Thank you for the links to the EU laws, which may be of some help.
Here is our experience and some opinion.
MSC have not acted reasonably and subsequently have been very unhelpful. They would have known a few hours before they sent the cancellation that they could not have reasonably made it to Civitiveccia. If they had sent notification then, we would not have boarded our flight, and not been in a position of having to book and pay for accommodation, transportation and food for the next five days to get to the Venice destination they agreed to get us to, for our flight home.
We have received the offer of a refund of the tickets, but that will not cover the significantly higher costs of doing the journey to Venice ourselves. We are using public transport, booking basic accommodation, dragging heavy luggage and eating modestly. Not at all comparable to the standard, ease and enjoyment we were expecting on the cruise.
To set the ‘compensation’ into perspective: We have been offered ‘a goodwill gesture’ of £89.50 each (the cruise was a bargain!) FCC to be used only towards a full priced, minimum 7 day future cruise. And only if we release them for any further claims.
We walked to the cruise terminal to try find someone to talk to from MSC, as we were having no luck with the TA nor our (very reputable) insurance company (both are adamant it is the other’s responsibility). We were eventually met by two MSC employees, who giggled at the suggestion that MSC might arrange transportation to our final suggestion. Their colleague went to get the letter setting out the cancellation, refund and goodwill gesture.
No mention of an alternative cruise, which some have indicated above.
Due to the heat, the two mile walk from our pre cruise hotel, with cruise luggage, I sat on a chair to read the letter. (To complete the picture, we are in our sixties.) They quickly directed us to the public bus, to take us to the station, so we could catch our train to Venice - presumably where we could wait for four days for our flight home. Throughout, we were very polite, and undemanding, to the employees, who were clearly inexperienced and frankly unsuitable to face the small number of passengers starting to gather.
We are experienced, independent travellers, and dealing with this has potentially been easier for us, than many others. Nevertheless, I am finding it quite stressful, somewhat frustrating…and am very disappointed with the lack of support from our insurance company, the TA and of course MSC