Grab your Old Drink Packages Now

[citizenfrank]

21 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

You are right, I just called them and the guy I spoke to said they won't be online.

 

He quoted me (South America 8 night)

Classic       @ £320

Deluxe        @ £368

Or of course I can have the new packages at:

Easy           @ £216 ($5 limit)

Premium   @ £344 ($10 limit)

Premium+ @ £408

Go PP @ £408 and enjoy!!

[citizenfrank]

20 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Just did it, booked Deluxe for two, they did not even want payment, they just added it to my invoice. The only reason I did not pull the trigger before was they wanted immediate payment and as my cruise is not until Dec 2019 I was holding off a while.

 

This is where I asked back in September:

 

They confirmed to me I will get everything, Minibar, Gelato, Room service, premium drinks etc etc.

Very happy

 

The only other option would have been Easy and just live on G&T's 🙂

Ziggy ….Who added it to your o/s balance without paying now?

I thought this was not possible????

Thank you

[ziggyuk]

42 minutes ago, citizenfrank said:

Ziggy ….Who added it to your o/s balance without paying now?

I thought this was not possible????

Thank you

 

I called the MSC UK call center, I was expecting to pay as well and even had my credit card ready.

When she finished I even asked her "Don't you need payment?" and she just said it was added to my account. I can only assume that as it's not a current package they can't take payment and have to add it to the invoice.

 

I have to also say I called twice, once to get prices and next to book, both times they knew all about the new booking window and the first thing they did was check my booking date, they are fully clued up on this.

[ziggyuk]

52 minutes ago, citizenfrank said:

Go PP @ £408 and enjoy!!

 

Tempted but I wanted my mini bar, crepes, milkshakes and gelato too much.......

[citizenfrank]

13 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

I called the MSC UK call center, I was expecting to pay as well and even had my credit card ready.

When she finished I even asked her "Don't you need payment?" and she just said it was added to my account. I can only assume that as it's not a current package they can't take payment and have to add it to the invoice.

 

I have to also say I called twice, once to get prices and next to book, both times they knew all about the new booking window and the first thing they did was check my booking date, they are fully clued up on this.

Just called on the 0203 3697 0206 number, straight through! Spoke to a lady who knew exactly what I was talking about, quoted me the pre-Nov/11th date for having made the booking & the 5/12 date for this 'window' ….But then confirmed payment would be required in full TODAY!!! 

[citizenfrank]

13 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Tempted but I wanted my mini bar, crepes, milkshakes and gelato too much.......

Mini bar included in new PP but none of the others it seems!

I'm still hoping for Venchi products if I have to go PP on Seaview.

[sidari]

Chris B ... To upgrade from Classic to Deluxe was £6 pp pd for cruises out of the USA and the same price we paid last Xmas and in April on both Seaside cruises, the difference in Europe is much higher due to the lower cost of the drink packages.

Edited November 22, 2018 by sidari

[sidari]

Frank ... When is your cruise ? if it is soon then yes they would ask for full payment or if you have made the final payment for your cruise. Mini bar and Gelato still included for Deluxe.

[ChrisB66]

34 minutes ago, sidari said:

Chris B ... To upgrade from Classic to Deluxe was £6 pp pd for cruises out of the USA and the same price we paid last Xmas and in April on both Seaside cruises, the difference in Europe is much higher due to the lower cost of the drink packages.

Thanks Sidari,   Yesh my upgrade for Seaside next month was €7 pppd.  Next year we're in Dubai on Bellissma and the upgrade is €24pppd. Was expecting the sane €7 so was a little shocked at first.  

[citizenfrank]

21 minutes ago, sidari said:

Frank ... When is your cruise ? if it is soon then yes they would ask for full payment or if you have made the final payment for your cruise. Mini bar and Gelato still included for Deluxe.

2/4/19. Just called back. Different lady (English) & had same information but she COULD add it to the invoice to be paid late Jan 2019!!!!

[citizenfrank]

This is getting more & more nuts by the hour.

Using my best regional UK accents I have now called four times & seem to be getting a very consistent story about the dates 11/11/18 to 05/12/18 'window', adding the old packages is then added to your invoice to be paid at final payment date etc.

But the prices are crazy!

For my repo cruise the new PP is £51 + £51 + £13 per day x11 days = £1265

The 'old' Deluxe is being quoted as £385 per adult & £165 for my son = £935 !!!

I have asked three times & this is the price quoted ….something wrong???  

[sidari]

Welcome to the crazy world of MSC.

[ziggyuk]

3 hours ago, citizenfrank said:

This is getting more & more nuts by the hour.

Using my best regional UK accents I have now called four times & seem to be getting a very consistent story about the dates 11/11/18 to 05/12/18 'window', adding the old packages is then added to your invoice to be paid at final payment date etc.

But the prices are crazy!

For my repo cruise the new PP is £51 + £51 + £13 per day x11 days = £1265

The 'old' Deluxe is being quoted as £385 per adult & £165 for my son = £935 !!!

I have asked three times & this is the price quoted ….something wrong???  

 

Yours is £35 a day for Deluxe which does not match any of the old prices, mine was £46 but I knew South America was more expensive and at 8 days we were one day short of getting the £37 price.

Do MSC not call repositioning Grand Voyages? If so those are listed at £37.

 

These were the old prices:

 

REGION	PACKAGE	ADULT (UP TO 8 NIGHTS)	ADULT (9+ NIGHT)	CHILD (UP TO 8 NIGHTS)	CHILD (9+ NIGHT)
Mediterranean - Northern Europe - Dubai, Abu Dhabi & India	All-Inclusive Restaurant & Bar Drinks Package	£24 / night	£19 / night	£11 / night	£9 / night
Cuba, Caribbean & Southern Caribbean - United States & Canada - South America	All-Inclusive Classic Drinks Package	£40 / night	£32 / night	£19 / night	£15 / night
Grand Voyages - Mediterranean - Northern Europe - Cuba, Caribbean & Southern Caribbean - United States & Canada - Dubai, Abu Dhabi & India - South America	All-Inclusive Deluxe Drinks Package	£46 / night	£37 / night	£19 / night	£15 / night

[livingis2me]

On 11/21/2018 at 10:46 AM, FGJones said:

I just called the US call center again and spoke with a woman named Marilyn.  She stated that starting Monday existing Drinks On Us package holders will be able to upgrade to the old plans but the only option for someone with no drink package is the new plans regardless of when you booked.  

It will be interesting to see if the Reps from the U.S. Call Center are properly trained to handle this (or if they are even aware).  I'd planned on upgrading my Classic package that was part of the Aurea Experience that I booked for the Seaside in January.  I want to upgrade to the Deluxe package to take advantage of the mini bar and those Venchi drinks.  Hopefully the upgrade will still be $56 or so for our 7 night cruise.

[sidari]

L.I.M ... The US are supposed to have until December 6th to change their bookings, someone posted recently that Venchi was not included but things seem to change day to day.

[livingis2me]

6 minutes ago, sidari said:

L.I.M ... The US are supposed to have until December 6th to change their bookings, someone posted recently that Venchi was not included but things seem to change day to day.

I've seen it posted that Venchi was not included. MSC even emailed me and claimed that the gelato in Venchi was never included with the Classic package.  However, I've watched several Vlogs and video reviews of people using their Classic to get cups of gelato from Venchi.  I've seen several where people used their Deluxe package to get the ice cream bars and those fancy chocolate martinis from Venchi. They may have changed things, but they were certainly included at some point.

[sidari]

Yes we had a good few Chocolate Martini's and the Gelato bars from the Aft bar with our Deluxe package, I get the feeling that the drinks packages are being turned into just that.

[Nunagoras]

MSC: Vão levar no cú!... 🙂

 

Portuguese vernacular to tell MSC that they need to take... Well... Where they deserve!... Forgive me moderators. Well At least it is in Portuguese language!... 🙂

 

@Sidari: Of coures Things are changing day to day!... And they will change even more!... 🙂

[citizenfrank]

14 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Yours is £35 a day for Deluxe which does not match any of the old prices, mine was £46 but I knew South America was more expensive and at 8 days we were one day short of getting the £37 price.

Do MSC not call repositioning Grand Voyages? If so those are listed at £37.

 

These were the old prices:

 

REGION	PACKAGE	ADULT (UP TO 8 NIGHTS)	ADULT (9+ NIGHT)	CHILD (UP TO 8 NIGHTS)	CHILD (9+ NIGHT)
Mediterranean - Northern Europe - Dubai, Abu Dhabi & India	All-Inclusive Restaurant & Bar Drinks Package	£24 / night	£19 / night	£11 / night	£9 / night
Cuba, Caribbean & Southern Caribbean - United States & Canada - South America	All-Inclusive Classic Drinks Package	£40 / night	£32 / night	£19 / night	£15 / night
Grand Voyages - Mediterranean - Northern Europe - Cuba, Caribbean & Southern Caribbean - United States & Canada - Dubai, Abu Dhabi & India - South America	All-Inclusive Deluxe Drinks Package	£46 / night	£37 / night	£19 / night	£15 / night

Spoke to another girl today, a 'homeworker'. The notes had been saved on the system so I booked it! Sorted! Gelato remains alive 7 well lol. She could not explain the price, merely that it was £385 + £385 + £165 = £935 total & payable with the balance. Waiting for an email confirmation.

She then spoke in detail of how MSC knew they had to bring their drink package prices up in line with the rest of the industry, she quoted RCI as an example. That the MD was aware of the situation & perception of the old packages as being 'too cheap'. Equally that they had listened to the early cries & feedback following the new packages being launched & acted with the 'amnesty' currently in place until 5/12/2018. She stressed that their directive was that following this date only the new packages would be offered & without exception.

It would seem from the chat that they are all to familiar with CC conversations & opinions as a business, to this I responded by saying that as a business in the twentieth century they need to be as understanding your customers is critical.

I then left her to her day & possibly thinking "I hope they are not all that chatty & nosey today" lol

Still no email!!!!!!  

[FGJones]

45 minutes ago, citizenfrank said:

Equally that they had listened to the early cries & feedback following the new packages being launched & acted with the 'amnesty' currently in place until 5/12/2018. She stressed that their directive was that following this date only the new packages would be offered & without exception.  

 

Can you say more about this? 

 

What did you take her to mean by this?

[citizenfrank]

1 hour ago, FGJones said:

 

Can you say more about this? 

 

What did you take her to mean by this?

The girl on the phone this morning & to be fair another one late yesterday both, without prompting from me, eluded to the facts that....

1. MSC were aware that 'old' drinks packages were to cheap

2. That their customers knew this against the market

3. That sites like CC enable senior management to gain a true understanding of this

4. Their aim with this is to fall in line with other providers ….RCI quoted

5. They were aware of the initial fightback from customers on sites like CC

6. That this window of opportunity was decided to retain face amongst loyal customers

7. Both girls displayed to me that as a business they are very sure of their position in the marketplace & where their value lays

[ziggyuk]

3 hours ago, citizenfrank said:

She stressed that their directive was that following this date only the new packages would be offered & without exception.

 

The problem is CC represents just a small fraction of those sailing and they have not relayed the 'amnesty' to their customers.

 

I myself sent several emails to them before the 'amnesty' stating my displeasure and directing them to read comment on CC to gauge feeling, you would think they would follow up my emails to state there is an 'amnesty', but no, the last email said:

 

"All our prices are always subject to availability at the time of booking, these additional items can be withdrawn at any time and without notice. This is fairly standard procedure in the travel industry. We are sincerely sorry to disappoint but the old package cannot be reinstated."

 

l only discovered the price increase because I went to pay the package when I got home from my NCL cruise, I could so easily have missed the changes for months, advice on here was that prices change about April when the new catalogue comes out, ordinarily I would not have tried to pay until the new year (I was simply trying to get my Amex balance up for a bonus).

 

The point being, the majority of customers don't even know about the short amnesty.

[citizenfrank]

10 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

The problem is CC represents just a small fraction of those sailing and they have not relayed the 'amnesty' to their customers.

 

I myself sent several emails to them before the 'amnesty' stating my displeasure and directing them to read comment on CC to gauge feeling, you would think they would follow up my emails to state there is an 'amnesty', but no, the last email said:

 

"All our prices are always subject to availability at the time of booking, these additional items can be withdrawn at any time and without notice. This is fairly standard procedure in the travel industry. We are sincerely sorry to disappoint but the old package cannot be reinstated."

 

l only discovered the price increase because I went to pay the package when I got home from my NCL cruise, I could so easily have missed the changes for months, advice on here was that prices change about April when the new catalogue comes out, ordinarily I would not have tried to pay until the new year (I was simply trying to get my Amex balance up for a bonus).

 

The point being, the majority of customers don't even know about the short amnesty.

Absolutely ….I'm grateful to this thread, yourself & Sidari for getting my attention to it.

I was always going to get the drinks package. 100% PP & try to forget about crepes, gelato & milkshakes (I was still hoping that Venchi items would be included!). But now the deluxe package that I've only just sailed with on Fantasia will include the gelato & milkshakes, mini bar, room service & is a LOT less in price so I'm happy!

[FGJones]

 

 

Deleted

Edited November 23, 2018 by FGJones

[sidari]

Frank ... MSC now employ ex RCI staff hence the Prices Increases, In September the one and only drink package available on our Voyager of the seas cruise out of Singapore was the All Inclusive at £33 pp pd.

 

FG ... You and everyone else has until December 5th 2018 to order or change their drink packages for cruises that were booked before November 11th 2018.

Edited November 23, 2018 by sidari