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MSC dismisses survey after being rated worst cruise line
MSC Cruises has dismissed a customer survey in which it was rated worst for the second year running.
It said the research, by consumer rights group Which?, is ‘inaccurate’ and ‘unrepresentative’, with a small sample size of just 67.
In a long statement sent to TravelMole, the cruise line said: "Whilst this is the second year MSC Cruises have featured bottom of the report, Which? stated that for the 2018 report they surveyed people who have cruised with MSC Cruises in the last year, and for the 2019 report people from the last two years, this shows they have only surveyed an additional 21 people and as a result we had a minimal chance of improving our score given the incredibly small sample size.
"Whilst we are always grateful for feedback, and are constantly working to evolve our product offering and passenger experience we feel that this ranking is unrepresentative of both our brand and the cruise industry as a whole. The report does not give enough information to allow readers to make an informed choice on what they think is value for money based on what the cruise includes."
MSC said it has approached Which? for a meeting in the ‘hope of looking for a fairer, more representative study with a distinct improvement in the methodology’, but to no avail.
It said representatives from the cruise industry group, CLIA, met with Which? last year to discuss how the research could be made more accurate, but the report has been issued in exactly the same way this year.
MSC Cruises claims it spoke to thousands of holidaymakers about their ocean cruise experiences MSC was ‘firmly anchored at the bottom’ of the table for the second year running.
Here’s the top five scoring cruise lines in this year’s league table:
And here’s the bottom five:
What the Mole says: Once again, Which? has targeted the travel industry with one of its ‘surveys’ and MSC’s complaints do seem valid, particularly with regards to the small sample size and also because it’s not fair to compare a luxury cruise with a cheaper one. We’d also be more than happy to meet up with Which? and discuss how they might make their surveys more representative to provide fairer and more useful ratings for customers. Anyone else up for coming along?
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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