March Refunds Only - is there a "big black hole"

[quattrohead]

So a CC dispute is the only way to apply pressure on them to do the right thing.....so be it.

[versuco]

55 minutes ago, quattrohead said:

So a CC dispute is the only way to apply pressure on them to do the right thing.....so be it.

After being lied to since March, I felt like it was my only option.  Their customer service is a disgrace.  Really too bad, we really enjoyed our 4 cruises with MSC and had planned on many more as we cruise 4-6 times a year.  Their loss!  We will stick with NCL, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity from now on.

[mamaneedsavacay]

Never officially got my 25% additional FCC, but was promised that it would be manually applied to my December cruise, which is now canceled. We went through multiple levels of escalation to get that cruise held with the FCC, I'm hoping it was all in order on the back-end by the time things got canceled.

 

So they are saying mid-December for FCC's for that newly canceled cruise. We shall see if it all shows up in good order. My TA was going to push for a refund just so that we could wash our hands of them. It has been so much work and waiting, work and waiting. If I got a pretty little certificate emailed to me with the proper 125% amount and easy instructions to apply, I might consider rebooking for next Thanksgiving or Christmas. Really hoping its that simple and they stick to what they've said they will do. They should have 8 months of experience on issuing FCCs now...

[jmbadean]

Eight and a half months after our March cruise was canceled on March 12th, we have received all money back except for the insurance. I consider this a victory. It’s going to be a long time before we cruise with them again.

[pirate4me2]

I am not a March cancelation, but canceled my Sept. cruise with them on May 18. I am still awaiting a refund, my TA has called multiple times and it has been "escalated" twice. They told her on her call late last week was that the refund was approved on Oct 15 but can take 1-2 credit card cycles to show up. I'm getting fed up, this was my first cruise I had booked with them and I have 2 booked with them next year but all this fiasco is really making me wonder if I want to sail with them. We are over 6 months since canceling, what is the hold up??

[jmbadean]

This was a transatlantic 18 days from March 20 ,2020 that wa s cancelled one week before departure.  Travel agent made many contacts as we had 2 additional cruises in April that were cancelled and told many different stories , but then we were told October 5.2020 refund was processed.  Just appeared in our credit card account along with the deposit today, which was exactly one year to the date that we paid cruise off early. Never again

[pirate4me2]

21 hours ago, jmbadean said:

This was a transatlantic 18 days from March 20 ,2020 that wa s cancelled one week before departure.  Travel agent made many contacts as we had 2 additional cruises in April that were cancelled and told many different stories , but then we were told October 5.2020 refund was processed.  Just appeared in our credit card account along with the deposit today, which was exactly one year to the date that we paid cruise off early. Never again

 

This gives me hope that your refund was processed 10 days before the date they say mine was....so maybe I have a refund coming soon! 

[dexddd]

On 11/24/2020 at 10:35 AM, pirate4me2 said:

I am not a March cancelation, but canceled my Sept. cruise with them on May 18. I am still awaiting a refund, my TA has called multiple times and it has been "escalated" twice. They told her on her call late last week was that the refund was approved on Oct 15 but can take 1-2 credit card cycles to show up. I'm getting fed up, this was my first cruise I had booked with them and I have 2 booked with them next year but all this fiasco is really making me wonder if I want to sail with them. We are over 6 months since canceling, what is the hold up??

We are March and TA told escalated more times than I can count.  Total line of BS.

 

So many here told escalated which means ..stall...

Edited November 25, 2020 by dexddd

[quattrohead]

I called in Monday and was told it has been processed and should be with me in 10 days or so.

[jmbadean]

8 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

 

This gives me hope that your refund was processed 10 days before the date they say mine was....so maybe I have a refund coming soon! 

I was skeptical but they finally came through 

[poffles]

On 11/24/2020 at 12:35 PM, pirate4me2 said:

I am not a March cancelation, but canceled my Sept. cruise with them on May 18. I am still awaiting a refund, my TA has called multiple times and it has been "escalated" twice. They told her on her call late last week was that the refund was approved on Oct 15 but can take 1-2 credit card cycles to show up. I'm getting fed up, this was my first cruise I had booked with them and I have 2 booked with them next year but all this fiasco is really making me wonder if I want to sail with them. We are over 6 months since canceling, what is the hold up??

 

Same, I cancelled over six months ago with TA (a cruise sailing next year) and have yet to get my deposit refunded.  Also to be my first cruise with them but boy has this opened my eyes.  I also had one booked with NCL and I thought they were bad.  I cancelled a cruise due to sail on March 14 (2020) but they finally came through months later but MSC has them beat big time.  Terrible especially when seeing them sailing right now!  TA has a lot like this outstanding with MSC and the TA agency has collectively been dealing with this and they get the same stories of released/approved refunds that should be processed soon.

 

The entire thing is sad.

[notme2012]

My family was to sail on the Grandiosa on March 12. We actually fly to Barcelona and boarded the ship. Three hours after boarding, the Barcelona passengers were ordered to disembark. The orders came over the PA system. There was no letter or any other formal announcement. Spain was closing their ports at midnight. The Grandiosa could not return to Spain. We packed and left the ship. We had not one meal. 

 

From emails from MSC, we learned that we could apply for a FCC of 125% of the fare paid. Plus $200 on board credit. We applied for the FCC. We received an email that it was being processed. Then nothing for almost 9 months. Is anyone in this situation?

[Orange Blossom]

On 11/26/2020 at 3:48 PM, notme2012 said:

My family was to sail on the Grandiosa on March 12. We actually fly to Barcelona and boarded the ship. Three hours after boarding, the Barcelona passengers were ordered to disembark. The orders came over the PA system. There was no letter or any other formal announcement. Spain was closing their ports at midnight. The Grandiosa could not return to Spain. We packed and left the ship. We had not one meal. 

 

From emails from MSC, we learned that we could apply for a FCC of 125% of the fare paid. Plus $200 on board credit. We applied for the FCC. We received an email that it was being processed. Then nothing for almost 9 months. Is anyone in this situation?

We were to board in Marseille on March 13. The 4 of us arrived and was told cruise was canceled. We traveled from California and I called days before up until we flew out to verify the cruise was still a go. Always told yes. United Airlines said we couldn't get a refund unless the cruise cancelled. So long story short, stranded in France! Requested full refund on March 18. Received our prepaid items (show, drinks, wifi) refund October 30th. Taxes was reimbursed in mid-Oct. The remaining and large amount is still MIA. The last 5 times I called through my TA, MSC was short, a bit rude and not helpful.  Same bull every time. Scheduled for full refund. No dates will be given for when it will happen. No apologies. The last call I was told by TA to just wait and it will be paid but there is no time limit for reimbursement. It can be a year or three! 

 

First time cruising with MSC and I will never do so again. I understand somethings are out of their control (covid) but reimbursements are not. I have heard people from April, May, June, July all receiving a refund. This is definitely not acceptable.  

Edited November 29, 2020 by Orange Blossom
Messed up on date

[dexddd]

On 11/26/2020 at 5:48 PM, notme2012 said:

My family was to sail on the Grandiosa on March 12. We actually fly to Barcelona and boarded the ship. Three hours after boarding, the Barcelona passengers were ordered to disembark. The orders came over the PA system. There was no letter or any other formal announcement. Spain was closing their ports at midnight. The Grandiosa could not return to Spain. We packed and left the ship. We had not one meal. 

 

From emails from MSC, we learned that we could apply for a FCC of 125% of the fare paid. Plus $200 on board credit. We applied for the FCC. We received an email that it was being processed. Then nothing for almost 9 months. Is anyone in this situation?

Yes.

[quattrohead]

Dec 1, 2020 MSC CRUISES USA −$98.00

 

Finally got it, appalling it took so long. Lucky me it was only $98, I feel bad for people that are waiting for thousands.

[Até]

10 hours ago, quattrohead said:

Finally got it, appalling it took so long. Lucky me it was only $98, I feel bad for people that are waiting for thousands.

Did you end up disputing with your credit card?  If so, make sure it's not just a provisional credit from the card issuer.

[pirate4me2]

Again, I am not a March cancelation, but canceled my September cruise on May 15....I finally received a partial refund from MSC yesterday, yahoo! They still owe me quite a bit more, but at least some of the fare has come back my way. It's only taken 6.5 months....sheesh! 

[quattrohead]

1 hour ago, Até said:

Did you end up disputing with your credit card?  If so, make sure it's not just a provisional credit from the card issuer.

No it was direct from MSC.

[notme2012]

On 12/4/2020 at 8:36 AM, Até said:

Did you end up disputing with your credit card?  If so, make sure it's not just a provisional credit from the card issuer.

I have disputed with Chase. All the disputes were turned down. Personally I think it is Chase. Because I have read that other banks, Citibank, Bank of America, and American Express, have all honored disputes. Especially American Express. I am not happy at all with Chase's customer service. I am done with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I am considering filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Board. 

[dexddd]

56 minutes ago, notme2012 said:

I have disputed with Chase. All the disputes were turned down. Personally I think it is Chase. Because I have read that other banks, Citibank, Bank of America, and American Express, have all honored disputes. Especially American Express. I am not happy at all with Chase's customer service. I am done with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I am considering filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Board. 

From casual observation, think you are right.  Glad now we didn't get Chase card.

 

We are whole on prepaid items but nothing on FCC.

[jmbadean]

Capital One Venture turned down our dispute. We are done with them also.

[Bluewake]

Cruise Radio ran a story on this a couple of days ago.  According to the article, MSC and NCL are the worst at processing refunds and cruise credits.

 

https://cruiseradio.net/cruise-refunds-being-brought-to-state-and-better-business-bureau/

[L2float]

Hi, Bluewake! I was so glad to see your name! I hope you are well.

We share everyone’s frustrations on this post.
We contacted a reporter who published an article on Sunday about this mess. We are still waiting for our refund from March 13th. Our other 3 cruises were all refunded, but we seem to have lost a $900 credit used to pay for a summer cruise in Europe. We have spent hours on the phone, sent numerous emails, and mailed  letters to corporate, including certified letters. Last week we were promised a full refund rather than a credit. Our case has been sent in to the “escalation “ department for the umpteenth time. I really don’t think there is such a thing. We are so disappointed. Every 2 weeks for 9 months we have been promised resolution within 2 weeks. I can’t count the number of times I had to submit evidence after being told I was a no show!!! We loved MSC. If I get credits, I’ll use them, but this is way too stressful. We don’t even know if we want to cruise anymore. So sad that things were handled so poorly. Cruising use to be my escape. I feel like we should be compensated for our time, trouble, and stress.We’ve decided to create our own Yacht Club on our lanai! I’ll just have to be my own bartender....

[Bluewake]

On 12/16/2020 at 6:12 PM, L2float said:

Hi, Bluewake! I was so glad to see your name! I hope you are well.

We share everyone’s frustrations on this post.
We contacted a reporter who published an article on Sunday about this mess. We are still waiting for our refund from March 13th. Our other 3 cruises were all refunded, but we seem to have lost a $900 credit used to pay for a summer cruise in Europe. We have spent hours on the phone, sent numerous emails, and mailed  letters to corporate, including certified letters. Last week we were promised a full refund rather than a credit. Our case has been sent in to the “escalation “ department for the umpteenth time. I really don’t think there is such a thing. We are so disappointed. Every 2 weeks for 9 months we have been promised resolution within 2 weeks. I can’t count the number of times I had to submit evidence after being told I was a no show!!! We loved MSC. If I get credits, I’ll use them, but this is way too stressful. We don’t even know if we want to cruise anymore. So sad that things were handled so poorly. Cruising use to be my escape. I feel like we should be compensated for our time, trouble, and stress. We’ve decided to create our own Yacht Club on our lanai! I’ll just have to be my own bartender....

L2Float - Nice to hear from you, as well!   As per my post, our circumstances are the the same as yours in regard to that March 2020 cruise on which we both were to have sailed.  We've made over 20 phone calls and sent multiple emails.  And, like you, the response from MSC has been several supposed "escalations", multiple promises of action "in a couple of weeks", multiple versions as to why the situation wasn't being unresolved, and feigned concern.  However, over 9 months later, still no sign of the cruise assurance credit to which we've repeatedly been told we are entitled.   If the credit ever does come through, of course, we'll use it.  After that, who knows?   What is sad is that, like you, although we've absolutely loved our MSC cruises, we are reluctant to sail with MSC again because of the deceitful manner in which those of us who are in this situation have been treated.  Stay safe...the vaccine is on the way!

[dexddd]

On 12/18/2020 at 11:07 AM, Bluewake said:

L2Float - Nice to hear from you, as well!   As per my post, our circumstances are the the same as yours in regard to that March 2020 cruise on which we both were to have sailed.  We've made over 20 phone calls and sent multiple emails.  And, like you, the response from MSC has been several supposed "escalations", multiple promises of action "in a couple of weeks", multiple versions as to why the situation wasn't being unresolved, and feigned concern.  However, over 9 months later, still no sign of the cruise assurance credit to which we've repeatedly been told we are entitled.   If the credit ever does come through, of course, we'll use it.  After that, who knows?   What is sad is that, like you, although we've absolutely loved our MSC cruises, we are reluctant to sail with MSC again because of the deceitful manner in which those of us who are in this situation have been treated.  Stay safe...the vaccine is on the way!

Vaccine is going to make it before our March MSC FCCs.