Past cruisers on MSC - input please!

[Deniseiam1]

Hello,

 

We have the World Europa scheduled for July 2023. This is our first time using this cruise line and it has been a horrible experience so far. What is going on with their website? It's really problematic and unfriendly. We are on hold for up to 1 to ask a question from the Canadian branch. What is the MSC experience like? Should we cancel now before we finalize our payment or will our onboard experience be a great one.

 

Thanks for your input. 

Denise

[shipgeeks]

We loved our onboard experience.

We used our TA for booking.  We had no reason to change anything or use the website or call, so cannot comment on that.

I gather that many would agree: as long as you don't need to dispute or change anything, just go on the cruise, it is a fine experience.

Perhaps someone here could answer the question you tried to reach them about?

[JT1962]

The the website and customer service are horrible and the worst I have experienced in 30+ years of cruising. The onboard experience and value for a solo cruiser are great.

 

If you are the type to book what you want, have few questions or reasons to contact guest services, then I would keep the booking. If you tend to contact guest services more than a couple of times, either prior to or once on board a cruise, you probably will be disappointed and should consider another cruise line..

Edited January 14, 2023 by JT1962

[Inflatable_Catfish]

Just booked a cruise this morning. First time sailing with them. I agree their website is not user friendly. I'm guessing they cater more to travel agents. I gave up booking online and called. Categories that show full on their site were available via phone.

[capriccio]

59 minutes ago, Inflatable_Catfish said:

Just booked a cruise this morning. First time sailing with them. I agree their website is not user friendly. I'm guessing they cater more to travel agents. I gave up booking online and called. Categories that show full on their site were available via phone.

What I hear from my travel agent is that they hate the website and MSC customer service too!  When we made our first booking in late 2019 I read on this board that some TAs wouldn't even deal with MSC.  It don't know if that was/is still true.  Luckily she still deals with them and we just booked our second MSC cruise for December 2023.  Unfortunately I'm already having issues with our record on the website but I've got months to work that out.

[Nunagoras]

As said above: Their website is as bad as it can be. Their costumer services seems to have its challenges too. Pro tip: Use a reliable TA whom deals with them. The onboard experience is generally good. I have 7 cruises with them on belt. If you know RCI, and removing the extra wow factor of the Oasis class, then I'd to say that MSC is at least on par, if not a slightly superior product on areas. Now the World Europa is just an MSC's "Oasis class". I believe it will be good, even though the first year bugs will still be sorted out as time goes. If you go, and from the Youtube videos out there, it seems they have a specialty restaurant that seems great for at least a day: "La Pescaderia", which is a fish market grill sort of thing. Interesting! Have a nice day!...

[JT1962]

57 minutes ago, capriccio said:

What I hear from my travel agent is that they hate the website and MSC customer service too!  When we made our first booking in late 2019 I read on this board that some TAs wouldn't even deal with MSC.  It don't know if that was/is still true.  Luckily she still deals with them and we just booked our second MSC cruise for December 2023.  Unfortunately I'm already having issues with our record on the website but I've got months to work that out.

The cruise travel agency I have used for years refuses to book anything with MSC, so I just book directly when I cruise with them.

[Zephyr173]

We've cruised several times on MSC, and generally did not encounter issues requiring contact with customer service, except our last 2 cruises.

 

Issues arose that led to postponing a first time, and obtaining a future cruise voucher.  When the time came to use it, MSC forgot the OBC.  So that's when the trouble started and my TA had to get on it to sort it out.

 

Turns out the whole thing was a huge ordeal, with numerous follow-up because there was always a new issue raised in an attempt to resolve the previous ones.

 

Soooo.  My TA has thrown in the towel and I have to literally beg/bug her to handle my MSC bookings.  My TA is... my own sister!!!

[shipgeeks]

18 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

The cruise travel agency I have used for years refuses to book anything with MSC, so I just book directly when I cruise with them.

And the one I used must have a direct contact, because my TA would put me on hold, then come back perhaps a minute later with my cabin assignment and other details.  I say Okay, and it's done.

[Cancun01]

11 hours ago, Deniseiam1 said:

Hello,

 

We have the World Europa scheduled for July 2023. This is our first time using this cruise line and it has been a horrible experience so far. What is going on with their website? It's really problematic and unfriendly. We are on hold for up to 1 to ask a question from the Canadian branch. What is the MSC experience like? Should we cancel now before we finalize our payment or will our onboard experience be a great one.

 

Thanks for your input. 

Denise

I agree with you that it is a horrible time-consuming experience. I was on hold for over an hour this am.  I contacted them because the CDN website is unfriendly.  I am currently travelling in the US but use the CDN website because that is my residence, pp and credit card is based there. The website kept giving me a message to go to the correct country even though I accessed it earlier in the day.   I always use a TA but the cruise I booked was a 3 day getaway so I booked it myself.   It has been a frustrating experience.