MSC Cruises shoot themselves in the foot?

MSC Cruises have always been a little like marmite. You either love them or hate them, however one thing they have always had was a rather loyal following from there passengers that did love them.

MSC are very European so if you are a diehard P&O fan then you probably wouldn’t find MSC your cup of tea as everything on board from the dining to the entertainment is designed for a variety of nationalities.

However under the MSC Club loyal members could receive up to 20% of the cost of their cruise if they held a Black Card, Gold Card would receive 10%, Silver would be 8% and Blue would be 5%, MSC have also been known to have excellent value for money but even 5% of is a real saving not to mention 20%.

So what’s all the fuss about well the reason why this has caused up-roar with the MSC Community is because MSC have announced the only discount MSC Guests will receive is 5%. Nothing more even if you are there most loyal guest you still only get 5%. Getting to Black card isn’t as hard as it is to get to say Pinnacle with RCI or Zenith with Celebrity but it is still a costly process to get there and many will do the same cruise line year after year to try and achieve this status so think how you would feel if you had spent the last twenty years cruising and finally get to the top tier to be told you are no long able to get those benefits, after all shouldn’t the most loyal get more benefits than a passenger who is only on their second cruise.

A comments from forums say that for those as members trying to obtain their black card losing the benefits is disappointing and a 20% discount is a hefty amount, other say that they believe it is unfair on their loyal cruisers and that they will think twice before booking more cruises with them.

As I said MSC are not the most popular cruise line on the Seven Seas so why have MSC brought more attention to them, countless comments again online slate the cruise line for doing this saying things like ‘Sure Glad I don’t cruise with you, companies that change their incentive program after many years of loyal guests – Shame on you MSC!.

I don’t think this is as big news as it would have been if it was Royal Caribbean or Cunard, however I believe this is as MSC would have a bigger following in Europe rather than the UK.

However no other cruise line offer this level of discount so may MSC have been generous in the past with the benefits but it is a difficult one as it’s a big like a bank offering introductory rates and then taking them away, it’s annoying!

In this day and age when prices are being cut significantly I suppose we should expect the discounting benefits to also be cut, benefit on board is one thing but cold hard discounts is another as you can do a 24 night cruise with MSC for just over a £1000.00 you still cannot say they don’t offer value for money

MSC Cruises however has said the positive changes in the new scheme include,

• Added benefits and on-board promotions.
• New Loyalty card integrated with the Cruise Card
• New points earning system based on the Experience (I.E Type of cruise) booked
• New Welcome Tier Level of Membership
• No Age limit

There will be a selection of Cruises that will give members up to 15% of the cost, so I suppose this is similar to the peninsular cruises that P&O offer.

Members will also receive benefits on board such as savings on things such as internet packages, spa treatments and laundry.

What are your thoughts on the changes and do you think they are fair? Would it put you off Cruising with MSC Cruises?