Not through end of August. I can post the link later if you want. It’s kind of buried on the website and US res folks don’t typically know about it.  It got extended July1 to July 31 from June 30

[DCGuy64]

3 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

Through July 31, until August 1 in essence. Not through end of August. I can post the link later if you want. It’s kind of buried on the website and US res folks don’t typically know about it.  It got extended July1 to July 31 from June 30

There is nothing to that effect on the MSC Cruises USA website, only that particular ships’ sailings have been cancelled through mid-July (our ship, for instance, is closed to US residents until July 10, ie yesterday). There is an MSC global site (not country specific) that mentions non-Schengen residents being disallowed until July 31 but that website is very misleading. I don’t trust it. It’s very generic in terms of its information. What I do trust is what MSC USA tells me, as well as what my travel agent tells me. And that information is that the restrictions are only until July 15.