MSC Virtuosa has been cancelled. Any compensation that can ask from MSC ?

[Doraemon31]

Hi

I have booked MSC Virtuosa sail from Barcelona, Spain on 16 Apr and end at Southampton 22 Apr around 3 months ago. Last week I just got email from MSC that this route has been cancelled "Due to necessary operational reasons affecting the deployment of some of our ships". they give me only 2 options.

 

1.move to another cruise and pay more/ get refund on fare difference

2.full refund

 

Unfortunately, I can't find any cruise route that match with my air ticket which already purchased (arrive at Barcelona and Depart from UK) then I will choose option 2 but not sure any compensation that I can ask from them i.e. hotel cost that I plan to stay in barcelona before sailing day or air ticket cost which I have already paid.

 

This is my first time for cruising and not sure how to negotiate with them 😞 I have already purchased air ticket and paid for Visa fee both of UK and Schengen.

 

 

[8420PR]

The reason is the ships currently in the Middle East (MSC Virtuosa and MSC Opera) cannot use the Suez Canal due to at attacks by the Houthi on shipping, so it looks like they are repositioning empty via Southern Africa.

 

I think the compensation differs based on where you have booked - MSC in the UK and Germany typically offers a cruise move without any additional payments and an OBC if you rebook another MSC cruise.  I haven't heard of MSC refunding flight or hotel costs.

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, Doraemon31 said:

Unfortunately, I can't find any cruise route that match with my air ticket which already purchased (arrive at Barcelona and Depart from UK) then I will choose option 2 but not sure any compensation that I can ask from them i.e. hotel cost that I plan to stay in barcelona before sailing day or air ticket cost which I have already paid.

 

This is my first time for cruising and not sure how to negotiate with them 😞 I have already purchased air ticket and paid for Visa fee both of UK and Schengen.

Unfortunately this is the risk you take when you assemble your own package of cruise/flights/hotel and you would usually cover that risk with travel insurance, or if living in UK/EU you could use a Travel Agent to put the package together for you.

 

MSC are not liable for your flights/hotel or other costs like the visa, so there isn't really any basis for negotiation...

 

With your flights, is there the option to cancel and have the value available for booking another flight in the future, or did you choose to book flights where you lose the entire value if you cancel?

[Doraemon31]

2 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Unfortunately this is the risk you take when you assemble your own package of cruise/flights/hotel and you would usually cover that risk with travel insurance, or if living in UK/EU you could use a Travel Agent to put the package together for you.

 

MSC are not liable for your flights/hotel or other costs like the visa, so there isn't really any basis for negotiation...

 

With your flights, is there the option to cancel and have the value available for booking another flight in the future, or did you choose to book flights where you lose the entire value if you cancel?

My fare class of those flights can't refund or change anything 😞 Then I will travel by land instead and have additional cost for flight between Spain and UK (prior plan was travel from Spain to UK via MSC cruise)

[peder]

Any other cruises you could try? Costa has a sailing out of Palma that day. It's fairly to get from Barcelona to Palma.

 

Obviously you need another one-way flight in the mix but maybe that's the best way to salvage this trip?

Edited January 22 by peder

[mscdivina2016]

10 hours ago, Doraemon31 said:

Hi

I have booked MSC Virtuosa sail from Barcelona, Spain on 16 Apr and end at Southampton 22 Apr around 3 months ago. Last week I just got email from MSC that this route has been cancelled "Due to necessary operational reasons affecting the deployment of some of our ships". they give me only 2 options.

 

1.move to another cruise and pay more/ get refund on fare difference

2.full refund

 

Unfortunately, I can't find any cruise route that match with my air ticket which already purchased (arrive at Barcelona and Depart from UK) then I will choose option 2 but not sure any compensation that I can ask from them i.e. hotel cost that I plan to stay in barcelona before sailing day or air ticket cost which I have already paid.

 

This is my first time for cruising and not sure how to negotiate with them 😞 I have already purchased air ticket and paid for Visa fee both of UK and Schengen.

 

 

Did you buy travel insurance?

 

If not, it's all on you unfortunately. Will air tickets allow you to change flights?

Fly to Rome or another port and grab a different ship.

[Doraemon31]

14 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Did you buy travel insurance?

 

If not, it's all on you unfortunately. Will air tickets allow you to change flights?

Fly to Rome or another port and grab a different ship.

I buy travel insurance with MSIG (a Japanese company) but from reading their policy, it will cover for trip cancellation or postponement only for sickness or injury. Not cover for trip cancellation from cruise company. But I will try to call them

[perakcruiser]

On 1/22/2024 at 9:33 AM, Mark_T said:

MSC are not liable for your flights/hotel or other costs like the visa, so there isn't really any basis for negotiation...

 

22 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Did you buy travel insurance?

If not, it's all on you unfortunately.

 

This is not true. If the MSC cruise is bought under EU law, the cruise line has to pay the flights when a cruise is cancelled or modified. But the amount is limited. When Celebrity change my last cruise they offered to refund the flight uo to 250 $ per person. 

 

But in this case I would opt for the full refund and take the Costa Toscana. Flights from Barcelona to London are millions with all the European AirAsias 😉 

 

 

[Mark_T]

44 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

This is not true. If the MSC cruise is bought under EU law, the cruise line has to pay the flights when a cruise is cancelled or modified.

There is protection for flights+cruise purchased as a package but not usually when purchased individually.

 

This is why I mentioned right at the start that if you buy both through your TA as a package you would be covered...

 

The UK has been out of the EU for a while now, so if this is a recent change then you may be right, but for the UK it would have to be a package.

 

None of this is helpful for the OP though given they are booking from far outside the EU/UK...

Edited January 23 by Mark_T

[Mark_T]

9 hours ago, Doraemon31 said:

I buy travel insurance with MSIG (a Japanese company) but from reading their policy, it will cover for trip cancellation or postponement only for sickness or injury. Not cover for trip cancellation from cruise company. But I will try to call them

Look for a section in the policy covering 'travel disruption' or similar...

 

They don't generally cover cancellation by the cruise company as that generally requires the cruise company to repay in full, so there is no loss to cover.

 

...but 'travel disruption' clauses would usually cover the related hotel and air costs if your policy has that, but not all do...

[mscdivina2016]

14 hours ago, Doraemon31 said:

I buy travel insurance with MSIG (a Japanese company) but from reading their policy, it will cover for trip cancellation or postponement only for sickness or injury. Not cover for trip cancellation from cruise company. But I will try to call them

I buy thru Lloyds of London and it covers basically everything but it is not cheap. They will sell you customized policies.

[insidecabin]

6 hours ago, Mark_T said:

There is protection for flights+cruise purchased as a package but not usually when purchased individually.

 

This is why I mentioned right at the start that if you buy both through your TA as a package you would be covered...

 

The UK has been out of the EU for a while now, so if this is a recent change then you may be right, but for the UK it would have to be a package.

 

None of this is helpful for the OP though given they are booking from far outside the EU/UK...

UK and EU package regulations also apply to cruise only bookings as a cruise is deemed a package.

 

The cruise line is liable for making good damages/expenses except where the change/cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2018/9780111168479/regulation/16

 

Unable to transit the Red sea would probably qualify if that needed this cruise to be cancelled.

 

(Agree not helpful for a non EU/UK booking)

[CruisingFox27]

9 hours ago, insidecabin said:

UK and EU package regulations also apply to cruise only bookings as a cruise is deemed a package.

 

The cruise line is liable for making good damages/expenses except where the change/cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2018/9780111168479/regulation/16

 

Unable to transit the Red sea would probably qualify if that needed this cruise to be cancelled.

 

(Agree not helpful for a non EU/UK booking)

And the Red Sea situation is due to an Act of War, which isn't often covered as standard in insurance policies. 

We were sailing through Suez in November and had changes to the itinerary, we were offered the option to cancel and lots of fellow passengers were saying that their insurance wouldn't cover the associated costs for to this clause. 

[perakcruiser]

17 hours ago, Mark_T said:

None of this is helpful for the OP though given they are booking from far outside the EU/UK...

You cannot book MSC in Thailand or Malaysia, you have to chose another market. To get the best possible consumer protection we prefer book in EU. 

[Mark_T]

1 minute ago, perakcruiser said:

You cannot book MSC in Thailand or Malaysia, you have to chose another market. To get the best possible consumer protection we prefer book in EU. 

Interesting, and helpful, as many cruise lines are careful not to allow bookings in one region from those resident in a different region.

[mcoler181]

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

Interesting, and helpful, as many cruise lines are careful not to allow bookings in one region from those resident in a different region.

We managed to book out upcoming Seascape cruise through a US travel agent, was much cheaper even taking onboard gratuities into account, only difference really was we got the Easy plus package where as the UK site offers the Premium package (and includes gratuities in the price)

 

Saying that I'm not sure if MSC's own site would have let us book?

[Mark_T]

2 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

Saying that I'm not sure if MSC's own site would have let us book?

Probably not, you usually bump up against the restrictions when you try to enter your address...

 

US base TA's have been selling to the UK across many lines, but you do have to factor in that you do not get anything close to the same consumer protection as you would in the UK, but yes, the price can be cheaper as long as the exchange rates don't do anything crazy...

[Mark_T]

15 hours ago, insidecabin said:

UK and EU package regulations also apply to cruise only bookings as a cruise is deemed a package.

Yes a cruise is considered to be a 'package' for the purposes of the regulations as it includes both transport and accommodation, but that doesn't mean you get cover from the cruise line for additional and separate flights/hotels that you did not book with the cruise line...

 

You can get your total package of flight/hotels/cruise covered by the regulations when you buy them as a package from a TA, and in that case the TA is on the hook for the compensation if things go wrong.

 

For that reason you need to watch for any language in the contract from the TA seeking to treat the components as separate transactions rather than as a package...

 

Your other point is of course correct, the danger to navigation from what would probably be classed as terrorism at this point would usually render most insurance invalid, but at least MSC are not using that as an excuse not to refund those impacted for the cruise cost.

 

 

Edited January 24 by Mark_T

[mcoler181]

25 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Probably not, you usually bump up against the restrictions when you try to enter your address...

 

US base TA's have been selling to the UK across many lines, but you do have to factor in that you do not get anything close to the same consumer protection as you would in the UK, but yes, the price can be cheaper as long as the exchange rates don't do anything crazy...

We did have some issues initially entering our address on MSC's site it kept wanting a state entering but then changed its mind and allowed us to bypass it.

 

When the balance was due it was about as low as its been $1.20 to the £, still think it was a great deal though. $3715 for 2 adults and 2 children, easy plus and minor packages, two Wifi packs for 2 weeks on Seascape, only i an inside cabin though. When we booked it the price through MSC UK from memory was £4600ish which included premium drinks and gratuities. 

[Mark_T]

23 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

...but at least MSC are not using that as an excuse not to refund those impacted for the cruise cost.

That bit was poorly worded, they are using the cause as a reason not to offer any additional compensation, but they are correctly offering a full refund of the cruise payment or a transfer to another cruise at the prevailing rate as per their T&C's.

[insidecabin]

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

Yes a cruise is considered to be a 'package' for the purposes of the regulations as it includes both transport and accommodation, but that doesn't mean you get cover from the cruise line for additional and separate flights/hotels that you did not book with the cruise line...

 

You can get your total package of flight/hotels/cruise covered by the regulations when you buy them as a package from a TA, and in that case the TA is on the hook for the compensation if things go wrong.

 

For that reason you need to watch for any language in the contract from the TA seeking to treat the components as separate transactions rather than as a package...

 

Your other point is of course correct, the danger to navigation from what would probably be classed as terrorism at this point would usually render most insurance invalid, but at least MSC are not using that as an excuse not to refund those impacted for the cruise cost.

 

 

The package regulations cover for damages and expenses which would be losses of any independent booked components connected to the cruise like travel arrangements, flights hotels etc.

 

Which/ABTA guidelines have even suggested things like sun lotion bought for a holiday would count.(not checked if still there)

 

That applies when the cruise line is responsible for the cancellation.

(Ambassador have that responsibly for their cancellation of the Xmas cruise)

 

Cruiseline get out for damages on these red sea related changes under the extraordinary circumstances.

 

They cannot get out of full refund of any fully packaged booking.

 

Things like FCC or alternative cruise are just not acceptable.

 

[Mark_T]

54 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

The package regulations cover for damages and expenses which would be losses of any independent booked components connected to the cruise like travel arrangements, flights hotels etc.

I'd love to be proved wrong on this one, but I really can't find anything that supports this statement...

 

If it is not a package or a linked travel arrangement then there is no protection for components that you separately contract with another supplier that I can find...

 

The linked travel arrangements bit only covers the situation where you get up-sold with say a hotel after booking a flight on the same website etc. 

 

Booking a cruise on the MSC website then deciding to go to an airline website and booking a flight there doesn't make MSC liable for your flight if they cancel the cruise...

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

I'd love to be proved wrong on this one, but I really can't find anything that supports this statement...

Which languages do you speak? You are definitely wrong, but certainly different markets have different rules. Not just that the cruise line must compensate you for the flights you booked, you even have the right to book a similar cruise and MSC cannot charge you more. Let´s say you have a Fantasia cruise from Barcelona for one week, MSC cancels the Fantasia, you can book the World Europa for the same date and not need to worry about the price. 

[Mark_T]

20 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Which languages do you speak? You are definitely wrong, but certainly different markets have different rules.

Language is no barrier to understanding these days, but I'm happy with French & English (obviously).

 

As I said earlier, if this is an EU regulation which came in after the UK regulations based on the EU rules were separated then you may well be right, but there is nothing that wide-ranging within the UK regulations...

[insidecabin]

5 hours ago, Mark_T said:

That bit was poorly worded, they are using the cause as a reason not to offer any additional compensation, but they are correctly offering a full refund of the cruise payment or a transfer to another cruise at the prevailing rate as per their T&C's.

For UK bookings package regulations require any alternative offer to be at no extra cost or partial refund if cheaper.

 

Prevailing rates is just full refund unless there is some other in incentive.