MSC Changing Itinerary After Booking?

[Guingirl]

It seems that when I booked in March that I was booking a 12 Day Eastern Med cruise out of Rome.  I have confirmation of the booking along with the itinerary that I purchased.  Now when I go to log in, it is a 10 day cruise.  This is the first time that we are sailing with MSC.  How is this possible?  Its now stopping in Genoa versus Barcelona where we were planning on flying home. 
 

I have emailed them, but haven't received anything back.

Does anyone have any advice?  Thank you!

[alyssamma]

34 minutes ago, Guingirl said:

It seems that when I booked in March that I was booking a 12 Day Eastern Med cruise out of Rome.  I have confirmation of the booking along with the itinerary that I purchased.  Now when I go to log in, it is a 10 day cruise.  This is the first time that we are sailing with MSC.  How is this possible?  Its now stopping in Genoa versus Barcelona where we were planning on flying home. 
 

I have emailed them, but haven't received anything back.

Does anyone have any advice?  Thank you!

Yes, unfortunately MSC does this. If you read the forums you'll see many cases of this.

 

I would suggest calling...emails will not be that helpful.

[emmas gran]

If you used a travel agent to book they will have to contact MSC

[shipgeeks]

6 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Yes, unfortunately MSC does this. If you read the forums you'll see many cases of this.

 

As do many other cruise lines, in our experience.

[alyssamma]

20 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

As do many other cruise lines, in our experience.

Really? I'm not one of those who have sailed 100 times, but I've never heard of another cruise line doing this.. especially without notice.

 

On the other hand, I've read many many instances of MSC doing this.

 

I think you'd be hard pressed to find more than one or two cruise critic posts on this for other lines. 

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

I think you'd be hard pressed to find more than one or two cruise critic posts on this for other lines. 

 

For Mediterranean cruises, it happens more often than for the basic closed loop 7 day Caribbean cruises. Even with the Caribbean cruises, itinerary changes happen. 

 

For the OP, I would advise contacting MSC or having the travel agent contact MSC. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Two Wheels Only

[phissy]

This happens with other cruise lines.

 

Be aware that decision has a deadline, as per email you received.

 

We have used this situation to our advantage.

 

We had YC booking and had decided we wanted to cancel.

Booking was a year out. Waited to see if there was a change.

Finally, we received email from MSC with itinerary change. 
3 Options given to us.

-Accept change and do nothing.

-reschedule your cruise to another date and/to ship. Prevailing rate for new cruise would apply.

-cancel and request refund for amount paid. 
There is a deadline for making a decision.

We contacted our TA and requested cancellation and refund for deposit. 
He had me forward email to him. He did not received notice yet.

Sometimes it can also be a good thing…

we had 10 day change to different itinerary and ship. When I checked our booking, they moved us From YC Grand Deluxe Suite to Royal Suite for same fare. 
 

[skipsaur]

8 hours ago, Guingirl said:

It seems that when I booked in March that I was booking a 12 Day Eastern Med cruise out of Rome.  I have confirmation of the booking along with the itinerary that I purchased.  Now when I go to log in, it is a 10 day cruise.  This is the first time that we are sailing with MSC.  How is this possible?  Its now stopping in Genoa versus Barcelona where we were planning on flying home. 
 

I have emailed them, but haven't received anything back.

Does anyone have any advice?  Thank you!

I'd try calling. Honestly I don't think I've ever heard back from their email department about even the simplest thing.

 

I'm not sure if it's common situation, but I definitely wouldn't just accept it without at least calling and seeing what solutions they can offer, whether it's refund, rebook, OBC, etc.

 

I'm sorry you have to deal with this. What a shock and headache. I hope they make things right for you!

[Squawkman]

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

For Mediterranean cruises, it happens more often than for the basic closed loop 7 day Caribbean cruises. Even with the Caribbean cruises, itinerary changes happen. 

 

For the OP, I would advise contacting MSC or having the travel agent contact MSC. 

Maybe for MSC Med cruises - but I never heard of changing the length of Med cruises on other lines.

[Stockjock]

I had a 4 night cruise out of Barcelona changed to a 20 night transatlantic cruise out of Brazil, and even the date changed, with zero notification.

So yes, it can happen.  In our case, we could have presumably done that 20 day cruise at the price of a 4 day cruise, but the timing, length and logistics didn't make sense.  To me, the unforgivable part is that they made no effort to contact me, and it was fortunate that I logged in to see the new itinerary prior to final payment.

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Stockjock

[Tierun]

I had this happen with Celebrity for a cruise booked for 2024. We ended up getting moved 2 weeks ahead and given $200 obc for our troubles.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, Tierun said:

I had this happen with Celebrity for a cruise booked for 2024. We ended up getting moved 2 weeks ahead and given $200 obc for our troubles.

Did they tell you upfront or just let you figure it out on your own?

[Tierun]

4 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Did they tell you upfront or just let you figure it out on your own?

They gave us our options and we had to choose.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 hours ago, phissy said:

Be aware that decision has a deadline, as per email you received.

OP didn't receive an email - OP can only see the change when they log in.

[Guingirl]

I didn't receive any email or notification.  It was just changed in the system. When I called, they wanted me to email my reservation to them.  I am planning on doing further research on this to see what we can do. 

Thank you for the responses! I really appreciate it!

[alyssamma]

3 hours ago, Tierun said:

They gave us our options and we had to choose.

 

And THAT is the difference 😀

 

MSC just makes the change. And as @Stockjock said above, it can be severe. 

 

Lots of lines will drop or add a port, or *maybe* have a day added or dropped occasionally, but it seems that only MSC can do a major itinerary change and NOT tell you.

 

And not just that. During the pandemic they dropped everyone's cabins without telling them.

 

That's really the crux of it... complete lack of communication.

 

And when the OP called they wanted them to send the reservation??? What type of rinky dink crap is that?

[Tierun]

No one that’s sailed MSC will attempt to defend their idiosyncratic ways. I was just saying they aren’t the only line that will have itineraries change after bookings.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Tierun said:

I was just saying they aren’t the only line that will have itineraries change after bookings.

but rarely and not to THIS extent:

20 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I had a 4 night cruise out of Barcelona changed to a 20 night transatlantic cruise out of Brazil, and even the date changed, with zero notification.

 

On one of our cruises RCI changed St John to St Kitts 3 days before we sailed. It's inconvenient, and both RCI and we had to scramble really badly, because at the time everyone was required to purchase a ship excursion if they wanted to go offshore, but all in all, it was a normal change, something that happens more or less routinely. But everyone was notified of the change, and it wasn't nearly as drastic or bizarre as Stockjock's MSC change.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Illbcruzn4life]

How long has this company been in business, 2 weeks?

 

They don’t seem to be able to figure out how to run a successful cruiseline.

 

They can build all the beautiful ships they want but if they continue to tarnish their reputation who is going to cruise them?

 

They used to have great pricing which lured us in but recently the pricing is getting to be close to other mainstream lines, especially their “FREE” drink package.

 

I have read too many post to count that say they wouldn’t cruise MSC unless you book the Yacht club. That’s very telling.

[alyssamma]

17 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

How long has this company been in business, 2 weeks?

 

They don’t seem to be able to figure out how to run a successful cruiseline.

 

They can build all the beautiful ships they want but if they continue to tarnish their reputation who is going to cruise them?

 

They used to have great pricing which lured us in but recently the pricing is getting to be close to other mainstream lines, especially their “FREE” drink package.

 

I have read too many post to count that say they wouldn’t cruise MSC unless you book the Yacht club. That’s very telling.

The VAST majority of their business is shipping...it's the S in MSC 😀

 

Add that to them being a privately owned Italian company and they really don't care.

 

Not saying I don't agree with you...I do. And in NO way defending them...but lots of people...esp in Europe...will continue to sail with them.

 

Now...you've hit on something which drives me crazy...free drinks and wifi. NO NO NO. You are paying several hundred per person for their "free" promo. I get that you realize this...it annoys me to no end.

 

They do still have some great deals out there, but you have to look hard to find them. And if you can live with an inside cabin, the YC is super attractive.

Edited May 26, 2023 by alyssamma

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 5/24/2023 at 2:13 AM, Guingirl said:

It seems that when I booked in March that I was booking a 12 Day Eastern Med cruise out of Rome.  I have confirmation of the booking along with the itinerary that I purchased.  Now when I go to log in, it is a 10 day cruise.  This is the first time that we are sailing with MSC.  How is this possible?  Its now stopping in Genoa versus Barcelona where we were planning on flying home. 
 

I have emailed them, but haven't received anything back.

Does anyone have any advice?  Thank you!

So did they give you a pro rated refund for the 2 fewer days?

[Guingirl]

43 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

So did they give you a pro rated refund for the 2 fewer days?

I haven't looked at the payment differences yet.  We just put down a deposit.  I looked at our booking and it is ending in Genoa, now I see an 11 day ending in Rome...so at this point, who knows?  I am going to give it a little time and do some more research. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

7 hours ago, Guingirl said:

I haven't looked at the payment differences yet.  We just put down a deposit.  I looked at our booking and it is ending in Genoa, now I see an 11 day ending in Rome...so at this point, who knows?  I am going to give it a little time and do some more research. 

Good luck and hope everything works out to your satisfaction.🙂

[talljules1]

I hope it all works out for you.

 

Cruise lines can, and often do, remove or change ports. On our Celebrity cruise to Iceland last year, our stop in St Peters' Port changed to Portland at the start of the cruise. For our forthcoming cruise to Iceland and Norway on MSC, our stop in Stornoway has been removed and we now overnight in Reykjavik.  Such changes are common, and there's nothing you can do about them - there's a common clause in the cruise contract.

But I've never had it where the length of the cruise and the destination port changed. I'd be mad - that could be v. expensive in sorting out flights, and of course it's very disappointing. 

 

I'd be on the phone - either to my TA or, if booked with the cruise line, with them. to find out what's going on. I'd be expecting some adjustment in the price at the very least, and perhaps more if I had already booked flights.

[Guingirl]

On 5/24/2023 at 10:04 AM, phissy said:

This happens with other cruise lines.

 

Be aware that decision has a deadline, as per email you received.

 

We have used this situation to our advantage.

 

We had YC booking and had decided we wanted to cancel.

Booking was a year out. Waited to see if there was a change.

Finally, we received email from MSC with itinerary change. 
3 Options given to us.

-Accept change and do nothing.

-reschedule your cruise to another date and/to ship. Prevailing rate for new cruise would apply.

-cancel and request refund for amount paid. 
There is a deadline for making a decision.

We contacted our TA and requested cancellation and refund for deposit. 
He had me forward email to him. He did not received notice yet.

Sometimes it can also be a good thing…

we had 10 day change to different itinerary and ship. When I checked our booking, they moved us From YC Grand Deluxe Suite to Royal Suite for same fare. 
 

We never received any email with a change.  We received a confirmation for our 12 day cruise initially.  No notification of any changes.