MSC hates middle names.

[Stockjock]

This is a subject that I've touched upon multiple times in the past.  But it's becoming more and more clear to me that MSC hates middle names, or at least, their systems do.

Some time ago, I had countless problems viewing or updating information on my GF's MSC account.  She used her maiden name as her middle name and MSC's system's couldn't figure out how to deal with that.  In the end, MSC made her maiden name her middle name and that seemed to solve the issue at that time, although we did have to delete her MSC account and re-enroll.

More recently, I noted that MSC had lumped my first and middle name together on my MSC account, and they did the same on my GF's.  So if my name was David Emerson Smith, everything would refer to me as David Emerson.  Same deal for the GF.  Her maiden name, which MSC carried as her middle name, magically because a part of her first name.  So if she was Susan Ortiz Jones, she'd be referred to as Susan Ortiz, only as if Ortiz was a part of her first name.

Recently, I noticed that I could no longer view a 2025 booking under my MSC account.  I went back and forth with MSC for a couple of months, and this included a deletion of my Voyager's Club account, and then I had to sign up all over again.  They told me to be sure to sign up as David (first name) Emerson (middle name) Smith (last name).  I did all of that, and for a brief moment, things seemed fine.  I'd log in and see, "Hello David!" (not my real name.)  But shortly thereafter, the system once again combined my first and middle names as if they were my first name.  "Hello David Emerson!"  And thus, once again, I was not able to view my reservation on my MSC account.

Why?  Apparently this is due to a mismatch of the name on the booking, versus the crazy middle name situation on MSC.  Their system combines the first and middle name as one first name, in 2 parts, while the reservation may be correct.  But the mismatch does not allow one to view it in your MSC account.

Because MSC could not solve the issue, months later, I cancelled the reservation and rebooked it (same price, no penalty.)  But I noticed that on this new booking, they only asked for my first and last names, middle name was not even requested for me or my GF.  Logged into my account and still could not see it.

Why not?

Because the new booking was under David Smith and Voyager's Club/MSC account was under David Emerson Smith, again a mismatch.

Previously, MSC told me that the *only* way to modify a name was to cancel the MSC account and start from scratch.  But this time, I called and someone was "magically" able to simply delete my middle name on my MSC account.

MSC account = David Smith, check.  Reservation = David Smith, check.

So I was in good shape.  But now, once again, we could not access my GF's booking within her MSC account.

Why not?

MSC account = Susan Ortiz Jones.  New reservation = Susan Jones.  Mismatch, and thus reservation not visible.  Here we go again...

Pretty sure they know about this, or at least someone does, and that's why new bookings don't ask for a middle name anymore.

But it's clear to me that MSC hates middle names, or at least their system does.  Just one more error to deal with.  I suppose the next step will be to try to delete her middle name from her MSC account.  Pray for me.

[Stockjock]

Just to provide a bit more information, I just got off of the phone with an MSC agent.  We discussed this issue and he seemed unaware of the glitch/problem with MSC's systems and middle names.  However, he did say that he's been getting a lot of calls asking why MSC no longer allows one to enter their middle name on new bookings (do a mock online booking & you'll see this.)

I'm guessing that most at MSC (and here at CruiseCritic), are not aware of the issue. 

Again, the main issue is the fact that MSC's system's cannot properly process/understand middle names, in some or many instances.  At times, even when things are working fine, their systems combine the first and middle names to make one odd looking first name.  

So, I believe, their solution was to only request first and last names on new bookings.  However, many of us have Voyager's Club accounts that contain a middle name, which creates a mismatch on the booking, and thus a "mismatched" booking is not visible when logging into your MSC account.

What my solution is, was to have them modify my GF's account so that it looks like mine does currently, i.e. first and last name only.  Their systems are very peculiar and fussy.

I just double-checked and they did modify her Voyager's Club account to remove her middle name.  It does now match the booking and the booking is now visible on her account and on mine.

One more tip.  If you call MSC, they will probably provide you with an e-mail address to use when you make the request.  My suggestion is don't do this.  I went back and forth for 2 months and not only was it generally not corrected properly, but at some point, they just stopped replying.  This can be fixed with a single call while you are on the phone.  However, the agent will probably need to send them a message and put you on hold while they address the issue.  Remember, the booking and Voyager's Club names need to match precisely, and usually it's better if they list first and last name only.  It's odd.  It's MSC.

Sometimes, I wonder if I'm wasting your time with this stuff.  I write this info to try and help people, but I don't sense that it's appreciated.  Oh well.

Edited May 10 by Stockjock

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Sometimes, I wonder if I'm wasting your time with this stuff.  I write this info to try and help people, but I don't sense that it's appreciated.  Oh well.

 

I don't know if it is appreciated by others but your issues seem to be different than issues that others have had. For example, on one of my bookings, MSC somehow changed my GENDER. Everything else (name, DOB, etc.) was correct but I was listed as a female. It is impossible (for me) to change that one once everything is booked and it took several months for MSC to correct it. I don't know how common it is but I have never seen anyone else on the forum have that issue just as I haven't seen anyone else have your issues....and nobody else has had the issues that "mscdivina2016" has had. 😉

 

As for middle names, we've never had a problem. On my last cruise, we walked into our stateroom for the first time and found a plate of cookies. What made these cookies unique was that my kids' first and middle names were written in chocolate sauce on the plate. The parents had champagne flutes to go with the extra bottle that was actual champagne instead of the standard sparkling wine bottle that was on the table. My point is that your "middle name issue" with MSC is the complete opposite of my middle name experience. The log-in and check-in issues that you have had to go through are relatable since they are nearly as frustrating my "gender issue" so you can count me in as someone who understands. As is the case with many MSC guests, my experiences on the ships are 1000x better than what happens with the website.  

[Fissues]

I have to use my first and middle combined to login. Interesting, thanks!

[ray98]

LOL....you don't even want to know what the suffix of Jr. has put me through in the last two months.  They finally fixed it after countless emails, deleting accounts, deleting Voyager accounts, ect.  Something so simple is just impossible for them to fix.  MSC has lots of work to do on the IT side of things as they have for years.  It simply does not get better.

[PTC DAWG]

I’ve sailed MSC 4 times, never had any issues…I don’t care if they don’t know my middle name.

[Stockjock]

4 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’ve sailed MSC 4 times, never had any issues…I don’t care if they don’t know my middle name.

This is a fairly new issue.  The reason I post this stuff is because many likely will experience the issue, and then, by reading my remarks, they'll understand what's going on.

Anyone can do a mock booking and when you get to the area where passenger names are entered, you'll see that they are no longer asking for a middle name.  This didn't just occur by accident.  It's because there's a known issue, and I'l trying to alert folks to what's up, and the solution, in order to simply their lives if/when it happens.

[Stockjock]

20 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

I don't know if it is appreciated by others but your issues seem to be different than issues that others have had. For example, on one of my bookings, MSC somehow changed my GENDER. Everything else (name, DOB, etc.) was correct but I was listed as a female. It is impossible (for me) to change that one once everything is booked and it took several months for MSC to correct it. I don't know how common it is but I have never seen anyone else on the forum have that issue just as I haven't seen anyone else have your issues....and nobody else has had the issues that "mscdivina2016" has had. 😉

 

As for middle names, we've never had a problem. On my last cruise, we walked into our stateroom for the first time and found a plate of cookies. What made these cookies unique was that my kids' first and middle names were written in chocolate sauce on the plate. The parents had champagne flutes to go with the extra bottle that was actual champagne instead of the standard sparkling wine bottle that was on the table. My point is that your "middle name issue" with MSC is the complete opposite of my middle name experience. The log-in and check-in issues that you have had to go through are relatable since they are nearly as frustrating my "gender issue" so you can count me in as someone who understands. As is the case with many MSC guests, my experiences on the ships are 1000x better than what happens with the website.  

Yep, plenty of issues and odd ones at that.

I'm not sure that my middle name situation is the opposite of your kids', unless I'm misunderstanding you.  For example, if my name is William David Jones, everything would show as "William David" (first name), not William (First name).  So it actually sounds the same.

In your cake example, if I had a cake that was supposed to read, "Happy Birthday William", it would instead read, "Happy Birthday William David", where MSC is carrying "William David" as my first name.  Sounds like the same situation w/your kids.

Here's the problem.

Previously...

MSC Account established as William (first) David (middle) Jones (last).
Cruise booked as William (first) David (middle) Jones (last).

When you log in to MSC's website, you see words to the effect of, "Hi WILLIAM, your next cruise departs in 235 days"

If you click on my cruise/excursions/beverages/spa & beauty/Internet, Photo & Others/already purchased, everything is visible, as is the booking number, and you can view and modify those categories.

So far, so good.  Booking is in good order and everything visible when logging into Voyager's Club account online.

In other words, everything matches up precisely.

But...

Later, MSC's system "magically" changes your name to William David (first) no middle Jones (last).

Cruise booked as William (first) David (middle) Jones (last).

This creates a mismatch error in the system and no details of your cruise are then visible or able to be modified when logging into your MSC VC online account.

Pretty sure this impacts many people.  Again, both me and my GF.

MSC's solution is to eliminate the recording of a middle name on new bookings, but that still often doesn't fix the problem, as many online accounts still contain the customer's middle name (or a screwy first name that is both first and middle name combined).  Booking name and VC online name must match precisely.  

There is a workaround for this issue.  If it doesn't bother one that they cannot view their upcoming cruise(s) or modify them in any way, they can log out of their Voyager's Club account and log on again using only the booking number, first name and last name.  That should work.  As for me, when I log into my MSC account, I want to be able to easily view and modify upcoming cruises, so again, the solution was to ensure that the VC account and booking name perfectly match.

Edited May 11 by Stockjock

[sfaaa]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:10 AM, ray98 said:

MSC has lots of work to do on the IT side of things as they have for years.  It simply does not get better.

No kidding. I tried to sign onto my MSC account today and all I got was an error message referencing to statues code 502 (whatever that means). MSC's ongoing IT issues are beyond frustrating.

[ray98]

On 5/11/2024 at 9:38 AM, PTC DAWG said:

I’ve sailed MSC 4 times, never had any issues…I don’t care if they don’t know my middle name.

Well....I didn't care if they knew I was Jr. but that is my legal name which is on my passport so that is what I entered.  Instead of being like every other company that has a separate block to add suffixes they add it to the last name field.  Unless everyone involved from that point forward from MSC employees to TA's enter the name perfectly so it matches their database it will not link and they cannot correct it.

 

MSC created my profile as John Joe Doe Jr.  If the last name field is not entered as "Doe Jr.", precisely including the period, all is lost.  The fix is to delete the user account, Voyager account and to reapply for both so they can manually link them together.  Then and only then will you be able to manage your cruise on the MSC site and get Voyage credits.

[Stockjock]

49 minutes ago, ray98 said:

Well....I didn't care if they knew I was Jr. but that is my legal name which is on my passport so that is what I entered.  Instead of being like every other company that has a separate block to add suffixes they add it to the last name field.  Unless everyone involved from that point forward from MSC employees to TA's enter the name perfectly so it matches their database it will not link and they cannot correct it.

 

MSC created my profile as John Joe Doe Jr.  If the last name field is not entered as "Doe Jr.", precisely including the period, all is lost.  The fix is to delete the user account, Voyager account and to reapply for both so they can manually link them together.  Then and only then will you be able to manage your cruise on the MSC site and get Voyage credits.

I've had several Voyagers Clubs deleted and recreated, because MSC told me that must be done, as they cannot modify existing names.

But...

They, they modified existing names in VC accounts without deleting them twice in about a week and a half.