Currently on the Armonia - Captain just announced we will not be docking in Havana 😢

[travelingtink]

15 hours ago, Jallo said:

I've noticed that the arrival time in Roatan is suddenly showing as 12.00 noon (previously showed as midnight). The departure time is 6.00pm.  Is this definitely correct as hardly time to get off the ship. By the time you get off (which could easily be 1.00pm) you'll have  very little time as presumably you'll have an embarkation time of approximately 5.00pm for a departure at 6.00pm.

If this is the correct timings - poor show MSC!

Below is what was showing as the original itinerary/timings (obviously still had Cuba showing at that time)

 

 

 

 

 

I've noticed that MSC often mixes up noon and midnight. 

But Roatan is typically a noon arrival with 6 hours in port. 

[BermudaBound2014]

40 minutes ago, sidari said:

I think you will find Carnival gave the least along with Virgin at $66!  Any more complaints ?

 

Do you have a reference for this?  Maybe it's different for cruisers coming from Europe, but I believe Carnival offered 100% cancellation with no penalty. That's more important than any OBC that any line could offer since OBC has zero cash value.

 

Virgin is a brand new ship that isn't even scheduled to start sailing into Cuba for over a year so I'm not sure how they apply since everyone can cancel for a full refund already.

[sidari]

From what I've seen Carnival offered $50 OBC to those who continued with their booking and 100 for a future cruise to those who cancelled, if they have upped their offer since then all well and good.

Two people we have sailed with were offered $66 by Virgin as OBC if they continued with their booking, they also have 50% off with another company and on their third booking with Azamara they were told they could choose any other cruise but had to keep the same level of cabin and at no extra cost as well as keeping their $500 OBC.

[Jellyfish21]

Don’t think that they are giving 400obc, that’s misleading . That figure INCLUDES refund of Cuba port fees!!!

They have to refund that by law anyhow, but why not add that money to the “$400 obc” number to sound more generous?

Call it like it is- $260 obc plus refund of port fees.

[sidari]

Have you actually asked if that is the case or are you just guessing at the figures ?

[Até]

Won't there be new port fees from the new stops?  It's not like all the Havana port time is being spent at sea.

[OceansOfTravels]

To the OP, do you remember whether or not they were televising the Fifa WWC games or not? We go on the 17th and we're wondering if we'll be able to catch some games.

[travelingtink]

1 hour ago, OceansOfTravels said:

To the OP, do you remember whether or not they were televising the Fifa WWC games or not? We go on the 17th and we're wondering if we'll be able to catch some games.

 

There were soccer games on almost constantly in the pub. I'm not a fan so I have no idea what games they were. I was just happy to see the basketball finals being shown one night. 

[Epos Man]

On 6/13/2019 at 12:13 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Do you have a reference for this?  Maybe it's different for cruisers coming from Europe, but I believe Carnival offered 100% cancellation with no penalty. That's more important than any OBC that any line could offer since OBC has zero cash value.

 

Virgin is a brand new ship that isn't even scheduled to start sailing into Cuba for over a year so I'm not sure how they apply since everyone can cancel for a full refund already.

 

 

The OBC from MSC if you don't use it is refunded to you so there is a cash value in this situation

[Jellyfish21]

4 hours ago, sidari said:

Have you actually asked if that is the case or are you just guessing at the figures ?

I’m going by memory on the Cuba port charges.

Guest relations desk told us the refund of our port fees is part of our $400obc.

[sfaaa]

2 hours ago, Jellyfish21 said:

I’m going by memory on the Cuba port charges.

Guest relations desk told us the refund of our port fees is part of our $400obc.

You also saved $75 visa fee pp by not going to Cuba. Regardless on how you crunch your numbers, you probably would still come out ahead when combining this with your refundable $400 OBC.

[rwdtgb]

On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 7:13 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Do you have a reference for this?  Maybe it's different for cruisers coming from Europe, but I believe Carnival offered 100% cancellation with no penalty. That's more important than any OBC that any line could offer since OBC has zero cash value.

 

Virgin is a brand new ship that isn't even scheduled to start sailing into Cuba for over a year so I'm not sure how they apply since everyone can cancel for a full refund already.

Actually the $400.00 credit does have a cash value if not used you get a refund at the end of the cruise...

[Jayhawk]

23 hours ago, travelingtink said:

 

There were soccer games on almost constantly in the pub. I'm not a fan so I have no idea what games they were. I was just happy to see the basketball finals being shown one night. 

FYI, NBA championship game was being played on every TV in every location, including casino the other night. You couldn't have missed it 🙂 .

[Jayhawk]

On 6/11/2019 at 1:40 PM, travelingtink said:

Sorry for being MIA. I just decided to disconnect, ignore the 'real' world and enjoy my time away from home. 

 

MSC updated the credit to $400 per stateroom. It was nonrefundable and had to be used for onboard charges (bar, service fees, shopping) or excursions. I visited my friends at Effy and got the earrings I had been eyeing.

 

There was also a lot of confusion for those that had booked MSC excursions for Cuba. My tablemates were told different answers every time. Sadly I didn't collect any contact information to find out how it all played out. I interpreted the letter as stating that MSC would refund the excursion cost and provide an additional $100. Some people were told that the $100 was to cover the cost of the cancelled excursion so this was in a sense their 'refund'. Others were told that only the 'people to people' excursions qualified for this money. Some were told it had to be spent on MSC, like the onboard credits. And others were told they would be handed $100 in cash when disembarking. 

 

A staged protest happened on Sunday night. A large group traveling I believe from Puerto Rico had gathered signatures but I never took the time to try to understand what they were seeking. A table mate stated they heard it was due to us only receiving the $400 credit, while other lines were providing actual refunds rather than money that had to stay with MSC.  On Sunday evening they gathered near Guest Services to state their demands. I overheard that things got very heated, but when I was there watching everyone was peaceful. It seemed like all the officers were there, but not the captain, and several of the security personnel. I heard one woman make a statement (while many many people recorded it, you might be able to find it posted somewhere). One of the officers gave a response, there were a few questions, then it pretty much ended. This was all in Spanish so I have no idea what was said. I did hear, in English, at the tail end, the officer stated MSC would follow up with anyone who had signed the list. 

 

 

There were more games/activities on the pool deck during the sea day. They created an MSC Festival which was basically a ploy to get us drunk so we would forget lol. They had free flowing beers, rum punch, white and red sangrias and bananas foster (minus the flambe). It was supposed to run for 1 hour but they started pouring early so we had 90 minutes of free drinks. 

 

They brought on some Italian performers Saturday night to replace the Cuban dancers and had 3 show times to accommodate everyone. I did not see the show so I can't comment on it. 

We are having Italian dancers tonight as well (Saturday night)...there were supposed to be Cuban dancers 😞 ? 

I wonder if we'll have free drinks tomorrow, that would be nice. 

The power went out the day we went to Jamaica, which made for a rough start. (Unless you got on the ship in the first 15 minutes or had a ship tour, you were stuck for well over an hour as the internet was down and they couldn't scan people out.)  This poor ship staff....

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by Jayhawk

[Jayhawk]

On 6/12/2019 at 5:01 PM, Jellyfish21 said:

Just arrived back from Jamaica , for getting off late ( we waited 1 hour to get off due to their system being down,that’s one hour less at our all inclusive)

We got paper saying because of that, we will $100 per cabin obc next cruise.

Seriously? Why would anyone want to sail MSc again?

 

all pools closed on day 1?

check

old, crowded ship?

check

give least amount of compensation for missing Cuba of all lines?

check

lousy food? 

Check

no electricity in cabin and part of ship for most of morning?

check

lost hour in Jamaica waiting in dark, hot line for one hour because no internet or electricity

check

most cruises have lobster and prime rib formal night, MSC Armpitia had small portion of mediocre “lobster “ravioli and “ beef tornedos”

No, not as good as a tail and a slice of prime rib, but it’s cheaper, and I’m sure someone will give an anecdote about they like it better.

They had a small lobster tail last night.  That was a slight surprise as I wasn't expecting any.  That said, what was up with only TWO ravioli per entree?  The lobster can't be THAT expensive 🙂 .  Yes, there have been issues, I was REALLY mad about Jamaica, worrying we'd miss our private excursion (our guy waited nearly 2 hours for us).  But it worked out ok.  Everyone has been super nice, and the cruise was economically priced.

[OceansOfTravels]

9 minutes ago, Jayhawk said:

FYI, NBA championship game was being played on every TV in every location, including casino the other night. You couldn't have missed it 🙂 .

 

Do you have any information on my original question that this poster was responding to, which was whether or not they were showcasing Fifa WWC games? The games usually start around 9AM, 12PM and 3PM, so did you notice any women's soccer matches on while walking past the sports bar or casino or? It's okay if you don't remember, I'm just asking! :)

[Beamafar]

17 minutes ago, Jayhawk said:

We are having Italian dancers tonight as well (Saturday night)...there were supposed to be Cuban dancers 😞 ?

 

 

The Cuban dancers would have boarded in Havana for the evening.  That, obviously, can't happen now.

[Jayhawk]

3 hours ago, OceansOfTravels said:

 

Do you have any information on my original question that this poster was responding to, which was whether or not they were showcasing Fifa WWC games? The games usually start around 9AM, 12PM and 3PM, so did you notice any women's soccer matches on while walking past the sports bar or casino or? It's okay if you don't remember, I'm just asking! 🙂

I haven't...we've been on excursions most days.  We'll be at sea tomorrow so if I notice women's soccer as I walk by, I'll post 🙂 .

[Jayhawk]

22 hours ago, Jayhawk said:

I haven't...we've been on excursions most days.  We'll be at sea tomorrow so if I notice women's soccer as I walk by, I'll post 🙂 .

I walked by today at 3 p.m. and saw women's baseball and car racing.  I would be if you ask they'd put it on, or you could ask MSC as well??