MSC sale

[Selion]

42 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

It looks like I can't sign up for Voyager unless I have either cruised with them before or booked a cruise?

Do the Status Match with MSC.  Should be a link on their website under Voyager Club.  If you can't find it, ask your TA to do it for you.

 

Edit: This is the US page: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

Edited May 30, 2023 by Selion

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, zinniagirl said:

It looks like I can't sign up for Voyager unless I have either cruised with them before or booked a cruise?

Correct...but you can book, sign up, and then get them to apply the discount.

 

If you have status with an airline, hotel, or other cruise line, do what @Selion said...

Edited May 30, 2023 by alyssamma

[zinniagirl]

19 minutes ago, Selion said:

Do the Status Match with MSC.  Should be a link on their website under Voyager Club.  If you can't find it, ask your TA to do it for you.

 

Edit: This is the US page: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

It starts by asking if I've booked before or have a trip booked.  And since I don't have either I can't get the discount for my first booking.  Am I reading it wrong?

[alyssamma]

30 minutes ago, zinniagirl said:

It starts by asking if I've booked before or have a trip booked.  And since I don't have either I can't get the discount for my first booking.  Am I reading it wrong?

You are not. MSC makes things very difficult. Here are the steps...

 

1) Book cruise

 

2) Join Voyager...use status match if you can. NOTE - joining "normally" is instant, status match takes a while (can be weeks), and you *have* to stay on top of it. You have a 50/50 chance of it working correctly the first time...but do it anyway if you can because it's worth it.

 

3) Once you've joined, call in (or have your TA call if you book that way) and get the discount.

 

NOTE - if you (or traveling companion) is a teacher or in the military you can get a good discount. 

[perakcruiser]

10 hours ago, alyssamma said:

@perakcruiser explained the 2nd Q...but based on what you said, I'm not sure that is a "great" deal...assuming you don''t need drinks/wifi, you are looking at like $2200 USD total before taxes. MSC Med cruises are often pretty cheap...here is an example:

 

 

Not the exact same, but you can see it's half of your price ($1200 USD vs $2200 USD). 

 

Point is...there are often good med prices...shop around...pick what you want exactly...

 

Sure in October and November the chances for a better deal are much higher. But I am pretty sure that there is almost no chance to a get a balcony on Seaview during Pentecost for substancially cheaper than $1535 CAD. MSC has pretty full ships now, they are raising the prices in western and even more eastern med. See for example how often the Musica is sold out already in the next 6 months and what prices they ask for the last cabins. Ugly.

 

By the way, US prices do not include taxes and fees, Canada prices do. 

Edited May 31, 2023 by perakcruiser

[alyssamma]

50 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Sure in October and November the chances for a better deal are much higher. But I am pretty sure that there is almost no chance to a get a balcony on Seaview during Pentecost for substancially cheaper than $1535 CAD. MSC has pretty full ships now, they are raising the prices in western and even more eastern med. See for example how often the Musica is sold out already in the next 6 months and what prices they ask for the last cabins. Ugly.

 

By the way, US prices do not include taxes and fees, Canada prices do. 

Yes, I understand different countries have different rules for quoting fares. That doesn't change my point, thought...still much cheaper.

 

The OP wanted to know if the "sale" was good...the point is, it really isn't a sale. These are pretty much the prices you can find regardless of "sale" or "no sale".

 

That being said, if you are flexible in dates, you can find *much* cheaper.

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by alyssamma

[zinniagirl]

You guys have been VERY helpful.  We do want to travel when it's warmer so we will probably stick to late May or June.  But I've learned a bunch from you all.

[skipsaur]

13 hours ago, zinniagirl said:

It starts by asking if I've booked before or have a trip booked.  And since I don't have either I can't get the discount for my first booking.  Am I reading it wrong?

 

If you've cruised on any other lines before or have certain hotel or airline loyalty status, you can submit an online form to have MSC match that status. When I did it, it was very fast and got a reply the next business day.

 

By doing this, they will sign you up for a new Voyager's club and provide you with your ID number that you can use on your first booking, to get the 5% discount.

[perakcruiser]

11 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The OP wanted to know if the "sale" was good...the point is, it really isn't a sale. These are pretty much the prices you can find regardless of "sale" or "no sale".

I do not agree with you 😁

 

Regular price is 2796 CAD, so this sale with 1556 is a good price and I am pretty sure it never will get cheaper. Minimal maybe. Other sales will come for sure, but don´t expect you can get more than 50% off, I am following this for years already. I did it one time by booking two weeks before departure, but again, in Pentecost week there will be no last minute offers.    

 

Nowadays MSC can sell many cruises with the regular price and even raise the regular price when the ship is almost full. I have seen prices for INSIDE cabins in the last weeks so high I never thought this is possible. Yes, when you are flexible and go totally off season, we live in a totally different world in November, but there certainly also the regular prices are lower already. 

 

 

[alyssamma]

1 minute ago, perakcruiser said:

I do not agree with you 😁

 

Regular price is 2796 CAD, so this sale with 1556 is a good price and I am pretty sure it never will get cheaper. Minimal maybe. Other sales will come for sure, but don´t expect you can get more than 50% off, I am following this for years already. I did it one time by booking two weeks before departure, but again, in Pentecost week there will be no last minute offers.    

 

Nowadays MSC can sell many cruises with the regular price and even raise the regular price when the ship is almost full. I have seen prices for INSIDE cabins in the last weeks so high I never thought this is possible. Yes, when you are flexible and go totally off season, we live in a totally different world in November, but there certainly also the regular prices are lower already. 

 

 

Not sure what you disagree with...

 

You agree that off season it's much cheaper.

 

You say this is a good price - and I never said it wasn't. Just said it wasn't a good *sale* as this type of price is what you can expect for this time of year. If it was a good *sale* then this would be a price you wouldn't normally see. If that is the part you are disagreeing with, then we can just agree to disagree. I, too, follow MSC prices and this seems pretty normal to me. Med prices are always low for them.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, skipsaur said:

 

If you've cruised on any other lines before or have certain hotel or airline loyalty status, you can submit an online form to have MSC match that status. When I did it, it was very fast and got a reply the next business day.

 

By doing this, they will sign you up for a new Voyager's club and provide you with your ID number that you can use on your first booking, to get the 5% discount.

Wow. Shocked you got this done in a day...congrats for sure!

[alyssamma]

3 hours ago, zinniagirl said:

You guys have been VERY helpful.  We do want to travel when it's warmer so we will probably stick to late May or June.  But I've learned a bunch from you all.

No worries and enjoy!

[skipsaur]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

Wow. Shocked you got this done in a day...congrats for sure!

 

I was a bit surprised at the speed too, but my husband submitted his the next day and it also only took a day. But then when I tried to email some questions, they vanished into the ether with no response haha. Guess it's a bit hit or miss!

 

 

[Stockjock]

I've been tracking MSC's recent sales.  Generally, they really don't seem to be sales at all.

1. Free drink and wi-fi packages are usually not free at all.  You can typically buy the same cruise for hundreds less without drinks and wi-fi, so how are they free?

2. I noticed that several sailings I've been watching were actually increased shortly (1-2 weeks) before the sale.  But most that I am interested in did not decrease in price during the "sale".

In short, there is nothing special about this sale.  The extra OBC is worth a little bit, but not much, particularly since many prices remain somewhat elevated (for MSC).

Also, the deal referenced didn't strike me as being an especially attractive deal.

They do have some sales that are a bit better than gimmicks, such as the free upgrade from oceanview to balcony sales, but most of MSC's sales, and out of fairness, the sales of many other cruiselines, are just gimmicks trying to trick the customer into thinking they're getting a great deal.

I can't even tell you how many of Celebrity's "Greatest sales of the Year!" I've seen this year, but all prices are much higher than what I paid for a Greek Isles sailing.  As a side note, Celebrity changed their "Always Included" drink package bundle name, presumably, because it wasn't actually always included.  Like MSC, you could buy the same cruise for often more than $1,000+ less without those "included" items.  So at some point, I think MSC needs to stop calling things "free" that clearly are not free.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Stockjock