Booking cruises while on board...

[jcathers1]

Does MSC provide a benefit to booking your next cruise while on board? NCL used to give a discount off the next cruise if booked while on board. Other lines have provided other perks such as free on-board credit, etc. Does MSC have anything like this? We have a cruise coming up in July, and want to book another for next July, so I'm weighing waiting versus concerns that the price will go up by more than any benefit we get for booking on board. TIA.

[Shelledpea]

Last time I enquired it was $50/€50 onboard Credit and double Voyagers club points with occasional extra discounts at discretion plus the option to transfer to the agent of your choice if desired upon your return home

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

I think I got a $50 credit on the new cruise plus my 5% MSC Club discount. If you're considering doing it, know what the price and deals are on the MSC website ahead of time to see what they offer and how it compares.

 

What I found to be a hassle is that the Cruise Desk onboard books it as a travel agency booking done by MSC's in house travel agency. Every time I later called to ask questions about the cruise (including moving the dates due to covid cancellations), the phone rep at MSC said I needed to go through my travel agent. Each time I had to explain there is no travel agent; this was an onboard booking. They had to check and then came back and agreed to handle my inquiry. So kind of a hassle.

[Morgsmom]

I have found that the "agents" onboard are not terribly knowledgeable and certainly don't offer the "best" rates or deals.  The scant $50 OBC is easily matched by a land based TA.  

[ashank1m]

If my memory serves me right, $50 for inside/window; $75 or $100 for Bal; $200 for YC.  And gets double the points.

[CampNCruise74]

5 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

I have found that the "agents" onboard are not terribly knowledgeable and certainly don't offer the "best" rates or deals.  The scant $50 OBC is easily matched by a land based TA.  

I agree, the double Voyagers Club points is seemingly the best benefit.  To all, the agent on board though seemingly is very knowledgeable.  Buse is her name, now on the Seashore has been on all the ships and has moved from the Seaside to Mera to Seashore, and will go to the Seaview.  She works with the Yacht Club guests too. 

[LadyVol1]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:16 AM, ashank1m said:

If my memory serves me right, $50 for inside/window; $75 or $100 for Bal; $200 for YC.  And gets double the points.

ashank1m - If booking onboard do you think the OBC is per person or per cabin? 

 

I'm trying to decide whether to book my YC now using Black Friday ($200 per cabin) or wait until December when I'm onboard.  I have the YC booking "held" so I'm in no danger of losing the cabin.

Edited November 16, 2022 by LadyVol1

[Retiredafter39]

Has anyone booked on-board and had the on-board agent mislead them on the ability to get a refund if you cancel?

 

We were assured by the on-board representative multiple time we could get a full refund if we cancelled more than 60 days before sailing. However, when the booking was confirmed via an email the terms showed non-refundable. Now MSC is saying oh-well terms are no refund. 
 

Anyone else experience this type of bait/switch?

[styles27]

43 minutes ago, Retiredafter39 said:

Has anyone booked on-board and had the on-board agent mislead them on the ability to get a refund if you cancel?

 

We were assured by the on-board representative multiple time we could get a full refund if we cancelled more than 60 days before sailing. However, when the booking was confirmed via an email the terms showed non-refundable. Now MSC is saying oh-well terms are no refund. 
 

Anyone else experience this type of bait/switch?

We sat with the future cruise person on our cruise last week.  We found her to be less knowledgeable than me. lol I was telling her what VC perks we would receive if I booked online and the prices she was quoting were more than I was seeing on their website on my phone at the same time. 
 

Did you book the Yacht Club? I know there is a different refund policy for YC bookings. 

[Retiredafter39]

Yes we did book YC, however we specifically asked multiple time if deposits were refundable and we were assured there would be no problem. That was the only reason we felt comfortable booking on-board. 
 

Now dealing with MSC via phone/email is just a joke. Customer service says we need to email existing reservations, then existing reservations says contact customer service. Customer service says they have no way to directly escalate the issue to a supervisor. Credit card dispute for deceptive practice is next step.

[styles27]

26 minutes ago, Retiredafter39 said:

Yes we did book YC, however we specifically asked multiple time if deposits were refundable and we were assured there would be no problem. That was the only reason we felt comfortable booking on-board. 
 

Now dealing with MSC via phone/email is just a joke. Customer service says we need to email existing reservations, then existing reservations says contact customer service. Customer service says they have no way to directly escalate the issue to a supervisor. Credit card dispute for deceptive practice is next step.

That’s awful. Clearly she didn’t know her company’s own policy. 
 

Was this recent? I forget exactly when the new YC non refundable deposit went into effect but I don’t believe it was very long ago.