MSC CANCELLED OUR CRUISE

[SapphirePrincess993]

We were looking at the Meraviglia as well. But we were thinking of taking her when it was a wee bit warmer like in May. LOL When February rolls around I want hot weather. But New York is very intriguing as well. Would definitely spend some pre and post time there. The ship looks gorgeous. You guys will have a great time I'm sure of it.

Stockjock, I'm surprised Celebrity pulls stunts like that. The compensation wasn't that great but at least you got something. MSC did nothing  for us.  I wont be sailing anytime soon on MSC no matter how much I want to experience the yacht club.

 

 

[Sharon_and_TC]

13 hours ago, mnpurple said:

I'm also curious how many people book airfare more than six months out. I usually watch, although I do have a booking using points in Europe to get business fares for next March. I think those are a little more flexible, but I also have a yearly travel insurance plan now.

 

We booked our return flights yesterday for our transatlantic cruise that ends in Barcelona on April 29th of next year.  So, that's 11 months in advance.  

 

We wanted to insure we got the business class seats we wanted and we did pay a bit extra for fully refundable tickets.  Booking that far ahead we got what I think are pretty decent fares based on my research.

 

Part of that is being able to get what I want and usually that far in advance gets better prices.  Part of that also is me being OCD on planning for trips.  I make lists and then make lists of my lists.  It doesn't matter if it is a cruise or two weeks out of state, or a weekend trip across the state.  As they teach you in the military - Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Product!   

[Dunchues]

14 hours ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

So sorry to hear about your cancellation Dunchues. That is devastating. I dont understand why cruiselines feel this is a lucrative move considering how many.customets they upset and potential loose to a move like this. 

 

We are seriously looking at the Emerald Princess Panama Canal cruise 12 days next February in  reserve mini suite. There are 5 left so the agent has one on hold for us for 48 hours so we can think about it and than I hear your story. LOL 

Thanks, at the time I was really annoyed but wound up booking another Princess trip from Seattle to Singapore. They, like MSC wouldn't offer anything in compensation or obc as this was a shorter and more expensive trip but all cruise companies seem to work the same way so I bit the bullet and smiled ( grimaced) when I transferred my deposit. It did have the effect of dropping me into an excellent Celebrity trip to HK,  that with a non refundable deposit was very reasonable indeed. When I went a bit quiet at the non refundable part the salesman asked why that bothered me, was I planning to cancel even before I booked? I think the talking to I delivered on being let down by cruise lines and it wasn't me I was concerned about, it was his type of employer changing their plans and leaving me out of pocket again brought him up short. I haven't delivered a volley like that for a long time, he sounded like a gulping fish flapping about and actually it made me feel a lot better.

[GA Dave]

I was booked on that same Divina cruise as the OP. It was part of my 28-day B2B/S2S/B2B cruise in January & February of next year. I actually heard about the ship being chartered out before they even sent out emails, so I immediately called and had my reservation moved to the Seaside which is sailing out of Miami a day earlier. So now I am on Seascape for 14 days, one day in Miami, then 14 days on Seaside. The only real "loss" is I don't get to go to Aruba and Curacao, but I also got a refund of $200.

[Até]

Is there more than one charter?  I only see Jam Cruise 21 on Feb 14th to 19th, I don't see anything for Feb 19th to 24th. 

[GA Dave]

1 hour ago, Até said:

Is there more than one charter?  I only see Jam Cruise 21 on Feb 14th to 19th, I don't see anything for Feb 19th to 24th. 

No there is not. Which is why so many of us were confused in why they would cancel our ten-night cruise for a five-night charter. I guess they felt they could make more money on the shorter charter cruise.

[Essiesmom]

The charter is guaranteed income for the cruise line.  They set the amount the chartering company has to pay, and get that whether or not the charter sells all of the cabins.  EM

[DMH15]

Hello.  Cancellations are always frustrating but they do happen for various reasons.   I had been on several cruises when it finally happened to me.  
 

My sister, niece and I booked the NCL Jade in a full suite out of Galveston.   A few months after booking we received a notice from NCL that they were pulling out of Texas and they price protected us and offered us other options.  We decided to stick with the same ship, same suite but on the new itinerary out of Florida.  Sure, we would incur additional airfare but we liked the itinerary and were still happy to be cruising.  
 

A few months later, on Cruise Critic, I found out that our replacement cruise was being cancelled for a full ship charter.  I could not believe it!  Not one but two cancellations!

 

They gave us two options.  Dawn or Epic.   I had been on Dawn previously and preferred the Jewel class ships.  Well, they offered us two rooms on the Epic a full suite that slept two and an inside and promised us in writing the full suite perks for all since that is what we originally booked.  We agreed but regretted it immediately as we wanted to be together… so we called and paid to upgrade to the DOS.   Best decision we could have made.  
 

I am telling you this because things like this happen.  Cruise lines are in the business to make money and when a group charters an entire ship that is a payday for them.   Believe me, you would not want to be on a ship that is primarily a large group; surely your cruise would be diminshed because you would be in the minority and their focus would be on the large group.  
 

In being a Cruise Critic reader for many years I understand cruise lines always do their best to rebook and price protect as best they can.  If they can succeed in moving displaced cruisers they win.  Think about it… if half of the cancelled cruisers move to another ship or sailing they have retained a lot of business from that plus the full charter revenue.  
 

Your cruise is in 2025, correct?  At least 6 months away.  Sometimes cruises are cancelled due to mechanical reasons or weather with little notice.  And although frustrating, it is just a fact of cruising. 
 

I hope I have given you my perspective in a way you will reconsider that MSC is only making a good business decision and is not being mean or underhanded.  I am sorry this happened to you on your first try at MSC.  

 

I tried MSC YC after many NCL Havens.  Both are great.  Please do not elimate MSC from your future cruise considerations because they do a very nice job.  Especially in the YC.  You would only be depriving yourself. 

Edited May 29 by DMH15
Typo

[SapphirePrincess993]

Sorry to hear about all.your cancellation issues DMH15. I would be livid. Im still very  leery on booking a cruise. We got an extention on our hold on a princess cruise out of Fort Lauderdale in February. Just  might bite the bullet and try again. 

 

I dont want to rule out MSC especially the yacht club but right now Im still steamed and not willing to give MSC a penny of my hard earned money. Maybe in time. LOL

 

Just so horrified cruise lines do this. I get the logistics of the move and how lucrative the move is for the cruiselines nut just so sad for all the passengers that got cancellation emails. 

[nferr]

On 5/27/2024 at 9:52 PM, JamieLogical said:

My husband and I are booked on the Meraviglia for a 10-day out of NYC on January 23. It's a little earlier than you were planning to go on the Divina, but is a nice itinerary. The sailing before that is 11-day and even better. You may not be willing to consider MSC again so soon, though, which would be understandable. With you being in Toronto, a sailing out of NYC may be a little cheaper/easier for you?

 I'm booked on that one also! And I wanted the 11 nighter, but waited too long to book and the solo balconies were gone. 

[nferr]

1 hour ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

Sorry to hear about all.your cancellation issues DMH15. I would be livid. Im still very  leery on booking a cruise. We got an extention on our hold on a princess cruise out of Fort Lauderdale in February. Just  might bite the bullet and try again. 

 

I dont want to rule out MSC especially the yacht club but right now Im still steamed and not willing to give MSC a penny of my hard earned money. Maybe in time. LOL

 

Just so horrified cruise lines do this. I get the logistics of the move and how lucrative the move is for the cruiselines nut just so sad for all the passengers that got cancellation emails. 

 Unfortunately, all the major cruise lines do this for charters. I think it's a cruddy practice, but it is what it is. It's never affected me and I've done over thirty cruises so it's not super common, but I would not be happy either.

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

Sorry to hear about all.your cancellation issues DMH15. I would be livid. Im still very  leery on booking a cruise. We got an extention on our hold on a princess cruise out of Fort Lauderdale in February. Just  might bite the bullet and try again. 

 

I dont want to rule out MSC especially the yacht club but right now Im still steamed and not willing to give MSC a penny of my hard earned money. Maybe in time. LOL

 

Just so horrified cruise lines do this. I get the logistics of the move and how lucrative the move is for the cruiselines nut just so sad for all the passengers that got cancellation emails. 

It happens, roll with it..I have had hotels sell and reservations cancelled..

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

It happens, roll with it..I have had hotels sell and reservations cancelled..

 

Oh man... one time I was booked into a hotel in Columbus, Ohio... fully prepaid through my credit card points. I showed up at something like 11:45 after a full day of work followed by an 8 hour drive to find out they had given my room away! I was soooo exhausted and not at all mentally prepared to deal with my credit card company and booking a new hotel, but that's exactly what I had to do. The worst part was we were booked for two nights and I ended up only being able to find a hotel for the first night and then a separate hotel for the second night so we had to check out of and into hotels the next day as well!

[SapphirePrincess993]

I guess there are ups and downs to travel. We've been fortunate in all our travels to not have anything cancelled on us. A few delays and a change of days for flying out on one of our vacations, so I guess we should count ourselves lucky and as PTC DAWG says just roll with it. We did book a 12 nt panama canal cruise for February on the Emerald Princess in a reserve class mini suite. Its not the yacht club but it sounds pretty good. Im gonna be  keeping my fingers crossed for the next 8 months.

[gizfish]

5 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Oh man... one time I was booked into a hotel in Columbus, Ohio... fully prepaid through my credit card points. I showed up at something like 11:45 after a full day of work followed by an 8 hour drive to find out they had given my room away! I was soooo exhausted and not at all mentally prepared to deal with my credit card company and booking a new hotel, but that's exactly what I had to do. The worst part was we were booked for two nights and I ended up only being able to find a hotel for the first night and then a separate hotel for the second night so we had to check out of and into hotels the next day as well!

That sucks.  It's a good idea if you know you will be arriving more than a few hours after check in time, to call the hotel and have them note a late arrival on your reservation so they will hold your room.  

[cublet]

Hello,

 

No-one has added that MSC has cancelled MSC Virtuosa out of Southampton departing in September 2025 so my B2B YC bookings have been cancelled with a generous offer of a refund of deposit! An August departure going into September remains.

 

I am eyeing suspiciously my (consecutive) 4th October booking to see if that follows the others.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[JamieLogical]

8 hours ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

I guess there are ups and downs to travel. We've been fortunate in all our travels to not have anything cancelled on us. A few delays and a change of days for flying out on one of our vacations, so I guess we should count ourselves lucky and as PTC DAWG says just roll with it. We did book a 12 nt panama canal cruise for February on the Emerald Princess in a reserve class mini suite. Its not the yacht club but it sounds pretty good. Im gonna be  keeping my fingers crossed for the next 8 months.

 

I hope you have a better experience on your Panama Canal sailing on the Emerald than we did back in 2022/2023. That was definitely the worst cruise I have ever been on. I know this will be your first cruise, so you won't have anything to compare it to, so that might work in your favor. As they say, the worst day on a cruise is still better than the best day at work! I have a coworker who is going on her first cruise in July and (against my advice) she is going on the Grand Princess (Emerald is a Grand Class Ship) because her friend who she is traveling with made all the arrangements. I have tried to set her expectations VERY low and asked her not to judge all of cruising by this one experience. If you go in with an open mind, I think you can have a great time. Being in a mini-suite will be a big help, as we were in a balcony and found the bathroom (especially the shower) to be intolerably small. A mini-suite will have a bathtub/shower combo.

[SapphirePrincess993]

I'm so sorry to hear you didnt have a good cruise experience on the Emerald Princess. Like you say, we have nothing to compare it to so hopefully we will love it. 

Holy cow I just clicked on all your cruises you have booked and all you have done. WOW. You guys sure do love cruising. You already have 3 upcoming cruises and Im having a heck of a time booking one. LOL 

Glad to see MSC  is working out for some people. I still want to experience yachtclub one day. Just too steamed to book with them yet. 

Other thsn the bathroom on the Emerald Princess, what else really stands out in your mind that made your cruise the worst cruise you hsve ever been on. Gotta be honest, you got me worried!!!

[Spudd]

7 minutes ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

I'm so sorry to hear you didnt have a good cruise experience on the Emerald Princess. Like you say, we have nothing to compare it to so hopefully we will love it. 

Holy cow I just clicked on all your cruises you have booked and all you have done. WOW. You guys sure do love cruising. You already have 3 upcoming cruises and Im having a heck of a time booking one. LOL 

Glad to see MSC  is working out for some people. I still want to experience yachtclub one day. Just too steamed to book with them yet. 

Other thsn the bathroom on the Emerald Princess, what else really stands out in your mind that made your cruise the worst cruise you hsve ever been on. Gotta be honest, you got me worried!!!

We just did the canal on Emerald this April and had a lovely time, don't worry. Yes, the showers are tiny (though maybe bigger in mini-suites?). But service and food were generally very good and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

[SapphirePrincess993]

I'm so glad to hear that Spudd. I always find it fasinating how one person can say they had a horrible time and another says it was wonderful. I've read some people think the emerald princess is a grand old lady holding up well yet others say she is falling apart and needs refurbishment. Some say food was bad to excellent. Such varying opinions.

But thank you spudd for writing about your trip. Makes me feel better. 

[cublet]

On 5/30/2024 at 7:32 AM, cublet said:

Hello,

 

No-one has added that MSC has cancelled MSC Virtuosa out of Southampton departing in September 2025 so my B2B YC bookings have been cancelled with a generous offer of a refund of deposit! An August departure going into September remains.

 

I am eyeing suspiciously my (consecutive) 4th October booking to see if that follows the others.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

Hello,

 

One of my bookings on Virtuosa is back on sale on Virtuosa (including my previously booked cabin). The bad news is the price at which I booked, £2.3k, is now £4.9k. I can't decide whether they think I'm an idiot or hope that I am.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[JamieLogical]

10 hours ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

I'm so sorry to hear you didnt have a good cruise experience on the Emerald Princess. Like you say, we have nothing to compare it to so hopefully we will love it. 

Holy cow I just clicked on all your cruises you have booked and all you have done. WOW. You guys sure do love cruising. You already have 3 upcoming cruises and Im having a heck of a time booking one. LOL 

Glad to see MSC  is working out for some people. I still want to experience yachtclub one day. Just too steamed to book with them yet. 

Other thsn the bathroom on the Emerald Princess, what else really stands out in your mind that made your cruise the worst cruise you hsve ever been on. Gotta be honest, you got me worried!!!

 

I will say that, in my experience, things can be very different cruise line to cruise line, ship to ship, and cruise to cruise. A lot has to do with the current crew and management onboard. Some of what I experienced on the Princess could be fixed by staffing improvements. They were clearly woefully understaffed at the time. I had both the Food & Beverage Director and the Entertainment Director tell me they wouldn't blame me for never sailing Princess again. That is how bad it was. Food quality, consistency, and service was by far the worst I had had on any cruise. But that is all fixable and may be fixed by now. The visiting entertainers (comedians, lounge acts, etc.) were pure amateur hour, but again, they have probably all been long gone. The condition and layout of the ship are harder to fix and are likely much like they were when I experienced them, but lots of people don't need/want the latest and greatest and would be perfectly content with that. Also, as far as I know, Planks and Steamers are open again when they were both closed on my sailing.

 

Here's a link to my LiveBlog from the trip. It's lengthy so don't feel any obligation to read it!

 

 

[SapphirePrincess993]

Just finished reading your live thread on the Emerald Princess. Thank you for the link.

 

I can understand why you dont reccommend them after that read. Sorry you had that experience.

 

I have read many reviews on the Emerald Princess and some are great and some not so great. Opinions vary. None have been as bad as yours so im hoping the entertainment, food and staffing has improved over time. 

 

I'll be celebrating 40 years with the love of my life on board. As long as we are together we can endure anything that comes our way. 🙂

[JamieLogical]

5 hours ago, SapphirePrincess993 said:

Just finished reading your live thread on the Emerald Princess. Thank you for the link.

 

I can understand why you dont reccommend them after that read. Sorry you had that experience.

 

I have read many reviews on the Emerald Princess and some are great and some not so great. Opinions vary. None have been as bad as yours so im hoping the entertainment, food and staffing has improved over time. 

 

I'll be celebrating 40 years with the love of my life on board. As long as we are together we can endure anything that comes our way. 🙂

 

I suspect that many things have improved since our sailing. They will have had a few years to staff up and find good entertainment by the time you sail. I think being in a mini-suite will improve your situation as well. I hope you have a great cruise and can get the bad taste out of your mouth over having your MSC sailing cancelled. I do love cruising! Obviously, I will be doing my 25th cruise in August. It is my favorite way to vacation and I hope you have a positive experience so you can love it half as much as I do!

[CruisingFox27]

Thank you for your link to your Princess review @JamieLogical. I read with trepidation as we have our first Princess cruise booked for September. We've only really sailed with MSC and have had so many fantastic cruises I'm apprehensive about a new cruise line. I hope we've mitigated a few issues by booking a reserve mini suite. I'm still amazed, not in a good way, that this is costing more than our last YC cruise, for way less. No One Pool or TSL, yikes!! But we like the itinerary, San Francisco to Sydney and, sadly, MSC do not offer anything similar. We're booked on the Crown, which i see is a sister ship of Emerald. The age hopefully isn't an issue as we don't the mind older ships, we've sailed Lirica and Orchestra and have enjoyed the smaller ship ambience. And our last was a 28 night repositioning on Splendida, which is probably classed as an older ship, too, now. I did LOL at your packing dilemma in the review, when I compared to my packing planning for 30+ day trips 😅 Although, I think you may have had more board games than clothes, a pack of cards is as much as we include 😂

We'll go with an open mind and hope for the best. I'll have an MSC 'fix' in 2 weeks and then start some  calming deep breathing 🤣

 

Edited June 2 by CruisingFox27