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Caveat emptor: MSC is sinking fast IMO

2travelers2go

By 2travelers2go,
in MSC Cruises

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2travelers2go

2travelers2go

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I had a prior post about a problem with my MSC booking number not working.  I am afraid I am entering a swirling vortex of MSC incompetence and am going down fast. 

 

Still couldn't log into my MSC Account with my booking number today, as it still does not accept it.  I call customer service again. The rep tells me my reservation has been cancelled.  I'm shocked as I certainly didn't do it!  In fact, I've been trying to CONFIRM my booking for several business days now.

 

I tell her the saga:  I booked the cruise and paid for specific cabin. My credit card was accepted and charged (in full) for the cruise. I have printed out/screen shots confirming all this, including e-mails that said my payment was a "success" and it was paid in full. Only problem was there system would not accept my booking number.


She says she doesn't know what happened but she can say with certainty that my reservation was cancelled. She also said she saw that I was indeed charged for the cruise. This makes no sense whatsoever. 

 

Rep said she was going to send an email to MSC main office which is in Europe in Italy or Switzerland, I assume.  She indicated that it might take quite a while before I'd hear back from them and many times things were not exactly understood due to "translation" issues.  Wonderful.

 

She was also able to give me the added "good news" that the cabin I had booked (and have a receipt for) is no longer available.  We chose this cabin as it was in conjunction/proximity with friends we are going on the cruise with. That's why I paid extra to pick our cabin.  Now I will have to wait and who knows where we will wind up.

 

So far, MSC is an abject failure when it comes to their website and booking process.  I only hope the cruise goes better.  That is, if we will even go on it since we still don't have a reservation.  I will say this:  MSC is VERY VERY successful at charging you and taking your money, however.  THAT had no problem showing up on my credit card within minutes and is still there. Why can't they make a correction in their own system without it taking a week or more?

 

Bottom line:  I was willing to give MSC a chance considering they are fairly new in the market. I saw some people had some issues with booking/payment in reviews but was thinking that might be the odd case.  Until now - when I can count myself one of them.

 

Buyer beware. 

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mscdivina2016 "Live from...." Rare

mscdivina2016

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, 2travelers2go said:

I had a prior post about a problem with my MSC booking number not working.  I am afraid I am entering a swirling vortex of MSC incompetence and am going down fast. 

 

Still couldn't log into my MSC Account with my booking number today, as it still does not accept it.  I call customer service again. The rep tells me my reservation has been cancelled.  I'm shocked as I certainly didn't do it!  In fact, I've been trying to CONFIRM my booking for several business days now.

 

I tell her the saga:  I booked the cruise and paid for specific cabin. My credit card was accepted and charged (in full) for the cruise. I have printed out/screen shots confirming all this, including e-mails that said my payment was a "success" and it was paid in full. Only problem was there system would not accept my booking number.


She says she doesn't know what happened but she can say with certainty that my reservation was cancelled. She also said she saw that I was indeed charged for the cruise. This makes no sense whatsoever. 

 

Rep said she was going to send an email to MSC main office which is in Europe in Italy or Switzerland, I assume.  She indicated that it might take quite a while before I'd hear back from them and many times things were not exactly understood due to "translation" issues.  Wonderful.

 

She was also able to give me the added "good news" that the cabin I had booked (and have a receipt for) is no longer available.  We chose this cabin as it was in conjunction/proximity with friends we are going on the cruise with. That's why I paid extra to pick our cabin.  Now I will have to wait and who knows where we will wind up.

 

So far, MSC is an abject failure when it comes to their website and booking process.  I only hope the cruise goes better.  That is, if we will even go on it since we still don't have a reservation.  I will say this:  MSC is VERY VERY successful at charging you and taking your money, however.  THAT had no problem showing up on my credit card within minutes and is still there. Why can't they make a correction in their own system without it taking a week or more?

 

Bottom line:  I was willing to give MSC a chance considering they are fairly new in the market. I saw some people had some issues with booking/payment in reviews but was thinking that might be the odd case.  Until now - when I can count myself one of them.

 

Buyer beware. 

Their IT is lousy as well as the customer service.

 

I have had and still have multiple issues.

I am a very vocal in telling everyone how lousy they treat the customers. I keep booking as yacht club is great but only with a TA.

 

I still don't have an over charge from 2021 refunded yet despite I am being told they are working on it.

They always take your cabin. I have 5 booked and all 5 have had cabins changed.

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

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If the reservation was cancelled, MSC should be able to tell you who cancelled and when.  It does sound like a mess.  Another reason why we use a decent cruise agency/agent to handle all of our bookings (with many different cruise lines).  If something goes wrong, the agency/agent deals with the issue.  Funny thing is that my favorite cruise agent says she does not have problems dealing with MSC (she might be the only person on earth to say this).

 

Hank

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perakcruiser

perakcruiser

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I am a very vocal in telling everyone how lousy they treat the customers. I keep booking as yacht club is great but only with a TA.

With a TA that is well connected. MSC ranks TA in five categories. My TA has the highest rank "Commander" and does not lie when he says that they have a "good connection" to MSC. Can even change a "Bella" booking without letting MSC messing up things 😄

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Morgsmom Great Review Rare

Morgsmom

Posted
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2 minutes ago, 2travelers2go said:

So are you saying that if you book directly with the company itself, MSC, you will undoubtedly be treated worse than if you were to go through a second party like a TA? 

they are saying that if you book directly with MSC you will lack an ombudsman to intervene on your behalf should something happen...

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perakcruiser

perakcruiser

Posted
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3 minutes ago, 2travelers2go said:

So are you saying that if you book directly with the company itself, MSC, you will undoubtedly be treated worse than if you were to go through a second party like a TA? 

Not true. If the TA is not really qualified to deal with MSC better book by yourself and don´t give away the booking to a second (third) party. If the TA is somebody that speaks the language MSC fluently, let him speak on your behalf. 

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2travelers2go

2travelers2go

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1 minute ago, perakcruiser said:

Not true. If the TA is not really qualified to deal with MSC better book by yourself and don´t give away the booking to a second (third) party. If the TA is somebody that speaks the language MSC fluently, let him speak on your behalf. 

I don't know anyone who speaks Swiss, LOL!  

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mscdivina2016 "Live from...." Rare

mscdivina2016

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Posted
2 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Not true. If the TA is not really qualified to deal with MSC better book by yourself and don´t give away the booking to a second (third) party. If the TA is somebody that speaks the language MSC fluently, let him speak on your behalf. 

That drops it all on the TAs lap and they have to deal with the stupid endless crap they keep creating and doing.

 

I pay the TA direct by check and let them pay MSC. So my bookings are thru a TA if something goes wrong.

 

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JAGR

JAGR

Posted
Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, 2travelers2go said:

MSC Divina, you seem to have had problems with MSC.  Are there any insights you can give me, at this stage, which might help me resolve my issue with them?

Oh, God!  This is like handing the ball to Pete Sampras in his prime and saying, "So you think you can play tennis?  Show me what you got."

Edited by JAGR
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Two Wheels Only

Two Wheels Only

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I can only speak from personal experience and I have documented my "issues" with MSC here on Cruise Critic as far as cancelled cruises, ship switches, double bookings, FCC applications, price changes, refunds, etc. 

 

Long story,  short version....everything has worked out and MSC doesn't owe me a penny and I don't owe them a penny. My longest wait for a refund was 5 months and my shortest was less than 2 weeks.

 

I've enjoyed all of my MSC cruises and have future cruises booked through 2024. 

 

I hope that everything gets sorted out before you sail and hope that you enjoy your cruise. My only suggestion is to try MSCExistingReservations@msccruisesusa.com and ALWAYS use your confirmation number AND your SR Number within your email. Give as many exact details that you can. 

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styles27 "Live from...." Rare

styles27

Posted
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1 hour ago, 2travelers2go said:

So are you saying that if you book directly with the company itself, MSC, you will undoubtedly be treated worse than if you were to go through a second party like a TA? 

 

That should be shouted from the rooftops...

I’ve never used a TA when booking with MSC or any other cruise line or vacation etc.

Never had a problem doing it this way.

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, 2travelers2go said:

So are you saying that if you book directly with the company itself, MSC, you will undoubtedly be treated worse than if you were to go through a second party like a TA? 

 

That should be shouted from the rooftops...

Noooo.  Not quite.  I am saying if you book any cruise line through a decent cruise/travel agent you will be better off....both financially and mentally (less stress).  I do not want to pick on MSC (we have cruised on 16 cruise lines) as, these days, just about every line has customer service issues.  We, as amateurs, can choose to deal directly with cruise lines and their relatively low paid reservations clerks or we can choose to use a professional travel/cruise agent (who works for us) as an agent to represent us with the various cruise lines.

 

What makes this a "no brainer" for me is not only do I get a professional to deal with the cruise lines, but these agencies actually pay me!  So, on an upcoming MSC cruise our cruise agency has given us $450 of OBC (this is actually not a particularly good deal) that we would not have received had we booked directly with MSC.  On some of our other cruises with other lines we have received thousands of dollars of OBCs and other amenities simply because we used decent discount high volume cruise agencies

I will add that if you are booking a low priced MSC Experience than using an agency is not going to get you a lot (everything is based on percentages).  On the other hand, if you book a World Cruise with a decent cruise line, having the right agent can save you $10,000+

 

My advice, for over a quarter century has always been the same.  Shop around among decent, reputable cruise agencies for their best deals and then compare it to what it would cost you to book direct.   It never hurts to shop around (other than the need to spend some time doing your homework/due diligence).  

 

 

Hank

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2travelers2go

2travelers2go

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Hank, I appreciate your insights and understand your points.  However, my position is that when a company makes an obvious mistake they should correct it.  Matters not if it is directly with the customer or via an agent.  We have also cruised before (certainly not to your expertise level) but I never had such a basic, yet critical, problem right out of the gate with other cruise lines. 

 

Sadly, corporate ethics seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird.  Or in my case, I am the dodo for deciding to go ahead and give MSC a chance, despite doing research and reading some bad reviews. 

 

Lesson learned and one I will pass along to others...
 

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

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1 hour ago, 2travelers2go said:

Hank, I appreciate your insights and understand your points.  However, my position is that when a company makes an obvious mistake they should correct it.  Matters not if it is directly with the customer or via an agent.  We have also cruised before (certainly not to your expertise level) but I never had such a basic, yet critical, problem right out of the gate with other cruise lines. 

 

Sadly, corporate ethics seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird.  Or in my case, I am the dodo for deciding to go ahead and give MSC a chance, despite doing research and reading some bad reviews. 

 

Lesson learned and one I will pass along to others...
 

We have never had a problem such as yours.  And you are correct that the cruise line should fix their error.  And I hope you get them to understand the error of their ways.  If not, you need to consider some other options.  In your situation, I would have wanted that MSC clerk to send me something in writing that my cruise was cancelled.  Failing that, I would document the phone call in a memo.  Failing any rapid solution from MSC, I would contact my credit card company and put the charge item into dispute.  Keep in mind that credit card disputes do have a time element, so if in doubt you would want to get the item in dispute which stops the clock and opens a file.   Of course, that would leave you without a reservation and I guess you could then rebook (once you have your money credited back to your credit card account).  

 

Curious minds do want to know how your booking got cancelled.  That should trouble everyone!

 

Hank

 

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mscdivina2016 "Live from...." Rare

mscdivina2016

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14 hours ago, 2travelers2go said:

MSC Divina, you seem to have had problems with MSC.  Are there any insights you can give me, at this stage, which might help me resolve my issue with them?

No unfortunately.

I just hammer the poor TA with the issues now.

 

Such a great yacht club product but they are just plain stupid and don't care about the customer or the crew.

 

Out of curiosity, when is your cruise?

I might try find a large local TA to handle it. They ultimately get the booking and commission but probably can fix your problem.

 

  

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