Bad communication causes botched cruise ship holiday
A luxury cruise organised by Eden FM on the MSC Splendida recently garnered attention for all the wrong reasons.
Some 313 passengers from across the Garden Route - who had partially paid for the cruise and eagerly packed their suitcases - were turned away due to administration issues, causing disappointment and frustration.
In spite of being behind on payments, they thought they were still eligible for the trip since they had not been told otherwise.
The cruise was scheduled to travel from Cape Town to Walvis Bay in Namibia and back, spanning five days from 18 to 22 March.
Over 1 000 people had booked the cruise through Eden FM, and after the final cancellations on 26 January, 703 people remained booked.
However, due to booking errors, only 687 people were able to embark on the cruise.
Individuals from Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay and George were affected by the cancellations.
The booking process for the cruise involved a payment structure that allowed participants to make affordable payments since April last year.
Passengers had the option to secure either an inside cabin for R6 900 or a balcony cabin for R7 500.
Monthly instalments were supposed to be made from April 2023 until February 2024, with a deposit of R500 required at the end of April 2023.
However, issues arose when some passengers fell behind on their payments, resulting in only 50% of the agreed payments being made to MSC Cruises by November 2023.
As a result, MSC Cruises requested full payment by the beginning of January 2024, with an extension granted until 15 January.
Despite this extension, some passengers still did not fulfil their payment obligations,
leading to the MSC having to cancel their bookings when on 26 January they had not met Eden FM's cut-off date.
Those affected were only informed that they would not be issued tickets on 26 January.
Eden FM has undertaken to refund those who made partial payments the amounts they had managed to pay.
While MSC Cruises acted as the service provider for the cruise, Eden FM took responsibility for advertising, ticket sales, payments, and overall administration for its listeners.
According to Eden FM, communication and coordination issues between Eden FM and MSC Cruises were identified as key factors contributing to the difficulties faced
by the passengers.
MSC Cruises clarified its role as a service provider and expressed its commitment to assisting Eden FM in addressing the concerns of the affected listeners.
Both parties remain dedicated to rectifying the situation and providing a satisfactory resolution to the disappointed passengers.
So far 15 passengers have been refunded.