Cancelled Sailings?

[Bgwest]

Wife and I are booked on three MSC cruises this summer and have not heard a word from MSC about these cruises being cancelled. Neither has our TA despite multiple inquiries. Frustrating for everyone involved. Especially since all three sailings have been removed from their website and the ships are now scheduled to be in the Mediterranean on the dates we are booked.  

 

Can anyone who is booked on any of these sailings or someone who is just "in the know" shed any light on this?

 

Splendida - 7 day departing Kiel on June 20, 2021.

Splendida - 7 day departing Kiel on June 27, 2021.

Musica - 21 day departing Copenhagen on July 10, 2021. 

 

I can't in my wildest imagination envision that any of these can possibly happen yet MSC remains silent. Not a word from them. Seems to me to be outright passenger neglect bordering on negligence.

 

Any help will be very much appreciated.

[Até]

The last I heard regarding those ships was in April:

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/news/msc-cruises-summer-2021-itineraries

 

At this point MSC is likely waiting so they can offer you to move to other ships with different embarkation dates, ports and itineraries.

[Bgwest]

5 minutes ago, Até said:

The last I heard regarding those ships was in April:

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/news/msc-cruises-summer-2021-itineraries

 

At this point MSC is likely waiting so they can offer you to move to other ships with different embarkation dates, ports and itineraries.

Very interesting........thanks very much for this link. First time I've seen it. 

 

Given the info below on the Splendida, it's going to be a really neat trick for it to be in the ports listed on June 12 and in Kiel for our sailing on June 20th!! 

 

MSC Splendida will commence sailing from June 12 with embarkation in Trieste, Italy on Saturdays and in Bari on Tuesdays, calling at Dubrovnik in Croatia, Corfu in Greece and Kotor in Montenegro.

 

Same thing for the Musica.

MSC Musica on June 20 from Warnemunde, Germany, if the German ports are open.

 

I just wish they'd make an official announcement. We've got air, hotels, etc to cancel but are reluctant to do so without official notification from MSC. 

[medic143]

We are/were booked on the Musica on July 11 out of Warnedmunde, effectively the same cruise as you to Iceland/Greenland. We have heard nothing from MSC but our cruise is currently showing as NAR. The Musica has vanished from the MSC sites at least in the short term around the same time it went NAR and here is where it gets really weird. About a week ago the Poesia was added on MSC sites as sailing from Warnemunde on 10 July on an identical itinerary to the Musica as well as Baltic cruises after that. Today all those cruises have vanished as the UK/USA/German sites show its first sailing as Oct 21 in the Med.

 

We were booked on the Splendida in Sept 21 but this booking has completely vanished (not even NAR'd) from my account and enquires to MSC have been met with a generic "corporate is thinking about things". Given they are selling cruises on it in the Med in Sept 21 it definitely seems to have been redeployed.

 

I currently do the same northern European search daily on the MSC sites as things are changing almost that frequently and often there are slight differences between the offerings on the same ship between the various MSC country sites.

[Huntingdon1701]

I've rung twice about the Preziosa which is also affected. Customer Services tell me it is still running, despite moving to NAR and all the bookable stuff disappearing on the very same day that this corporate press release was issued: 

 

http://www.mscpressarea.com/en_INT/press-releases/3980 (See last paragraph for Musica and Preziosa cancellations).

 

Bit of a shambles really. 

[DCGuy64]

It seems to me there are basically two ways of looking at this situation regarding cruises in limbo:

A. MSC knows exactly what is going on and is being intentionally tight-lipped in order to keep its passengers in the dark. (unlikely, IMO)

B. MSC keeps having to change things around due to borders and ports re-opening or closing.

 

Personally, I think it's B. Our cruise isn't scheduled for more than 3 months so it's hardly an urgent matter. I am aware that others may feel differently, but at least for us, since we haven't booked any flights yet, the risk is minimal and we have plenty of time to decide what to do.

[Huntingdon1701]

It's both. They do B up until the point when they can't, and then they do A. 

 

No-one blames them for B. It's when they do A that it becomes an issue. 

 

I got the official cancellation this morning. It was obviously coming from the announcement on the 18th, but they chose not to brief customer service personnel on it, which was why they were still insisting it was running as recently as Saturday. That is poor customer service. 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Huntingdon1701

[Bgwest]

1 hour ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

It's both. They do B up until the point when they can't, and then they do A. 

 

No-one blames them for B. It's when they do A that it becomes an issue. 

 

I got the official cancellation this morning. It was obviously coming from the announcement on the 18th, but they chose not to brief customer service personnel on it, which was why they were still insisting it was running as recently as Saturday. That is poor customer service. 

 

Sorry to hear that the cancellation arrived. But I suppose it's better than agonizing over a slow death with no end in sight. Did they offer you anything? A cruise move, a bunch of OBC.....anything?

[Stockjock]

MSC's communications is extraordinarily poor.  I was essentially accused of being "Debbie Downer" on another thread, but just calling it like I see it.  They really need to tell people what's going on with their cruises, or if they can't do it now, tell us when to expect an answer.

I think I've had 4 of my last 6 cruises cancelled, with no notification.  I had flights and hotels booked for a fall sailing, but it's going to be cancelled.  While there may be replacement cruises, they are a lot more expensive as are the flights.

GF wants to take time off work for a cruise, and if she doesn't tell them early it's hard to get the time off that she will need, but because MSC doesn't tell us anything, we can't really plan for anything.

 

Frustrating.

[Huntingdon1701]

8 hours ago, Bgwest said:

Sorry to hear that the cancellation arrived. But I suppose it's better than agonizing over a slow death with no end in sight. Did they offer you anything? A cruise move, a bunch of OBC.....anything?

 

Thank you, and yes - much better than agonizing with no information. I've been able to book an Azamara cruise for part of the same period, as a result. Not as good as the Preziosa itinerary but they're offering 60% off for their first sailings. 

 

All I've had from MSC at the moment is the cancellation notice saying that the FCC I booked the cruise with will be honoured. There is no additional offer mentioned in the notice, and apparently I must rebook by 30 September 2021 which I think is an unreasonable deadline. 

 

Dear XXXX,

 

We hereby want to share with you an important update concerning your upcoming cruise on MSC Preziosa sailing on 8/22/2021. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we are sorry to inform you that your reservation for the above-mentioned cruise had to be cancelled.

 

Please be advised that we will issue new vouchers to you that you can use to rebook. The 25% additional credit from your previous cancelled sailing already redeemed on the booking will be respected and will move with the new reservation. The Future Cruise Credit can be applied to any sailing currently on sale and can be redeemed until 30^th September 2021.

 

In addition to the Future Cruise Credit, you will receive a full refund of any pre-paid package purchased with credit card on MYMSC AREA. The refund will be processed as soon as possible. However, it may suffer some delays due to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from COVID-19 and the specific credit card circuit.

 

For any other expenses that they may have incurred, such as flights (unless booked through MSC Cruises), hotels, transport, etc. please kindly contact your provider of the service.

 

If you would like to request a refund, please contact operationsuk@msccruises.co.uk  with your refund request.

 

Insurance

When the time comes for you to sail with us again, it is mandatory for all UK guests to be in possession of Covid-19 travel insurance prior to their holiday with us. Please note that policy must specify Covid-19 cover. While we hope there is no need to use it, you must ensure your policy covers your holiday from booking through to the end of their cruise. This will ensure total peace of mind for you knowing you are fully protected.

 

We thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you back on board.

 

Kind Regards,

Charlotte Jones

Head of Contact Centre UK and Ireland

[DCGuy64]

13 hours ago, Stockjock said:

GF wants to take time off work for a cruise, and if she doesn't tell them early it's hard to get the time off that she will need, but because MSC doesn't tell us anything, we can't really plan for anything.

This is exactly my pet peeve, as well. I really envy the cruiser who is retired, but for those of us who work, juggling schedules is very, very tricky. I have to submit a request to my boss for time off, and due to the nature of my job, we can't have two people out at once. So if my August 29 cruise is cancelled for some reason, I can't just go back and say "sorry, I want to go on vacation a different day." If someone else has that time reserved, I'm just SOL. Which means I go nowhere at all. Even our "backup" cruise is in jeopardy now. Grrr...

[Bgwest]

16 hours ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

Thank you, and yes - much better than agonizing with no information. I've been able to book an Azamara cruise for part of the same period, as a result. Not as good as the Preziosa itinerary but they're offering 60% off for their first sailings. 

 

All I've had from MSC at the moment is the cancellation notice saying that the FCC I booked the cruise with will be honoured. There is no additional offer mentioned in the notice, and apparently I must rebook by 30 September 2021 which I think is an unreasonable deadline. 

 

Dear XXXX,

 

We hereby want to share with you an important update concerning your upcoming cruise on MSC Preziosa sailing on 8/22/2021. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we are sorry to inform you that your reservation for the above-mentioned cruise had to be cancelled.

 

Please be advised that we will issue new vouchers to you that you can use to rebook. The 25% additional credit from your previous cancelled sailing already redeemed on the booking will be respected and will move with the new reservation. The Future Cruise Credit can be applied to any sailing currently on sale and can be redeemed until 30^th September 2021.

 

In addition to the Future Cruise Credit, you will receive a full refund of any pre-paid package purchased with credit card on MYMSC AREA. The refund will be processed as soon as possible. However, it may suffer some delays due to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from COVID-19 and the specific credit card circuit.

 

For any other expenses that they may have incurred, such as flights (unless booked through MSC Cruises), hotels, transport, etc. please kindly contact your provider of the service.

 

If you would like to request a refund, please contact operationsuk@msccruises.co.uk  with your refund request.

 

Insurance

When the time comes for you to sail with us again, it is mandatory for all UK guests to be in possession of Covid-19 travel insurance prior to their holiday with us. Please note that policy must specify Covid-19 cover. While we hope there is no need to use it, you must ensure your policy covers your holiday from booking through to the end of their cruise. This will ensure total peace of mind for you knowing you are fully protected.

 

We thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you back on board.

 

Kind Regards,

Charlotte Jones

Head of Contact Centre UK and Ireland

I suppose such a letter is in our future.......someday.......maybe. To date we've still heard nothing. 

 

Out of frustration, we've just gone ahead and cancelled all of our air, hotels, etc that are associated with both June cruises as well as the one July cruise. 

 

Just unconscionable that MSC would treat their customers the way they so. I can't help but believe that folks who MSC "left out in the cold" will remember how they were treated by MSC during this entire fiasco! I know I certainly will. 

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, Bgwest said:

I suppose such a letter is in our future.......someday.......maybe. To date we've still heard nothing. 

 

Out of frustration, we've just gone ahead and cancelled all of our air, hotels, etc that are associated with both June cruises as well as the one July cruise. 

 

Just unconscionable that MSC would treat their customers the way they so. I can't help but believe that folks who MSC "left out in the cold" will remember how they were treated by MSC during this entire fiasco! I know I certainly will. 

Well, according to some in other threads, you and I are negative "Debbie Downers".

MSC is just great, as clearly evidenced by the fact that they personally haven't experienced any adverse issues.  

In fact, one member was *so* pleased that they contacted MSC customer service and everything went ok, that they actually started an entirely new thread to trumpet this experience to the heavens as irrefutable proof that MSC does things just right.  

Others have said that it's unreasonable to ask for any form of notification, as that will only make prices go up for everyone else!.  Besides, they are Italian, and it's entirely unreasonable to be so demanding as to expect Italians to consider notifying their customers when cruises are cancelled or delayed.  That's just not how they do things in Italy, don't you know?  So what if they keep you guessing?  It's the Italian way!

(Sigh)

Edited May 26, 2021 by Stockjock

[geologyrx]

On 5/25/2021 at 3:15 AM, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

Thank you, and yes - much better than agonizing with no information. I've been able to book an Azamara cruise for part of the same period, as a result. Not as good as the Preziosa itinerary but they're offering 60% off for their first sailings. 

 

All I've had from MSC at the moment is the cancellation notice saying that the FCC I booked the cruise with will be honoured. There is no additional offer mentioned in the notice, and apparently I must rebook by 30 September 2021 which I think is an unreasonable deadline. 

 

Dear XXXX,

 

We hereby want to share with you an important update concerning your upcoming cruise on MSC Preziosa sailing on 8/22/2021. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we are sorry to inform you that your reservation for the above-mentioned cruise had to be cancelled.

 

Please be advised that we will issue new vouchers to you that you can use to rebook. The 25% additional credit from your previous cancelled sailing already redeemed on the booking will be respected and will move with the new reservation. The Future Cruise Credit can be applied to any sailing currently on sale and can be redeemed until 30^th September 2021.

 

In addition to the Future Cruise Credit, you will receive a full refund of any pre-paid package purchased with credit card on MYMSC AREA. The refund will be processed as soon as possible. However, it may suffer some delays due to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from COVID-19 and the specific credit card circuit.

 

For any other expenses that they may have incurred, such as flights (unless booked through MSC Cruises), hotels, transport, etc. please kindly contact your provider of the service.

 

If you would like to request a refund, please contact operationsuk@msccruises.co.uk  with your refund request.

 

Insurance

When the time comes for you to sail with us again, it is mandatory for all UK guests to be in possession of Covid-19 travel insurance prior to their holiday with us. Please note that policy must specify Covid-19 cover. While we hope there is no need to use it, you must ensure your policy covers your holiday from booking through to the end of their cruise. This will ensure total peace of mind for you knowing you are fully protected.

 

We thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you back on board.

 

Kind Regards,

Charlotte Jones

Head of Contact Centre UK and Ireland

 

[geologyrx]

Did that letter come by postal service or e-mail?  I have a cruise slated to leave July 5 and have heard nothing.  Just NAR when I go to the website.

[Huntingdon1701]

4 hours ago, geologyrx said:

Did that letter come by postal service or e-mail?  I have a cruise slated to leave July 5 and have heard nothing.  Just NAR when I go to the website.

 

E-mail. Took about 6 days from the announcement. 

[drsel]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:19 PM, geologyrx said:

Did that letter come by postal service or e-mail?  I have a cruise slated to leave July 5 and have heard nothing.  Just NAR when I go to the website.

NAR means 'no area' and implies that your Cruise has been cancelled

so you need to ask them for a FCC with $200 onboard credit

[drsel]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:41 AM, Stockjock said:

Well, according to some in other threads, you and I are negative "Debbie Downers".
In fact, one member was *so* pleased that they contacted MSC customer service and everything went ok, that they actually started an entirely new thread to trumpet this experience to the heavens as irrefutable proof that MSC does things just right.  

Others have said that it's unreasonable to ask for any form of notification, as that will only make prices go up for everyone else!.

Hi kindly post the links of these interesting threads you are referring to

Edited May 29, 2021 by drsel

[DCGuy64]

On 5/29/2021 at 3:47 PM, drsel said:

NAR means 'no area' and implies that your Cruise has been cancelled

so you need to ask them for a FCC with $200 onboard credit

Not necessarily cancelled, but changed: our cruise is going to different ports than originally scheduled, but not cancelled per se. It’s also in NAR status at the moment. Our TA has been in touch with MSC and an announcement is expected sometime this week. 

[Stockjock]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Not necessarily cancelled, but changed: our cruise is going to different ports than originally scheduled, but not cancelled per se. It’s also in NAR status at the moment. Our TA has been in touch with MSC and an announcement is expected sometime this week. 

That falls into line with what I had been told.  Some of these sailings are cancelled, while others are being reworked with possibly different ships, different ports and in some cases, different days.  It's why I suggested being patient before moving deposits into new bookings, usually at higher, or much higher, prices.

MSC was encouraging me to move into a new booking, I said no for now.

[DCGuy64]

32 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

That falls into line with what I had been told.  Some of these sailings are cancelled, while others are being reworked with possibly different ships, different ports and in some cases, different days.  It's why I suggested being patient before moving deposits into new bookings, usually at higher, or much higher, prices.

MSC was encouraging me to move into a new booking, I said no for now.

Yeah, we’re in a holding pattern for now. I’ve seen some other cruises in the Mediterranean for the same week that look really nice, so we’re prepared to change to a different MSC ship if necessary.  

[Bgwest]

6 hours ago, Stockjock said:

MSC was encouraging me to move into a new booking, I said no for now.

This implies you've had actual communications with/from MSC.

WOW! That's wonderful and I'm happy for you. 

In our case............not a single solitary word has come our way. 

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, Bgwest said:

This implies you've had actual communications with/from MSC.

WOW! That's wonderful and I'm happy for you. 

In our case............not a single solitary word has come our way. 

I had to call them...multiple times.

With MSC, you'll get different answers from different individuals.  So best to call multiple times, speak with multiple agents and average out all of the answers to determine the most likely outcome.

[Liviucostin]

They also canceled Lirica's season in South Africa. 

[drsel]

1 hour ago, Liviucostin said:

They also canceled Lirica's season in South Africa. 

Musica will be going from Venice to Durban  in Oct 2021