Unethical practices
To Whom it May Concern:
On July 3rd 2021 my family and I embarked on a MSC Seaview of the Baltic departing from Kiel, Germany. This was our second cruise with MSC. The critical aspects of the cruise to include much of the staff, condition of the boat, and ports of call were all positive. Nonetheless, I do not plan to sail with MSC again in the future due to the management-level interactions I experienced. Ultimately, there was a blatant culture of unethical practices and poor customer service.
1). Booked Aurea package for thermal area access. Yes, I know we're in Covid times, but they managed to have the sauna portion partially open (albeit with a broken board, broken bucket w/out water and door that would not close in sauna), yet all other rooms and the hot tub were closed in the thermal area. When inquiring about the portion of money paid for services that were not operational, response from customer services manager was, "You should have known better due to Covid." I don't appreciate a "shame on me" response, when offerings are arbitrary and concessions should be made for services not rendered. Not to mention the booking reads, "Access to sauna and turkish baths" without any fine print. Also no drinks offered in the sauna area and towels have to be gotten from the front desk.
2). Spa Interactions- My observations of the spa manager would have been laughable had I not been angered and saddened. When attempting to book massage treatments on day #3 that were already credited to our accounts in the Aurea package, the spa manager informed us that her hands were tied as all massage treatments were already booked out. The most revealing moment was when we walked back to the spa area and the manager explained to another woman that she had waited too long to schedule the massage included in her package, concluding that massage treatments are booked up. Moments later another couple comes in and the spa manager tells them about possible massage options and availability. They opted not to book and my husband and I walked over expressing our confusion about why it is that people without packages are being offered massage treatments. The spa manager stated she thought we were not available at the time offered to the paying couple, which was a most transparent and obvious lie.
3). There were some logistical nightmares with the embarkation process including long delays and poor social distancing practices, but we expected some unforeseen circumstances as the crew was getting oriented to a new routine. It took us 2.5 hours to book with priority boarding. Other couples we spoke to said it took them over 4 hours to get on the ship. Most of this time was spent standing in long uncovered lines with people crammed closely together.
4). Additional issues were the F1 Simulator, zip line, the tube waterslide, and MSC application were not functional the entire cruise. Anytime dining was limited to one restaurant and easy drink package does not include all drinks under $6 which is not as advertised.
5). Our room often smelled like smoke because people were consistently smoking on their balconies.
6). Food was not great and the vegetable side options at dinner were carrots and zucchini for the entire cruise! They do offer a Vegan main entree now but do not offer a vegan starter which makes no sense.
Ultimately, we credit the hard-working and kind staff of MSC, yet the management-level interactions suggest a culture of lying to protect the bottom line ($), which is short sighted. We would steer clear of MSC cruises until they learn how to operate correctly.
July 25, 2021
Unprompted review
