Stockjock

While I've had some maddening shore-side customer service experiences, in terms of the onboard experience, MSC generally offers good value for the money. I'd take them in a heartbeat over Carnival. Likely over RCCL and NCL too.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful, as last year we did a Celebrity cruise from "Venice" that actually departed from Ravenna. In our case, we paid for a private water taxi to take us from our hotel (3 nights pre-cruise) to that Maritime Transit Center (or whatever it's called). There were people movers and other ways to get there, but the water taxi dropped us off on the docks, very close to where the bus departed from. Not sure what MSC offers, but we paid for Celebrity's sponsored transportation to the port and it worked out very well. When we flew into Venice airport (VCE), we booked a water taxi from the airport to our hotel's private dock. This is a bit more expensive, but really nice and scenic. However, during high tide, water taxis cannot get under some of the bridges in Venice, and so they had to drop us off at the closest public station and we lugged our bags to the hotel, which wasn't a piece of cake due to bridges/stairs/cobblestones and the fact that we don't travel light, but that's what we dealt with. Again, this may or may not be helpful, since we were departing from "Venice", and on another cruise line, but if it doesn't help you, perhaps it will help someone else.

Good to read some positive comments. We have a cruise booked later this year on Sirena, which will be our first on Oceania. I've read so many poor reviews, I've considered cancelling, plus, we're concerned that it might be boring. But at this stage, I figure that the best way to know is to try it for ourselves.

I feel obligated to inform everyone that, yes, I too have received my 3 points for watching that fascinating webinar last month. Woo hoo.

Exactly. It's easier for me to add to the thread to show a long-term pattern of often "bizarre issues", rather than starting new threads each time. I only add to the thread when I think what has occurred is germane to the conversation. That said, today MSC deleted my web account. As mentioned, for reasons unknown, they combined my first and middle name as one odd first name and had no ability to correct this. This locked me out of my MSC account with error code 502. They've asked me to create a new account in a few days. Hopefully, my sailing history will be added to the new account. It's worth noting that that they requested that I *not* use my middle name, which is a common name. So I think that's worth noting for others, i.e. it's probably best to not use a middle name with MSC. Thank you for reaching out to MSC Cruises. We received your e-mail. We can confirm that your account was reviewed, and the name has been properly updated on your voyagers club account, as well as your booking. Please note, we have deleted your web account. Within the next 24-48 hours you will have the ability to sign up again with the same information provided on your voyagers club account and booking. We kindly ask that you only provide your first and last name (your middle name is not necessary) on your web account. We appreciate your patience and thank you for choosing MSC Cruises!

I've done most of my sailings on either MSC or Celebrity. I've done 2 Aurea suites on MSC (larger and regular size), but nothing above Aqua Class on Celebrity. In my view... Both offer very nice, newer, modern ships and several older ones. Kind of a draw, but Celebrity's ships are smaller and I think that I prefer a ship with around a 2,500 passenger capacity versus 5,500 or even 6,000 capacity. In terms of service, Celebrity was head and shoulders above MSC. But...MSC has been improving, while Celebrity seems to be slightly in decline. I'd give the nod to Celebrity, but the gap is narrower than it was, imo. The same could be said for the food. Celebrity's standard MDR meals are in decline, nearly to the point of being in a freefall. MSC's main dining room meals have pretty much held steady, or maybe slightly improved. So again, nod to Celebrity, but that gap is also closing. Both have nice specialty restaurants, but nod to Celebrity again. That said, MSC's specialty restaurants are generally pretty good and tend to be more affordable. In terms of value, MSC wins almost every time, but every now and then Celebrity surprises me. In terms of the large 1 bedroom suite I got on MSC over NYE, I think a similar cabin would be double or triple what I paid if I had instead booked on Celebrity. Maintenance of the ships and cabins is a draw. MSC called themselves, "Masters of the Sea", and I think this is true, as they are also a huge container shipping operator, so they have a lot of expertise in this area. Customer service is better on Celebrity, especially shoreside customer service. Entertainment is usually much better on Celebrity. Excursions, drink packages, wi-fi and such, MSC typically wins that battle. In the buffet, again the gap is narrowing, but I have to give the win to Celebrity, although MSC makes the best pizza at sea. In terms of the loyalty program, you get more and better perks with Celebrity, but due to MSC's status match, you can achieve top status much, much faster. So I guess I'd go with MSC due to that fact. Celebrity cruises tend to have more of an American vibe, while MSC cruises have an international vibe. We like that international feel, although I get that some do not. What we don't like are continuous announcements in about 6 languages. In terms of receiving a non-paid for upgrade, you have a much, much better chance if you do a Bella booking on MSC and almost zero chance on Celebrity. But of course, upgrades don't always happen, but based on what I've been reading, at least 50% of the time on MSC (again, Bella only.) For the record, I don't typically book Bella. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Are you able to log into your MSC account, or do you get the same error messages that I receive?

That's what I figured, or perhaps only covered by the premium package.

I have a new issue that I think is appropriate to add to this old thread. If you scroll up, you'll see that they had issues with my girlfriend's MSC Voyager's Club account that seemed to be related to the way they listed her maiden name. Ultimately, they deleted her account and after some time, but not without many e-mails and frustration, they restored it. Now, I have the same problem, only I obviously don't have a maiden name and there have been no changes to my name on my MSC account ever. As I mentioned elsewhere, I cannot access my MSC login, as I get an error that reads, "Request failed with status code 502." I called MSC and they said they'd put in a request to try and fix it, but that apparently didn't work. I then sent an e-mail to the Voyager's Club e-mail address. Got a message back that MSC has randomly decided to combine my first and middle name and make that my first name and the only way to fix it is to delete my Voyager's Club account and re-do everything. I called MSC, and the agent spoke with a supervisor. They said there should be a way to separate my middle name and place it where it belongs. So that's where I'm at. Yet another unexpected and random error.

MSC Cruises Introduces ‘World’s Greatest Bars’ Program April 5, 2024 MSC Cruises is elevating its food and beverage offering with the new “World’s Greatest Bars” program on select ships, according to a press release. This new concept brings some of the most acclaimed bars to MSC Cruises ships, each for six months, to serve up something extra special to guests. The program includes bars Paradiso and Sips from Barcelona, Spain, allowing guests the opportunity to enjoy their popular cocktails onboard. Jacques Van Staden, vice president of food and beverage at MSC Cruises, said: “We’re delighted to bring the ‘World’s Greatest Bars’ concept on board our ships to create world-class and innovative experiences for our guests. The new program brings our food and beverage offering to new heights, providing unforgettable experiences not seen before at sea. We’re thrilled to have on board such exciting bars, SIPS and Paradiso, two bars ranked as some of the best in the world. These two bars are incredibly hard to get into right now, so we’re so excited that our guests can get a taste of the action.” Having started on April 1, the new concept is available for a six-month activation with the Paradiso pop-up onboard the MSC World Europa and Sips onboard the MSC Euribia.

One of my clients (w/a big Wall Street firm) is a retired U.S. Navy Commander, who graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I posted something about Capt. Kate on social media awhile back. He read up on her and said, "Captain Kate has earned her stripes, She's the real deal. Captain Kate is a rock star."

How about this... "Discover your Celebrity" or "Unleash your Celebrity." It's least as good as, "Nothing comes close", IMO.

I did a Celebrity cruise from L.A. to Cabo to San Diego in the fall of 2023. It was a bit odd, since I live in San Diego, but this was one of those "Amazing Deals" cruises, marked way down, presumably because they didn't have enough passengers. Even though it hasn't been publicly announced, it appears that MSC will begin sailing Bellissima on 7 day cruises, presumably to Mexico, out of Los Angeles next year. So even more competition. I'd love to see more ships sailing out of my hometown of San Diego. We've got Holland America and some Disney, and plenty of capacity, I believe. And SD is a much nicer starting/ending point versus Los Angeles. But obviously, I don't know what the numbers look like. Lots of competition for the same ports, i.e. mostly Cabo, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and sometimes, Ensenada.

Didn't help. I called MSC and they said they put in a ticket to fix it, but after about a week, no improvement. They also asked me to send a message to mscvoyagersClub@msccruisesusa.com and I've done that. It doesn't seem as if Voyager's Club would be the ones to correct a technical issue, but we'll see.

Every time I try to logon to MSC's website, I get a message "request failed with status code 502." My girlfriend's account doesn't do this. I can login using the booking number, but my functionality is limited. Anyone experience this? I've cleared all cookies and cache, but no luck. The error occurs on multiple devices.

This may be the saddest looking dish I've seen offered by MSC, or any other cruise line that I can think of. I was served a trout dish on MSC that looked as if a cat vomited on the plate, but I think this one "beats" that.

I swear, the handcuffs were not mine (ex cop here.) That said, I do still carry them in my car.

Whether is it or isn't their fault isn't necessarily relevant. As I see it, there are two issues. 1. What is the law? 2. Is further goodwill compensation warranted? As I see it, the law *may* require MSC to provide additional compensation. But beyond that, when folks buy tickets to cruise on your ship, possibly take holiday/vacation time off from work, possibly book hotels and flights, you have to realize how much that impacts your customer and, within reason, I think it's reasonable to take care of that customer under the heading of "The Right Thing to Do." But again, *if* the law protects customers under these circumstances, then certainly the impacted passengers should claim their rights under EU laws. Now if you were impacted in such a way, and would voluntarily choose not to exercise your potential rights, and/or request further compensation, then certainly that would be your right.

It sounds as if this could be a good option. In my view, MSC needs to make this right. I understand that this wasn't necessarily their fault, but it would seem that their passengers have rights, and beyond that, taking care of your customers is the right thing to do, within reason, of course. MSC is a huge company with over $4,000,000,000.00 in revenues in 2023, so it won't break the bank for them to take care of their customers, and provide substantial goodwill in the process. But from what I can see, EU 1177/2010 might be a good route to take, or at least attempt. Your ship's crossing was cancelled If the ferry or cruise you are booked on is delayed or cancelled, the carrier or the body managing the terminal has to inform you of the new estimated departure and arrival times within 30 minutes of the originally scheduled departure time. They must also provide information on your passenger rights. If the service is cancelled, the carrier must offer you a choice between: a refund of your ticket and where necessary a free return journey back to your initial departure point – for instance, if the delay prevents you from fulfilling the purpose of your trip or re-routing under comparable conditions to your final destination at the earliest opportunity at no extra cost If you miss a connecting transport service because of a cancellation, the carrier must make every effort to inform you of alternative connections. You are also entitled to assistance in the form of: snacks, meals or refreshments, in proportion to the waiting time, provided they are available or can reasonably be supplied on the ship or in the terminal accommodation if you have to stay overnight – for up to 3 nights, at a maximum rate of €80 per night – and transport to your accommodation and return to the terminal You are not entitled to accommodation if the cancellation was caused by severe weather conditions. Claim your rights!

Even though MSC is far more generous than any other cruise line I know of in terms of complementary Bella upgrades, it sounds as if, while upgrades are definitely possible, more are getting precisely what they booked, relative to prior years. I guess the moral of the story is, don't book any Bella category if you wouldn't be happy with an assignment within that category. My GF likes a veranda and can live with ocean view, but she would definitely not be at all happy with an inside cabin. In fact, she griped a lot about a partially (barely) obstructed veranda (lifeboat), even though the balcony was at least double and possibly triple the usual size.

I've never lived in NYC, but I've spent months there doing sales training and managerial training for a big Wall Street firm, working out of 2 World Trade Center (South Tower) and staying in either Midtown or in the Financial District on lower Manhattan. While undeniably there's a lot of great food in NYC, I've never found the kind of authentic Mexican food that you can find every few blocks here in San Diego, often within walking distance. I think I have at least 6-8 very good Mexican restaurants within 1 to 1.5 miles. I'm sure they blow San Diego out of the water for most of the ethnic foods that you've mentioned, but great authentic Mexican? I'm sure you can find it, as you can find anything in NYC, but it's different for sure.

I think you can eat at Hola!, but I don't think you can do the all you can eat option. That said, my GF and I are not fans of Hola!, as we don't consider it to be very authentic. We live in San Diego not too far from the Mexico border, so perhaps we are just Mexican food snobs. So I'd personally recommend Butchers Cut with that benefit, but of course, it's your call.

I am able to log in using my booking number plus first and last name, but if I try to go beyond the cruise details or payment page, it prompts me to allow downloads from MSC (click yes doesn't matter or help) and then fails. As mentioned, if I try to log in the usual way, i.e. e-mail address and password, I get error 502. It's trying to take me to https://www.msccruisesusa.com/my-msc/plan-my-cruise#/, but that's not working.

I've been getting error 502 for at least a week or two. My GF's account doesn't get that. I've cleared all cookies and such, but no luck.

As you may know, Honey is an extension that offers cash back on certain purchases. It is currently owned by PayPal. At times, booking through MSC can trigger some level of cash back, although it's usually not a lot. Just got this e-mail from Honey from a cruise in 2023 that I booked in 2022. Didn't realize that they hadn't paid me, or even think about it, actually. Guessing some travel agents could do better, although candidly, I've not always had the best of luck working w/TAs, as I have to do things on their schedule and cannot modify reservations on my own. Well, $23 isn't much, but better than nothing, I suppose. Congrats! Your 2322 PayPal Rewards pointsare confirmed. Date Transaction Rewards Oct 10 2022 MSC Cruises USA 2322 pts $2,322.48 | 1.00% ( $23.22 redemption value) Total Confirmed: 2322 pts ( $23.22 USD )