MSC Travel Agent Mixup

[jlandryst]

Long time a first-time lurker poster. I booked a cruise on the MSC website and got everything perfect before transferring it to my travel agent. My travel agent sent in the proper paperwork and made all the calls. They didn't transfer it right away. It took over three weeks. They finally transferred it after the final payment was made but transferred it to the wrong travel agency.

I called MSC and the travel agency they say once you have made the final payment, you cant transfer your reservation. With them transferring to the wrong agency, I lost out on OBC and several free perks from my original agent. What is my recourse, or do I have any recourse? I appreciate any help you can provide.

[emmas gran]

Why didn't you let your travel agent book the cruise for you , would have solved lots of problems.

 

As to recourse I think not.

[Morgsmom]

8 hours ago, jlandryst said:

Long time a first-time lurker poster. I booked a cruise on the MSC website and got everything perfect before transferring it to my travel agent. My travel agent sent in the proper paperwork and made all the calls. They didn't transfer it right away. It took over three weeks. They finally transferred it after the final payment was made but transferred it to the wrong travel agency.

I called MSC and the travel agency they say once you have made the final payment, you cant transfer your reservation. With them transferring to the wrong agency, I lost out on OBC and several free perks from my original agent. What is my recourse, or do I have any recourse? .

Welcome to the wonderous world of MSC.  First, I'd say you have no recourse with the cruise line. If you try to open that can of worms you will likely lose as they will re-fare your cruise and it probably went up (just a guess).  HOWEVER what you can do, and should do, is now contact the Travel Agency that was "given" this cruise and has done NO work for you. You then ask them for some perks since they did not lift a finger and they are getting a commission now.  They (the 2nd Agency) should give you OBC. That's the folks you need to talk to now.  

[Illbcruzn4life]

15 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

Welcome to the wonderous world of MSC.  First, I'd say you have no recourse with the cruise line. If you try to open that can of worms you will likely lose as they will re-fare your cruise and it probably went up (just a guess).  HOWEVER what you can do, and should do, is now contact the Travel Agency that was "given" this cruise and has done NO work for you. You then ask them for some perks since they did not lift a finger and they are getting a commission now.  They (the 2nd Agency) should give you OBC. That's the folks you need to talk to now.  

great idea. Hope they take you up on it and Id love to know how they made out if they do.

[mscdivina2016]

On 3/20/2023 at 10:47 PM, jlandryst said:

Long time a first-time lurker poster. I booked a cruise on the MSC website and got everything perfect before transferring it to my travel agent. My travel agent sent in the proper paperwork and made all the calls. They didn't transfer it right away. It took over three weeks. They finally transferred it after the final payment was made but transferred it to the wrong travel agency.

I called MSC and the travel agency they say once you have made the final payment, you cant transfer your reservation. With them transferring to the wrong agency, I lost out on OBC and several free perks from my original agent. What is my recourse, or do I have any recourse? I appreciate any help you can provide.

How did they transfer it to the wrong TA?  You had to fill a form out to transfer it????

That form you needed to list TA.

[mmbcater]

Was your travel agent a part of a host agency or franchise agency? They may have transferred the reservation to the host agency on behalf of  the travel agent? 

Edited March 26, 2023 by mmbcater

[MandyMooToo]

Interested in what the final disposition was here.  I tried to transfer a booking (first MSC cruise) to my TA and she won't accept it.  Apparently MSC is a line she won't book with.  Curious if that is a common thing or not...

[mscdivina2016]

16 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

Interested in what the final disposition was here.  I tried to transfer a booking (first MSC cruise) to my TA and she won't accept it.  Apparently MSC is a line she won't book with.  Curious if that is a common thing or not...

Very common.

As I have stated once or two times they are horrendous in CS and IT. 

 Big box TAs will take it as they have a rep to contact.

I always say use a TA or if you don't, never call them otherwise you could be charged more, cancelled, put on another ship, have your dates changed, have your embarkation port changed, and even be downgraded from a yacht club deluxe cabin to a balcony for no reduction in fare.

 

All the above has happened to me which is why I use a TA for them.

Great product. I was never going to sail with them again but apparently I drunk booked another. Already given to TA.

[jlandryst]

Everything was corrected on the MSC side; they transferred me to the correct TA. Regarding the other TA, I contacted them and tried to make a deal with them. She claimed she wasn't making any money on the cruise and offered me a 1/4 of the credit my original TA offered.

[BermudaBound2014]

18 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

Curious if that is a common thing or not...

It is common with MSC which should be a flag for passengers booking on their own.
 

I routinely work with three different travel agencies. Two of the three stopped dealing with MSC a decade ago. I found out today that the third has also joined them. She said MSC is just too difficult to deal with and refuses to sell the product. I won’t book MSC without an agent so I’m on a hunt to find someone willing to do business with the company.

[hamrag]

4 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

....I was never going to sail with them again but apparently I drunk booked another...

 

Are you sure this isn't the latest part of the MSC 'conspiracy' against you, and you didn't actually do this?? 🤔

Edited April 5, 2023 by hamrag

[MsTabbyKats]

8 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Very common.

As I have stated once or two times they are horrendous in CS and IT. 

 Big box TAs will take it as they have a rep to contact.

I always say use a TA or if you don't, never call them otherwise you could be charged more, cancelled, put on another ship, have your dates changed, have your embarkation port changed, and even be downgraded from a yacht club deluxe cabin to a balcony for no reduction in fare.

 

All the above has happened to me which is why I use a TA for them.

Great product. I was never going to sail with them again but apparently I drunk booked another. Already given to TA.

I keep reading that they moved you from YC to a balcony...but apparently I missed the details.

Could you please either give me a link to "that thread" or a brief synopsis of what happened.

[mscdivina2016]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I keep reading that they moved you from YC to a balcony...but apparently I missed the details.

Could you please either give me a link to "that thread" or a brief synopsis of what happened.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2926350-first-time-sailing-with-msc-cant-wait/#comment-65098409

[MsTabbyKats]

37 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2926350-first-time-sailing-with-msc-cant-wait/#comment-65098409

I get that.  But why did they change you in the first place?  Was a cruise canceled?  A charter?  It sounds like it wasn't just a random cabin change.

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 3/20/2023 at 10:47 PM, jlandryst said:

With them transferring to the wrong agency, I lost out on OBC and several free perks from my original agent.

Most TA's offer some sort of OBC.  I'd find out what OBC the wrong TA is offering for a similar booking...after all, they got a booking they weren't expecting.

[mscdivina2016]

2 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I get that.  But why did they change you in the first place?  Was a cruise canceled?  A charter?  It sounds like it wasn't just a random cabin change.

Salsa cruise chartered Splendida and it never made it to USA.  So they gave them my ship and needed to get rid of everyone, this was a few weeks before sailing.

 They told me they would make it right. Have not yet and they seem to forget that.

[hamrag]

16 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Salsa cruise chartered Splendida and it never made it to USA.  So they gave them my ship and needed to get rid of everyone, this was a few weeks before sailing....

I don't recall you mentioning previously that you own a ship!!.....cool 👌

[Georgia_Peaches]

20 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

They told me they would make it right. Have not yet and they seem to forget that.

I am not sure why you get so much grief from others about your MSC experience.  I would certainly be disillusioned by them if this had happened to us.  I don't recall all the details and at this point it doesn't really matter.  The bottom line is, MSC didn't make it right for you and that's a concern.  People need to go in with eyes wide open and understand the pitfalls of MSC's customer service.  We have been fortunate to have good experiences with MSC but it's a learning curve for newbies and one of the biggest take aways is to use a TA.  For those who have indicated that their TA will no longer deal with MSC because they are too difficult, know that there are tons more out there willing to take their place because through all the hassle, they are still striving to be number one is the US market so the incentives for TA's are attractive...even if dealing with their customer service is not.  Anyway, good on you for your thick skin!

[mscdivina2016]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I am not sure why you get so much grief from others about your MSC experience.  I would certainly be disillusioned by them if this had happened to us.  I don't recall all the details and at this point it doesn't really matter.  The bottom line is, MSC didn't make it right for you and that's a concern.  People need to go in with eyes wide open and understand the pitfalls of MSC's customer service.  We have been fortunate to have good experiences with MSC but it's a learning curve for newbies and one of the biggest take aways is to use a TA.  For those who have indicated that their TA will no longer deal with MSC because they are too difficult, know that there are tons more out there willing to take their place because through all the hassle, they are still striving to be number one is the US market so the incentives for TA's are attractive...even if dealing with their customer service is not.  Anyway, good on you for your thick skin!

I am always bringing it up to YC director and I enjoy the extras thrown my way.😁

 

I am on Splendida in 5 days so I will bring it up again.

[GPPhilly]

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I am not sure why you get so much grief from others about your MSC experience.  I would certainly be disillusioned by them if this had happened to us.  

The grief comes from the fact that even after the rants and complains they continue to book MSC and complain

[Georgia_Peaches]

42 minutes ago, GPPhilly said:

The grief comes from the fact that even after the rants and complains they continue to book MSC and complain

Keeps things interesting though...😁.

[mscdivina2016]

12 hours ago, GPPhilly said:

The grief comes from the fact that even after the rants and complains they continue to book MSC and complain

I didn't mean to book another a couple of weeks back.

Great reason why you should not drink in the morning.

 

I will immediately upon boarding Splendida in a few days,make an appointment to have a sit down about this atrocious thing that happened to me.

 I will also play the recorded audio of the customer service rep telling me to take it up once I get on board.😂

 

 There is a file on this and it keeps getting thicker.

 It's so simple to fix, just do as you said you would while on a call with my lawyer and me.😁

  They do have a great YC product. I am getting the feeling that they are not being truthful. What is the opposite of truthful?

 

[hamrag]

16 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I am always bringing it up to YC director and I enjoy the extras thrown my way.😁

 

I am on Splendida in 5 days so I will bring it up again.

One would think that, via some kind of YCD network, all YCD's would have been alerted to your little game by now!

[mscdivina2016]

6 hours ago, hamrag said:

One would think that, via some kind of YCD network, all YCD's would have been alerted to your little game by now!

Not a game.  I board in 5 days and I already sent an email to existingreservations @msc.com. Hopefully as the reply email states,they will contact me shortly. Lol.

 

This sailing they will have me for 18 days😮😁

 

[MsTabbyKats]

56 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Not a game.  I board in 5 days and I already sent an email to existingreservations @msc.com. Hopefully as the reply email states,they will contact me shortly. Lol.

 

This sailing they will have me for 18 days😮😁

 

I'm really trying to figure this out.  Maybe my comprehension is slow...but, you had a YC booked.  MSC decided to make it a salsa cruise (what exactly is a salsa cruise?) and you had a choice: refund or lesser cabin with no YC benefits.  You chose the refund,

What do you expect from "existing reservations", the staff on the ship for your current sailing/and or benefits that have been to you for prior sailings?

Did you have flight/hotel reservations?  Did you have time off from work?  Did you lose any time/money because of the fiasco?

Sounds to me like you're making this into a permanent cash cow.

I mean no disrespect, and this would have angered me too....I just want to know what your loss was.