Choose Today, Cruise tomorrow voucher.

[papcx]

Hi Guys.

 

Has anyone managed to use a choose today, cruise tomorrow voucher for onboard credit?

[AmoMondo]

Yes I have. Used it with prima price and 20% club discount on my Musica black sea in October.

[sidari]

Papcx .... there was a post about two weeks ago by someone from the USA who said that msc had told her you can use them on any booking! No idea if it is just for USA cruisers, we were told a few months ago that they can only be used for

Pronto or Full brochure price. May be worth getting on to them to ask.

[AmoMondo]

The US version was only worth $50 OBC but had not got as many restrictions as the one that was being sold last year.

[jdvmd]

For those of us who have not been on a MSC cruise before, can you tell me what this is? I am assuming you book a cruise on your current sailing and then get an OBC for a future cruise, yes?

 

amomondo - a 20 percent discount? Wow. I know you have many MSC cruises under your belt but that is a major discount when I think the prices are already very reasonable.

[AmoMondo]

For those of us who have not been on a MSC cruise before, can you tell me what this is? I am assuming you book a cruise on your current sailing and then get an OBC for a future cruise, yes?

 

amomondo - a 20 percent discount? Wow. I know you have many MSC cruises under your belt but that is a major discount when I think the prices are already very reasonable.

 

The 20% discount is fro MSC Clib Black Card members. They also often waive single supplements or reduce it down to 30%, so yes process are great.

 

The choose today, cruise tomorrow scheme is you could buy a voucher onboard for €10 and get anOBC for up to €400 on a future cruise booked within a certain time period. There's been a lot of discussion about it on here because it is difficult to use it. You can use it with the prima price (published early booking price) and the club discount but no other discounts. Given the number of discounted prices out there from time to time, if you had to pay the brochure price to use the OBC voucher, you'd end up paying more.

 

Can't speak for others but when I bought it on the Musica last year, the person who sold me stressed it could not be used with any other discounts other than prima and/or club. Not sure how they'd class a cruise where they weren't charging no single supplement.

[Skipper Tim]

The choose today, cruise tomorrow scheme is you could buy a voucher onboard for €10 and get anOBC for up to €400 on a future cruise booked within a certain time period.

 

For information, the terms and conditions of the 'Choose today, cruise tomorrow' vouchers I bought (also on the Musica) read as follow.

 

SPECIAL ONBOARD CREDIT

€/$ 150 per inside cabin

€/$ 200 per Balcony/Oceanview cabin

€/$ 300 per suite

€/$ 400 per MSC Yacht Club suite

 

This offer is only valid for a new reservation; it shall expire eighteen months after the issuing date. It has no cash value and is neither transferable nor refundable.

It cannot be combined with other promotion, with the exception of the MSC Club discount and the Early Booking discount, as detailed in the brochure. It is valid only for a seven days (or longer) cruise booked at the current brochure price.

 

It goes on to say accommodation is subject to availability and refers to Italian Legislative Decree 196/2003 and the text available at reception.

 

My vouchers were dated the last day of the cruise I was on.

 

I have requested a brochure from MSC around a dozen times and have never got one nor have I ever seen one in English. Others here say that they do exist.

 

As to what the brochure price actually is, I notice that on the MSC website now when at the booking stage and prices are displayed, there is one column for "Brochure price" and another showing the current price. Above the current price column you can choose between the current promotion or "Brochure price". If you select "Brochure price", the displayed fares are still a lot less than those in the "Brochure price" column! However on repos ("Grand Voyages") the selectable Brochure price is over twice the "£25 promotion" fare (and over four time the "Brochure price" column fare) and so it has not yet been financially prudent to go with the selectable brochure price and use my vouchers.

 

This is likely to remain the case. At least they only cost €10 each.

 

Finally just a note on the "seven days" clause. As MSC always market their cruises as having one more day than they do nights, I assume this means the vouchers can be used on cruises of six nights or more.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Skipper Tim

[726rosie]

We have just returned from a Black Sea cruise on MSC Lirica which I booked last May using a choose now, cruise later voucher. I had to make the booking over the phone as there was nowhere on the website to record the voucher serial number but paid the primo price less my MSC club discount.

When we sailed last week we discovered that the €300 onboard credit had not been placed on our account - unfortunately we had booked excursions using the expected credit. MSC accounts onboard were so unhelpful, insisting that I had booked on a promo(although they couldn't tell me what promo) and I am now having to complain to UK customer services to follow this up :mad:

 

From speaking to the English hostess onboard it would seem that at the time I made my booking the scheme had only just begun operating and I'm sure the sales staff have messed up.

 

Please ensure when using the voucher that you have the agreement in writing regarding the onboard credit.

 

Roisin

[Skipper Tim]

726rosie, many thanks for that. Please keep your progress posted here.

 

I think the whole 'Choose today, cruise tomorrow' scheme is fundamentally faulted. It is meant to encourage loyalty but it instead causes more annoyance than anything else. I am sure most people who buy the vouchers end up feeling cheated when they discover they cannot be used with any promotion. Who pays the brochure fare for a cruise?

 

It would be better to give these vouchers away to everyone onboard with the existing conditions or do as other lines do and charge a full deposit for them with an on-board credit not subject to any conditions.

 

Even their name is wrong - there is no 'choosing today' involved. Something along the lines of "Gamble today and pay the full cruise fare within 18 months or lose everything" would be more accurate. I hope to see the end of them soon.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Skipper Tim

[papcx]

726rosie, many thanks for that. Please keep your progress posted here.

 

I think the whole 'Choose today, cruise tomorrow' scheme is fundamentally faulted. It is meant to encourage loyalty but it instead causes more annoyance than anything else. I am sure most people who buy the vouchers end up feeling cheated when they discover they cannot be used with any promotion. Who pays the brochure fare for a cruise?

 

It would be better to give these vouchers away to everyone onboard with the existing conditions or do as other lines do and charge a full deposit for them with an on-board credit not subject to any conditions.

 

Even their name is wrong - there is no 'choosing today' involved. Something along the lines of "Gamble today and pay the full cruise fare within 18 months or lose everything" would be more accurate. I hope to see the end of them soon.

 

I totally agree!

[sidari]

Got ours in writing from both MSC and our Travel agent for the November Divina cruise after their collective mix up of our original booked cabin and the paperwork will be going with us just so we have the proof onboard the ship.

[MSC Cruises USA]

Happy Friday Cruise Critic friends-

 

Regarding the Choose today, Cruise tomorrow voucher sold onboard MSC Poesia during the Caribbean season, guests were given the option to purchase a $50.00 shipboard credit voucher for $10.00. The vouchers that were offered onboard MSC Poesia Caribbean season are combinable with any promotion.

 

Happy sailings!

[papcx]

Happy Friday Cruise Critic friends-

 

Regarding the Choose today, Cruise tomorrow voucher sold onboard MSC Poesia during the Caribbean season, guests were given the option to purchase a $50.00 shipboard credit voucher for $10.00. The vouchers that were offered onboard MSC Poesia Caribbean season are combinable with any promotion.

 

Happy sailings!

 

Hi MSC. It's certainly true that the vouchers sold on sailings from the USA are much clearer and easier to use.

 

The choose today, cruise tomorrow vouchers being discussed are complicated. Basically they are only usable on the brochure price which wipes out any OBC they generate.

 

From my point of view the (admititly small amount of) €10 was a waste of money and generates bad feelings.

[AmoMondo]

We have just returned from a Black Sea cruise on MSC Lirica which I booked last May using a choose now, cruise later voucher. I had to make the booking over the phone as there was nowhere on the website to record the voucher serial number but paid the primo price less my MSC club discount.

When we sailed last week we discovered that the €300 onboard credit had not been placed on our account - unfortunately we had booked excursions using the expected credit. MSC accounts onboard were so unhelpful, insisting that I had booked on a promo(although they couldn't tell me what promo) and I am now having to complain to UK customer services to follow this up :mad:

 

From speaking to the English hostess onboard it would seem that at the time I made my booking the scheme had only just begun operating and I'm sure the sales staff have messed up.

 

Please ensure when using the voucher that you have the agreement in writing regarding the onboard credit.

 

Roisin

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll make sure I take my confirmation of my OBC with me later in the year.

 

Good luck in getting this resolved.

[sidari]

papcx .... Multiply the 10 euros by X number of passengers who will get nothing back and MSC are making a killing! why have one voucher that can be used anytime for USA passengers and another one that basically stiffs the rest.

[Skipper Tim]

Happy Friday Cruise Critic friends-

 

Regarding the Choose today, Cruise tomorrow voucher sold onboard MSC Poesia during the Caribbean season, guests were given the option to purchase a $50.00 shipboard credit voucher for $10.00. The vouchers that were offered onboard MSC Poesia Caribbean season are combinable with any promotion.

 

Happy sailings!

 

I bought mine on the Musica. I even bought extra ones for friends. I asked specifically before I bought them if I could use on repositioning cruises. "Yes" was the answer. The answer more correctly should have been, "Yes, but only if you pay three times the regular fare." I am sure mine will expire sitting in the drawer.

 

I hope the Caribbean vouchers will be rolled out to the rest of the fleet without delay and that past vouchers bought in good faith but which were clearly mis-sold will be honoured regardless of expiry date or what MSC term a "promotion" ("regular fare" to the rest of us).

[papcx]

mis-sold

 

Perfect description of the sales technique.

[726rosie]

This is an update to my earlier post regarding problems with OBC and these voucehers.

After emailling Customer Service back in May we were still told that the cruise we booked was on a promo - it is only today after four requests that I have been told we booked using the KIS (Keep it Simple) promo.

I was not told this when making the booking, nor was I told I told I couldn't use the voucher.

MSC have now offered to give us the OBC on a cruise we have booked in March 2014, along with 10% discount when we book another cruise with them.

 

Today I called msc to ask for a price for a cruise. I was quoted a price which was higher than their virtual brochure price and when I asked to use my Choose today, Cruise tomorrow voucher I was told I couldn't as this was a promo price. How can a promo price be higher than the brochure price???

The guy said he would contact Head Office to ask if he could book this cruise on an Early booking price...still waiting for a call back. The cruise i'm looking at is for September 2014, the brochure has only just been published.....how early can you get???

 

I asked if I could book using the brochure price and was told their system is not set up to quote the brochure price so basically any price you are quoted either on the phone, or online will be a promo price :mad:

 

MSC are promoting ‘choose today, cruise tomorrow' vouchers on their ships but it is virtually impossible to book a cruise using the voucher.

MSC have a virtual brochure on their website but their sales systems are unable to make a booking using the brochure price.

MSC 2014 Simply Marvellous promo prices are higher than the brochure prices.

 

Roisin :mad:

[travellersontour]

Perfect description of the sales technique.

 

We too have been duped- I know it was only 10 euro nut nevertheless 10 x hundreds of passengers that have bought these vouchers adds uo>>>>> A Great BIG Con-MSC. We have just booked a Dubai cruise on the Lirica and couldn't use it.:(

[papcx]

MSC USA customer service people are posting recently, I wonder if they'd like to comment on what we've said here?

[sidari]

papcx ... on the Opera cruise to Norway they were still telling people they could be used on the £25 per night ocean voyages! i know i asked, when i challenged it the Italian Lady told me i was wrong? been there done that.

 

Full Fare or Pronto price is the only time you can use them.

[AmoMondo]

papcx ... on the Opera cruise to Norway they were still telling people they could be used on the £25 per night ocean voyages! i know i asked, when i challenged it the Italian Lady told me i was wrong? been there done that.

 

Full Fare or Pronto price is the only time you can use them.

 

I'm beginning to feel really lucky for having absolutely no issues using mine on October Black Sea On Musica. However that was pronto price and MSC discount. Think they reduced the single supplement a bit.

 

That said, most likely will not buy another one given the issues people have using them and it would seem they can't be use on repo cruises.

 

They need to change this scheme, perhaps to the US one where there is less

OBC but less restrictions

[sidari]

Amo ... that would make more sense than to alienate people by continuing to sell a voucher that is virtually useless to them, luckily we got ours honoured due to a booking issue .... :)

[All aboard??]

Why don't they just increase our fare by 10 USD / EUR and just give us the OBC when we book ;)

[Skipper Tim]

I completely agree. For almost all cruise bookings the voucher is less than worthless, it will actually cost a great deal more to use it than it is worth.

 

The existing scheme should be scrapped immediately. it is counter productive in that it is more likely to lose loyal customers than to gain them. It would be infinitely better not to have any scheme than to annoy your potential repeat guests. Even if they were free, the scheme just screams 'con'.

 

Let's have something sensible and switched on like obc for booking your next cruise onboard? I know, I know, the IT system isn't up to that....