MSC Status Match Program – How to match your loyalty status from other cruise lines (with Forms & Match Chart)

So many people don’t realize that some cruise lines actually match loyalty rewards from other cruise lines and in MSC Cruises’ case, they even have an MSC Cruises status match from hotel programs! By being a loyalty member or frequent flyer on some airlines, you can increase your loyalty level on the MSC Voyagers Club program and receive discounts on future bookings.

How does MSC Status Match Work?

MSC Cruises makes it easy to status match with any qualified program. Just go to their status match form on their website and submit your information with a screenshot of your matching loyalty program. Some cruisers say they’ve received status matching within hours, with our status match on MSC (From NCL Platinum), it took MSC two months to confirm our GOLD status.

What loyalty programs does MSC match with?

There are a surprising number of loyalty programs that MSC Cruises recognizes loyalty with. By far, this is the most generous matching program in the cruise industry. Here are the programs (cruises & hotels) that MSC recognizes to match with their Voyagers Club reward program:

MSC Voyagers Club Status Match Forms

How to apply for the MSC Voyagers Club status match program:

USA form to complete for MSC loyalty match / status match

Canadian Status Match Program for MSC

MSC Cruises UK status match form

Netherlands (Dutch) MSC Status Match form

Belgium Status Match MSC Voyagers Club

Italy MSC Voyagers Club Status Match form

Spain MSC Voyagers Club Status Match

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Voyagers Club Levels & Benefits

The benefits of the MSC Voyagers Club loyalty program are relatively limited compared to other cruise lines, however, the discount alone makes it worth being a member of the program or status matching to get the discounts.

The real benefits of each level:

Voyagers Club Classic:

5% discount on all bookings up to an additional 5% off for bookings made 9 months or more out.
A welcome cocktail (which we’ve never received, for what it’s worth)
Shop discount of $10 for every $50 spent.

Voyagers Club Silver:

All of the above +
$50 onboard credit per person
Double points for bookings more than 12 months out
Additional $50 onboard credit for cruises booked 12 months out

Voyagers Club Gold:

All of the above +
One hour of thermal area access per cruise
A “Gift” (no clue what this is, will give details from our upcoming cruise)
Priority disembarkation for tender ports
Free Photo
Free Birthday Cake

MSC Voyagers Club Diamond:

All of the above +
Priority boarding/embarkation
Complimentary specialty dining/restaurant tasting menu (excluding drinks)
Bathrobe + Slippers
Dancing class (wth?! but ok)
Diamond Party
Late checkout and disembarkation
Chocolates

** We’ll be testing our newly minted Diamond status on MSC with our next cruise and will let you know how it really ends up.

MSC Status Match Chart With Match Levels (Updated October 2023)

This is an example of MSC loyalty status match programs and how they’ve been reported by fellow travelers.

It’s worth noting: MSC Cruises does sometimes change the program by adding or removing matching hotels and airlines. Additionally, we’ve heard reports that some cruisers will submit the same status level in the same program (i.e. Carnival) and the MSC rep will match to a different level. For example, speaking with a Carnival passenger with a Carnival Diamond level status, they were matched to GOLD on MSC Cruises, however, a different passenger with the same Diamond status on Carnival was Matched to SILVER on MSC. There seems to be no official chart on the MSC Website at this time.

How the MSC status match works, and what to expect

The process to match is simple once you locate the correct form to submit (above). A simple screenshot of the program you are matching with is all it took. However, there was no correspondence after submitting the request, so it felt like the request went into a black hole. I didn’t think much of it until a couple of months later, I received the notification (below) of the approval and status match to Gold (from Norwegian Platinum).

Many passengers report that they get their status match email within a few days if not the same day as the submission. This wasn’t my experience, nor was it the experience of one of my travel companions who did a status match from Hilton Gold to MSC Gold. The same couple of months passed to get the confirmation.

So don’t expect any real communication from the moment you submit your form.

Getting notified of your approved loyalty / status match

It took longer than most passengers have reported to get our status match. Perhaps it’s because our situation is a bit more complicated being an American ex-pat in Europe with an MSC account that has been used in different locations (this is just speculation). But this is what you should receive when you get your match approved:

Dear Phil,

Thank you for your status match request.

On behalf of MSC, I can and am pleased to welcome you to the MSC Voyagers Club.

At MSC Cruises we have a passion for the sea and discovery. The MSC Voyagers Club is our way of rewarding those who share our passion.

It’s an exclusive world full of privileges, discounts, offers and extras to spoil you the way only MSC Cruises can. In short, the MSC Voyagers CLub rewards your passion for travel.

We are pleased to confirm that you are a Gold member of the MSC Voyagers Club and can immediately enjoy all the benefits with the following club number xxxxxxxx.

When you make a booking on our website, I recommend that you always enter your club number. In this way, any discounts are calculated immediately.

If this does not work or if you have already made a booking, please provide us or your travel agent with your booking number and we will be happy to include your club number in your booking.

We trust that we have informed you sufficiently and would like to welcome you on board one of our ships.

Yours sincerely,

Jan P
Personal Vacation Consultant

MSC Cruises BV

There is so much to know about MSC Cruises and we’ve put together information about everything you need to know about MSC and what to expect from an MSC Cruise.