Msc usa ?

[moomoocow]

I don't know how you see things, but I had first hand experience along with sidari, I had spoke to hundreds who were not happy had over heard conversation where people were not happy

 

I've read your posts about the repo with interest because we are doing one in March and have been messed about by MSC re: scheduling. We now have a completely different schedule/cruise as to the one booked and we think this is because of reasons other than what was advised. We would have loved to have just missed one port and have travel agents invade the ship at the end if we could have kept our itinerary.

 

If you spoke to hundreds of people it suggests you spent 18 days wandering the ship constantly querying all and sundry to check if they knew Nassau had been dropped and triumphantly telling them if they didn't know - both staff and guests. That's a lot of people. :D

 

A few questions if I may:

 

When you heard that Nassau had been ditched and you were arriving in Miami a day early were you give the opportunity to cancel your cruise? And if you were why didn't you as it seems material to your enjoyment of the cruise?

 

Have you been on a repo cruise before?

 

Have you cruised with MSC before?

 

What could MSC do now for you to satisfactorily resolve your complaint? What would it take for them to "fix things" for you?

[nowaysis]

I've read your posts about the repo with interest because we are doing one in March and have been messed about by MSC re: scheduling. We now have a completely different schedule/cruise as to the one booked and we think this is because of reasons other than what was advised. We would have loved to have just missed one port and have travel agents invade the ship at the end if we could have kept our itinerary.

 

If you spoke to hundreds of people it suggests you spent 18 days wandering the ship constantly querying all and sundry to check if they knew Nassau had been dropped and triumphantly telling them if they didn't know - both staff and guests. That's a lot of people. :D

 

A few questions if I may:

 

When you heard that Nassau had been ditched and you were arriving in Miami a day early were you give the opportunity to cancel your cruise? And if you were why didn't you as it seems material to your enjoyment of the cruise?

 

Have you been on a repo cruise before?

 

Have you cruised with MSC before?

 

What could MSC do now for you to satisfactorily resolve your complaint? What would it take for them to "fix things" for you?

 

It would suggest you are not a very chatty or interactive person, I did not have to walk aimlessly around the ship, breakfast time in dining room, lunch & dinner, around the pools in the steam rooms, in the bars, in the lifts, in the piazza, in the main atrium, in the pools, in the buffet, even on top of Malaga castle lol, and some other ports, basically your suggestion is incorrect as maybe mine

 

1: we was not given the opportunity to cancel because we had paid up in full has the 90 days was up

 

2: have I been on a repo before? I have not but Does this mean we get a lesser service, or reason for our problems or complaints?

 

3: I have not sailed msc before

 

4: not sure they can

 

Please do not make my posts trivial to yours, you sorted out your complaint to which I am pleased for you, if it was I then I would be expecting compensation

 

And that is another reason we were not happy while speaking to all these people we became aware that Australians who booked through msc received compensation for not going to Nassau

 

Before anyone asks this can not be confirmed by me but I can only assume they had no reason to lie

[tbmrt]

It would suggest you are not a very chatty or interactive person, I did not have to walk aimlessly around the ship, breakfast time in dining room, lunch & dinner, around the pools in the steam rooms, in the bars, in the lifts, in the piazza, in the main atrium, in the pools, in the buffet, even on top of Malaga castle lol, and some other ports, basically your suggestion is incorrect as maybe mine

 

1: we was not given the opportunity to cancel because we had paid up in full has the 90 days was up

 

2: have I been on a repo before? I have not but Does this mean we get a lesser service, or reason for our problems or complaints?

 

3: I have not sailed msc before

 

4: not sure they can

 

Please do not make my posts trivial to yours, you sorted out your complaint to which I am pleased for you, if it was I then I would be expecting compensation

 

And that is another reason we were not happy while speaking to all these people we became aware that Australians who booked through msc received compensation for not going to Nassau

 

Before anyone asks this can not be confirmed by me but I can only assume they had no reason to lie

 

I have to jump in here....Given everything I've read about Nowaysis' and Sidari's experiences, I'd be annoyed as well and would have written MSC, asking for a response. I hope MSC at least apologizes to them.

 

I've had ports cancelled for various reasons and even had a whole cruise cancelled due to engine problems the day before we were supposed to leave. Very disappointing. Although it was good to receive some credit for these, I also appreciated receiving correspondence from the cruiselines' staff acknowledging these problems.

 

In my book, it's just good customer service!

 

That being said though, I'm sure MSC's Staff has its hands full with all the problems that evolve when substantial changes are made. Perhaps they will get back to you when the dust settles.

 

 

Barbara

[sharecruises]

I can understand your frustration - and that of those who live in Miami - not really a port for them

 

but...to be very honest - Nassau is a crap port - if I was from Europe and had the option to check out Miami vs Nassau - Miami all the way

 

You are talking a beautiful vibrant city with the world famous South Beach vs a beach with broken glass and people bugging you to get your hair braided

Nassau is one of the most annoying ports - total bugging you

The "straw market" is a nightmare

The weather is exactly the same as Fort Lauderdale - Miami actually looks more tropical

 

That being said, customer service has not been the MSC strong suit...I hope they resolve this for you...at very least port fees should be returned IMHO

[sidari]

We found out from a passenger in Australia about the change! when we contacted MSC via our travel agent we were given Two options 1) Cancel and lose the Deposit of £400/$600 or 2) Go on the cruise!

 

To date there have been no apologies from MSC and no truthful answers for the change as can be seen from the E mail.

 

Below is the E mail sent to some people by MSC about the change, others did not find out until they read the Roll Call, some found out on the ship a few days after sailing from Venice including some crew members. The excursion programme prior to sailing had just one item for the 19th which was to book the Ho Ho bus! more tours became available on the first of Five sea days.

 

Dear Guest,

 

We would like to inform you of an exciting change to the Grand Voyage of MSC Divina, departing from Venice to Miami on November 2nd 2013.

 

We have in fact extended MSC Divina’s call in Miami, where the ship will now arrive on November 19th, for you to enjoy a longer stay and an overnight in port.

For this reason MSC Divina will no longer be calling in the port of Nassau.

 

Located in the ‘sunshine state’ of Florida, Miami’s year-round sun, cosmopolitan ambience, great shopping, dramatic glass-and-steel architecture and fascinating natural surroundings have made it a popular holiday destination all over the world.

 

With our extended call, you can enjoy this fabulous destination to the fullest, taking in the splendour of Miami Beach’s pastel-coloured art deco extravaganza, the subtropical wetlands of the Everglades, the city’s glitzy waterfront skyline by day and night, and Cape Canaveral, home to the Kennedy Space Center.

 

The excursion program has been updated to reflect the extended call in Miami, and details of these excursions can be found on the MSC Cruises website or once on board you will have the opportunity to visit the shore excursion office.

 

We would also like to take this opportunity to inform you that the onboard currency during your cruise will be USD from the moment of departure.

 

 

Best regards,

 

MSC Cruises.

 

Sharecruises ... The point you are missing is that many people on this cruise do not live just a short hop from Nassau as you do and some came halfway around the world not knowing they would not be going there and may never get the chance to go there again.

 

The comment is like me telling you never mind you missed a call at Dublin Ireland having traveled Thousands of miles to go there, while for us it is just a short hop on a plane just like Nassau. As for Nassau being a crap port that was for us to decide.

Edited November 25, 2013 by sidari

[nowaysis]

I have to jump in here....Given everything I've read about Nowaysis' and Sidari's experiences, I'd be annoyed as well and would have written MSC, asking for a response. I hope MSC at least apologizes to them.

 

I've had ports cancelled for various reasons and even had a whole cruise cancelled due to engine problems the day before we were supposed to leave. Very disappointing. Although it was good to receive some credit for these, I also appreciated receiving correspondence from the cruiselines' staff acknowledging these problems.

 

In my book, it's just good customer service!

 

That being said though, I'm sure MSC's Staff has its hands full with all the problems that evolve when substantial changes are made. Perhaps they will get back to you when the dust settles.

 

 

Barbara

 

I don't mind you jumping in, but it is no longer just about missing a port it is about the whole arrangement in which MSC had conducted its self, we had been misinformed, lied to, deceived and used has guinea pigs, as asked in a earlier post by moomoocow had I been on a repo before, the answer was no, but I am now aware of repos, basically the ship moves from one home to another during winter periods, then returns during the warmer seasons, but this was not your standard run of the mill repo, this was a ship that was not returning home, this was a ship being turned in to a new brand for new clientele

 

Halfway through our cruise we was given a feedback form, this was waiting in our cabin and was given a dead line of being returned the next day, I was told this was not standard practice as you receive a feedback form at the end of your cruise, in which we did receive one at the end of ours

A lot of people I had spoken to came to the same conclusion and this was to benefit MSC by making adjustments based on our comments to put in place for the American market, the last 2 days things started to come in to place, things being adjusted in the buffet, and around the ship, things like the strip of lights that span the ship a lot of bulbs were out, the palm trees that you will see on main pool deck sprouted leaves, hot tubs with no jet power, lights that align the pool and steps to hot tubs, all this and more came together within the last 2 or 3 days to go of our cruise, to many this would seem petty but to a lot on board at the time it seemed they was adding salt to an open wound, many people are being sarcastic, simply don't want to know, or just don't care, or simply just don't get it

 

At the end of the day this company behaved in a wrongful manner, they need to address these issues from the start, but they had their blinkers on and focused on one thing 'MIAMI'

 

And another gripe, why do MSC think it is acceptable to have a barrage of staff conducting business in and around guests, it was constant throughout the day there you would be having a relaxing coffee in the piazza and a group of MSC officials would sit near to you either conducting business between them selves or jabbering away quite loudly on the phone, and this was happening throughout other bars and restaurants, I don't know if anyone finds this acceptable, but I don't its our time not theirs, it would not be so bad if they was off duty and trying to relax and enjoy them selves along side us but they weren't

 

I do hope you have a great cruise, I am aware you have asked a lot of questions, and I do hope you have had them answered, and I hope the answers you didn't want to hear were wrong, and everything turns out right :)

[GOLDENBONNY]

I don't know how you see things, but I had first hand experience along with sidari, I had spoke to hundreds who were not happy had over heard conversation where people were not happy

 

The way I see it MSC may of lost 4000 returning passengers, but with the same token happy they are not all cruise critic members, but that doesn't mean that these people are not members elsewhere

 

 

 

tou spoke to hundreds people on board?? Wow ! Have you cruised before or it's your first cruise?

[nowaysis]

tou spoke to hundreds people on board?? Wow ! Have you cruised before or it's your first cruise?

 

I detect a slight hint of sarcasm? A notion that may obviously appear inconceivable by a few, we are talking a lot of people over 18 days not the whole 4000

 

Its good to talk :cool:

[sidari]

Its good to talk :cool: Too funny .... :D

[MSC Cruises USA]

MSC USA ... Can you explain why 600 travel agents were allowed onboard the Divina on the 19th of November ? i refer you to the reply you gave to my previous question.

 

 

Hi Sidari-

No ship tours are allowed to take place by agents or any other guests that day as it is still part of the transatlantic cruise.

 

Regards,

__________________

MSC Cruises (USA)

 

Hi Sidari,

 

Sorry for any confusion. On November 19th, there were no travel agent visitors allowed onboard MSC Divina. Again, we apologize for the change in itinerary and invite you to send an email to our Customer Service department at customer-srvc@msccruisesusa.com with detailed information and they will be happy to assist.

 

Best,

[sidari]

MSC USA .... Thanks for the response, this is taken from the Roll Call for the cruise it may be worth MSC checking it out.

 

posted by MM42

 

Right on target! I stayed on the ship in Miami and travel agents were everywhere. There were even some people interviewing passengers while they were sunbathing near the infinity pool. :eek:

[MSC Cruises USA]

MSC USA .... Thanks for the response, this is taken from the Roll Call for the cruise it may be worth MSC checking it out.

 

posted by MM42

 

Right on target! I stayed on the ship in Miami and travel agents were everywhere. There were even some people interviewing passengers while they were sunbathing near the infinity pool. :eek:

 

Hi Sidari,

 

We did host many travel agents on the 3-night cruise, but they did not board until November 20th.

 

Best,

[MM42]

Hi Sidari,

 

Sorry for any confusion. On November 19th, there were no travel agent visitors allowed onboard MSC Divina. Again, we apologize for the change in itinerary and invite you to send an email to our Customer Service department at customer-srvc@msccruisesusa.com with detailed information and they will be happy to assist.

 

Best,

 

MSC USA, are you saying that I'm lying? Then who were all those groups of people guided by MSC staff (dressed in red like the ones from reception)? I was there by the infinity pool. They were showing the ship to groups of people. Those people were taking notes and some of them even interviewed some passengers!

[moomoocow]

It would suggest you are not a very chatty or interactive person, I did not have to walk aimlessly around the ship, breakfast time in dining room, lunch & dinner, around the pools in the steam rooms, in the bars, in the lifts, in the piazza, in the main atrium, in the pools, in the buffet, even on top of Malaga castle lol, and some other ports, basically your suggestion is incorrect as maybe mine

 

1: we was not given the opportunity to cancel because we had paid up in full has the 90 days was up

 

2: have I been on a repo before? I have not but Does this mean we get a lesser service, or reason for our problems or complaints?

 

3: I have not sailed msc before

 

4: not sure they can

 

Please do not make my posts trivial to yours, you sorted out your complaint to which I am pleased for you, if it was I then I would be expecting compensation

 

And that is another reason we were not happy while speaking to all these people we became aware that Australians who booked through msc received compensation for not going to Nassau

 

Before anyone asks this can not be confirmed by me but I can only assume they had no reason to lie

 

Hi

 

Not at all trying to make anything trivial in your posts or trivialising anything compared to mine (I hope that makes more sense to you than it reads to me!) I'm sorry if you think that's the case. Our issues are nowhere near resolved for the 30 passengers posting to CC on our repo.

 

I'm an exceptionally gregarious person but I can't honestly see myself speaking to "hundreds" of different people on a cruise. To each their own but it did read as though you were seeking people out to elicit a response. Obviously this wasn't the case.

 

That aside I was curious, from a legal contract standpoint, as to if you were given the opportunity to cancel. 90 days notwithstanding there is an argument that the root of your contract (the ports) had been amended without your consent and within the control of MSC and therefore you have the ability to void the contract pre cruise irrespective of cancellation policies. This would mean a full refund of monies paid. If your flights were booked with MSC also I wonder if they would have offered and if you'd have accepted. No matter, it's a moot point given your answer.

 

The repo question was to see if anyone else had been hard done by re: changing intenary. Based on yours and ours MSC are currently at two for two for doing this and I wondered if this was the norm?

 

The MSC before question was to gauge if you were used to their "ways" re: service which do differ from more "Americanised" service. This aspect of the cruise might have bugged you even if it hadn't been the changeover repo your trip became.

 

Your answer to question four is the most telling. It seems there is nothing they could do to make things right so it behooves them to not bother trying. They'll probably write you off as an unhappy camper who won't book with them again, which by your post history would be correct?

 

If I ran a business and wanted to impress 600 people who could bring me thousands and thousands of pounds of profit on a weekly basis vs keeping a bunch of people happy and moan free who paid peanuts for a transatlantic cruise and may not use my services again, well it's a no-brainer for me. I'm not saying this is "right" - just from a business perspective it makes bags of sense. It was probably initiated by the new head honchos at MSC. I'm far enough away from this to admire their ideas re: publicity. I know it's crappy for you guys but it's a master stroke for them. And really, if they can't win you back with a resolution you'd be happy with (see above) then it works out even cheaper for them!

 

As an aside, when our company gets a complaint we often make a donation to charity in the name of the complainer. This is because if they received monetary compensation then they would be in a position of "betterment" which would render their initial claim invalid. It's surprising how many people get more angry about this than what they're initially complaining about. :-)

 

Again I do not want to belittle you or make you appear less important than I or anyone else here. Again I'm sorry if you read that as the case, it wasn't, and isn't, my intention.

 

Best wishes and hope your next cruise is less fraught and happier

Edited November 25, 2013 by moomoocow
Because predictive text is horrible and unreadable

[jchipgcs]

I didn't whine and cry this long after my favorite dog died.

[nowaysis]

Hi

 

Not at all trying to make anything trivial in your posts or trivialising anything compared to mine (I hope that makes more sense to you than it reads to me!) I'm sorry if you think that's the case. Our issues are nowhere near resolved for the 30 passengers posting to CC on our repo.

 

I'm an exceptionally gregarious person but I can't honestly see myself speaking to "hundreds" of different people on a cruise. To each their own but it did read as though you were seeking people out to elicit a response. Obviously this wasn't the case.

 

That aside I was curious, from a legal contract standpoint, as to if you were given the opportunity to cancel. 90 days notwithstanding there is an argument that the root of your contract (the ports) had been amended without your consent and within the control of MSC and therefore you have the ability to void the contract pre cruise irrespective of cancellation policies. This would mean a full refund of monies paid. If your flights were booked with MSC also I wonder if they would have offered and if you'd have accepted. No matter, it's a moot point given your answer.

 

The repo question was to see if anyone else had been hard done by re: changing intenary. Based on yours and ours MSC are currently at two for two for doing this and I wondered if this was the norm?

 

The MSC before question was to gauge if you were used to their "ways" re: service which do differ from more "Americanised" service. This aspect of the cruise might have bugged you even if it hadn't been the changeover repo your trip became.

 

Your answer to question four is the most telling. It seems there is nothing they could do to make things right so it behooves them to not bother trying. They'll probably write you off as an unhappy camper who won't book with them again, which by your post history would be correct?

 

If I ran a business and wanted to impress 600 people who could bring me thousands and thousands of pounds of profit on a weekly basis vs keeping a bunch of people happy and moan free who paid peanuts for a transatlantic cruise and may not use my services again, well it's a no-brainer for me. I'm not saying this is "right" - just from a business perspective it makes bags of sense. It was probably initiated by the new head honchos at MSC. I'm far enough away from this to admire their ideas re: publicity. I know it's crappy for you guys but it's a master stroke for them. And really, if they can't win you back with a resolution you'd be happy with (see above) then it works out even cheaper for them!

 

As an aside, when our company gets a complaint we often make a donation to charity in the name of the complainer. This is because if they received monetary compensation then they would be in a position of "betterment" which would render their initial claim invalid. It's surprising how many people get more angry about this than what they're initially complaining about. :-)

 

Again I do not want to belittle you or make you appear less important than I or anyone else here. Again I'm sorry if you read that as the case, it wasn't, and isn't, my intention.

 

Best wishes and hope your next cruise is less fraught and happier

 

thank you I appreciate the response :)

 

one slight thing if I can quote:

 

If I ran a business and wanted to impress 600 people who could bring me thousands and thousands of pounds of profit on a weekly basis vs keeping a bunch of people happy and moan free who paid peanuts for a transatlantic cruise and may not use my services again, well it's a no-brainer for me.

 

that is not how to run a business that's how you end up on "Watchdog"

the best form of advertising is word of mouth, a product that can sell its self is a good product, customers become loyal for a reason and one of them isn't because they don't care about you, it cost around 1.7 million for the 3 day advertising campaign

 

if we was in an MSC advert the slogan would go "because they was worth it" :eek:

[nowaysis]

I didn't whine and cry this long after my favorite dog died.

 

It may not of liked you either

[nowaysis]

Just to point out that MSC Divina's cruise director Andre schlemmer admitted that he often comes on cruise critic using different pseudonyms

 

So I am wary now of people trying to debunk peoples posts :eek:

[jchipgcs]

Just tell them how much money you want to make your suffering end.

[nowaysis]

Just tell them how much money you want to make your suffering end.

 

The same has your dog :p

[MSC Cruises USA]

MSC USA, are you saying that I'm lying? Then who were all those groups of people guided by MSC staff (dressed in red like the ones from reception)? I was there by the infinity pool. They were showing the ship to groups of people. Those people were taking notes and some of them even interviewed some passengers!

 

Sorry for the confusion. While no travel agents were onboard on November 19th, there were a few guided tours with employees from the USA office in order for our team to familiarize themselves with the ship. We apologize if this took away from your experience at all. Again, we'd like invite you to send an email to our Customer Service department at customer-srvc@msccruisesusa.com with detailed information.

 

Best,

[nowaysis]

Sorry for the confusion. While no travel agents were onboard on November 19th, there were a few guided tours with employees from the USA office in order for our team to familiarize themselves with the ship. We apologize if this took away from your experience at all. Again, we'd like invite you to send an email to our Customer Service department at customer-srvc@msccruisesusa.com with detailed information.

 

Best,

 

Andre schlemmer told us during our cruise critic roll call meeting, there will be 600 guests on board mixed between press & travel agents, and later on during the cruise people was asked to move tables to accommodate them during evening meal time in the MDR, this has become a mockery

[soccerpapi]

This whole situation seems strange and there must be more to the story.

 

I am sorry that the extra day in Miami was used for promotional purposes. I was told that the ship needed to be in Miami for clearance, handling and preparing for the first cruise from the United States. I was told that the guests would not be affected by what needed to be done while the ship was in Miami for the day.

 

It may be after it was decided that for operational reasons that the ship needed to be in Miami a day earlier, MSC sales and marketing team decided to use the ship for other purposes in addition to those that were not to affect the guests.

 

If MSC did inconvenience guests on the transatlantic crossing to accommodate others, this not right. Also, if that was the case, the guests on the transatlantic crossing should have been told that is the reason why the ship came in a day early to Miami.

 

Other than this issue, I hope the guests, especially those here on cruise critic had a nice cruise.

 

Wishing all the future MSC DIVINA guests a great cruise as well.

 

 

soccer

[MSC Cruises USA]

Andre schlemmer told us during our cruise critic roll call meeting, there will be 600 guests on board mixed between press & travel agents, and later on during the cruise people was asked to move tables to accommodate them during evening meal time in the MDR, this has become a mockery

 

Hi Nowaysis,

 

You're correct, there were travel agents and press, but they only boarded on November 20th for the 3-night sailing. We apologize to anyone if they caused any inconvenience and invite you to contact our customer service department at customer-srvc@msccruisesusa.com .

 

Regards,

[sidari]

" I was told that the ship needed to be in Miami for clearance, handling and preparing for the first cruise from the United States."

 

Soccerpapi ... And there in lies the issue! no one at MSC was prepared to stand up and commit themselves and tell people this is why the cruise you booked and paid for is being cut short, ie "so we can take the ship in a day early to promote it while there are no other ships in port that day" instead people were told by E mail (those who received it) that it was so passengers could spend an "Exciting" extra day in Miami!

 

It is little wonder that people are annoyed with them when they cannot be Honest with you just tell you the reason beforehand or were they worried that many would cancel and go elsewhere!

 

As others have said in other threads the Left hand does not know what the Right hand is doing or who is telling who what.

 

One good thing to come out of this shambles is that all future bookings for the Divina will be handled by the Miami office instead of Naples, at least that way there should be no confusion as to which office is running which part and who is doing what.