Best way to book

[Gertiet]

So I am working on planning a cruise for my wife and I with two other couples. We have narrowed it down to msc seaside in July for four nights. I’m trying to figure out the best way to book now. 
 

I have Hilton gold status that I plan to match to msc status (as does my wife). Should I book with a deposit, sign up/match, and then hope I get the extra 5%? 
 

I work for the state of Ohio, one spouse in a couple works for the local county, and one spouse in the other couple works for the local hospital. If I understand it, we all may get a discount on our fare. Can a travel agent do this or do I need to call them? 
 

we plan to do a deluxe balcony room for each couple and add the Wi-Fi and drinks option. I usually book things myself and skip an agent so I don’t have a regular person. On a previous carnival cruise, I worked with carnival directly. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

OMG with MSC you DEFINITELY need to use a TA....can't stress this enough.  Discounts are typically taken after the booking is made and refunded to the method of payment...at least this has been our experience.  You will need to apply for the status match first so that your 5% discount is established.  Look for a TA that will kick in a little OBC as well so that you can offset the cost of the drinks and wifi.  I can't speak to the discounts offered to various types of employees but I hope it's true!  Enjoy your cruise!

[styles27]

Are you planning to have all 3 rooms on one reservation? 

[Gertiet]

Any recommendations for a good ta? I always love a good referral! 
 

I hadn’t considered if all three should be on one reservation or not 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

 

[Host Hattie]

Not allowed here I'm afraid. 

[Gertiet]

My apologies! Please disregard. 
 

open to any other tips, though!! 

[styles27]

1 hour ago, Gertiet said:

Any recommendations for a good ta? I always love a good referral! 
 

I hadn’t considered if all three should be on one reservation or not 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

 

If you want everyone to benefit from one of the discounts you mentioned it would have to be done that way. Otherwise each couple will have their own reservation number. 
 

Sorry I just went back and read your original post.

 

I had read it as “will everyone benefit from your status match and receive the discount” 

I now see that each couple may have their own eligible discount. 
 

Never mind lol🤦🏻‍♀️

Edited January 25, 2023 by styles27

[mackfam]

I don’t think it can be done as one reservation. I recently booked 5 cabins for a family cruise that DH and I are paying for and each stateroom got its own booking number. I was told that someone in each cabin had to have a Voyagers number to get the discount.

[RandomUser123]

Medical worker discount is not for all MSC cruises, we tried to apply the 5% healthcare heroes discount (interior room) to our cruise with them since my wife works in medical field and they said our cruise did not carry that discount. 

[Fla Mike]

I would make sure I have my status match AND my Voyagers Club number set BEFORE booking.

 

You want to deal with customer service as little as possible.

 

 

[Morgsmom]

5 hours ago, Gertiet said:

I work for the state of Ohio, one spouse in a couple works for the local county, and one spouse in the other couple works for the local hospital. If I understand it, we all may get a discount on our fare.

Huh?  Not so.  MAYBE the cabin with the hospital worker but not all sailings will have the Healthcare Heroes discount.

[mscdivina2016]

Use a TA and never ever call them.

 

Book all reservations separately as they are sure to screw it up otherwise.