Which MSC country website has the lowest price?

[Eliminator55]

17 hours ago, CruiseIreland said:

@Eliminator55

I booked with the UK travel agent who I can't name here but I would take the cruise 1st!

Incidentally,  the US travel agent is not allowed by MSC to book non US/Canadian residents on their cruises. We cancelled that cruise(buyer's remorse) but we booked a HAL cruise with the US TA no problem. As BAH said, different Ts & Cs apply in different countries. Ken 

 

I follow what you're saying. So you don't think it's much of a problem for someone with an American passport to book through a European agent? I scoured the terms and conditions on the Irish MSC site and see nothing at mentioned about residency.

 

It's also not correct to say that one must enter an address that corresponds to the version of the website that they're on. Most European MSC sites merely have a box for nationality prefilled and other than that you go straight to the payment page and there's no requirement at all to enter a specific address. There's especially no requirement to have an address validated or anything like that. The only information besides first & surname as well as DOB is a phone number, which has a drop-down to pick any country code. But that's it. 

Edited March 1, 2023 by Eliminator55

[Morgsmom]

12 hours ago, Eliminator55 said:

12 hours ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

I follow what you're saying. So you don't think it's much of a problem for someone with an American passport to book through a European agent? I scoured the terms and conditions on the Irish MSC site and see nothing at mentioned about residency.

 

With all of the love in my heart you must not have had many interactions with MSC previously and you have precisely 19 posts on this board.  Maybe you are a veteran cruiser; maybe not... however....

 

You can "scour" the T&Cs all you want but you can also show up at a port and be denied boarding.

In the end the Cruiseline will ALWAYS WIN. 

The 1000's of lines of script that basically says they can do anything they want at any time because they are the boss will pretty much give them all of the rights to deny you boarding.  

 

Heck, you can book through the US site and stuff stills goes wrong - way wrong - when you try to change something as simple as a stateroom.  Try to book on one of their other country websites with a fake address (because the country is hard-coded)?  Well then you must have nerves of steel because I'd be a hot mess.

 

I'd LOVE to take advantage of currency fluctuations and offers that are country specific, but many on this board (you know who you are 😉) have been burned in countless ways for things they DIDN'T do, let alone things they willingly did, so I am not willing to risk it.

 

[Eliminator55]

2 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

With all of the love in my heart you must not have had many interactions with MSC previously and you have precisely 19 posts on this board.  Maybe you are a veteran cruiser; maybe not... however....

 

You can "scour" the T&Cs all you want but you can also show up at a port and be denied boarding.

In the end the Cruiseline will ALWAYS WIN. 

The 1000's of lines of script that basically says they can do anything they want at any time because they are the boss will pretty much give them all of the rights to deny you boarding.  

 

Heck, you can book through the US site and stuff stills goes wrong - way wrong - when you try to change something as simple as a stateroom.  Try to book on one of their other country websites with a fake address (because the country is hard-coded)?  Well then you must have nerves of steel because I'd be a hot mess.

 

I'd LOVE to take advantage of currency fluctuations and offers that are country specific, but many on this board (you know who you are 😉) have been burned in countless ways for things they DIDN'T do, let alone things they willingly did, so I am not willing to risk it.

 

 

Very thorough. The box where you choose nationality is hard coded. But you're not required to input a specific address prior to payment. I'm certainly not a veteran cruiser. Only been on eight cruises with five different companies. That's a minimal amount of experience compared to the veterans on here. You also have to take into account that certain regional MSC sites just direct users back to the American version of their website. So in the end I don't think one's nationality makes much of a difference when they go to board as long as they have a valid passport and any required visas. But in the end they're a multi-billion dollar company that you certainly wouldn't want to be tangling with. So there's always that as you clearly laid out in your comment. I appreciate your input any point of view on this topic. 

Edited March 1, 2023 by Eliminator55

[mcoler181]

7 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

With all of the love in my heart you must not have had many interactions with MSC previously and you have precisely 19 posts on this board.  Maybe you are a veteran cruiser; maybe not... however....

 

You can "scour" the T&Cs all you want but you can also show up at a port and be denied boarding.

In the end the Cruiseline will ALWAYS WIN. 

The 1000's of lines of script that basically says they can do anything they want at any time because they are the boss will pretty much give them all of the rights to deny you boarding.  

 

Heck, you can book through the US site and stuff stills goes wrong - way wrong - when you try to change something as simple as a stateroom.  Try to book on one of their other country websites with a fake address (because the country is hard-coded)?  Well then you must have nerves of steel because I'd be a hot mess.

 

I'd LOVE to take advantage of currency fluctuations and offers that are country specific, but many on this board (you know who you are 😉) have been burned in countless ways for things they DIDN'T do, let alone things they willingly did, so I am not willing to risk it.

 

Your post worries me, we are British but have booked through an American TA, deposit paid, all of our address details, country of residence are on the booking.

 

 

[insidecabin]

7 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

Your post worries me, we are British but have booked through an American TA, deposit paid, all of our address details, country of residence are on the booking.

 

 

We used USA for our first MSC minor issues with access to booking.

 

Now with a couple of UK TA offering 15% off MSC UK prices.

The decent offer for premium drinks some cruises £10pppd 

UK include service charge.

 

The cruises I have been looking at are often priced to not need alternative region.

 

Eg June Iceland 14n

Base MSC price (with tax and service)

UK £1,149 premium drinks £1,409

US $1,045 easyplus drinks $1,640(£1370)

(US include WiFi which has value to some)

 

One UK TA has the package discounted

2A £1,198pp

Solo £1,348

2A2C £2718 total(kids free just pay for child drinks)

[mcoler181]

1 hour ago, insidecabin said:

We used USA for our first MSC minor issues with access to booking.

 

Now with a couple of UK TA offering 15% off MSC UK prices.

The decent offer for premium drinks some cruises £10pppd 

UK include service charge.

 

The cruises I have been looking at are often priced to not need alternative region.

 

Eg June Iceland 14n

Base MSC price (with tax and service)

UK £1,149 premium drinks £1,409

US $1,045 easyplus drinks $1,640(£1370)

(US include WiFi which has value to some)

 

One UK TA has the package discounted

2A £1,198pp

Solo £1,348

2A2C £2718 total(kids free just pay for child drinks)

I should have looked around really, I looked at MSC UK site and then an American TA site that I was aware of thats been around for years, even taken gratuities into account it was £700 cheaper so went with that, hopefully should be OK. We can access our booking through the link on the TA's booking confirmation.

 

 

[insidecabin]

57 minutes ago, mcoler181 said:

I should have looked around really, I looked at MSC UK site and then an American TA site that I was aware of thats been around for years, even taken gratuities into account it was £700 cheaper so went with that, hopefully should be OK. We can access our booking through the link on the TA's booking confirmation.

 

 

Its important to make sure you are like for like as each region packages differently.
Also it may be that easy plus is enough so the extra benefit of premium has less value.

 

One key difference is the UK has gone service included as that's what P&O do MSC main competitor in the UK market and their target to get business as well as new to cruising.

 

it can swing either way or be close, you have to check each cruise and cabin level as it can be better one region for an inside and the other for a balcony or YC.

 

Then you have to factor in voyager discount as not all deals are eligible.

[mcoler181]

7 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Its important to make sure you are like for like as each region packages differently.
Also it may be that easy plus is enough so the extra benefit of premium has less value.

 

One key difference is the UK has gone service included as that's what P&O do MSC main competitor in the UK market and their target to get business as well as new to cruising.

 

it can swing either way or be close, you have to check each cruise and cabin level as it can be better one region for an inside and the other for a balcony or YC.

 

Then you have to factor in voyager discount as not all deals are eligible.

Actually, yes that was a difference, premium on UK, easy plus on US, but we looked at the menus and thought we would be OK with easy plus. I do like a Malbec which is unfortunately $1 above easy plus but for £700 I can buy a few glasses after I have tried the alternatives.

 

We have only sailed Royal before and were a bit disappointed that you can't just pay the difference between the package and the drink price like on Royal but then again we have got a 14 night cruise with drinks for not much more than a 7 night Royal one without drinks.

[insidecabin]

6 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

Actually, yes that was a difference, premium on UK, easy plus on US, but we looked at the menus and thought we would be OK with easy plus. I do like a Malbec which is unfortunately $1 above easy plus but for £700 I can buy a few glasses after I have tried the alternatives.

 

We have only sailed Royal before and were a bit disappointed that you can't just pay the difference between the package and the drink price like on Royal but then again we have got a 14 night cruise with drinks for not much more than a 7 night Royal one without drinks.

As with all cruise lines there can be a bit of discrete discretion, we are creatures of habit and our regular servers have always managed to make us happy even when we PAYG.

[B_A_H]

On 3/1/2023 at 8:45 AM, Morgsmom said:

Heck, you can book through the US site and stuff stills goes wrong - way wrong - when you try to change something as simple as a stateroom.  Try to book on one of their other country websites with a fake address (because the country is hard-coded)?  Well then you must have nerves of steel because I'd be a hot mess.

 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.  From my first online NL booking which changed three times due to Covid sailing shifts to my sailing on the Divina, I spent a good three hours overall on the phone with the NL call center.  And these calls all took place at 5:00AM because the NL call center closed at 3:00PM local time.  It all worked out in the end but it certainly wasn't convenient.

 

If you book on another region's website and everything goes perfectly, other than all of your documents being in another language, you'd be issue free.  But. If something goes south be prepared for to invest a lot of effort and patience in getting it resolved. 

 

 

[Eliminator55]

On 3/1/2023 at 5:01 PM, mcoler181 said:

Your post worries me, we are British but have booked through an American TA, deposit paid, all of our address details, country of residence are on the booking.

 

 

I do not think you'll have any issues. The MSC customer service line in America told me that it doesn't matter which MSC regional site you book on. They just said that you'll be inconvenienced by having to call the corresponding MSC customer support center to have them override the drop-down menu where you select nationality. Due to this issue, you'll only be able to check-in by calling the appropriate MSC customer service center. The online check-in will likely not work. Was that what you experienced or were you able to choose UK as your nationality when checking in on MSC's USA website? Hope all goes well.

[Eliminator55]

On 3/2/2023 at 9:10 PM, B_A_H said:

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.  From my first online NL booking which changed three times due to Covid sailing shifts to my sailing on the Divina, I spent a good three hours overall on the phone with the NL call center.  And these calls all took place at 5:00AM because the NL call center closed at 3:00PM local time.  It all worked out in the end but it certainly wasn't convenient.

 

If you book on another region's website and everything goes perfectly, other than all of your documents being in another language, you'd be issue free.  But. If something goes south be prepared for to invest a lot of effort and patience in getting it resolved. 

 

 

 

So you didn't have any other issues than having to deal with the Netherlands MSC Call Center? I've spoken with the German call center once. The rep seemed to be fluent in English, just as you'd expect from most western Europeans. 

[mcoler181]

3 hours ago, Eliminator55 said:

I do not think you'll have any issues. The MSC customer service line in America told me that it doesn't matter which MSC regional site you book on. They just said that you'll be inconvenienced by having to call the corresponding MSC customer support center to have them override the drop-down menu where you select nationality. Due to this issue, you'll only be able to check-in by calling the appropriate MSC customer service center. The online check-in will likely not work. Was that what you experienced or were you able to choose UK as your nationality when checking in on MSC's USA website? Hope all goes well.

The cruise isn't until next Feb,  have booked it with an American TA so hopefully they can iron out any problems we may have. 🤞

[mcoler181]

I've just tried the link on my booking confirmation and it lets me through to the online check in section, didn't realise we could do that already, will have to get it filled in.

[Eliminator55]

12 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

I've just tried the link on my booking confirmation and it lets me through to the online check in section, didn't realise we could do that already, will have to get it filled in.

 

So from what I can gather it actually will allow you to choose any nationality for your identity document, which in almost all cases will be a passport. Separately elsewhere on the check-in form it asks for your address of residence. That is the dropdown box that is hard coded to the corresponding country. So, if you were to book on msccruises.ie, the dropdown box for your address of residence would be hard coded to Ireland. But here's the thing, if it lets you choose any nationality for your identity document, then the address one uses in the other part of the form is essentially irrelevant. You're not going to be asked for a drivers license. Your passport will be used as the pre-eminent identity document at the point of embarkation. So, someone with only a UK passport could book through msccruisesusa.com and essentially use any feasible address in the United States. But the accuracy of that address appears to be essentially irrelevant as long as that person has filled out the passport info accurately. They could actually be residing permanently at any address they choose to list in America. But MSC has no means or interest in somehow confirming that said individual(s) due indeed reside at the given address. They'd have no reason to do so. They cruise fare has been paid at that point and their main concern is to get captive customers, I mean passengers, onto their ships. 

[perakcruiser]

10 hours ago, Eliminator55 said:

But MSC has no means or interest in somehow confirming that said individual(s) due indeed reside at the given address. They'd have no reason to do so. They cruise fare has been paid at that point and their main concern is to get captive customers, I mean passengers, onto their ships. 

It is not so easy. MSC (and other cruise lines) certainly don´t want out of the market bookings. And they are aware of this practice very well. So the tried to forbid this, but European Union law stopped them. EU citizens have the right to book in any EU market and no measurements are allowed to hinder them from this, the residence in a specific country cannot be a requirement. Your situation as US citizen is totally different, MSC can certainly forbid you to book in UK or EU. 

Certainly you can risk it. The main risk is maybe not that MSC cancels your booking, the main risk is that you give up all customers legal protection you have in your home country. That is the reason I would not book in a country I not even speak the language. And with a fake residental address the correspondence anyway in finished before it starts and you basically even gave up the consumer legal protection from your "guest" country.

Edited March 10, 2023 by perakcruiser

[Eliminator55]

4 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

It is not so easy. MSC (and other cruise lines) certainly don´t want out of the market bookings. And they are aware of this practice very well. So the tried to forbid this, but European Union law stopped them. EU citizens have the right to book in any EU market and no measurements are allowed to hinder them from this, the residence in a specific country cannot be a requirement. Your situation as US citizen is totally different, MSC can certainly forbid you to book in UK or EU. 

Certainly you can risk it. The main risk is maybe not that MSC cancels your booking, the main risk is that you give up all customers legal protection you have in your home country. That is the reason I would not book in a country I not even speak the language. And with a fake residental address the correspondence anyway in finished before it starts and you basically even gave up the consumer legal protection from your "guest" country.

 

 

I didn't say anything about utilizing a fake address to make a booking with MSC. I was speaking hypothetically about the other individual's situation. He had booked a cruise with a US TA and he's a British national. I was simply stating that at the worst he would have to utilize an American address on the web check-in. I then went on to state that as long as his passport information is accurate, I wouldn't foresee it being an issue. Anything is possible though. But I think you're grossly overstating the risks of booking an out-of-market cruise. Yeah, there's always an amount of risk with everything. But if others choose to do something, I'm not going to stand in their way and act like it's the end of the world. You're more than welcome to endlessly peddle paranoia and hysteria. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Eliminator55

[Eliminator55]

4 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

It is not so easy. MSC (and other cruise lines) certainly don´t want out of the market bookings. And they are aware of this practice very well. So the tried to forbid this, but European Union law stopped them. EU citizens have the right to book in any EU market and no measurements are allowed to hinder them from this, the residence in a specific country cannot be a requirement. Your situation as US citizen is totally different, MSC can certainly forbid you to book in UK or EU. 

Certainly you can risk it. The main risk is maybe not that MSC cancels your booking, the main risk is that you give up all customers legal protection you have in your home country. That is the reason I would not book in a country I not even speak the language. And with a fake residental address the correspondence anyway in finished before it starts and you basically even gave up the consumer legal protection from your "guest" country.

 

You obviously have little to no understanding of this issue and further discussion obviously will do little to eradicate your lack of knowledge on this topic.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Eliminator55