Another reason not to sail MSC

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

6 hours ago, Rob-Bob said:

I would consider myself an experienced CC member and I did not know this.  I have booked and paid for 3 MSC cruises and I have not been charged a foreign transaction fee.  I never would have thought to anticipate that or look into how to avoid it.

 

I would also consider myself an experienced CC member and I knew nothing of this.  I am embarking on my second MSC cruise tomorrow.  No foreign transaction fees.  I used the card I use for everything, my AmEx, which fortunately does not charge foreign currency charges.  But the ship purchases did not show up on my statements as a foreign currency transaction.  My bill clearly shows those which are and states the amount in the foreign currency and the amount in USD.  The MSC charges were straight USD transactions.

[eroller]

21 minutes ago, SirWolf said:

Hi Hank,

I guess the OP is not telling the whole story.

As per my experience booking via the MSC USA website there is no overseas company and/or bank involved. The website shows US-$ and I paid with my US credit card. The exact amount was charged to my card in US-$.

No currency exchange and no transaction fee.

Wolfgang

 

I don't believe the OP is talking about the charges for booking the cruise, but the how the charges were processed for the onboard account.  Two completely different things.  I've been on 3 MSC cruises with the 4th in about week (on MERAVIGLIA) and I don't recall any of my finalized onboard charge accounts being processed in France and incurring a foreign transaction fee.  It's possible but I don't recall it.  

 

In the case of the OP, MERAVIGLIA had just arrived in the US (never been here before) and perhaps the way onboard charges are processed had not changed over to a US based system yet?   

[trainbuff]

Indeed I was talking about onboard charges. To the posters who criticized my credit card choice I too have cards that do not charge a foreign transaction fee. I did not use one of those cards as I certainly did not expect on a cruise sailing roundtrip from NYC  for my card to be processed in France. I called MSC customer service today, held on for an hour and they never answered the phone.

[sfaaa]

14 hours ago, trainbuff said:

After my recent awful Octover 8 cruise on the Meraviligia , I received my credit card bill for my onboard charges. The cruise was roundtrip from NYC and booked with MSCin Miami. MSCprocessed the charge in Paris, France which means my credit card company charged a foreign transaction fee. I am disputing the charge as MSC USA should not be processing credit card charges on US sailings in Europe.

Do yourself a favor and don't take anymore MSC or US cruise.

[sidari]

ER ... If you have the facility to view your account online any charges would show up there so people can see any additional charges for an overseas transaction.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I would also consider myself an experienced CC member and I knew nothing of this.  I am embarking on my second MSC cruise tomorrow.  No foreign transaction fees.  I used the card I use for everything, my AmEx, which fortunately does not charge foreign currency charges.

 

This may be where some of the confusion arises – not in your case since you didn't have any such charges, but in the use of two different terms apparently interchangeably.  Foreign currency charges refers to the exchange rate when a purchase occurs in say Euros but your US card bills you in USD.  Foreign transaction fees occur when a charge originates with a bank outside the US and is then transferred to your US credit card – even if the charge is in USD from start to finish.  It is the transaction that triggers the fee, not the currency.

[April42749]

I booked a cruise thru a TA and used a card that does charge foreign to US dollar conversion fees....there were no fees

I booked a few spa services with this card before the cruise...again....no foreign conversion fees

My on board account was with this same card....no foreign conversion fees

[SirWolf]

1 hour ago, eroller said:

 

I don't believe the OP is talking about the charges for booking the cruise, but the how the charges were processed for the onboard account.  Two completely different things. 

Thank you for clarifying. My mistake...

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 11/29/2019 at 8:03 AM, smile145 said:

I don’t think this is fair to OP.  I wouldn’t bash MSC but when you book from MSC USA out of Miami for a cruise that’s starts in the US and ends in the US, you would not expect them to process the charge out of Paris.  You would expect them to process the charge out of Miami.

I agree with you. 

I didn't know my credit card would be processed in Europe for my Caribbean cruise out of Miami next year. If it weren't for a random post on cruisecritic (see OP above), I wouldn't have known it.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 11/29/2019 at 5:22 AM, gimletgal said:

It is a well known fact.

no, it isn't a well known fact.

[DCGuy64]

We always use a travel agent for our bookings, and while the charges are done in USD, I often see a notation on my credit card statement that reads something like "MSC Crociere - GENEVE." I have read the fine print on their site and there is language to the effect that some transactions may be charged in foreign currency and that, depending on the card issuer, foreign transaction charges MAY apply. This is standard fare in today's world. I booked an apartment through Booking.com for a place in France next May and was charged in Euros, WITH a foreign transaction fee, even though I used their US site. I think MSC is on pretty solid ground when it comes to saying you might have some transactions processed through foreign banks and thus see a foreign transaction fee. Welcome to the global marketplace.

[deliver42]

If a very small foreign fee charge is giving the OP a reason not to sail MSC again, he probably wouldn't have in any case. This just justifies it in his mind.

[sidari]

Sometimes change is difficult to deal with.