The hold music for MSC is horrible.

[Nashna]

Is it me or does the hold music for MSC USA sound like it is underwater?   It is pure torture.  How can we make them change it?

[Cruising89143]

I would be happy if they would just employ more customer service reps so we did not have have to sit on hold forever and listen to that garbage. 

[BermudaBound2014]

Last time I called i suspected the call was going overseas because the connection was off. 

[Nashna]

I believe you are correct.  Fortunately, my husband was on hold for only 20 minutes and they solved his issue!  Our TA had put in his name incorrectly on the reservation and it did not match up with his Voyager number or his passport.  He spoke to three different people and finally got to the right person who performed a miracle and made the change.  BTW...since the TA made that booking, we have made a change in TA companies for good reason.    

[EMc&DrS]

It's been the same annoying music for years.  Had to listen to it for 90 minutes recently--and still didn't get my problem resolved.

[BermudaBound2014]

3 hours ago, Nashna said:

I believe you are correct.  Fortunately, my husband was on hold for only 20 minutes and they solved his issue!  Our TA had put in his name incorrectly on the reservation and it did not match up with his Voyager number or his passport.  He spoke to three different people and finally got to the right person who performed a miracle and made the change.  BTW...since the TA made that booking, we have made a change in TA companies for good reason.    

 

That is a miracle :). Let us know if it reverts back to the incorrect spelling. That was happening several years ago. Changes would be made and then the system would reboot to earlier version. Just letting you know to keep an eye out. Hopefully that issue has been resolved.

[dssking]

...yet somehow, people are still waiting on hold and still booking cruises despite the music.  Shocking.

[kristapb]

I wouldn't care if they played "It's a Small World" nonstop, if I could actually get through to them in under 30  minutes.

 

[mjm2950]

Horrible non existent customer service. I have called multiple times at various hours and nothing but endless holds. I hang up around the hour mark.  Filled out a contact us form 9 days ago and no response. Can't image how poor the actual cruise will be. Likely our first and last MSC cruise in March 2020. Never had problems getting in touch with multiple other cruise lines.

[Nymich]

They should have something that relaxes you while you wait like the MC5 or Abba.

[Nashna]

I really can't complain about their customer service on this call.  In fact, I totally expected that solving my issue would take all morning, so I made sure my schedule allowed for hours on hold.  I was pleasantly surprised to have my issue solved so quickly.  My point is, why have such horrible hold music?  This should be an easy problem to solve. 

[CampNCruise74]

I like it.   My daughter and I think it sounds Disneyesque and magical!!   I leave the speaker on when i am on hold for such long periods of time.   (we all know about those hold times don't we...)

[Cruiser Bruiser]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:00 AM, Nashna said:

Is it me or does the hold music for MSC USA sound like it is underwater?   It is pure torture.  How can we make them change it?

I think you are making light of MSC's notoriously long hold times, but I am going to risk taking you seriously. I love that song, but I agree that the sound quality is poor as the orchestration suffers from too much compression.

On 10/15/2019 at 7:24 PM, Nymich said:

They should have something that relaxes you while you wait like the MC5 or Abba.

Actually, the song is super mellow. They actually play it in the MDR, or they did on Magnifica. It was part of the song rotation on that ship.

On 10/17/2019 at 7:23 AM, CampNCruise74 said:

I like it. My daughter and I think it sounds Disneyesque and magical!! I leave the speaker on when i am on hold for such long periods of time.   (we all know about those hold times don't we...)

Likewise. I'm on hold right now, and I'm multitasking while I listen to the gentle strains of "Mediterranean Moments," which is MSC's theme song. There's a jazzier version in this commercial.

[Fredric22]

On 10/15/2019 at 8:38 PM, mjm2950 said:

Horrible non existent customer service. I have called multiple times at various hours and nothing but endless holds. I hang up around the hour mark.  Filled out a contact us form 9 days ago and no response. Can't image how poor the actual cruise will be. Likely our first and last MSC cruise in March 2020. Never had problems getting in touch with multiple other cruise lines.

I mean this in the nicest way.. but if you are so sure it is going to be a terrible experience, why even bother going?  I would spend my vacation dollars elsewhere with a cruise line you are confident would give you a better experience.  

[Nashna]

15 hours ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

I think you are making light of MSC's notoriously long hold times, but I am going to risk taking you seriously. I love that song, but I agree that the sound quality is poor as the orchestration suffers from too much compression.

Actually, the song is super mellow. They actually play it in the MDR, or they did on Magnifica. It was part of the song rotation on that ship.

Likewise. I'm on hold right now, and I'm multitasking while I listen to the gentle strains of "Mediterranean Moments," which is MSC's theme song. There's a jazzier version in this commercial.

The noise on hold sounds similar to the music on the web site...However, it sounds horribly distorted.  Could it be, as some have stated, that the calls are being transferred out?  

[Cruiser Bruiser]

3 hours ago, Nashna said:

The noise on hold sounds similar to the music on the web site...However, it sounds horribly distorted.  Could it be, as some have stated, that the calls are being transferred out?  

I think it's because the version of MM that's on the phone is highly orchestral and it has a broad aural range (i.e. a lot of high notes, a lot of low notes). When that kind of music is compressed (i.e. reduced to an MP3 or other digital format) and then delivered via a digital channel like a cell phone (which has its own effects on quality) the quality of the sound is reduced substantially.

 

The agent that answered my call yesterday was clearly in the US based on her accent.

[Nashna]

2 hours ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

I think it's because the version of MM that's on the phone is highly orchestral and it has a broad aural range (i.e. a lot of high notes, a lot of low notes). When that kind of music is compressed (i.e. reduced to an MP3 or other digital format) and then delivered via a digital channel like a cell phone (which has its own effects on quality) the quality of the sound is reduced substantially.

 

The agent that answered my call yesterday was clearly in the US based on her accent.

Your answer is totally logical.  I gave up my landline a few years ago and just use a cell phone.  That would also explain why some folks can hear a pleasant melody while others hear annoying distortions.