Cuba.....uh, oh.

[sidari]

Sounds like the T.A has maybe not contacted MSC at all, either that or MSC have said it has not been changed yet! There is no way that the cruise is going to Cuba.

[deniseatnycs]

7 hours ago, sidari said:

Sounds like the T.A has maybe not contacted MSC at all, either that or MSC have said it has not been changed yet! There is no way that the cruise is going to Cuba.

 

Its all very odd!  I have told them there is absolutely no way MSC are to be able to continue  cruising to Cuba from Miami and the reply 

"I have just checked for you and there are still no changes to your sailing.  Not all Companies are having to cancel Cuba.  Some MSC ones that have been booked in the U.K. and Europe are okay to travel"

 

 

[sidari]

If they believe that then they need to get upto date! Maybe you could ask which companies are still going.

[sidari]

Here is a link to the MSC USA website with new itineraries upto December, I know your`s is not yet covered but it might be worth keeping a check on it for updated information.

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/About-MSC/News/MSC-Cruises-Cuba-Update.aspx

[deniseatnycs]

Thank you Sidari   I have been trying to work it out but I suppose I will really have to wait until they contact us.   Booked through the U.K. so no refund of deposit if we cancel. 

 

Like most we have "done" the Caribbean, and having sailed  on the Opera in April we would prefer another ship than the Armonia now we are not going to Havana .

Although our flights are booked we could make the Mergavillia on the 12th January which we would prefer if the itinerary is similar. 

 

Hopefully, some news soon and thanks again

 

 

 

Denise

[DCGuy64]

Started looking at other options for our cruise in December now that Havana is off the list. It's hard to justify the higher price on the Armonia now that Cuba is a no-go. My TA suggested Meraviglia as an option. It sails to different ports and would cost about $250 less than Armonia (although obviously without the $400 OBC offer that Armonia would give us). But it's a larger and newer ship. Also, he pointed out that Armonia's new itinerary would make it almost the same as the Seaside's, which we sailed last year. I think I'll research the Meraviglia on here and see if it's a good alternative. We are also considering other cruise lines, since with 90 days to go before our final payment, we could cancel any time and get our deposits back. 

[emerald6273]

17 hours ago, sidari said:

Here is a link to the MSC USA website with new itineraries upto December, I know your`s is not yet covered but it might be worth keeping a check on it for updated information.

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/About-MSC/News/MSC-Cruises-Cuba-Update.aspx

MSC UK and MSC USA don't seem to be communicating!. I eventually got speaking to MSC UK `Operations Team' today who I've been told are dealing with enquiries relating to the Cuba sailings.  The person I spoke to from the MSC UK team was totally unaware that MSC USA have now posted revised Cuba itineraries up until December 2019.  UK office only aware of itineraries up to August 2019.  It's frustrating that MSC themselves don't seem to communicate with each other. What hope is there for us passengers.

[Bollinge]

If you scroll to the very bottom of the MSC UK website, and look under ‘News’ you will see that the revised Armonia itineraries have been there since yesterday.

 

No-one from MSC or the travel agent has been in touch with me to tell me this, or to advise cancellation/compensation options for our September cruise.

 

I suppose they will get around to it eventually...

[emerald6273]

1 minute ago, Bollinge said:

If you scroll to the very bottom of the MSC UK website, and look under ‘News’ you will see that the revised Armonia itineraries have been there since yesterday.

 

No-one from MSC or the travel agent has been in touch with me to tell me this, or to advise cancellation/compensation options for our September cruise.

 

I suppose they will get around to it eventually...

The MSC Operations Team informed me that all letters/emails had been sent out to affected passengers.  You might want to consider getting in touch with them or emailing.  I had initially emailed Operations Team at Operationsuk@msccruises.co.uk but received reply from emergencyuk@msccruises.co.uk. 

[CTurtlelvr]

17 minutes ago, harv2015 said:

MSC UK and MSC USA don't seem to be communicating!. I eventually got speaking to MSC UK `Operations Team' today who I've been told are dealing with enquiries relating to the Cuba sailings.  The person I spoke to from the MSC UK team was totally unaware that MSC USA have now posted revised Cuba itineraries up until December 2019.  UK office only aware of itineraries up to August 2019.  It's frustrating that MSC themselves don't seem to communicate with each other. What hope is there for us passengers.

 

I have not received a single email from MSC or my TA.  We sail July 29 and the only reason I am up-to-date is this forum.  TA literally 'just' sent me an email to get my SIL to do the online check in, but nothing else. And, my last question to him in May was, what is going to happen if they drop Cuba from itinerary? 

[Bollinge]

12 minutes ago, harv2015 said:

You might want to consider getting in touch with them or emailing.  I had initially emailed Operations Team at Operationsuk@msccruises.co.uk but received reply from emergencyuk@msccruises.co.uk. 

Why should I bother?

I already know the (disappointing) new itinerary - which is currently showing on some US Travel Agents’ websites - but not on my own MSC cruise planner, as according to that, we are still going to Havana!

I would just like to see in black and white that we will get 2 x $400 compo and 2 x Black Card perks as we are doing a fourteen-day back-to-back.

[emerald6273]

1 minute ago, Bollinge said:

Why should I bother?

I already know the (disappointing) new itinerary - which is currently showing on some US Travel Agents’ websites - but not on my own MSC cruise planner, as according to that, we are still going to Havana!

I would just like to see in black and white that we will get 2 x $400 compo and 2 x Black Card perks as we are doing a fourteen-day back-to-back.

Bollinge , I can appreciate your disappointment as by this stage you will have made all your travel arrangements including the transatlantic flights.   I know how I'm feeling about the prospect of a 7 day sailing on a older ship doing the same ports I've done many times before. A 14 day back to back is a lot longer.  Really hope you get 2 x $400 for a start.  You deserve a whole lot more. 

[CruisingFox27]

We've completed a complete u-turn! We didn't want an alternative week on Armonia, just doing Caribbean islands we've been to before, as nice as they are. However, due to other bookings and things we will be doing next year, it was going to be difficult to plan to another cruise elsewhere at this point.

 

We've therefore decided to have a nice relaxing week at sea, enjoying the sunshine. We booked Armonia for Cuba and as sunshine holiday following our New York and Canada trip on Meraviglia. For the same price we've moved to a Seaside sailing. The ports aren't really of interest as such and we're primarily itinerary cruisers, we're treating it as a hotel at sea for the week. As hotels go, it's a very nice one 😁We have looked at sailings on Seaside and Seaview but the itineraries didn't appeal for a stand alone holiday but this way it's the best of both worlds. I'm still not happy with Donald but I'm really looking forward to it now. 

 

And I have to say that the lady I dealt with at MSC UK operations was superb, very helpful and had everything sorted very quickly. 

[emerald6273]

36 minutes ago, CruisingFox27 said:

We've completed a complete u-turn! We didn't want an alternative week on Armonia, just doing Caribbean islands we've been to before, as nice as they are. However, due to other bookings and things we will be doing next year, it was going to be difficult to plan to another cruise elsewhere at this point.

 

We've therefore decided to have a nice relaxing week at sea, enjoying the sunshine. We booked Armonia for Cuba and as sunshine holiday following our New York and Canada trip on Meraviglia. For the same price we've moved to a Seaside sailing. The ports aren't really of interest as such and we're primarily itinerary cruisers, we're treating it as a hotel at sea for the week. As hotels go, it's a very nice one 😁We have looked at sailings on Seaside and Seaview but the itineraries didn't appeal for a stand alone holiday but this way it's the best of both worlds. I'm still not happy with Donald but I'm really looking forward to it now. 

 

And I have to say that the lady I dealt with at MSC UK operations was superb, very helpful and had everything sorted very quickly. 

I would like to move to Seaside but it's working out more expensive than Armonia. It's disappointing not to be sailing to Cuba and I'm definitely not paying more to sail on Seaside for similar itinerary on Armonia. Glad it worked out for you to change ships.

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

We've completed a complete u-turn! We didn't want an alternative week on Armonia, just doing Caribbean islands we've been to before, as nice as they are. However, due to other bookings and things we will be doing next year, it was going to be difficult to plan to another cruise elsewhere at this point.

 

We've therefore decided to have a nice relaxing week at sea, enjoying the sunshine. We booked Armonia for Cuba and as sunshine holiday following our New York and Canada trip on Meraviglia. For the same price we've moved to a Seaside sailing. The ports aren't really of interest as such and we're primarily itinerary cruisers, we're treating it as a hotel at sea for the week. As hotels go, it's a very nice one 😁We have looked at sailings on Seaside and Seaview but the itineraries didn't appeal for a stand alone holiday but this way it's the best of both worlds. I'm still not happy with Donald but I'm really looking forward to it now. 

 

And I have to say that the lady I dealt with at MSC UK operations was superb, very helpful and had everything sorted very quickly. 

Hi, CF. That’s funny, we were/are booked on the Armonia but will cancel at some point. When Cuba was knocked off the itinerary (which was our only reason for booking that cruise), it suddenly didn’t make sense to pay what it cost and not go to the one destination that mattered. But the irony is (as I’ve shared elsewhere on here) that we can now sail in the Yacht Club on the Meraviglia for just slightly more than the cost of our cabin on the Armonia. Our TA pointed out that Armonia’s altered itinerary made it identical to the Seaside’s that we took last year. So with Meraviglia we get: a better itinerary for us, a nicer cabin and a bigger and newer ship than the Armonia. I hope you like the Seaside-we sure did! I went to the Aurea spa many times and loved it. I also enjoyed the gelato, the News Café and the Champagne Bar. Oh and the water slides. I may be 55 but I’m a total kid at heart! 

[CruisingFox27]

1 hour ago, harv2015 said:

I would like to move to Seaside but it's working out more expensive than Armonia. It's disappointing not to be sailing to Cuba and I'm definitely not paying more to sail on Seaside for similar itinerary on Armonia. Glad it worked out for you to change ships.

If we'd retained the same cabin category it would've worked out a bit less for us, as we did book Armonia as a VC sailing at a great price, with Premium drinks included. Another significant factor in our booking.

 

I did note our sailing date for Seaside does have competitive prices - base price for a Bella interior most other weeks is at least £120pp more.

[jes1941]

1 hour ago, harv2015 said:

I would like to move to Seaside but it's working out more expensive than Armonia. It's disappointing not to be sailing to Cuba and I'm definitely not paying more to sail on Seaside for similar itinerary on Armonia. Glad it worked out for you to change ships.

We really enjoyed our Seaside sailing 5/11. Puerto Rico was amazing and we enjoyed the evening walking tour with the beautiful sunset; we have been to the other ports more than once so at times it was "a hotel at sea!"  We sailed to Havana twice last year and would have gone again..it is so unfortunate for those of you who had planned this trip for that opportunity 😕

Edited June 14, 2019 by jes1941
Additional information

[CruisingFox27]

DC, there are a couple of Meraviglia itineraries that did appeal but unfortunately the dates don't match up for us, the bonus of the Armonia now Seaside sailing being that we are already stateside so no additional transatlantic flights. I'm sure we'll love it - I do like a waterslide myself 😀

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, CruisingFox27 said:

DC, there are a couple of Meraviglia itineraries that did appeal but unfortunately the dates don't match up for us, the bonus of the Armonia now Seaside sailing being that we are already stateside so no additional transatlantic flights. I'm sure we'll love it - I do like a waterslide myself 😀

Speaking of that, we were somewhat limited in our options because we'd already booked our flights (nonrefundable, of course) and it would've been expensive to change. Fortunately, the Meraviglia was a good fit (as would the Seaside have been). I'm excited for you, the Seaside is such a beautiful ship!! Supposedly the shows are good, we only made it to one because the best time for us was always sold out. 

[emerald6273]

4 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

If we'd retained the same cabin category it would've worked out a bit less for us, as we did book Armonia as a VC sailing at a great price, with Premium drinks included. Another significant factor in our booking.

 

I did note our sailing date for Seaside does have competitive prices - base price for a Bella interior most other weeks is at least £120pp more.

I could sail in a Seaside Inside YC for just a bit more than an Aurea Balcony on Armonia. Never sailed in an inside before in 15 cruises. Yacht Club sounds good.

[Jayhawk]

On 6/7/2019 at 3:52 PM, Jayhawk said:

Usually more money... better in recent years but used to be bigger difference.  Plus there are 4 of us so adds up. Generally smaller and more personal.  If I was in a country where I war concerned about security or time I would do avoid ship tour.

We are doing the close ruins and lunch with a local family through Native choice... although yours sounds very cool.  Next time@

So for comparison, we went to the Chacchoben Ruins. The ship excursion was $89/pp for just a 4 hour trip to the ruins and tour.  We were able to pay $75/pp (so $56 less) for a 5.5 hour tour (only 13 of us in a brand new van with AC) that included a stop in a local village where we helped them make tortillas, and we had a huge lunch meal with local food. We helped grind chocolate, talk to locals, had the kids draw water from a well and toured a small colorful town.  So it was longer, free lunch, extra experience, and less money.  There is a risk but we haven't had an issue.  Native Choice did a really nice job.

[Jordan's Mom]

Heads up if you decide to cancel.  Apparently their system isn't programmed to cancel and refund anything but a $200 deposit.  We got in on the $99 per person deposit and my TA had to call MSC to cancel the cruise.  The MSC agent had to do a system override to get back the extra $101.00, so 2 refunds are being posted.

 

We decided to just fly into Havana and do AirBnB instead.  We are strictly following the letter of the US law and making sure we follow all of the rules for Support of the Cuban people visa/tourist card. 

 

American currently has 5 nonstop flights MIA-Havana, so we will match it up with our arrival flights into Miami and just stay a few days in Miami after Havana.

[sidari]

On 6/11/2019 at 4:40 PM, Bollinge said:

Why should I bother?

I already know the (disappointing) new itinerary - which is currently showing on some US Travel Agents’ websites - but not on my own MSC cruise planner, as according to that, we are still going to Havana!

I would just like to see in black and white that we will get 2 x $400 compo and 2 x Black Card perks as we are doing a fourteen-day back-to-back.

Did you get an answer re the 2 X $400 ?

[abbeytravelstheworld]

We are on on board now doing a back to back and yes it's x2 $400 OBC. 

[mwhite991]

14 minutes ago, abbeytravelstheworld said:

We are on on board now doing a back to back and yes it's x2 $400 OBC. 

When I spoke with them today they stated I would only get $400 for my 2 week cruise because I only have one confirmation number. They told me if I had purchased 2 7 day cruises ,I would be entitled to the $800. Uggh