False charges made to my onboard billing statement by Holland America Line

[PhoenixUnleashed]

I sailed with Holland America for an Alaskan cruise from June 25th to July 2nd, 2011. The cruise experience was delightful overall, BUT the aftermath was not. For on-board expenditures, I was required to submit my credit card information and all my on-board spendings were charged to the said card. To my horror, when I got my final statement, I found that I was charged an extra 30 dollars for a DVD that they said I didn't return but which was actually in the room. In my defense, I had called up the operator and told her that I wanted to return the DVD. She said that I should just leave it in the room and my room steward would come and pick it up later. He didn't and when I checked out of my room, it was still there. How can they charge me for this?
So, I emailed Holland America and they sent a prompt reply apologizing and promising that they would return the money. Guess what? It has already been more than a month and it hasn't been refunded to my credit card yet!
Added to this, when I was reviewing my credit card's transaction history online, I found that Holland America has charged me an additional 13.51 dollars!!! So, what's the point of giving customers a "final statement" when they are just going to charge other things? To add insult to injury, I have no idea where they got the amount of 13.51 dollars. When I emailed them again, they said that it was a charge for the mini-bar! I got a very polite reply from them and I have posted a part of their email below...
"We are very sorry that you were incorrectly charged for mini-bar items on this recent sailing. Please be advised that this charge is based on the inventory of your stateroom mini-bar which was conducted by your room steward on the day of disembarkation. However, we will be happy to refund this amount to you. As such, a credit of $13.51 will be processed to the card on file, and should be complete within three weeks. Again, we apologize for the error."
Guess what? I haven't received any credit for this one or the prior wrongful charge of 30 dollars.
Also, I haven't heard from Holland America again after their email promising a refund. The company owes me 43.51 dollars. I have been patient and have given them more than enough time to return the money. But they have not fulfilled their promise and have resorted to ignoring me. So, this forum is my last attempt at getting my message across.
I'd like to warn other people about this problem. Be careful in giving out your credit card information even to a major company like Holland America. They can charge you whatever they want.

[kazu]

Suggestion - perhaps you have been too patient? Do a follow up email and reply to the email they sent saying that they would refund you.

Tell them it has not been processed. And ask when it will be.

Or call them.

Sounds like a glitch to me.:confused: Others have reported being charged in error and their refunds have been very prompt. The mini bar seems to be an issue from posts I have seen.

I'm not trying to be a HAL cheerleader here - just a suggestion on getting your refund. It's the principle of the thing, I know.

I don't think this is deliberate IMO. I would definitely follow up with them.;)

[sail7seas]

Hi, Welcome to CC. Happy you found us. :)

Every major cruise line handles billing for onboard expenses in exactly this way. We all produce our credit cards either when doing preregistration on the website or when we check in OR we place cash deposit with the office at boarding time against which we can make onboard purchases.

If there are errors, we have read here HAL is obliging and cooperative about working with the guests to correct any error.

HAL and the other cruise lines have handled on board spending in this way for a great many years with millions of people. There is always the chance for an occasional error.

As to the DVD, you should have returned it to the place from which you borrowed it. That is something you should have seen to. It is made clear that is the expectation and it is not up to cabin stewards to do that.

[Cruising-along]

I agree with the previous posters. Mistakes happen. On the rare occasion we have found mistakes, we have always had prompt refunds. Call or email them again.

It's unfortunate that the woman at the front desk told you your cabin steward would take care of returning that DVD. As I recall, it's pretty clearly marked that you will be charged if you don't return it by a certain date/time -- I think I remember seeing something to that effect in the daily program, too. They have the same rules with books loaned out too.

[eh2zed]

While HAL may be a bit tardy in processing the refund, I don't see anything else unusual with your situation. You have some responsibility for the DVD mixup and the minibar can only be checked after final statement before disembarkation.

[ellbelle]

You might also call your credit card company to see if there are any pending credits (not seen online) that have not posted to your account yet.

I process credit card transactions for our company and have found that certain banks (US) hold on to the credit for two weeks before posting back to the cardholder. Just a thought.

[Watson's aunt]

I thinl you should a wait its been less than a month. Maybe the problem is with credit company. Hal said it would take care of it even thought you broke rules with the dvd. Why did you not return the dvd even when you saw it in cabin. it would have taken less than 5 minutes.


Mary

[sail7seas]

You might also call your credit card company to see if there are any pending credits (not seen online) that have not posted to your account yet.

I process credit card transactions for our company and have found that certain banks (US) hold on to the credit for two weeks before posting back to the cardholder. Just a thought.


Wow, that is really interesting to know. How many of us have blamed companies for their slow response to our request for credit when they well may have processed it promptly and the banks withheld posting it. :eek:

This information will make me think twice before knocking a company in the future if I'm not sure where the delay is occuring.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

[Just musing........ but if I had to name a bank or two which might be guilty of this a few names come immediately to mind :rolleyes: :eek:

[Boytjie]

Seems like that where was a breach of contract that resulted in the horrific, false charge on your account... :rolleyes: And that breach was by you in not returning the DVD.

As for HAL's credit not having gone through yet, just give them a call to check on it. From others' experiences posted here about similar issues it was fairly quickly resolved.

[bcd2010]

DS learned the hard way on our last cruise that DVDs must be returned by midnight of the last night of the cruise (as noted in a couple places - perhaps the daily bulletin and probably wherever he borrowed them from). When he returned it the last morning, he realized his mistake and accepted his responsibility.

The mini-bar situation is, shall we say, inconsistent. We always have the cabin steward empty it immediately at the beginning of the cruise. On our last cruise, we came back to the cabin at some point during the cruise and there were 2 cans of soda in the cooler, brands/types we don't drink. So we just left them, ignored them. On the last morning, the person in charge of mini bars pushed her way into the cabin when breakfast was delivered and questioned us about the sodas - were they ours, where did they come from, how could they get there if we didn't put them there - as if we had done something wrong. We got our final bill from the front desk, made sure charges were correct and left.

This is one of the reasons we buy OBC to use instead of a CC - they can't charge anything after we've collected our (unused OBC) money and gone.

[lorekauf]

You might also call your credit card company to see if there are any pending credits (not seen online) that have not posted to your account yet.

I process credit card transactions for our company and have found that certain banks (US) hold on to the credit for two weeks before posting back to the cardholder. Just a thought.
I agree with Sail. This is good information. I didn't know this happened.

[CruiserBruce]

Actually it can vary widely by card companies. I can see pending charges on our two cards, online, within minutes of the purchase.

[centuryguy]

I'm going to jump in on the other side of this conversation. Charges for an unreturned DVD I can understand although if a HAL employee advises that you can leave it in the room you should have a reasonable expectation that the information from a HAL employee is indeed accurate.

I've always checked my final statement, but it shouldn't be my responsibility to ensure that HAL is not making erroneous minibar, or any other charges, to my account. It should be HAL's responsibility to ensure that they're not charging me for stuff I didn't purchase. This could be avoided by a little extra due deligence on the part of HAL employees. How much is HAL making from errors that people don't catch or just forget about?

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

[LAFFNVEGAS]

PhoenixUnleashed, welcome to CC :) I think what has happened to you happens with all cruise lines and actually happens with hotels also. If you do any travel at all you have to watch you credit card statements afterwards because they all have mini bars and they always take you CC even if you pre pay for the room. Unfortunately mistakes can happen.

You might also call your credit card company to see if there are any pending credits (not seen online) that have not posted to your account yet.

I process credit card transactions for our company and have found that certain banks (US) hold on to the credit for two weeks before posting back to the cardholder. Just a thought.
This is very true especially with Discover card. I purchased a new hairdryer on my Discover card the beginning of July, I decided I did not like it and went to the store to return it the very next day. I exchanged it for a different model that was $10.81 less so they isued a credit to my card. I was getting to the point I was concerned because I noticed last weekend when I reviewed the statement the credit did not come thru, it should have been right away since there was less than 24 hours between the original transaction but low and behold it appeared on August 1st:eek: which was approx 4 weeks from when the credit was issued. They did the credit by scanning my card so I would have thought it would have been right away but it was not. So I agree it could take a few weeks before that credit does appear.

[IRL_Joanie]

About 6 months ago I purchased something on line from a well respected company with a great refund policy, using one of my Visa credit cards. No problemo right?? WRONG!!!

While the Company refunded my Credit Card the amount billed plus the shipping charges within 24 hours, the Credit Card company JUST LAST WEEK finally posted the refunded amount.

Normally a refund should have taken less than 2 months, but for some reason this time it took over 5 months to post my account correctly.

In other words, look to your Credit Card Company to be posting the refund of $13.51 and not HAL. I can see from your original post, that HAL has already answered you and they more than likely feel they have done their job and the rest is the Credit Card copmpany responsibility.

The DVD, sorry, but as others have already told you, that charge should be on you.

Joanie

[sail7seas]

I'm going to jump in on the other side of this conversation. Charges for an unreturned DVD I can understand although if a HAL employee advises that you can leave it in the room you should have a reasonable expectation that the information from a HAL employee is indeed accurate.

I've always checked my final statement, but it shouldn't be my responsibility to ensure that HAL is not making erroneous minibar, or any other charges, to my account. It should be HAL's responsibility to ensure that they're not charging me for stuff I didn't purchase. This could be avoided by a little extra due deligence on the part of HAL employees. How much is HAL making from errors that people don't catch or just forget about?

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk


IMO, it is our responsibility to check our bills to be sure they are correct. Mistakes happen. Most companies have billing error from time to time. We all make mistakes.

We have personal responsibility to check our bank statements, department store bills, credit card bills, hotel bills etc and our end of cruise HAL statements. Failure to assume our own duty to review the bill carefully is our own fault.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You had the responsibility of returning the DVD -- not your room steward. When you saw that $30 charge on your bill -- you should have taken the DVD and your bill directly to the Front Desk and gotten it straightened out right then and there.

As for the mini-bar -- we also have had items charged -- had our concierges straighten it out right away.

[gte937k]

I'm going to jump in on the other side of this conversation. Charges for an unreturned DVD I can understand although if a HAL employee advises that you can leave it in the room you should have a reasonable expectation that the information from a HAL employee is indeed accurate.

I've always checked my final statement, but it shouldn't be my responsibility to ensure that HAL is not making erroneous minibar, or any other charges, to my account. It should be HAL's responsibility to ensure that they're not charging me for stuff I didn't purchase. This could be avoided by a little extra due deligence on the part of HAL employees. How much is HAL making from errors that people don't catch or just forget about?

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk
I have to agree. I don't know why people immediately blame the customer in these situations. The OP didn't leave the DVD in the room 'cause he felt like it. He was told to leave it there by HAL. Regardless of what is written, HAL told him he should leave it in the room. Could he have avoided charges by not trusting HAL? Sure. Should we blame the OP for doing what HAL told him? I vote "no".

I think HAL's written response is appropriate. Unfortunately, the OP hasn't gotten the refund that was promised. I agree that he should ask the credit card company to see if it's "in process".

[Backstage Traveler]

Here's another vote for "Check with your credit card company".
We travel quite a bit, and there have been a few occasions when a hotel we have checked out of has charged us erroneously for a minibar item. I have always been able to get the money back after calling the hotel, but it can take up to 2 months to see the credit on the credit card.
As for the DVD - we did not borrow any, but the multiple announcements about having to take them back to avoid charges were hard to miss the night before disembarkation. It is too bad the front desk person told you to leave it in your room, when that is clearly against their policy.

[centuryguy]

Sure, we should check statements, but are you saying that companies have no responsibility to ensure that they are accurate in their billing? That's how it appears. Sorry, but I disagree. I've found errors on statements from both my cruises from the minibar. Of all the errors to make, minibar errors should be the most avoidable. Either something is missing from it or it isn't. Again, how much money is HAL, and other lines, making from people who don't notice the charges, or those who just forget about it because it's only $3.00?

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

[centuryguy]

Deleted

[Rutland Gate]

Cant wait for Post #2.

[IRL_Joanie]

Sure, we should check statements, but are you saying that companies have no responsibility to ensure that they are accurate in their billing? That's how it appears. Sorry, but I disagree. I've found errors on statements from both my cruises from the minibar. Of all the errors to make, minibar errors should be the most avoidable. Either something is missing from it or it isn't. Again, how much money is HAL, and other lines, making from people who don't notice the charges, or those who just forget about it because it's only $3.00?

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

When is it the Customers responsibility??

So many times we hear/read/see people placing the blame on others:( WHEN do WE take responsibilty for our own actions/inaction's?

I say in this case it is NOT HAL responsibility but the customer and to disregard the written and PA announcements about returning the DVD is on the OP. The OP said he talked to the Operator who told him to leave it in the room and the steward would return it... Sorry, but if I went and got the blasted thing and read the posted rules about returning them the night before AND heard all the announcements about the same, then it is MY responsibility to return it to where I had gotten it BEFORE the place closed down.

As to his Mini Bar Charge HAL has already notified him/her that they were credited. It is now the OP's responsibility to keep hounding his credit card company and not HAL.

Joanie

[VioletHorse]

I think there is a basic flaw in the mini-bar inventory procedure. On one cruise we were doing a late disembarkation and stayed in our room until our appointed time. The bar steward came in to inventory the mini-bar while we were there. After he left we could have easily taken items from the mini bar and not have been charged, because that mini-bar is not inventoried again prior to embarkation for the next cruise.

On a subsequent cruise the following year, guess what happened? We were charged for a bottle of water that we did not take from the mini bar, since it was 1 bottle short when the steward inventoried it at the end of our cruise. The charge was removed, but I could easily see how it might have happened. Either the previous occupants of that room took it "post inventory", or the mini bar had not been restocked properly at the end of the cruise prior to ours.

The staff is under tremendous pressure to turn the ship around and ready it for the next group of cruisers, so mistakes will happen. No one is perfect, but I do take the responsibility to make sure my onboard charges and credit card charges are correct, as I am the one who has to pay them.

[Silver sailor]

Agree that it is the individual's responsibility to check the final amount that is on the credit card bill
Apparently this is on ongoing problem with the mini bar.
Since the bar is checked just prior to debarkation, and after the "final" bill has been received any additional charges will not show up until the credit card statement is received
We must also assume that there are some individuals who do not realizes that they have been overcharged and this , though unintentional, results in excess income for HAL
Last time on Celebrity the minibar bar was inventoried and locked the night prior to debarkation. Possibly HAL should follow this procedure rather than barging into the room on the last day

[VioletHorse]

Agree that it is the individual's responsibility to check the final amount that is on the credit card bill
Apparently this is on ongoing problem with the mini bar.
Since the bar is checked just prior to debarkation, and after the "final" bill has been received any additional charges will not show up until the credit card statement is received
We must also assume that there are some individuals who do not realizes that they have been overcharged and this , though unintentional, results in excess income for HAL
Last time on Celebrity the minibar bar was inventoried and locked the night prior to debarkation. Possibly HAL should follow this procedure rather than barging into the room on the last day

Actually, there wouldn't be any excess income for HAL as only 1 person would be charged - it's just that it would be the wrong person. HAL would see it only as 1 bottle gone, 1 bottle paid for. Everything would balance out on their end, but that's not the case for the passenger who was charged for something he didn't get.

I agree that most people wouldn't even want to be bothered chasing down a couple of dollars of incorrect billing with HAL, but by doing that HAL will ignore this problem. Celebrity obviously does it better.

[RuthC]

This is a most timely thread for me. For the first time ever my credit card bill was higher than my final statement---by $8.41. That sounds like it could be the amount of a mini-bar drink.
I contacted HAL, and was told that my credit card would be refunded in 8-10 business days.

Just this morning I checked again, and the credit still hadn't appeared; it's over the 10 business days. So, I sent off an e-mail asking that the credit be processed promptly, as I don't want to incur interest charges and the closing date is rapidly approaching.
I did not know that the credit could have been applied and the bank was holding it up! :eek:
Now I know where to head next!

That HAL made a mistake is forgivable. It was my responsibility to notice that mistake and ask that it be corrected. It's HAL's responsibility to do so, do it promptly, and my responsibility to keep tabs that they have.

What's funny is, if it was an erroneous mini-bar charge, they didn't give me the 50% 4* Mariner discount. :rolleyes:
That would make it two errors!

[centuryguy]

When is it the Customers responsibility??

So many times we hear/read/see people placing the blame on others:( WHEN do WE take responsibilty for our own actions/inaction's?

I say in this case it is NOT HAL responsibility but the customer and to disregard the written and PA announcements about returning the DVD is on the OP. The OP said he talked to the Operator who told him to leave it in the room and the steward would return it... Sorry, but if I went and got the blasted thing and read the posted rules about returning them the night before AND heard all the announcements about the same, then it is MY responsibility to return it to where I had gotten it BEFORE the place closed down.

As to his Mini Bar Charge HAL has already notified him/her that they were credited. It is now the OP's responsibility to keep hounding his credit card company and not HAL.

Joanie

No problem with personal personal responsibility. The OP admitted he didn't do exactly what he was supposed to do. However, he also stated that he spoke with a HAL employee who advised him he could leave the DVD in the room.

While we're on the subject of responsibility, what about the HAL employee's personal responsibility to not give out erroneous information? Does that count? It should. Is it not reasonable to expect that a customer is going to be given accurate information when a question is directed to a HAL employee? I personally think that's the minimum expectation.

I'm not saying not to check your cruise statement. However, it's HAL's, or any business's primary responsibility for that matter, to not charge for goods or services that a customer didn't receive. In other words, HAL has some personal responsibility too.

[Typhoon1]

We had a somewhat similar situation a few years ago. Someone else's bar bill appeared on our final statement. Contacting the front desk, they said it would be removed. It never was. Upon returning home, I emailed HAL. We received a prompt response apologizing, and that the charge would be removed. A few day later it was removed from the credit card.

[jlw1952]

I accept credit cards for a vacation rental that I have. The deposit is $100. I processed the refund of the guest's deposit PLUS (on a separate transaction a few days later) processed ANOTHER $100 a a "goodwill" gesture on my part because the a/c had issues. A couple of months went by. I, of course, thought everything was ok.

I get an email (very friendly--we had a good relationship) that she only received ONE refund of a $100! I assumed that she just had to be mistaken. I have never had any problems.

I called the company I use (through Costco small business). They check on it and it turns out HER credit card company (actually the bank they use) bounced the $100 transaction back to my company with no explanation (standard practice). My credit card processor said it was probably because they assumed it was a duplicate posting.

Moral of story I guess is that "things happen" and everyone needs to stay in touch.

ALSO: Amex (it's easy online) has a list of all "pending" transactions, including all "holds".

[nik953]

This is a most timely thread for me. For the first time ever my credit card bill was higher than my final statement---by $8.41. That sounds like it could be the amount of a mini-bar drink.
I contacted HAL, and was told that my credit card would be refunded in 8-10 business days.

Just this morning I checked again, and the credit still hadn't appeared; it's over the 10 business days. So, I sent off an e-mail asking that the credit be processed promptly, as I don't want to incur interest charges and the closing date is rapidly approaching.
I did not know that the credit could have been applied and the bank was holding it up! :eek:
Now I know where to head next!

That HAL made a mistake is forgivable. It was my responsibility to notice that mistake and ask that it be corrected. It's HAL's responsibility to do so, do it promptly, and my responsibility to keep tabs that they have.

What's funny is, if it was an erroneous mini-bar charge, they didn't give me the 50% 4* Mariner discount. :rolleyes:
That would make it two errors!

Hi Ruth,

I've worked with credit card companies since I started working when I was 16 (I'm 31 now). I've processed refunds to a clients credit card and it sometimes has taken 3-6 weeks to appear on their statements or online activites. I'm sure if HAL said they refunded it, they have processed it and it's sitting at your card company.

I also had to cancel a cruise a little while back with HAL and my card company is pretty quick to process returns. It took less than 2 days, but when I returned something to a store(Target), it took almost 2 weeks. :eek: Each business is different I guess.

[GeriatricNurse]

Agree that it is the individual's responsibility to check the final amount that is on the credit card bill
Apparently this is on ongoing problem with the mini bar.
Since the bar is checked just prior to debarkation, and after the "final" bill has been received any additional charges will not show up until the credit card statement is received
We must also assume that there are some individuals who do not realizes that they have been overcharged and this , though unintentional, results in excess income for HAL
Last time on Celebrity the minibar bar was inventoried and locked the night prior to debarkation. Possibly HAL should follow this procedure rather than barging into the room on the last day

Yes, wouldn't that be a technological advancement/improvement if HAL DID do that! ;) And, maybe, at the same time, HAL might just consider establishing "interactive" televisons in all the staterooms, as well! :rolleyes:

[BumperII]

In God we trust. Everyone else, Hang on to your receipts. In twenty plus cruises on HAL, we have had two errors show up on our onboard account. Both were easily corrected within minutes at the main desk.

I couldn't help but notice that the OP hasn't been around to acknowledge any of the thirty responses.

We are boarding the Amsterdam this afternoon in Seattle. As has been our past practice, we will go to the front desk every three or four days and get a print out of the onboard account and check it for accuracy. That way, if there is an error, we can get it corrected in a timely manner, and we don't need to worry about 'false' charges. We just enjoy the cruise.

[lorekauf]

I couldn't help but notice that the OP hasn't been around to acknowledge any of the thirty responses.


Gee, I wonder why:rolleyes:.

I thank those that have provided information on processing of credit card credits. It's been really informative.

[dragonlady2411]

Does HAL provide a list of the contents of the minibar? If so, it would be easy enough to check that all items were indeed stocked when you board. Any additional charges for us will also incur foreign transaction fees and conversion fees. Would HAL also refund these if they charged for items we did not use, and then promised to refund these charges?

[INSIDERS CABIN]

When a credit card charge is in dispute, initiate a billing dispute by following procedures set forth in your cardholder agreement.

[lvz2cruz]

Sure, we should check statements, but are you saying that companies have no responsibility to ensure that they are accurate in their billing? That's how it appears. Sorry, but I disagree. I've found errors on statements from both my cruises from the minibar. Of all the errors to make, minibar errors should be the most avoidable. Either something is missing from it or it isn't. Again, how much money is HAL, and other lines, making from people who don't notice the charges, or those who just forget about it because it's only $3.00?

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

I think even though it could be innocent mistakes, HAL is in no hurry to fix this because of the extra income they generate when people do not call about the small extra charges on their bill.
We had the contents of our minibar removed when we got on Eurodam. It was replaced after we left--the steward had it in his possession the whole time--yet he charged us for a few items. Did he have a snack on us or was it a careless mistake? He knew we did not have access, so why would we be charged?
I was glad the Veendam did not have minibars and we did not have to deal with this. In 10 cruises on Celebrity, we never had a wrong charge--our first on HAL had the one described above. HAL is wonderful but has room for improvement here.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I agree that locking the minibar the night before is a great idea. Or as some hotels do/did lock it the whole time unless someone wants it open.

[VioletHorse]

Yes, wouldn't that be a technological advancement/improvement if HAL DID do that! ;) And, maybe, at the same time, HAL might just consider establishing "interactive" televisons in all the staterooms, as well! :rolleyes:

Carnival has the interactive folio on the TV, and I can assure you it's not accurate and not without other problems. We sailed on Carnival in May, and checked our account on day 2 of our cruise. We had 3 different OBCs due, but only 2 showed up on the interactive TV display. When I inquired about this missing OBC, the front desk personnel knew about it and said that certain OBCs never show on the TV, but do appear on the printed folio which they did print out for us.

On our last evening, we attempted to check the folio and were greeted with the large gray Windows dialogue box covering 2/3 of the screen stating that there was a registry error!

In addition to all this, the system runs as slow as molasses - think of dial-up on a really bad day. I was not impressed at all.

[iancal]

I have no doubt that neither HAL or any other cruise line or resort intentionally over bill guests for in room items. Mistakes occur.

We have used the interactive systems on a few ships and we like them very much. They allow us to check our onboard account at any time from the comfort of our stateroom. These systems also show us the restaurant menus for the day and allow us to order room service from the menu. Ditto for ships excursions. It would not surprise me if HAL introduced this system sooner than later.

[QueenGlassHalfFull]

When a credit card charge is in dispute, initiate a billing dispute by following procedures set forth in your cardholder agreement.

I agree with INSIDERS CABIN. Let the credit card company handle the dispute. I send a short letter to the credit card company enclosing a copy of my FINAL statement from HAL along with a request for the refund of the overcharge. In less than two weeks, I receive a letter from the credit card company indicating that they are refunding the difference to my account. The credit has always appeared on my next billing statement. I have never had HAL come back to the credit card company and dispute my request. It works every time.

[Hal San Diego]

Just off of the Oosterdam last week...minibar charges added to credit card charge after final bill $4.82...called onboard accounting department the same day the charge appeared on my online statement...no big discussion and no questions asked, just a simple "I'll credit your card sir" and the credit showed up online two days later. The strange part of this one is that we were still in the cabin eating breakfast when the minibar steward came thru to check the inventory and he even agreed with us that we didn't use anything!!!:mad:


This was our third minibar overcharge on HAL this year...once on Rotterdam and once before on Oosterdam...so it seems be a systemic problem that needs some attention from management...the large sheet on which they record the minibar usage has so many rows (one for each room) and columns (one for each item in the minibard) that the sytem is ripe for errors, both in entry and then in transcibing the charges to the passenger accounts...seems to me that using a handheld device could go a long way to helping with the errors which I strongly believe are just that...you try checking the stock in a few hundred cabins in the short time that they have!!!:(

On Carnival, the room steward handles the minibar and will inventory and lock it during turndown on the last night so that any charges are actually on the final statement both on your TV and the paper printout that they deliver to the cabin...never had an overcharge on Carnival!!!:)

HAL SAN DIEGO

[RuthC]

I want to thank the poster who suggested that the HAL refund was sometimes held up at the bank level. I went further into my credit card report, and found that the HAL credit appeared the day after HAL informed me it would be processed! It just hasn't shown up on the final payment sheet yet.

I feel relieved to have gotten to the bottom of this, and would never have known where to go looking had it not been for that info.

[Gunther1]

I think they should double the chocolates on your bed during your next cruise, Ruth :).

[bplazo]

Not a big deal just dispute it with your credit card.

[Typhoon1]

It would not surprise me if HAL introduced this system sooner than later.

Coming to HAL soon, we have head over the past year or so.

[RuthC]

I think they should double the chocolates on your bed during your next cruise, Ruth :).
Oh, at least. I'm just a wreck over this. ;) :D

[Gunther1]

If you're a WRECK that calls for FOUR chocolates a night :).

[jkrislc]

I believe the OP's location is listed as Japan, so it is possible that Japanese banks don't offer the same consumer protections as ours do. However, in 14 cruises, I've never been overcharged and once even stopped from leaving the ship so that they could pay me the $2.88 credit I had on my account, which wasn't worth standing in line for so I was going to just let it go. Lucky for me, they had a cash box at the gangway.

[GeriatricNurse]

Carnival has the interactive folio on the TV, and I can assure you it's not accurate and not without other problems. We sailed on Carnival in May, and checked our account on day 2 of our cruise. We had 3 different OBCs due, but only 2 showed up on the interactive TV display. When I inquired about this missing OBC, the front desk personnel knew about it and said that certain OBCs never show on the TV, but do appear on the printed folio which they did print out for us.

On our last evening, we attempted to check the folio and were greeted with the large gray Windows dialogue box covering 2/3 of the screen stating that there was a registry error!

In addition to all this, the system runs as slow as molasses - think of dial-up on a really bad day. I was not impressed at all.

Well, it worked great on X! :)

[GeriatricNurse]

I have no doubt that neither HAL or any other cruise line or resort intentionally over bill guests for in room items. Mistakes occur.

We have used the interactive systems on a few ships and we like them very much. They allow us to check our onboard account at any time from the comfort of our stateroom. These systems also show us the restaurant menus for the day and allow us to order room service from the menu. Ditto for ships excursions. It would not surprise me if HAL introduced this system sooner than later.


I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to happen, if I were you! :rolleyes:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Well, it worked great on X! :)
No it does not always work great on X or RCCL, they have numerous problems. When we were on X last year the SBC did not show right away then it appeared on just my husband's. But every charge including gratuities were listed on my name. This was not happening to our friends traveling with us. Then they double charged us for going to a specialtiy restaurant I called down to the desk and they admitted problems with the system. It was even worse on RCCL Front Desk knew I had SBC but they could not get it posted to the account till day 3, two seperate days the system was just not working on and off. Then the last day when you wanted to check on your on board account it was totally down and people were lined up at the front desk to get print outs. It was obvious that they would have liked to just shut the whole interactive billing system down.

These Interactive systems do not work on their own it still takes a human to type in the information and many errors still take place no differently than they do with HAL or any hotel resort you go to. Personally I would much rather HAL not have this and not go to the extra expense to install.

I do not see HAL doing this any time soon, the cruise lines that have this have far too many problems with them. The cost to install and the problems does not make it cost effective.

[iancal]

We have been fortunate, we have used the interative systems on two Celebrity cruises with no issues whatsoever. We are fans...but it could also have been the luck of the draw. The only problems we had were operator problems, ie finger problems with the input device.

We will be on an X ship next month and will keep a eye out for any inconsistencies. The interactive systems will not solve billing issues associated with charges from the in room mini bar-you many see them earlier that you normally would but that is the only benefit for those mistakes.