Should we postpone Med cruises or wait for MSC to cancel?

[Wecruise34]

See my post on this board since.  I am pursing a fraud complaint against MSC.  This smells like a company that is about to go under and is trying to grab cash from where ever they can.  No reasonable corporation would do this.  If they go bankrupt they will take all of our money with them.

 

  I am retired, know my legal rights, can afford to spend the time on this matter.  Not done with these folks. This is corporate fraud on a massive scale.

[Wecruise34]

I put up a post with the info about MSC denying Cdns and approx 150 other countries boarding despite taking their money for the trip.  It was a very long post. Seems we know who the cruise critic web site is working for , it was removed.

 

 Fact is customers don't matter to MSC.

[sidari]

1 hour ago, Wecruise34 said:

See my post on this board since.  I am pursing a fraud complaint against MSC.  This smells like a company that is about to go under and is trying to grab cash from where ever they can.  No reasonable corporation would do this.  If they go bankrupt they will take all of our money with them.

 

  I am retired, know my legal rights, can afford to spend the time on this matter.  Not done with these folks. This is corporate fraud on a massive scale.

You do know that MSC cruises are part of the MSC group which owns its own cargo fleet ?

[Wecruise34]

1 hour ago, sidari said:

You do know that MSC cruises are part of the MSC group which owns its own cargo fleet ?

  They are two separate corporate entities. Subsidiaries are not protected by the assets of the corporate parent. Would be foolish to think that MSC cruise customers are somehow protected by the cargo companies assets.  Subsidiaries go bankrupt all the time, that is why they are  legally separated from the parent, to protect the parent company from such situations.

[8420PR]

2 hours ago, Wecruise34 said:

See my post on this board since.  I am pursing a fraud complaint against MSC.  This smells like a company that is about to go under and is trying to grab cash from where ever they can.  No reasonable corporation would do this.  If they go bankrupt they will take all of our money with them.

 

  I am retired, know my legal rights, can afford to spend the time on this matter.  Not done with these folks. This is corporate fraud on a massive scale.

 

I suspect the real problem is Canada - the Canadian Government is still advising against cruise travel, which prohibits a reputable company selling cruises and insurance etc.   I cannot see any benefit to MSC from cancelling cruises for anyone on ships that are sailing anyway.

 

 

Avoid all travel on cruise ships outside Canada

Canada is advising Canadian citizens and permanent residents to avoid all travel on cruise ships outside Canada until further notice.

Cruise passengers include travellers from around the world who may be arriving from areas with known or unknown spread of COVID-19. The virus can spread quickly on board cruises due to the close contact between passengers. Older people and people with a weakened immune system or underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk of developing severe disease.

Cruise ship outbreaks of COVID-19 indicate that a large number of individuals onboard can become infected.

As the COVID-19 situation evolves, many countries outside of Canada have put policies and restrictions in place to contain the global outbreak. These restrictions may impact a cruise traveller's:

• itinerary
• ability to disembark
• access to health care

If an outbreak of COVID-19 occurs on your cruise ship while you are outside of Canada:

• you could be subject to quarantine procedures onboard ship or in a foreign country
• the range of consular services available to those on cruise ships may be significantly restricted by local authorities, especially in situations of quarantine
• you must quarantine for 14 days upon your return to Canada

If you choose to voyage on a cruise ship, you:

• may not be offered the opportunity to return to Canada on a government-organized repatriation flight or
• could be responsible for the costs of repatriation travel

 

Source:  https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travelling-outside-canada

[Beamafar]

Well, I can’t imagine a struggling cruise company ordering the number of new-builds that MSC has in the pipeline. 

[sidari]

8 minutes ago, Wecruise34 said:

  They are two separate corporate entities. Subsidiaries are not protected by the assets of the corporate parent. Would be foolish to think that MSC cruise customers are somehow protected by the cargo companies assets.  Subsidiaries go bankrupt all the time, that is why they are  legally separated from the parent, to protect the parent company from such situations.

MSC will not go bankrupt which is your claim.

[KeepSailing]

4 minutes ago, 8420PR said:

I suspect the real problem is Canada

Or, it could be the "travel insurance" angle.  Until recently, Canadians were having a hard time finding commercial insurance for cruises and maybe even the MSC sponsored coverage has some restrictions on who they will sell to (don't know, just guessing - and I have since seen some Canadian insurance specifically covering Covid at least to a limited degree). 

 

Since the insurance is a requirement for travel, it's possible MSC is reacting to that?

[rusky123]

Just had our September 17 th cruise on the Seaside out of Rome cancelled, no reason given. We were hoping the Italian government were going to announce an ease of quarantine restrictions next Monday. Torn between rescheduling or cancelling. 

 

[KeepSailing]

Just looked at one of the larger Canadian commercial insurer's Covid coverage exclusions - there is an exclusion if travel destination is subject to a full "do not travel" advisory by the gov't.  (They will still cover if the destination is up to "avoid non-essential travel", but exclude if in the highest advisory category).

 

If that wording is typical for Canadian insurance policies (as allowed by insurance regulators), then I could see why MSC cannot allow since Canadian gov't has issued a full-blown "do not travel" on all cruises worldwide?

 

That type of wording does not exist on the coverage document I got from MSC's insurance agent - being that I got a US-regulated policy form.

 

I think this might be the cause?

[Mark3811]

September cruise just cancelled by MSC (UK)

[drsel]

On 8/25/2021 at 9:49 PM, HappyInVan said:

 

That's why I cancelled my October cruise before FP. Forfeited my $199 deposit without regrets. 😄

You will get a full refund of your deposit if its more than 90 days prior to sailing

Edited August 27, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

4 hours ago, rusky123 said:

Just had our September 17 th cruise on the Seaside out of Rome cancelled, no reason given. We were hoping the Italian government were going to announce an ease of quarantine restrictions next Monday. Torn between rescheduling or cancelling. 

 

I guess MSC is cancelling Med Cruises date wise.

So now ( end of August), they have started cancelling September Mediterranean Cruises for 150 nationalities.

 

I think by late September they will start cancelling October Mediterranean Cruises for nearly 150 nationalities.

[HappyInVan]

6 hours ago, 8420PR said:

 

I suspect the real problem is Canada - the Canadian Government is still advising against cruise travel, which prohibits a reputable company selling cruises and insurance etc.   I cannot see any benefit to MSC from cancelling cruises for anyone on ships that are sailing anyway.

 

 

Right! Canada is the cause! 🙄

 

23 minutes ago, drsel said:

I think by late September they will start cancelling October Mediterranean Cruises for nearly 150 nationalities.

 

Don't know if MSC can survive on 30% capacity. Guess that many more sailings will be consolidated?

 

Doesn't matter to me. AS long as they pay off Canadians' FCC in cash on December 31st!!! 😄

Edited August 27, 2021 by HappyInVan

[drsel]

MSC rules have just become more stringent.

 

Now even fully vaccinated passengers from US and some permitted European countries have to do a 72 hour antigen or RT PCR test, show a hard copy proof of vaccination and also buy the MSc full travel protection plan, or else they will be denied boarding

Edited August 27, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

4 hours ago, Mark3811 said:

September cruise just cancelled by MSC (UK)

Is MSC offering a full refund or FCC + 200 OBC or both options?

What is the expiry date or last sale by date of the FCC?

[drsel]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

You will get a full refund of your deposit if its more than 90 days prior to sailing

Refund to your credit card should take 2 billing cycles or 60 days, as advised by my agent

[soloadventurer]

9 hours ago, Mark3811 said:

September cruise just cancelled by MSC (UK)

which cruise 

[Wecruise34]

Its not Canada, nor the travel advisory impacting this situation. Fact is we have medical insurance that includes Covid coverage if we travel. The Cdn travel advisory does not impact that, confirmed that with the insurer.  Canada is not the issue nor the travel advisory.  We are free to travel to Italy ,we have medical coverage for covid  from our insurer if we fall ill while out of the country. 

 

MSC claims that the issue is cancellation insurance, in that if you test positive at the dock then you will be refused onto the cruise and have to quarantine within the country. In this case if your in Venice then it is on you to have coverage that covers an extended stay in Italy.  You cannot return home on a flight at that point. 

 

 Cdn insurers don't have a package for that, apparently it is available in the U.S.  Reality is I am wealthy enough to cover that if need be, it should be my choice to opt out of coverage.  I have already paid for airfare,  hotels ( in fact we were going to spend a week in Venice ahead of the cruise) etc. etc. , if I chose to take that risk then let me opt out of coverage and assume the liability.

 

 The real problem and this is where MSC is abusing their customers is  in the way they have dealt with this issue. MSC is clearly  not warning customers up front of this situation regarding those countries and their citizens  impacted. No one is telling you when you put you money down  that it is possible and/or likely  your cruise will be cancelled for this reason.   I wasn't told of this , you cannot figure out what the issue is on their website, the information is vague and poorly defined. Vague for a reason, if you knew you would be much less likely to book with them. Once your booked they have your funds and now a travel voucher instead of travel is in your future. 

 

 Did any Canadian know at the time of booking with MSC that not a single Cdn has been allowed on a European cruise since 2020 when their cruises started up again.  Any that were booked were cancelled this year had their cruises cancelled,  this has been going on for a long time.

 

 When they did cancel us there was no mention of the insurance problem just a generic "covid" problem.  It wasn't even clear if the ship itself was sailing, again vague. You find out when your cruise is cancelled a week or two ahead of the cruise and then they offer to give you a travel voucher , no refund.  This is just a lousy way to treat customers,  it feels like a bait and switch tactic which is illegal in most countries. 

 

Up until a week ago MSC had the warning about which countries could cruise dated to end Aug 31st so they continued to take Sept/Oct/Nov bookings from Cdns and other countries without warning anyone or disclosing the insurance issue.  They had already cancelled August customers.  When I made my final payment in June had I been informed I would not have made that payment.  A respectable company would disclose all of this out front, be honest with customers and allow for full refunds if the worst came to be and your cruise was cancelled. 

 

But that is not what MSC is doing, they have been hiding the facts from customers.

 

 It is clearly a bad business practice verging on fraud. Why would you do this, apparently they want your cash regardless of outcomes.  You each will  have to decide if you want to do business with a company that seems to  intentionally  mislead their customers.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Wecruise34

[Beamafar]

I’ve just booked a Med cruise with NCL sailing in 9 days’ time, doing an almost identical itinerary to the one on MSC in October.  No non-Schengen restrictions there!   So, just MSC enforcing something for no good reason.

[soloadventurer]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

I’ve just booked a Med cruise with NCL sailing in 9 days’ time, doing an almost identical itinerary to the one on MSC in October.  No non-Schengen restrictions there!   So, just MSC enforcing something for no good reason.

you are aware NCL won’t allow UK passengers off at Italian ports

[Beamafar]

I’m not a UK citizen - I’m Irish which is why I resent MSC’s policy on the subject. 

[marielco]

47 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I’m not a UK citizen - I’m Irish which is why I resent MSC’s policy on the subject. 

@Beamafar I just had a call from my travel agent.  They said they had checked with MSC and assured me travellers from Ireland are not affected by the restriction on non-Shengen countries. She told me we need PCR test  within 72 hours of embarkation and our EU Covid vaccination cert.  She could not explain why Ireland being an exception is not on the MSC website but was very sure we could cruise.  This is the most definite response I have had. Ringing MSC has been different answers from different call staff. 

[Beamafar]

That sounds very positive!   Pity that the MSC agent couldn’t tell me that on the phone a couple of days ago!   Any word on your tickets?  I know that TAs here are a little slower than when you book direct.

 

Anyway, we’re boarding the Epic on Sunday week out of Barcelona so it’ll take the focus off the Seashore cruise for now.  It feels weird booking something so close to sailing date. 

[9876]

11 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Don't know if MSC can survive on 30% capacity. Guess that many more sailings will be consolidated?

 

 

I know there was an analysis, I think by RCCL, that said the large ships can break even with a 30% occupancy.  I am sure there are variables for each line but that is a good gauge.