Empty the mini-fridge

Whats the best method to get HAL to empty the mini-fridge once we take occupancy of our room. For personal reasons we don't want any alcohol in our stateroom? Room Steward? Front Desk?

TIA

Room steward as soon as you meet them.

Whats the best method to get HAL to empty the mini-fridge once we take occupancy of our room. For personal reasons we don't want any alcohol in our stateroom? Room Steward? Front Desk?

 

TIA

We ask room steward to do it when we board, so that we can put what we want in it.

We put a request in with Ship Services before our cruise and it was empty when we boarded

Tell your room steward upon boarding and he/she will get a Beverage Attd (Beverage is in charge of the mini bars) to empty same

After getting home a couple of cruise recently and found that we charged for items we never used out of the no-host mini refrigerator, we now ask our cabin steward to have the items removed.

Room steward as soon as you meet them.

Yep.

that's who re-stocks it, so he/she will be the best person to remove it.

Yep.

 

that's who re-stocks it, so he/she will be the best person to remove it.

For what it's worth, Beverage, not the room stewards, restock it

Is there any alcohol in the fridge? I thought only soda pop and water but then I must admit, I have never looked.

We put a request in with Ship Services before our cruise and it was empty when we boarded

Oh I like that, I presume we can do that via email or do I need to call them?

Thanks

Call Ship's Services, 800-541-1576.

OP,

In addition to what others have said please know that some times they'll empty the fridge and place it all in the stool at the vanity area. It has a removable top and offers storage.

So if the reasons are you need the fridge for something else, that will meet your needs perfectly.

HOWEVER, if the reasons have to do with the presence of alcohol in the room and not so much that you don't want it in the fridge, be sure to specify that these items need to be completely removed out of the room.

Hope that helps.

Is there any alcohol in the fridge? I thought only soda pop and water but then I must admit, I have never looked.

There are a few small bottles on the door, as well as some wine and beer.

Whats the best method to get HAL to empty the mini-fridge once we take occupancy of our room. For personal reasons we don't want any alcohol in our stateroom? Room Steward? Front Desk?

 

TIA

We contacted HAL & requested that the fridge be emptied....it was BUT in the hassock with the removable top we found partial bottles of liquor as well as clothing from prior occupants. We also found clothing in the closet.

We always ask the room steward to empty the fridge when we 1st meet him (he cannot do this). Usually by dinner the bar steward has taken care of this for us. After too many issues with bogus charges, it is just so much easier to have it all removed. Plus then I know the sodas are ours without having to add our name to the can although it did bring up memories of high density living in college where you labeled everything in the fridge and hoped it stayed there.

Be very clear of what you want. If you say you want the alcohol out, they may leave the sodas and bottled water. If you say you want the fridge emptied, they may leave the hard liquor on the counter. I like the idea of calling ship services to have it done before you access your cabin, although there are no guarantees that everything will get done on a busy embarkation day.

We always ask the room steward to empty the fridge when we 1st meet him (he cannot do this). Usually by dinner the bar steward has taken care of this for us. After too many issues with bogus charges, it is just so much easier to have it all removed. Plus then I know the sodas are ours without having to add our name to the can although it did bring up memories of high density living in college where you labeled everything in the fridge and hoped it stayed there.

There seem to be so many comments about bogus, incorrect mini-bar charges showing up on the statement. Is this just repeated, fleet-wide "human error," or does anyone think that there is an unwritten practice by HAL that encourages this in the hope that it won't be noticed and adds a little to the cruise profit?

For what it's worth, Beverage, not the room stewards, restock it

Our Room Steward told us directly that he is who does a count of what's in the fridge and submits the information for re-stocking.

we therefore asked our Room Steward to empty the mini-fridge on the first day (and he did so, moving the alcohol and mixers onto a shelf (to remind him that he had taken them out himself).

we had no issue with billing at the end of our 11/3-11/13 Noordam cruise :)

There seem to be so many comments about bogus, incorrect mini-bar charges showing up on the statement. Is this just repeated, fleet-wide "human error," or does anyone think that there is an unwritten practice by HAL that encourages this in the hope that it won't be noticed and adds a little to the cruise profit?

I seriously doubt that HAL has an unwritten practice on this (it has only happen once to us on 15 cruises). Rather, I think that the bar stewards who handle this make mistakes and further, if there is any question, they err on the side of charging you, so it does not get them in trouble for being "short".

One more thing - the person in your cabin before you might have used it and the inventory did not catch it for them (perhaps they had a drink "after" the inventory at the end). Thus, you end up getting charged (I do not think they do a beginning of the cruise inventory - takes too much time).

We always ask the room steward to empty the fridge when we 1st meet him (he cannot do this). Usually by dinner the bar steward has taken care of this for us. After too many issues with bogus charges, it is just so much easier to have it all removed. Plus then I know the sodas are ours without having to add our name to the can although it did bring up memories of high density living in college where you labeled everything in the fridge and hoped it stayed there.

We noticed that on our cruise, the Soda cans are clearly marked as for use onboard (can't remember the exact wording, but there was a "white stripe" around the top of the can with something along the lines of "for at sea use only" printed in black).

we thought it odd, but then realized it would help identify immediately if you were drinking a ship cola or your own :)

then again, we brought our sodas on in 20oz plastic bottles with caps, so we could easily tell which was which -- nevermind that ours was also Diet Dr. Pepper (which they didn't offer on board).

There seem to be so many comments about bogus, incorrect mini-bar charges showing up on the statement. Is this just repeated, fleet-wide "human error," or does anyone think that there is an unwritten practice by HAL that encourages this in the hope that it won't be noticed and adds a little to the cruise profit?

I think it's a convenient excuse for smaller overcharges that appear after you have left the ship. It comes under the heading of "Make it up as you go along". People won't question the explanation.

I have had a post-disembarkation overcharge once. When I called, that was the same excuse I was given, even though I had never used anything from the mini-bar. When I did the calculations, though, they did not add up to any combination of drinks from the bar, minus my star status discount.

The charge was removed, of course, as it typically is.

We always ask the steward to empty it. More often than not the steward offers to do it before we even ask.

There seem to be so many comments about bogus, incorrect mini-bar charges showing up on the statement. Is this just repeated, fleet-wide "human error," or does anyone think that there is an unwritten practice by HAL that encourages this in the hope that it won't be noticed and adds a little to the cruise profit?

We take a photo of the fridge to show that it's full before we leave. If you use your phone, you should have a network timestamp on the picture. That ought to be enough to back up any dispute with your credit card company. Once your post cruise statement comes, you can delete the photo if everything looks good. (Or, you can keep it if you're into that sort of thing. You never know when someone on CruiseCritic is going to ask what's in the minibar.)

We take a photo of the fridge to show that it's full before we leave. If you use your phone, you should have a network timestamp on the picture. That ought to be enough to back up any dispute with your credit card company. Once your post cruise statement comes, you can delete the photo if everything looks good. (Or, you can keep it if you're into that sort of thing. You never know when someone on CruiseCritic is going to ask what's in the minibar.)

Awesome! :)