Imagine Cruising failing customers amid COVID-19

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), MSC cruises has cancelled our Bellissima Grand Asia Voyage departing from Dubai on 21st March 2020. We have booked our MSC cruise as a holiday package with Imagine Cruising (including flights, hotel accommodation and excursions).

From the start their service was exceptionally poor. Whenever we wanted to obtain additional information, their response time was very slow and they would respond with nonsensical replies taken out of context. (For example, when we wanted more information on a specific cruise excursion, they advised us that it is safer to stay on board the ship and that we had to provide a valid explanation why we would want to leave the ship... mmm... maybe for the excursion?)

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve become increasingly concerned about the viability of the cruise and started reaching out to the travel agent (Imagine Cruising) on 4th February 2020. We have simply been told that it is an uncertain time and we need to be patient. When the itinerary had been updated by MSC to avoid the far Eastern countries, Imagine Cruising were not aware thereof and we had to send them the press release publicly available on MSC's website. We contacted MSC asking them why the travel agent was not informed about the itinerary change, but they advised Imagine Cruising knew about the updated itinerary.

We started considering the option of cancellation due to most of the ports on call on our itinerary being closed due to COVID-19. As we didn’t receive much response from the travel agent we approached the cruise line (MSC) on 10th March 2020, who advised that communication had been sent out to the travel agent that passengers have the option of cancellation and a full refund. Imagine Cruising claimed they did not have the information and we forwarded them the communication via email. We only received a response asking for us to be patient and that they will contact us with a way forward. They never did.

MSC contacted us on 13th March 2020, advising that the cruise had been cancelled and confirmed it in writing. MSC also confirmed that Imagine Cruising had been informed of this as well. When we spoke with Imagine Cruising on the same day, they told us they did not have any information on the cancellation.

We still have not received a formal response from Imagine Cruising on the cancellation, although we reached out numerous times. They still cannot provide us with any further information, as they apparently need to liaise with their service providers (implying that any/all refunds are dependent on their service providers). However this is contradictory to their terms and conditions.

It is now 2 days prior to departure - our online check-in with Emirates have opened and still no response from Imagine Cruising. I have never experienced such poor service in my life.