Swapping people in rooms on different reservations before final payment.

[Kinnialias]

My wife and I had booked a cabin for a February cruise with the Drink Package; we are both Diamond.

My wife doesn't drink. 

A week later I invited my sister and her family to join us. We helped them book a basic family cabin with no extras.

They didn't want to spend the money on having to pay for a drink package for everyone including the kids.

They have no voyager status. 

It occurred to me recently what if my wife was booked in their room and my sister was booked to my room, at least my sister could have a drink package.

So the bookings haven't been paid off yet. Does anyone know ...Can I have swap my wife and sister on the two reservations?

[Essiesmom]

A little reading here will show that messing with a reservation may create a real mess.  All kinds of bad things can happen, from cancel and rebook, to fare changes, etc.

  What ship are you on?  MSC doesn’t issue extra room key cards for people who book in one room and plan to sleep in another.  Although it has been reported that the Yacht Club concierge can do it.  So unless you are on a ship that also has bracelets available, cabin access can be a problem.  
So, we need more information.  EM

[Kinnialias]

 

13 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

What ship are you on?

Sorry, about the missing detail.      Meraviglia

[Brighton Line]

On 7/29/2023 at 2:00 PM, Essiesmom said:

 Although it has been reported that the Yacht Club concierge can do it. 

YC Concierge did reprint both my and my wife's cards and then had to update the wristbands. This was in regard to us both having incorrect Voyager Club status. We are both Gold (we have only sailed together) I got a Blue card and she got a Silver card on embarkation.

The Concierge insisted on changing the cards so we had proof of our status even though online showed Gold but he said his system showed Blue/Sliver. 

The only difference in the keycards is the ones he made did not have lanyard holes while the embarkation ones did. Not a problem with YC wristbands unless you play the one-arm bandits I assume. 

[Rosebud5t]

It may help to know that MSC is now not allowing passengers (adults) without a drink package to dine at the same table with those who do have a drink package, even if they're in different cabins.

 

I'm booked on my 5th MSC cruise and this wasn't  the case on the others. I'm not sure, but it may have been in place for a while and just not enforced. And it also may only apply to linked bookings, but even the deeply buried fine print doesn't say that. I just called them and tried to (nicely) dispute it but it didn't work. Being Diamond level didn't help. They don't have an email for complaints/suggestions that I know of, so I tweeted about it and tagged them. That's all I can do other than not drink on my upcoming cruise with my parents. Yes, I'll be stubborn and petty enough to not buy any drinks at all when I was willing to buy a package. I love MSC, and have introduced many friends and family to them, but I can see this being a bad business decision on their part. Drink packages are very attractive to cruisers, and I doubt the majority of non-drinkers will buy what to them would be expensive packages just to dine with their friends and family.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Rosebud5t

[Essiesmom]

That drink package regulation has been in place for years, but apparently not enforced.  And apparently disregarded when assigning non-related parties to shared tables.  I suspect they will not allow family groups to share a table if all do not have the same package, because they suspect drinks will be shared.  But unrelated groups would not share.  EM

[Rosebud5t]

Fair enough. Just so strange that it hasn't been mentioned with any of my previous cruises with them. Either way, I think it's absurd they would think that dining room seating is the primary drink sharing problem.

[Illbcruzn4life]

51 minutes ago, Rosebud5t said:

Fair enough. Just so strange that it hasn't been mentioned with any of my previous cruises with them. Either way, I think it's absurd they would think that dining room seating is the primary drink sharing problem.

..

Edited August 1, 2023 by Illbcruzn4life

[Homosassa]

OP, Go on the MSC website and read the Terms and Conditions. There is a name change fee.

 

 Also be warned that there have been posts on this forum by cruisers that have tried the cabin manipulation booking  game and found that passengers could not be switched once on board or additional cabin cards issued.