Voyagers Club members, what's the skinny on how +5%, +10%, and +15% discount cruises get selected?

[alyssamma]

12 minutes ago, Até said:

I've had over a dozen bookings alone with the VS discount before MSC removed the higher percentages and added the extra $50.  I had two bookings at the 5%+5% with the extra $50 OBC.  I've made four bookings after MSC moved back to the higher percentage and cut the extra $50 OBC. Even though I've only been sailing MSC since 2017 I've watched countless promotions come and go, changes to drink packages, internet and just about anything you can think of.  It's pretty common for things to get screwed up between the website, which is operated out of Europe, and MSC US booking in Florida.

 

So yes, MSC has a screwed up website and the business is not run like a typical US cruise line.  But I am 100% sure MSC US watches this forum.  Their corporate Cruise Critic account may seem dormant with no more posting, that seems to be the way several cruise lines are now dealing with websites where they cannot control the content - It was nice when you could see when a CC user last logged in.  Many threads likely have no interest to them but there have definitely been reactions to certain topics.  I guess we'll see how long people continue to get the extra $50 OBC, I took advantage of it while I could.

How are you 100% sure? What evidence do you have? All of the above just sounds like speculation. You said "reactions to certain topics"...what are they? And how do you know if was to a CC post instead of countless other ways people could have left feedback - phone, facebook, twitter, etc.

 

And I think people will get the double $50 as long as MSC is running the promo...which I and many others believe they are.

 

I, like you, have had many MSC bookings. I have 4 for myself coming up, two for other family members, and 3 for friends...all within the next 12 mo. Guess what...all of us got the extra $50 *automatically* with one exception...the 8/20 sailing on Meraviglia. But a simple call to the rep took care of that.

 

Based on that, and based on the many others who either got it outright or got it easily when they called, it makes *much* more sense that this is how MSC intended it.

 

[ready2cruzagain]

12 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The only thing it says online is *up to* 50...so there is something that makes it less than 50...maybe inside cabin?

 

No, even insides get $50 pp, we just booked an inside on a VS cruise and each received $50 OBC.  It didn't show up on the cruise documents immediately but during the middle of the night we were emailed new documents with the obc on them.

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, ready2cruzagain said:

No, even insides get $50 pp, we just booked an inside on a VS cruise and each received $50 OBC.  It didn't show up on the cruise documents immediately but during the middle of the night we were emailed new documents with the obc on them.

Are you Silver or better on points, or just Classic-level?

 

If Silver or higher, the 50 bucks is for that.

 

Or, are you talking about a second 50 bucks in the middle of the night?

[ready2cruzagain]

1 hour ago, no1talks said:

Are you Silver or better on points, or just Classic-level?

 

If Silver or higher, the 50 bucks is for that.

 

Or, are you talking about a second 50 bucks in the middle of the night?

I only received $50 total for each person (there was no credit at first, it was credited in the middle of the night). I am Diamond. I understand the $50 for the Diamond but not seeing anywhere where there should be another $50.

[alyssamma]

6 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I only received $50 total for each person (there was no credit at first, it was credited in the middle of the night). I am Diamond. I understand the $50 for the Diamond but not seeing anywhere where there should be another $50.

The first part of this sentence is the "other" 50...I would call to see if you can get it...

 

Get up to €/$50 per person onboard credit to use during your cruise, PLUS you'll earn double points! If you are a Silver, Gold or Diamond member, you'll earn an additional €/$50 per person onboard credit to use during your cruise

 

[Até]

11 hours ago, alyssamma said:

How are you 100% sure?

Not sure if you saw my response, gone now.

[alyssamma]

2 minutes ago, Até said:

Not sure if you saw my response, gone now.

I did not see it, nor was I notified of it...

[Até]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2782915-hidden-posts/?tab=comments#comment-61192695

 

[alyssamma]

18 minutes ago, Até said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2782915-hidden-posts/?tab=comments#comment-61192695

 

LOL, like how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop, the world may never know...

 

🙂

 

[Até]

Three.

[phissy]

[phissy]

On 7/26/2021 at 4:06 PM, phissy said:

MSC USA site has the following wording….”up to $50pp”. Since we booked YC, received the full amount. Other categories may not receive this amount .The loyalty bonus OBC states it is additional and will be added.

and yes, limited time offer.

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by phissy

[alyssamma]

8 minutes ago, phissy said:

 

I think the key is "limited time offer". Some were thinking this was a "mistake" on MSC's part, but clearly it isn't. It's a promo they've run in the past and one they are running again.

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, Até said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2782915-hidden-posts/?tab=comments#comment-61192695

 

Same happened to me, ironically I was praising them.

[Até]

The Terms & Conditions at the bottom of VS pages:

 

The additional discount (5% or 15%) depends on the departures and markets. The Voyages Selection departures are not available for Welcome members. Silver, Gold and Black members receive an additional €/$50 shipboard credit on top of the discount on their Voyages Selection booking. Shipboard credit is issued per member and not per cabin. Shipboard credit is applied to the final bill at the end of the cruise. Shipboard credit does not apply to MSC Voyagers Club members under 18 years old. This awarded discount can be extended to all occupants of the cabin and cannot be combined with any other offer and promotion, with the exception of MSC Voyagers Club discount, unless otherwise specified in the details of the promotion itself. All points earned will be assigned approximately 10 days after the end of the cruise. Voyages Selection can be booked online, via our Call Center or through your Travel Agent.

 

MSC's use of the term "additional $50 shipboard credit" is in reference to the discount percentage.  The OBC is in addition to the discount.  Either way they screwed themselves when they did that true additional OBC based on cabin type and now people pick apart some poor wording and expect two $50 OBC.  And to top it off some people are getting the two separate OBC credits while some are not.  I guess over the years things like this with MSC no longer surprise me.

 

ETA: The fact that they still mention Black members shows the website is full of mistakes.  Good thing they have the general booking Terms & Conditions that exonerate them from any errors they ever make.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Até

[ready2cruzagain]

5 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The first part of this sentence is the "other" 50...I would call to see if you can get it...

 

Get up to €/$50 per person onboard credit to use during your cruise, PLUS you'll earn double points! If you are a Silver, Gold or Diamond member, you'll earn an additional €/$50 per person onboard credit to use during your cruise

 

Thank you, I did just call. The CS rep had to contact a supervisor to find out why it is not showing on our docs yet.  We were told that once we make final payment, the extra $50 pp for being Diamond will be on our documents.  If it is not, I will be calling again since the Supervisor did say we will receive $50 more dollars each. 

[alyssamma]

41 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

Thank you, I did just call. The CS rep had to contact a supervisor to find out why it is not showing on our docs yet.  We were told that once we make final payment, the extra $50 pp for being Diamond will be on our documents.  If it is not, I will be calling again since the Supervisor did say we will receive $50 more dollars each. 

Glad you got it. Again, no clue why some on this board continue to insist it is a "mistake" and not what MSC intended...

[alyssamma]

49 minutes ago, Até said:

The Terms & Conditions at the bottom of VS pages:

 

The additional discount (5% or 15%) depends on the departures and markets. The Voyages Selection departures are not available for Welcome members. Silver, Gold and Black members receive an additional €/$50 shipboard credit on top of the discount on their Voyages Selection booking. Shipboard credit is issued per member and not per cabin. Shipboard credit is applied to the final bill at the end of the cruise. Shipboard credit does not apply to MSC Voyagers Club members under 18 years old. This awarded discount can be extended to all occupants of the cabin and cannot be combined with any other offer and promotion, with the exception of MSC Voyagers Club discount, unless otherwise specified in the details of the promotion itself. All points earned will be assigned approximately 10 days after the end of the cruise. Voyages Selection can be booked online, via our Call Center or through your Travel Agent.

 

MSC's use of the term "additional $50 shipboard credit" is in reference to the discount percentage.  The OBC is in addition to the discount.  Either way they screwed themselves when they did that true additional OBC based on cabin type and now people pick apart some poor wording and expect two $50 OBC.  And to top it off some people are getting the two separate OBC credits while some are not.  I guess over the years things like this with MSC no longer surprise me.

 

ETA: The fact that they still mention Black members shows the website is full of mistakes.  Good thing they have the general booking Terms & Conditions that exonerate them from any errors they ever make.

Or...it's working exactly like it should. Not sure why you are so insistent that this is some type of "error". When people call in - like ready2cruzagain did above - they are told they *should* be getting the extra bonus. *You* even did this. Reps aren't arguing about it...they are just dong it. So again, not sure why you believe this is a mistake.

 

Since you believe MSC monitors these threads, if this *wasn't* the intended behavior, I would have expected them to stop it...or at least do a 5 second update to the wording on the website.

 

Since neither of these things have happened, I'm going to choose to believe it's working as MSC intended it to.

 

Regardless, people are happily calling in to get the extra credit - yourself included - so no reason to keep saying it's a mistake 🙂

 

[Até]

46 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We were told that once we make final payment, the extra $50 pp for being Diamond will be on our documents.

A little strange that some, like myself, have it showing before final payment but yours does not?

 

7 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

... no clue why some on this board continue to insist it is a "mistake" and not what MSC intended...

Did you see anywhere in the Terms & Conditions that it mentions a second OBC?

[alyssamma]

1 minute ago, Até said:

A little strange that some, like myself, have it showing before final payment but yours does not?

 

Did you see anywhere in the Terms & Conditions that it mentions a second OBC?

Listen, there's nothing else to say at this point. Regardless of all of the evidence - people calling in and getting it w/o argument...*yourself included*, you won't admit you made a mistake and instead insist MSC did.

 

Even though you are 100% sure they monitor the threads, they've done nothing to correct this mistake. Again, rather than assume there is no mistake, you are still convinced it is...but no explanation for why MSC, who monitors this board, hasn't fixed it.

 

So I won't say any more on this subject to you. I agree with many of your posts, but on this one I think you are just plain wrong. However, I can see that no amount of evidence will change your mind...and that's ok because whether or not you believe in the promo, it's still working for everyone - yourself included.

 

GLTA who have gotten this. Sorry for any who don't think they should and don't call about it.

[Two Wheels Only]

On 8/11/2021 at 3:30 PM, alyssamma said:

confused because I have a repriced cruise that is so complicated not having any rep touch or look at that.

 

THIS!!!

 

If things are right, don't let them near that booking. 

 

10 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

No, even insides get $50 pp, we just booked an inside on a VS cruise and each received $50 OBC.  It didn't show up on the cruise documents immediately but during the middle of the night we were emailed new documents with the obc on them.

 

The OBC is regularly a problem. Sometimes, it shows up when you first book. Sometimes, it shows up days later. Sometimes, 1 passenger will get more than the other, etc. 

 

In my cases, $100 OBC pp is normal even though it shows up as $50 and $50. One thing that I noticed is that the VC numbers for the other guests don't always show up. Looking at the cruise details, some days their numbers are there and other days, their numbers aren't. Honestly, IDGAD about $50 OBC as long as everything else is correct. 

 

 

 

 

[alyssamma]

1 minute ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

THIS!!!

 

If things are right, don't let them near that booking. 

 

 

The OBC is regularly a problem. Sometimes, it shows up when you first book. Sometimes, it shows up days later. Sometimes, 1 passenger will get more than the other, etc. 

 

In my cases, $100 OBC pp is normal even though it shows up as $50 and $50. One thing that I noticed is that the VC numbers for the other guests don't always show up. Looking at the cruise details, some days their numbers are there and other days, their numbers aren't. Honestly, IDGAD about $50 OBC as long as everything else is correct. 

 

 

 

 

My first MSC cruise they messed up my OBC. For some reason they had to "manually" fix it and ended up giving my wife an extra $400.

 

It didn't matter...we lost it in the casino 🙂

 

[no1talks]

That's it!

As the OP of this thread, I decree this controversy be settled in...

THUNDERDOME!
😜

[Até]

5 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Since you believe MSC monitors these threads, if this *wasn't* the intended behavior, I would have expected them to stop it...or at least do a 5 second update to the wording on the website.

 

Regardless, people are happily calling in to get the extra credit - yourself included - so no reason to keep saying it's a mistake.

 

6 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Even though you are 100% sure they monitor the threads, they've done nothing to correct this mistake. Again, rather than assume there is no mistake, you are still convinced it is...but no explanation for why MSC, who monitors this board, hasn't fixed it.

Well actually the debates/discrepancies have been going on since MSC first did the extra OBC for certain cabins, then continued after MSC dropped the extra OBC and put back the VS 5%+10% and 5%+15% categories. 

 

I never said they were fast, just that they watch.  So yes I'll take advantage of an MSC mistake, or if helps you I'll use the word inconsistency,  but broadcasting it will only increase their catching up and possibly end it for good.   But again with MSC they may never bother to fix it.

[alyssamma]

8 minutes ago, no1talks said:

That's it!

As the OP of this thread, I decree this controversy be settled in...

THUNDERDOME!
😜

Where's Master Blaster?

 

Seriously, no clue why some people argue against what is obviously a promo so much 🙂