DCGuy64

Yes, that's true, I would have been able to apply the third one. However, I much prefer working with a TA, this situation is just one more reason I like doing it this way. I'm really glad someone made a thread about this, otherwise I might not have even known about it.

Thanks. I was able to contact my TA and within 5 minutes of emailing him, I got a confirmation from NCL that the 3rd CN had been applied. 😄 (This, BTW, is why I love having a travel agent!)

I don't have that option. I do have 3 certificates but there's no place for me to make a payment. We always use a TA so that's probably why. That's what I figured. Our fault for booking last year for a 2025 sailing. Sounds like we're out of luck. But that's not so bad, considering our CN's don't really expire now.

I don't seem to have that option. Good for you, though, well done!

How were you able to do that? You can add a CN to an existing booking?

Ours showed up before we'd paid anything. Once I put the code into the Access Key box, it was added automatically.

Yes, it's listed in mine.

Thanks @Gretchendz. You helped us score a $400 free bar tab. What a deal!

I hope VV shares her photo with all of the cruise lines so she's banned for life on all of them. What a reprehensible person.

There's no one-size-fits-all for this kind of thing. But there are pros and cons to both strategies. Maybe we're lucky: our travel agent is a great guy, he works hard for us and he's extremely responsive to any questions we have. Going it alone means YOU are the one who is stuck on hold for hours trying to get a representative, and if you're waylaid on a trip, YOU are the one having to do all of the legwork. Case in point: in 2022, we were forced to remain in Spain (yes, it rhymes 😉) because of my wife's positive Covid test. We were at the airport just about to check in. I emailed our TA back in DC and he canceled our tickets and arranged for us to fly back a week later, and it only cost $50 per ticket to change (and they were nonrefundable tickets). Given the stressful situation, I would hate to have had to do all of that on my own. I know from reading Cruise Critic that a lot of cruisers have had cruises or flights cancelled and they felt totally on their own and helpless. As I said, there's no one way of doing this, but I sure enjoy the peace of mind that having a TA brings.

Wow. Classy. 🤣

Join the crowd, my wife is the same way! 🤣

I think when airlines make changes and passengers are mad, it just makes it easier to blame NCL (rather than the airline) when things don't turn out well. It doesn't matter if you book your own flights, use a TA, or use NCL. I will say that @Rick&Jeannie is that rare cruiser who understands that doing things on your own means you have to deal with the consequences.

Thank you for posting this. We just booked our very first Virgin Voyages cruise over the weekend, and are excited about trying VV for the first time. (Resilient Lady January 4, 2025)

Thanks very much, @Gretchendz for posting this! We are planning our very first VV cruise and I've been a Delta Skymiles member for decades. It's nice to have this perk! 😄

I think he meant expireS, with an S. Not ExpireD.

Oof. Under the circumstances, it might have been better for you just to board anyway. But as @S1971 pointed out, their policy appears to incentivize sick passengers to sail anyway, since a last minute cancellation gets them nothing from MSC.

Not taking MSC's side, but I'm curious why they have the "5 days" rule on notifying them. Do they hope that by freeing up cabins last minute, they can let people upgrade/get last-minute travelers in those cabins? I don't really know.

You're exactly right. The FAQ's could be worded like "in order to receive compensation, you must inform MSC via telephone at xxx-xxx-xxxx with 5 days of embarkation, but no later than 1 day prior. Note that the day of embarkation is too late. And your request must be accompanied by written documentation." Something to that effect, in legalese.

OK, got it. I guess I was thinking that the day of embarkation counted as "within 5 days." I hadn't considered the possibility that "day of" meant "day 0." That stinks. If @KimPossible1's sister had tested positive just one day earlier, she would have been OK from the T&C perspective. EDIT: I wanted to add that I share @JamieLogical's surprise that Covid rules are even a thing anymore.

OK, thanks. Based on that, it seems @KimPossible1 did that. She called before noon the day of sailing aka embarkation. That would seem to satisfy the requirements.

Thank you for posting this, @MsTabbyKats. So can I assume that the "within 5 days" clause means "no fewer than" 5 days? Meaning if my sailing is on March 15, I must inform them no later than March 10? If I'm right in that assumption, then I could see where MSC was within its rights to deny the refund/FCC request. I think @KimPossible1 was under the impression that "within 5 days" meant "no more than 5 days" before embarkation. BTW I was under the same impression she was. (As an aside, it would almost encourage people who got sick within 5 days of embarkation to board anyway, sickness or no sickness, or else not sail and get nothing.)

2 and 3.

Well, as much as I love wasting time on the phone with clueless reps who don't even understand their own company's policies 🤣, I might be willing to have a TA do the legwork next time. FWIW, I have read plenty of bad stories regarding MSC's customer service line. Personally, I've never had to wait too long to speak to someone and they've been great. But we always use a travel agent for our cruise bookings. We really love MSC and can't complain, but I am disheartened to read of your experience. It seems like you did everything right and I hope the best for you!

I think you did, too. Your description of events seems like a textbook case of following the rules. Did you happen to book with a travel agent? This is the kind of issue I would take up with our TA. Agents often have special phone numbers they can call or specific departments that would handle cases like yours. Best of luck and I hope they get back with you soon!