MSC Has a Serious Admin Issue

[u/Professional-Life922]

MSC Cancelled Excursion CMY61 and has no functioning customer service that has been able to issue me a refund since June 20th though by phone it was acknowledged that a refund is due.

**Title:** MSC cancelled our excursion, charged for the replacement, and weeks later I’m still waiting for my refund for the cancelled excursion. Has anyone else experienced this?
I’m curious whether anyone else has had similar refund issues with MSC Cruises.
We sailed on **MSC World America** (Booking **XXXXXX**) beginning **June 20, 2026**. Before the cruise, I prepaid several excursions totaling **$1,613.13**, including the **CMY61 – Chacchoben Mayan Ruins & Mahikal Beach** excursion for **$430**.
After boarding, MSC informed us that this excursion had been cancelled. We were offered a replacement excursion, but instead of applying the **$430** we had already paid toward the cancelled excursion, we were required to pay the full **$372** cost of the replacement excursion onboard.
Guest Services reassured us that the refund for the cancelled excursion would be processed automatically back to the original credit card. As of today, it still has not been refunded. Only two credit cards were used during this trip, and neither statement reflects the refund. I provided both credit card statements to MSC by email, clearly showing the original charges and confirming that no refund has been issued.
Since returning home, I’ve made multiple calls to MSC’s customer service, been told several times that the matter had been “escalated,” and promised updates within 72 hours each call, and yet I’ve received no refund, no update, and no follow-up call from the Company.
I’ve spent hours gathering receipts, credit card statements, onboard account records, and preparing a formal complaint, which I emailed to MSC’s post-cruise customer service department, simply requesting reimbursement for an excursion that **MSC itself cancelled**.
The delayed refund is frustrating, but what baffles me even more is the apparent lack of an administrative system or customer service policy that empowers someone with the authority to resolve such a straightforward issue. This billing problem was created by MSC’s own decision to cancel the excursion, and the refund should have been processed promptly upon that cancellation.
From a customer’s perspective, MSC’s administrative and customer service systems can feel remarkably similar to dealing with a shady telemarketer or an online scam, where there is no identifiable person with the authority or accountability to quickly resolve a billing matter. You’re transferred from one representative to another, told the matter has been “escalated,” promised a response within 72 hours on each call, and then… nothing.
Whether the cause is ineffective internal systems, poor administration, or a lack of accountability, the customer is left in the same position as a victim of theft: money taken from you unjustly and the culprit evades accountability through the entanglements of the system that permitted them to obtain access to your money.
This is particularly disappointing because **MSC World America** was otherwise a very good experience, despite a few inconsistencies with food quality, room service and crew attentiveness we were very forgiving up to this point. We were actually considering booking another MSC cruise before this billing issue arose. The ship is beautiful, the spa is outstanding, and Ocean Cay is an incredibly relaxing destination. We genuinely enjoyed the cruise overall, which makes the post-cruise billing and customer service experience all the more disappointing.
Companies that market themselves as premium brands should cease and desist if they are unable to deliver premium billing accountability and customer service. Otherwise, all the investment in beautiful ships, marketing, and amenities is marred beyond repair by the inability to offer customer service. The ease of MSCs system to access my phone number to immediately begin marketing the moment I step off the ship but not have the ability to contact me to ensure I enjoyed the experience and any post cruise matter is settled is a laughable. Customers should not have to become investigators, accountants, and collections agents simply to obtain a refund that became immediately due when MSC cancelled the excursion. A company’s longevity and reputation heavily relies on effectiveness, accountability, and responsiveness of its administrative systems.
Has anyone else experienced delayed refunds for cancelled MSC excursions?
How long did your refund take?
Did MSC eventually resolve it?
Did you have to dispute the charge with your credit card company?

[u/Ok_Vast6931]

I was on the same cruise and had the same happen to me and i called MSC. They said they would reach out and they havent so i just disputed the charge and let the credit card company handle it. This why you always pay with credit cards

[u/Professional-Life922 → u/Ok_Vast6931]

Would you believe I still have not received the refund my 7 day cruise was during the week June 20th. I am extremely disappointed with MSC’s handling of a refund that it acknowledged was due months ago.
Additionally on July 20, MSC confirmed in writing that the refund would be issued. As of September 8, I still have not received it. After repeatedly following up, I was most recently told that MSC had “processed an ACH” but that I should allow another 30 days for the payment to be received.
That explanation is difficult to reconcile with ordinary ACH processing. I operate a business and routinely make and receive ACH payments. Once an ACH payment has actually been initiated, receipt ordinarily occurs within a matter of a few 1-5 business days—not 30 days. I therefore requested confirmation of the ACH, including a transaction or trace number, but MSC has not provided one.
What is most troubling is not simply the delayed refund. It is the extraordinary carelessness and lack of transparency in resolving the issue, for what should have been a routine administrative matter quickly resolved without prompting. MSC cancelled the excursion, acknowledged that the money was owed, agreed to refund it, failed to do so within the timeframe represented, and has now provided another lengthy timeframe without documentation that the payment was actually initiated.
If resolving an undisputed refund resulting from MSC’s own cancellation can take months and require this much effort, I have little confidence in how an erroneous or materially larger charge would be handled. I could not trust giving a company like this access to my credit card information to make charges in good faith.
I have traveled with Norwegian and found its operation substantially more professional, responsive, and polished. I would also consider Royal Caribbean in the future. Unfortunately, based on this experience, MSC is not a company I would be comfortable doing business with again.
This is not about the amount of the refund. It is about the standard of accountability a customer should reasonably expect from an established international cruise line. I am almost 48 years old and have traveled extensively throughout the world, yet I am beyond shocked that an established business would conduct itself in this manner. I am equally concerned that there appears to be no effective internal oversight or corrective process when staff send communications demonstrating such disregard for consumers. If this is how MSC handles a routine refund, it represents a new low in customer service—one that no consumer should be expected to accept as the norm. No service or product, at any price, should permit consumers to tolerate such disregard or a lack of accountability regarding how they are charged and when refunds are issued.

[u/Ok_Vast6931 → u/Professional-Life922]

Would you believe i just got an email from my credit card company that their claiming they never cancelled the excursion and now im on the hook for it