LAOkie

Anyone heard anything about MSC’s new policy? They’re supposed to roll out a new one today. I’ve checked their website and my emails and have heard nothing. I’m on hold with them right now (been on hold for over an hour) and still nada. 
 

If anyone has details, I’d appreciate it! 

This just in from the US State Department. They’re urging all US citizens to stay off of cruise ships. I’m sure there will now be even more updates. 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html
 

Update: Called MSC to check on my Med cruise in May on the Divina, since it looks like they’re going to be denying embarkation to anyone who had traveled to, from, or through Italy (as another poster mentioned). 
 

Was told that they will have updates and a new policy rolled out by Monday, so I’ll call back then and update you all on what I hear. 

1 minute ago, muskrat191 said:

 

My sail date for a Mediterranean cruise is May 9th -- we have decided to cancel while the cancellation penalty was only $400 CAD. We do have trip cancellation insurance that has a travel advisory as a covered reason, our cruise had Genoa as a stop, and there is a current Canadian travel advisory that covers Genoa. I'm hoping our cancellation insurance will cover the $400.

That's what I'm leaning towards doing as well. I did see that there's a big meeting with all of the cruise line executives tomorrow in Florida, so there may be some updates as a result of that and maybe they'll be a little more lenient with their cancellation policies.

I may try calling back on Saturday or Sunday to see if their story has changed. If not, I may just cancel at eat my $400.

16 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

A lot can happen over the next week. It the number of cases continue to rise then MSC may be willing to help you. Just call and ask for the Crisis desk. Be prepared for long wait. 

I called MSC today and it was a total joke. They refused to transfer me to the Crisis team because my sail date is May 11th - they would only let people who were booked in March/April through to the Crisis desk. I was told there was nothing else they could do, but if I wanted to cancel my cruise, I would incur a penalty. Now just 4 more days that I can cancel without losing half of my cruise fare (right now it's $400 to cancel).

2 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

I suggest contacting MSC in a few weeks. We were due to cruise out of Barcelona in mid April but canceled. I contacted MSC last week and they took very good care of me. At this time I think that they are only looking at March and April for the Mediterranean. 

The problem is that after March 11th, the cancellation fees go up, so I'm really hoping they'll make a decision soon. I have a feeling I'm going to get hosed.

For US cruisers, some important info - the VP just did a press conference announcing that he's going to meet with the CEOs from various cruise lines on Saturday. Hopefully those of us (myself included) with upcoming cruises will have more info by then.

1 hour ago, mef_57 said:

 

Well, they have different promotions and pricing, so why not different policies?

If you care to read through the thread about March April travel and those who have successfully changed their trips, note they spent significant time on hold to speak to the 'Critical team' of MSC USA. Maybe success depends on who you speak to.

I have no idea whether ecery country's call centre has a Critical team to be transferred to.

I did call MSC and the information I received was from the Crisis team of MSC USA and was told that for my particular sailing it was business as usual. Not sure if the UK or other countries have this set up or not. 

5 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

The situation with the Coronavirus does not only affect our cruise which is in March. We have hotel booked in Venice, train ticket bought out of Venice, other hotels in Europe and land trips. We are trying to sort out all this situation. However, even though we know it is not MSC fault, we feel that for those cruises in March and April in areas considered risky, MSC should have similar conditions as those in USA. 
For example we have learned that guest who have booked cruises in the Mediterranean have the possibility to change their cruises for later and even for another region. However one CC member from UK posted that this does not apply to the UK. Why?

I thought that was strange as well. I’ve heard murmurs that they may have different policies for UK vs. US travelers, which doesn’t make sense. 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

I’m in the US - I called MSC to discuss my options for my upcoming May 11th cruise, which has 3 stops in Italy (Genoa, Florence, and Naples). They informed me that they are treating this cruise as “business as usual”, which surprised me seeing as how the entire country of Italy is under a Level 3 warning (reconsider travel), with Milan and Venice as a Level 4 (do not travel under any circumstances). 
 

It does sound like they are allowing Med cruisers scheduled for March/April departures to postpone or choose a different itinerary with no fees. (Was told this by MSC and also saw this on the CC website). 
 

No word yet for my May cruise, but I was told to call back Tuesday/Wednesday and they should have an update for me, so we’ll see. 

I’m in a similar situation as many of you all here. Cruising from Barcelona with 3 stops in Italy (one in Northern Italy - Genoa) on May 11th.  Now that the state department has issued a Level 3 travel warning for the whole of Italy and a Level 4 for Milan and Venice, I’m really surprised that MSC hasn’t made decisions yet. I called today and they informed me that it’s still “business as usual”, which surprised me. 
 

I’d LOVE to go, but if the current situation is like this or worsens soon, I may just choose to eat some cancellation fees. Ugh. 

So, I called MSC and they told me that for my sailing (and presumably others), it’s still business as usual despite a Level 3 travel warning in Italy, which makes me confused. They said if I cancel or reschedule, it would be a $400 fee. 😬 

They did mention that if I called back on Tuesday of Wednesday, they anticipate that things will change, so that’s what the game plan is for now. 

2 hours ago, SirWolf said:

How can the management of your office can be sure that there will be no community outbreak in the U.S. in the near future ?

Do you have to stay home if you have the flu ??

 In all reality, they can't control for community outbreaks in the US. I get why they implemented that policy though...the timing obviously just sucks!

2 hours ago, mackfam said:

I would wait it out at this point. I’m booked on the Seaview out of Barcelona on May 23 and am taking a “wait and see” approach. Right now MSC is offering people booked for March and April on Med cruises the option of moving their cruise to a future date or location within the next 12months. If the current situation gets worse (which I think is likely), then I assume MSC will extend the policy to cruises in May and beyond or cancel cruises altogether and give refunds. 
 

I am hoping for the best, but I’ll be amazed if our cruise goes ahead as planned right now. 

That's what I'm thinking and thanks for the heads up on MSC allowing people to reschedule their cruise or move to a different itinerary for Med cruises. That's really nice of them and something I'll consider if they extend into May.

Would love to do Alaska, but I know they don't go there! Haha.

Hoping for the best here as well!

It will be a big hit...I did get travel insurance, but it's not the "cancel for any reason" travel insurance (which was incredibly expensive). And the airline tickets I'm sure are non-refundable.

If I were to cancel right now, I'd be out around ~$3,000 (which all things considered, isn't horrible considering that includes flights and cruise fares for 2 people). That's why I'm hoping if MSC cancels, I'd at least get my money back (and maybe an FCC if they're nice).

The somewhat silver lining here is that I can work from home while I'm quarantined at my house if needed, but the whole thing is just a big question mark at this point. Who knows what the situation is going to be like by the time May rolls around - it could be totally fine, but it could be way worse. *Shrug*

Hey Cruisers,

Alright, in the words of "The Clash", the question I'm asking to you all today is "should I stay or should I go?". Here's the scoop.

I have a cruise booked on MSC Divina R/T out of Barcelona on May 11th of this year. The itinerary has 5 ports: Ibiza (Spain), Naples, Florence, and Genoa (all in Italy) and Marseilles, France. 

I haven't heard any official word from MSC yet, but given the current situation in Italy with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), I'm not quite sure what to do. The one unique consideration here is that MSC's European itineraries (including this one) allow passengers to embark and disembark at any port. Given this, I would expect MSC to likely cancel rather than reroute the ship. 

Also, my office sent out an email yesterday notifying us that if anyone decides to travel to countries that have a community outbreak of Coronavirus, they will not be allowed to return to work until they've quarantined themselves in their home for 2 weeks.

I'd love some perspectives and advice on this - particularly if anyone has a similar situation to mine. Would love to hear what you're doing in this case and what you would expect!

Hi Ken,

Thanks so much for the info! I might be going crazy, but I didn’t see the link to your review. Could you try to resend?

Thanks!

Hi All,

I just booked a cruise on the Divina for May of 2020, r/t from Barcelona (visiting Ibiza, Naples, Florence, Genoa, and Marseilles). 
 

Has anyone cruised the ship before or cruised this ship in the Med specifically that has any tips/reviews?

Thanks!

Hi All,

I'm looking to book a cruise for my upcoming birthday. I've narrowed down the list of options to two different options, one on Celebrity Summit and one on RCL Freedom OTS. My question is...which one is better suited for me?

I'm looking to do the Southern Caribbean (as I've never been to any of those islands before). I'll be traveling with my BF (gay couple in our mid-30's)...we're both fairly active and enjoy being around folks around our same age/with similar interests. I've been on 3 previous cruises...one on HAL and two on Carnival.

Here's the dates/itineraries for each:

Celebrity Summit: 10/27-11/3, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: St. Croix, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

RCL Freedom OTS: 10/28-11/4, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: ABC Islands, St. Maarten, St. Thomas

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

My husband and I did this cruise last fall and I couldn't possibly recommend it more! This ship is a nice ship despite its age. But even so, it wouldn't matter anyway. There's only one sea day. All of the other days you'll be in some of the most amazing ports. If you are interested, I wrote a review about this cruise; the link is in my signature.

 

 

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I just took a look at your review and it's super comprehensive! Thank you so much for pointing me in that direction. I think y'all are convincing me to take the plunge. :D

Hi Cruisers!

I'm looking to take a cruise in the next few months (It's been 8 years since my last one! Gasp!) and I'm looking at a few different options. I have tons of airline miles on Southwest, so I can fly to virtually anywhere for free. :)

One option that really intrigued me was the Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Carnival Fascination. It's a 7 day cruise with 5 ports, which is super rare! I've also never been to any of the ports on the itinerary: St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kits, and St. Maarten.

My only hesitation is that it looks like a really old ship from what I can tell and doesn't look like it has been upgraded in a while. I know it's on the Fantasy class of ships...I don't really know why Carnival is using an older ship like that for a longer cruise to super cool ports.

Does anyone have experience with this particular ship or itinerary? Would love to hear feedback/thoughts from those who have experienced it firsthand.

Just for reference, I've been on the Conquest, Magic, and Ecstasy!