MSC Bad Excursion

[Mrmi6ke]

 

While on the MSC Cruise from Miami to Rome one of the stops was Naples. We took a ship excursion to Capri, billed as a 5 1/2 hour visit. The cost was $109/per person. What we got was a tour operator that was unprepared and not organized. At one point my wife and I went to use the restroom, when we came out the group and the guide were gone. I would say that of the 5 1/2 hours for the excursion we probably got a little over one hour of actual time to see the island. The rest of the time was spent going to the island, waiting for a mini bus, traveling on the mini bus, going back to the mainland. We had to get back on the boat going to the mainland at 1:40. At 1:36 we were dropped off and had to run for the boat. Not everyone got on the boat, some had to wait for a later time.

 

When we returned to the ship we spoke with the crew at the Excursions Desk and their response was, "fill out this form, turn it in to us, we will send it to the tour operator and see what they say". As this was the next to last day of the cruise I was obviously not going to get an answer or my money back before leaving the ship. As there were already other complaints about the tour, you would think MSC would be more cooperative when asked for a refund.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Mrmi6ke

[resstation]

Sorry for your trouble, but I doubt you'll get any money back. If you had looked at a map you would have seen that it would take about 2 hours to drive from Naples to Capri. When the times are listed, they include travel time. So, you did get what you paid for - but next time be sure to research the distances. I only recently became well aware of this because when our cruise stops in La Spezia, the cruise line has a tour to Florence available. So you would think, yes I definitely want to go to Florence! Unfortunately, the drive there is just over 2 hours (over four hours of driving round trip!) NO THANK YOU. We decided we'll go to Cinque Terre and go to Florence another time if we are ever back in Europe.

[Skier52]

 

While on the MSC Cruise from Miami to Rome one of the stops was Naples. We took a ship excursion to Capri, billed as a 5 1/2 hour visit. The cost was $109/per person. What we got was a tour operator that was unprepared and not organized. At one point my wife and I went to use the restroom, when we came out the group and the guide were gone. I would say that of the 5 1/2 hours for the excursion we probably got a little over one hour of actual time to see the island. The rest of the time was spent going to the island, waiting for a mini bus, traveling on the mini bus, going back to the mainland. We had to get back on the boat going to the mainland at 1:40. At 1:36 we were dropped off and had to run for the boat. Not everyone got on the boat, some had to wait for a later time.

 

When we returned to the ship we spoke with the crew at the Excursions Desk and their response was, "fill out this form, turn it in to us, we will send it to the tour operator and see what they say". As this was the next to last day of the cruise I was obviously not going to get an answer or my money back before leaving the ship. As there were already other complaints about the tour, you would think MSC would be more cooperative when asked for a refund.

Did you read the excursion information fully?

 

In my experience they detail travel times in the info as shown in the image of the excursions on one of my recent cruises.

 

Obviosly these times will be required in both directions so a 1hr drive there and a 1hr drive back will mean 3.5hrs in Amsterdam (using the first excusion as an example)

 

 

 

Pete

Edited May 26, 2015 by Skier52

[Mrmi6ke]

The problem with this excursion is not that there was travel time, of course that was expected. Since Capri is an island (you can't drive there!) we expected to take a boat to the island and that would be part of the time, plus the return. What happened while on the island is the problem; poor planning, no organization, and a general cluster f**k. Had they said here's the island, go do what you want and be back here on time, it would have been great.

 

The examples in the Netherlands still leave 3, 4 or 5 hours for the tour, not one hour out of a 5 1/2 hour excursion. Sorry, but in my book that is unacceptable, especially when it is due to the dysfunctional nature of the tour company.

[Beamafar]

I had an excursion to Capri prebooked with MSC for my next cruise but, having read up on just how easy it is to get to the hydrofoil from where the ship docks, I decided to cancel so we can go at our own pace. I'm so glad I did, now!

[Mrmi6ke]

Absolutely! The Hydrofoil is a 5 minute walk from where the ship docked. Next time, I'll tour the island myself.

[Janet&Carl]

Buyer needs to be aware of what is included - you can't be spoon fed individual information on every aspect of your holiday. Take a look here and you will see what I mean :D:D

 

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