jstrutton

Called yesterday since it had been 84 calendar days (60 business days) since submitting refund request on 16 March. I got through fairly fast, but the lady had to transfer me to the casino department for one cruise.  Once transferred they told me the refund was processed on 25 May (2 weeks ago).  I told her that I had not seen it and we verified the correct Visa card was used.  She said she would send something to the accounting department but who knows.  Back to the first lady, the other refund (requested on 31 March) was being processed and she said it should be out this week.  

Again, I'll believe them once I see the refund back on my credit card.  Until then no new bookings on MSC

11 hours ago, dexddd said:

You mind sharing which number you used?

 

We are at 74 days.  Another day....not another dollar.

On day 79 and nothing from MSC. Not sure we’d go back to MSC cause of this. I’m reasonable but feel we are being taken advantage of by MSC. No reason for this length for a refund. 

19 hours ago, Bob7 said:

Hey refund buds, I called my Visa card a week ago to get their advice on what to do with MSC dragging their refund feet. They said they allow vendors about 20-30 days max to process refunds, and my April 2 refund confirmation was well overdue. (BTW sailing date was Sept 2020). They said they would investigate this with MSC, and today a full chargeback credit was on my card. I wonder if they had as much trouble dealing with MSC as we've all had, and just went with the chargeback.

 

A bit of a footnote for Caledonia and Catamo, the other Canucks, here, I booked thru a USA TA like Caledonia did, which showed up on the MSC USA site, but later MSC transferred the booking to MSC Canada, who were just as confusing to deal with as the USA office. I don't know which MSC office Visa ended up trying to deal with.

 

So y'all are invited up to the Observation Lounge at 5 today, we're buying everyone a round with this refund money, and the one with the most exasperating, frustrating, confusing story gets unlimited drinks. There may be a few of those.

Good luck everyone, happy sailing.

-Bob7

Congrats, as mentioned before we cancelled and got the standard confirmation for the refund on 16 March.  So, as of this Monday, it will be 70 calendar days and 50 business days.  Assuming the latest post is accurate that they only process refunds on Monday and Tuesday, then we will be giving them till Wednesday for refund to show up.  Otherwise, my patience is done.  I know that I have been more than fair so I don't have any regrets on contacting Visa for a chargeback.  Let them deal with MSC instead of them holding onto my money.  Sorry MSC but fair is fair; it goes both ways.  

12 hours ago, misand said:

Today was 60 days and I got an email that said something went wrong with your refund pls resubmit your form!  I called and they said their was a glitch in my reservation and it could be another 60 days!   Ugh. We were originally going on armonia March 16!

We were scheduled on the same cruise.  Today is 61 days from when we submitted for refund and nothing.  I'm highly tempted to just file a dispute with Visa and let them deal with MSC.  I'd probably get a faster response.  

10 hours ago, Bob7 said:

Hey Ottawa, fellow Canuck, we also book thru a big box USA TA, can't beat the perks. So you are the first on the forum to report a post-virus refund for a March cruise cancelled in March. So for the rest that cancelled in the same time frame and cruise date as you, here comes the refund flood for Misand, SirWolf, JansArts, Rob-Bob, DexDDD, NameThatFunnel, Cullyman15, JStrutton,, and Catamo. Anyone holding their breath?

Hopefully you are correct.  We requested our refund on 16 March for a 23 March Armonia cruise.  Checked this morning and nothing there.  But hopefully soon and will let people know if anything shows up.  

15 hours ago, Bob7 said:

So both JansArts and CruisingGator2 (thx for posting) have been told by MSC that the 60 day wait from our refund claim dates is dead, and now refunds are processed in order of sail date. In mid April JansArts was told they are working on sail dates the 2^nd week of March, and just now CruisingGator2 was told they are up to early April sail dates. That means that all the March sail dates posted here should have their refunds: Misand, SirWolf, DexDDD, Rob-Bob, NameThatFunnel, Cullyman15, JStrutton, and JansArts, with BermudaB close behind at Apr. 4. Have any of you seen your refund? Any others with March sail dates to add to this list?

Thanks for the info.  We have not seen anything on our Visa card (refund) for either of our MSC cruises as of this morning.  The one cruise was 23 March (Armonia); submitted the online refund on 16 March.  The other one 10 May (MSC Preziosa); submitted online refund on 31 March.  Hopefully soon.

We were booked on the 23 March Armonia cruise.  It was cancelled, we requested a refund and then got the standard email stating 60 days on 16 March.  Still waiting and on day 51 now.  We also had another MSC cruises from Hamburg (10 May) that was cancelled.  That refund was done on 31 March and obviously nothing as well. 

I fully understand they are getting swamped with phone calls.  But I called yesterday and was on hold for 2+ hours and finally had to give up.  So, this morning I called as soon as they opened at 0700 and still on hold again,  It has only been 25 minutes but guessing this will be another 2 hour + adventure again. 

I know most of their staff are working remotely but just get your stuff together and answer some phones.

We will be arriving back at Hamburg port on the MSC Preziosa (0700) on 17 May (Sunday).  There is a direct flight available that leaves at 1050.  Would like to catch that flight but just don't know if it is feasible.  We obviously would have to self disembark with our own luggage. 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

Quick review:

Embarkation:  Simple and on the ship very quickly.  If you happen to be Black Card, you can go to the front of the line and avoid the wait.  But even so, the lines move very fast for boarding

Ship: The ship itself is gorgeous.  The stairways are like most MSC ships with the crystal inside with makes for a great picture.  For having +5000 customers on board, it never felt crowded.  There is definitely a large majority of customers from European countries so expect numerous different languages being spoke.  Now for the bad:  the elevators as noted on several others reviews are horrible.  They have three banks of elevators, one being at the very back of the ships.  The other two banks are used to move +5000 passengers which isn't realistic IMO.  The other issue is that if someone has a "yacht club" card, they use it and it basically bypasses all the floors to get them to deck 16 (yacht club entrance).  So, you can basically take 1 or more of the elevators off the grid for the average customer since it will not stop to pick up or stop on any other floor.  IMO, they should just have dedicated a set of elevators for the yacht club in the construction,  but not sure if they can correct problem now.  Overall, for our taste the ship was probably too big but a good experience.  Liked the MSC DIvina much better but that is just our taste.  Also, be careful with getting to deck 16 buffet from one side of the ship.  It is blocked by the specialty restaurants and you have to go up to Deck 18 and then back to Deck 16 to get to it.  You do get more exercise but at times this is an annoyance.  

Casino:  Standard casino, had one section for smokers, but never got too bad. 

Buffets:  Standard buffets, nothing more or less than other cruise lines.  One note, the ice cream is only available on deck 16 and it isn't self-serve. Moves fast, you just have to ask the waiter for it.  

Main Dining:  Food was really good.  We can't remember having a bad dish and very timely service.  The negative is that they are serving 3 dinner times, so the waiters have very little time to interact with customers.  

Room Steward:  She was fine no issues.  We stayed in cabin 14065.  So, if you look this cabin up on their map, it looks different.  It is off track with the rest of the inside cabins on deck 14.  The good thing is that this cabin has a ton more space than the average inside cabin.  Bad thing is that we were so outset that the luggage porters on the last night forget to pick up our luggage so we ended up taking our own. 

Shows:  Very good, probably one of the best shows especially the last night.  

Entertainment staff:  The dance instructors (Alex & Erica) were FABULOUS!!  They are the best instructors and entertaining people we have seen on cruise ships.  If you miss their dance sessions, you are really missing a treat.  You must go; also it is a good workout so you can lose weight from eating on board.  

Disembarkation:  Very simple and easy.  Was on the street from the boat in probably less than 30 minutes.  

Drink packages:  Didn't get one so have to feedback

Zip line:  Well worth the $11.00 pp for the ride.  It is quick but still great fun.  Bowling was $25 for 30 minutes (I think), we didn't do it, but it was a standard bowling alley and not the miniature size like on the Divina.  

Any questions, just let me know.  I'll probably think of something else later.   

Can anyone verify that one of the dance instructors on the Seaside is Alex?  

We cruised on the Divina and he was one of them along with Erica.  I recently saw a picture posted from a June Seaside that looked like him.  Loved their energy and passion.  Wanted to take another cruise with them.

Thanks....jay

Does anyone have a picture of the daily program from the Seaside?  Just curious to see their activities especially on sea days.

Thanks in advance

Jay

Any ideas?  Just moving it back to the top just in case someone can help

Thanks....jay

If anyone is currently on the MSC Divina, can you please either get Alex/Erica contact information or ask them which ship they will be on in December. 

We really enjoyed their energy and dance instruction and wanted to take another cruise with them.  I'm assuming they are still on the ship since we took the TA with Divina back in March.  

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay

We just got back from TA MSC Divina and really really enjoyed the dance lessons every day from Alex and Erica.  Unfortunately, I didn't get their email or schedule for upcoming ships.  Does anyone know how to contact them or can someone currently on the ship ask for their upcoming schedule in December.  We are considering booking the MSC Divina from Miami but would like to know if they will be on the ship as well or if they might be on the Seaside.   

Thanks in advance for any insight and your time

Jay

I found it later, but what is the relationship between the drink package and needing to seat together for dinner.  We have the fantastica package with the 12 drink coupon and not sure what if any option the other guests have.   

Jay

I know I've seen it on their MSC website, but can't find it now.  We have friends going on the same TA cruise as us and I want to link their reservations (#) with us at the dinner seating.  

Can anyone show or tell me where to find this on the MSC website, really don't want to call and be on the phone for an hour for something as simple as this

Thanks in advance for any advice

Jay

I just read somewhere that the Divina does NOT have ATM machines on board?  Can someone verify this is true or not. Granted everything is cashless on board, but probably will need cash for ports. 

If they don't, then what is the best option for getting cash without paying a fee i.e. via the casino. 

I would think it would be smart to have one near their casino but never know

Thanks...jay

We are booked on a TA cruise in March 2019 and looking at insurance options.  Not sure whether I need it because of the following:

1.  Paying for the entire cruise with our Costco Visa card which has some travel insurance in the event we have to cancel for illness, etc prior to cruise.

2.  Once on the ship, I'll have Tricare Select (the old Standard).  Granted I may have to pay upfront but can file a claim once I get back off the cruise for medical treatment on the ship if needed. 

3.  Also, once at our destination in Europe, then I can still use same process as #2

4.  In addition, we have a Tricare supplement policy, for anything that Tricare doesn't cover i.e Tricare only covers 75% so our supplement covers the remaining 25%).

Opinions?  Just trying to figure out whether we actually need the additional travel insurance.  Granted it isn't a huge amount, but less I pay for insurance is more for us to spend on board. 

Thanks in advance.

Jay

Does anyone know if they show night movies on the outdoor screen similar to what Carnival does on some of their ships?

Thanks for the info. Under the 12 free drinks, do we still get charged the 15% service fee or that included? Also, is there a difference in the pricing if we switch over from the 12 free drinks to Drinks on us package. Just wondering if it is worth the difference to transfer over.

Jay

Thanks for the quick response. That is what I was thinking. But it will be interesting on the TA cruise. They leave Miami for NY, then Bermuda. So we get free "tap" water for the North American piece, but I can't imagine they would switch over to the European model (pay for water) for the remaining stops in Europe. They will really be flaky, but I've seen stranger things happen

Jay

Was just curious and this has probably already been answered. But we are on the TA Divina in March. At dinner, do they give us free water or do we have to pay for their water package.

I seem to have read somewhere that if the cruise start in US, they give US passengers "tap" water and don't require us to pay for the bottled water at dinner.

Thanks for any clarification

Jay

Does anyone know whether MSC Divina has Texas Hold'em tables (either the computer or a real dealer) on the ship? I've heard they do not, but figured someone must have seen them or not on a recent cruise.

Most cruise lines have them nowadays like Carnival ships have the electronic tables.

Thanks in advance for any insight

Jay