MSC Canceled the Armonia April 4th.The Day before Sailing The rest of the story.

[merryjewelhound]

I wrote previously that our cruise from Rome to Venice was cancel the day before we were due to sail. We were already at the port when we got a text that the sailing was cancelled. What really shows how good a company is the handling of problems due to "operational reasons". Immigration problems from a previous port came to a head in Barcelona and were not resolved and therefore our cruise was canceled 18 hours before boarding. We had difficulty finding a phone number to call for help from MSC as none were included in the text of our cancelation. We were asked to contact office for additional compensation. 

On the plus side we did buy the insurance from MSC and they were very nice and told us that since it was an immigration problem that is not a covered item. MSC called several times asking us to cancel our cruise so we could get our refund faster. We were offered a 50% future cruise credit.MSC refunded our money with in a week. Generali worked with us and we were able to get about 60% of our money back but due the a non covered reason given by MSC the rest would not be returned. 

The down side of dealing with MSC. Repeated calls where many apologies are given but little follow through. We called to get our future cruise credit and were assured 3 times it was there. It wasn't. Giving a reason for ship not showing up day before sailing that is not covered by the insurance that MSC uses was mind boggling and costly.

MSC has fantastic prices and goes so many places I want to see...but the follow through and my money loss has just put me off.

Edited May 4 by merryjewelhound
spelling corrections

[Av8tor]

Not doubting you, but I find it outrageous that insurance wouldn't make you whole for this.  Did MSC refund 100% of the cruise fare you paid plus give you 50% FCC?  Were you hoping insurance would cover the additional hotel, meals & travel expenses caused by the cancellation?

I'd think that would've somehow been covered.  The devil is in the details and policy fine print...

Wonder if you would have had better luck purchasing a policy on your own and not through MSC?

[Georgia_Peaches]

Sounds like a nightmare on all fronts. I’m sorry you experienced this. I agree that a company’s true colors are often revealed in difficult circumstances. 

[HappyInVan]

12 hours ago, merryjewelhound said:

 

On the plus side we did buy the insurance from MSC and they were very nice and told us that since it was an immigration problem that is not a covered item. MSC called several times asking us to cancel our cruise so we could get our refund faster. We were offered a 50% future cruise credit.MSC refunded our money with in a week. Generali worked with us and we were able to get about 60% of our money back but due the a non covered reason given by MSC the rest would not be returned. 

 

 

That is the problem of buying insurance from the carrier.  They will have their own exclusions.

 

I prefer to buy third party insurance, and I expect to be fully covered if the fault lies with the carrier.

[merryjewelhound]

MSC did refund all of our fare promptly within 10 days. We have written and called and no FCC. We last spoke with someone Friday 5/3. It is a very small amount so more the principal rather than dollars. We also spoke with them about the exclusion for their insurance for immigration issues and have had no luck. We have done 4 or 5 repositionings with another cruise line and have traveled to Europe on our own so we knew we could handle what needed to be done. IF we had flown round trip just for an MSC cruise and this happened and we were a first time cruiser we would have been lost.

I agree getting insurance not with the cruise line is wise.

[MsTabbyKats]

44 minutes ago, merryjewelhound said:

MSC did refund all of our fare promptly within 10 days. We have written and called and no FCC. We last spoke with someone Friday 5/3. It is a very small amount so more the principal rather than dollars. We also spoke with them about the exclusion for their insurance for immigration issues and have had no luck. We have done 4 or 5 repositionings with another cruise line and have traveled to Europe on our own so we knew we could handle what needed to be done. IF we had flown round trip just for an MSC cruise and this happened and we were a first time cruiser we would have been lost.

I agree getting insurance not with the cruise line is wise.

I am very confused.  MSC promptly refunded 100% of your fare, but you also said something about 60%.  Is your issue the FCC?

[merryjewelhound]

A 50% FCC was promised but not given. Insurance only paid about 60% of claim due to MSC issues of immigration in Barcelona (previous port to ours) that was not covered by MSC insurance policy that we purchased through MSC. There has been NOTHING given by MSC for trouble caused other than the refund. 

[merryjewelhound]

18 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I am very confused.  MSC promptly refunded 100% of your fare, but you also said something about 60%.  Is your issue the FCC?

I want to be clear that we have received little to no support from MSC after being left at the port including the the FCC promised. I lost money trying to cruise with them. A cruise from Rome is more than just the cruise fare. It is the flight over and the hotel. We were fortunate that we had other activities. If this had been out first cruise ever we would have not known what to do.

[mnocket]

I can understand insurance excluding claims due to the traveler having issues with immigration, but excluding claims because of immigration issues unrelated to the traveler that occurred on a different sailing?  That's outrageous. 😡

[merryjewelhound]

44 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I can understand insurance excluding claims due to the traveler having issues with immigration, but excluding claims because of immigration issues unrelated to the traveler that occurred on a different sailing?  That's outrageous. 😡

I absolutely agree. But we looked and it was excluded. I did find the insurance company helpful and willing to answer questions.

[8420PR]

2 hours ago, merryjewelhound said:

A 50% FCC was promised but not given. Insurance only paid about 60% of claim due to MSC issues of immigration in Barcelona (previous port to ours) that was not covered by MSC insurance policy that we purchased through MSC. There has been NOTHING given by MSC for trouble caused other than the refund. 

Out of interest what did the insurance pay or not pay?  

 

From what I understand MSC refunded 100% the cruise and offered (but not yet received) a 50% credit as compensation.

 

Was it the other costs (hotel, travel and food) that you submitted to the insurance?   If they paid 60%, which ones did they pay and which ones reject?

 

I have the standard travel insurance (e.g. just medical expenses) which doesn't cover travel disruption, and wondered the value for money. 

 

[merryjewelhound]

8 minutes ago, 8420PR said:

Out of interest what did the insurance pay or not pay?  

 

From what I understand MSC refunded 100% the cruise and offered (but not yet received) a 50% credit as compensation.

 

Was it the other costs (hotel, travel and food) that you submitted to the insurance?   If they paid 60%, which ones did they pay and which ones reject?

 

I have the standard travel insurance (e.g. just medical expenses) which doesn't cover travel disruption, and wondered the value for money. 

 

The insurance did not cover trip interruption as the reason they did not show up was not a valid reason due to the immigration issue. Hubby handled the paperwork so what was covered and not I didn't deal with. 

[maclover]

I honestly don’t understand the point here

 

you weren’t able to get on the ship, hence travel had been fully refunded.
as a goodwill gesture you were promised a 50% FCC that will eventually come. 
 

bear in mind that MSC wasn’t at fault as it was Spanish authority to block the ship from leaving as it turned out that few passengers from South America had fake visas

 

now, insurance paid 60% of your expenses and are you still looking to get the other 40% fully covered? Like a completely free holiday? 

[merryjewelhound]

maclover, if you don't understand. I don't think I can explain it to you. 

[maclover]

14 minutes ago, merryjewelhound said:

maclover, if you don't understand. I don't think I can explain it to you. 

It seems that I’m not the only one confused here as you had to clarify few times about what you got already and what you are looking for

[merryjewelhound]

I wanted to fill in what happened after our cruise vacation was cancelled. I have done so. I have nothing else to add. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Did you check the paperwork for the credit card you used to pay for the trip? Many credit cards come with free trip interruption and trip delay coverage that may apply in your case.

[Xinran]

On 5/4/2024 at 11:41 PM, Av8tor said:

Not doubting you, but I find it outrageous that insurance wouldn't make you whole for this.  Did MSC refund 100% of the cruise fare you paid plus give you 50% FCC?  Were you hoping insurance would cover the additional hotel, meals & travel expenses caused by the cancellation?

I'd think that would've somehow been covered.  The devil is in the details and policy fine print...

Wonder if you would have had better luck purchasing a policy on your own and not through MSC?

We were caught up is the same cancellation. Notification received on landing in Italy, the afternoon before boarding.

We purchased our travel insurance and top up cruise insurance from a very reputable company, independent of MSC. We would have been covered handsomely for missed ports, and if we’d missed the start of the cruise through our own travel issues…but unfortunately not for the extra costs of travel, food and accommodation caused by cruise company cancellation of the cruise. The insurance company spent some time trying to help us, but concluded that those costs should be covered by the cruise company, under regulation EU1177/2010. MSC refuse to engage in conversation about it. All replies are standard preset messages to go back to our insurance company, with no acknowledgment of our actual efforts and circumstances, nor the legal regulation our insurance company’s lawyers have alerted us to.

The cost issue is that the cruise was part of a repositioning exercise, and was very good value. Refunding it covers a minor portion of the cost of five days of travel to the final destination. Even with careful, modest spending. We are considerably out of pocket.
And the 50% FCC can only be used against full price 7+ day cruises. Which in this case is far less than a normal discount on a full priced cruise, accessible by most people looking to book a 7+ day cruise.

MSC are cheap for a reason. We’ve used them many times - on board staff are excellent, but we know to expect less from one of their cruises compared with other cruise companies. So we generally know what we’ve signed up to. But this experience has been exceptionally frustrating.

That said, we may use them again. I don’t want to cut off my nose to spite my face… however, at the moment I can’t bring myself to look at their itineraries. But of course, it makes no difference to MSC whether or not we do. I know they couldn’t care less. 

[Homosassa]

On 5/5/2024 at 1:53 PM, maclover said:

It seems that I’m not the only one confused here as you had to clarify few times about what you got already and what you are looking for

I am also very confused about the 60% refunded by the insurance company as 100% of the cost of the fare was refunded by MSC.

 

However, it looks like the OP will not explain because she, herself does not know what she is complaining about  (husband handled the paperwork).

 

For anyone who is not familiar with Generali Insurance, it is an independent insurance company.

 

We have used them in the past and have found them to be easy to work with.  During Covid, when a start up cruise MSC) that we insured with Generali, was cancelled, the company transferred the policy money paid to the next cruise (Princess) we booked. 

 

When that cruise was also cancelled, the policy was transferred to the Celebrity cruise that we finally ended  up going on.

 

We also just had  Generali pay the full cost of the cruise  fare when we needed to cancel  ten days before embarkation due to illness.