Have you had the 5% discount applied after you booked your first cruise?

[FLchick3]

Hi,

 

My cruise is booked for March 2024. I received my Voyagers Club Number yesterday. Has anyone successfully had the 5% discount applied to the cost of the cruise? (Not an OBC, but taken off the cruise price?)

 

Thank you in advance!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Yes, but we were after final payment so we were given OBC.  The next cruise we had to book a hold via our TA and then they had to reach out to MSC to apply the discount before sending a final invoice.  You can't get your 5% discount when you book.  You either have to call (if you book yourself) or your TA has to call.

[mackfam]

Yes, with my first MSC cruise I was able to get it applied after booking and a new invoice was issued with the reflected discount.  I also was able to do this on an upcoming family cruise for one of my sons. However I am currently having trouble getting the discount as OBC for another son who was slow getting his status match done and w cruise next week.

[FLchick3]

Okay, thank you for the feedback!

[fluffybunny22]

I got the 5% and then another 5% because I had booked over a year in advance. Saved around 1k.

[Greygooser]

I just did this yesterday. I booked my first MSC cruise with a "concierge" a few months ago and was paid in full, then did status match to get to Gold status with MSC. They applied my 5% discount, and then re-issued my booking and it was $800 higher! They had taken the 5% off the current rate, not what I paid. Concierge had to submit to a manager to get a price adjustment. After some of the horror stories I've heard about MSC, I was worried I was going to get screwed over. Thankfully, they made the adjustment. Now my booking says I've paid $60 more than I owed. Not sure if that will end up as OBC or I'll get a refund.

On a side note, if you don't have a travel agent (like me) and are booking with MSC directly, I would definitely recommend going through a concierge. On the MSC homepage, scroll to the bottom and there's something that says "AN MSC CRUISE CONCIERGE CAN HELP" with a button "Request a Call". One will reach out to you, and you'll have their direct contact info if you have any issues. My upcoming cruise will be my first with MSC, but if I like it I would book directly with my concierge again.

[phissy]

I was just looking at T & C for Voyagers Club.

It does state that VC discount benefit is after first cruise.

 

Our daughter just booked a cruise and then used booking number to apply for VC membership.

 

If I apply that membership number to a booking online, there is not discount shown.

Does it need a call to MSC to have it applied, even if full payment has been made?

(Final payment is actually 10 days from today.)

[sbcs5390]

1 hour ago, phissy said:

I was just looking at T & C for Voyagers Club.

It does state that VC discount benefit is after first cruise.

 

Our daughter just booked a cruise and then used booking number to apply for VC membership.

 

If I apply that membership number to a booking online, there is not discount shown.

Does it need a call to MSC to have it applied, even if full payment has been made?

(Final payment is actually 10 days from today.)

Best bet is to submit a status match rather than using an empty VC account. Then they’ll have some points in there. 
 

to answer OP, yes, I did this and so have my parents. 

[FLchick3]

Success! My TA called MSC. They repriced the cruise fare $4.00 lower (an error I’m sure) and gave me a 4. something % discount. It’s not 5% off the old or new amount, but I’ll take it!

 

My new travel agent has been great so far, but it’s good to know about the concierge!

[FLchick3]

P.S. MSC did get it exactly right. They reduced the fare (must have been a price drop) and gave me the rest of the 5% discount. So the discount was 4. something %. 

 

I'm impressed, they did get it right! 

[sbcs5390]

2 hours ago, FLchick3 said:

P.S. MSC did get it exactly right. They reduced the fare (must have been a price drop) and gave me the rest of the 5% discount. So the discount was 4. something %. 

 

I'm impressed, they did get it right! 

All VC members get 5%. Because you’re more than six months out, you get another 5% after that. So it ends up being 9.75%. If you were at 9 months, you’d have gotten extra OBC of $50 also. 12 months gets you double points. 

[FLchick3]

19 hours ago, sbcs5390 said:

All VC members get 5%. Because you’re more than six months out, you get another 5% after that. So it ends up being 9.75%. If you were at 9 months, you’d have gotten extra OBC of $50 also. 12 months gets you double points. 

Hi, so I should ask my TA to call them back and request another 5%?

[phissy]

On 5/24/2023 at 9:17 AM, phissy said:

I was just looking at T & C for Voyagers Club.

It does state that VC discount benefit is after first cruise.

 

Our daughter just booked a cruise and then used booking number to apply for VC membership.

 

If I apply that membership number to a booking online, there is not discount shown.

Does it need a call to MSC to have it applied, even if full payment has been made?

(Final payment is actually 10 days from today.)

TA called MSC and they would not do VC discount as she was in the Welcome phase of the Voyagers Club and no points were in the account.

I did status match with her one Princess cruise a few years ago.

It got her to match to Classic with MSC and now we can get VC 5% discount applied to this cruise.

Thanks for all the input from fellow CC members!

[LuckyStar]

I did not get this refund, however, I booked a guarantee inside and was bumped up to a deluxe balcony, so I'm good.  I'm not going to "rock the boat" by asking for more. 😳

[sbcs5390]

On 5/25/2023 at 5:13 PM, FLchick3 said:

Hi, so I should ask my TA to call them back and request another 5%?

I thought maybe that was why you were seeing 4.something% - because it ends up being 9.75% in total. I suppose if you've booked far enough out, it doesn't hurt to ask. All the details are right the MSC site under the VC benefits, so it's fairly black and white. Maybe the price drop was actually the first 5%?

[FLchick3]

Yes, I only asked for and received the first 5%. Sounds like I'll ask my TA to get the next 5% (which I understand will be slightly less than 5%.) Thanks!

[Ryan82]

Was many months ago but I booked the Preziosa and paid in full. My MSC voyagers club status match then came through and I was given a refund to my credit card without asking for the 5% discount.

[mchin]

To clarify, is the 5% discount per cabin or per person?  Each of us (husband, myself, and daughter who will be 20 at time of sailing) are Gold members.  Booked for July 2025.  My membership number is not working for some reason, but my husband's does and working on getting my daughter's membership now.

[skipsaur]

22 minutes ago, mchin said:

To clarify, is the 5% discount per cabin or per person?  Each of us (husband, myself, and daughter who will be 20 at time of sailing) are Gold members.  Booked for July 2025.  My membership number is not working for some reason, but my husband's does and working on getting my daughter's membership now.

Cabin

[mchin]

4 minutes ago, skipsaur said:

Cabin

Thanks, as I thought.  Was also told that YC Duplex doesn't qualify for the 5% discount, but I assumed it was loyalty-based, not suite-based.  Customer service leaves a lot to be desired with this cruise line. 😏

[DMRick]

Is it a total of 5%? We both have the match but it appears the 5% was just my fare, not my husbands. 

[mchin]

20 hours ago, DMRick said:

Is it a total of 5%? We both have the match but it appears the 5% was just my fare, not my husbands. 

It would only be 5% off of the cabin, so just one of you would get the discount.

[DMRick]

50 minutes ago, mchin said:

It would only be 5% off of the cabin, so just one of you would get the discount.

If it’s off the cabin wouldn’t it be 5% off the total minus the tax and port charges? I got 5% off of half the cabin cost, just my half. 

[mchin]

1 hour ago, DMRick said:

If it’s off the cabin wouldn’t it be 5% off the total minus the tax and port charges? I got 5% off of half the cabin cost, just my half. 

When I said cabin, I meant off one of the guests listed on the cabin, not all guests.  I have not known a cruise line to offer a discount like that for all guests in a single cabin. 

[DMRick]

23 minutes ago, mchin said:

When I said cabin, I meant off one of the guests listed on the cabin, not all guests.  I have not known a cruise line to offer a discount like that for all guests in a single cabin. 

That’s interesting. Msc voyage person had told me on the phone before I booked we would get 5% off the cabin total minus tax and port charges. At least that explains why it’s so little.