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How often does MSC charter out their ships? (=booked passengers are cancelled)

sverigecruiser

By sverigecruiser,
in MSC Cruises

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sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser

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We are ready to book our airline tickets for our cruise in February but first I want to know if it's common that MSC charter out the whole ship and cancel booked cruises. On NCL I know that I shall avoid the Norwegian Pearl because she's often used for charters.

 

We will cruise on the Divina.

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sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser

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They do a weight watchers charter and also the vegan cruise on Divina for sure. And I think there is also a rock charter?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

I was booked the same date as the vegan charter next year but MSC did the right thing and let me move my reservation.

 

What I'm wondering is how often they let someone charter the whole ship and cancel all made bookings.

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GORDONCHICK

GORDONCHICK

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We are ready to book our airline tickets for our cruise in February but first I want to know if it's common that MSC charter out the whole ship and cancel booked cruises. On NCL I know that I shall avoid the Norwegian Pearl because she's often used for charters.

 

We will cruise on the Divina.

NCL used to charter the Pearl, but it depends on the home port of the ship. Since the Pearl was home ported out of NOLA, it wasn't used as the charter ship. The use one out of FL usually.

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marco

marco

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No way to guarantee it, but I'd think for a cruise in February, it would already be under charter. "Whoever" would probably need more than at least 6 or 7 months to sell cabins. I've seen advertisements for a disco cruise charter for an "X" ship sailing in Feb for over a month, already..

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GRANNYOFSIX

GRANNYOFSIX

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We were to sail on the Divina in February 2018 but they had a 1/2 charter of Holistic Vegans cruisers. After much research and the fact that we weren't at final payment, we decided to cancel that cruise. The below link will help you locate some theme cruises......we have been on theme cruises but I heard that if it is a 1/2 charter many venues are closed and the ship mostly caters to the group who chartered.

http://themecruisefinder.com

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marco

marco

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Grannyofsix is right, but unfortunately you rarely, if ever, would know if there is a partial charter. But if there is, they most likely would not canx your reservation. I think they'd only do that if someone wanted to charter the entire ship. We were on a partial charter a few years ago on HAL. Our TA didn't even know it was a partial charter. Fortunately, the only areas that were not available to all passengers were the conference rooms and the main theater (during the day, only). Actually, it worked out pretty well as all of those folks were either in the conference room or the theater and not vying for loungers around the pool. During the evenings, it didn't make any difference, but I guess what the theme of the group is could make a difference.

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sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser

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We were to sail on the Divina in February 2018 but they had a 1/2 charter of Holistic Vegans cruisers. After much research and the fact that we weren't at final payment, we decided to cancel that cruise. The below link will help you locate some theme cruises......we have been on theme cruises but I heard that if it is a 1/2 charter many venues are closed and the ship mostly caters to the group who chartered.

http://themecruisefinder.com

 

I was booked the same date as the Holistic cruise next year but when I told MSC in Sweden about it, yes I told them because they didn't know anything about it, they did the right thing and let me change to another date. I was very clear to them that I shouldn't accept any diffrences from what they promise to deliver during the cruise and I think that's the reason why they let us change the date.

 

Whatever the reason was I'm happy with the customer service MSC in Sweden delivered. I'm not happy that I wasn't informed by MSC about the charter but I don't blame MSC in Sweden for that.

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sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser

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No way to guarantee it, but I'd think for a cruise in February, it would already be under charter. "Whoever" would probably need more than at least 6 or 7 months to sell cabins. I've seen advertisements for a disco cruise charter for an "X" ship sailing in Feb for over a month, already..

 

MSC are good at many things but information is not one of them! It's possible that someone has chartered the whole ship and sell cabins now but MSC haven't told us yet!

 

 

European consumer laws are rather strict so I think that if what I wrote above should happen I have a strong case and MSC are probably forced to pay me for my airline tickets. Just a guess.

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

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FYI - you can check this website to see if the holistic vegan group will be on your sailing:

 

http://www.atasteofhealth.org/

 

Looks like their next partial charter is May 3, 2019 on the Divina.

 

It's March 3rd, actually, which is the cruise the OP was originally booked on.

 

SC ... I've never heard of MSC chartering a whole ship out before and cancelling others' bookings. As has been said, it's unlikely to happen to yours at this stage. I would imagine you're safe enough to go ahead and book your flights.

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sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser

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It's March 3rd, actually, which is the cruise the OP was originally booked on.

 

SC ... I've never heard of MSC chartering a whole ship out before and cancelling others' bookings. As has been said, it's unlikely to happen to yours at this stage. I would imagine you're safe enough to go ahead and book your flights.

 

Thanks Bea,

 

I feel rather safe now so we will book our planetickets next week. The worst case scenario is that we will have to change to a landvacation in Florida, not the worst thing to do!

 

We will use the money we "saved" when we decided to try MSC for our cruise last summer and fly in businessclass. A nice way to start and end the vacation! We will have some Champagne with breakfast on the 7.25 flight from Arlanda to Heathrow!

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

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Thanks Bea,

 

I feel rather safe now so we will book our planetickets next week. The worst case scenario is that we will have to change to a landvacation in Florida, not the worst thing to do!

 

We will use the money we "saved" when we decided to try MSC for our cruise last summer and fly in businessclass. A nice way to start and end the vacation! We will have some Champagne with breakfast on the 7.25 flight from Arlanda to Heathrow!

 

Enjoy, SC ... I raise a (virtual) glass to you 🍸 Skål! :)

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HBJD

HBJD

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It's March 3rd, actually, which is the cruise the OP was originally booked on.

 

SC ... I've never heard of MSC chartering a whole ship out before and cancelling others' bookings. As has been said, it's unlikely to happen to yours at this stage. I would imagine you're safe enough to go ahead and book your flights.

 

Dang, I meant to write March 3rd, thanks for the correction.

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Linda the Book Lover

Linda the Book Lover

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NCL used to charter the Pearl, but it depends on the home port of the ship. Since the Pearl was home ported out of NOLA, it wasn't used as the charter ship. The use one out of FL usually.

 

Sorry but NCL canceled our Pearl cruise for a charter this October. I think it just depends on how much money the cruise company will make for a full charter vs trying to fill a ship.

 

Dear Valued Member,

Thank you for booking your cruise vacation with Member Travel Privileges. With our commitment to delivering an outstanding customer service experience from start to finish, you have made the right choice!

We have received an important Canceled Sailing Notification regarding your Norwegian Cruise Line cruise on the Norwegian Pearl sailing scheduled to depart on October 01, 2018 from Vancouver.

The information from your cruise line can be found below:

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

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phissy

phissy

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Sorry but NCL canceled our Pearl cruise for a charter this October. I think it just depends on how much money the cruise company will make for a full charter vs trying to fill a ship.

 

Dear Valued Member,

Thank you for booking your cruise vacation with Member Travel Privileges. With our commitment to delivering an outstanding customer service experience from start to finish, you have made the right choice!

We have received an important Canceled Sailing Notification regarding your Norwegian Cruise Line cruise on the Norwegian Pearl sailing scheduled to depart on October 01, 2018 from Vancouver.

The information from your cruise line can be found below:

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

I believe this is the x rated cruise many have speculated on NCL boards. Hedonistic Cruise I think they are calling it. Last year, crew members were telling us about the “adventures”onboard on a later cruise.

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sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser

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Probably goes without saying but check the Roll Call for info on the partial charters. The Jazz Fest at Sea group on the Divina Jan 10-20 2019 sailing is about 230 people, with almost no impact on the other passengers.

 

That kind of partial charter is no problem for me.

 

2000 vegans is a completely different thing!

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