Mini Bar Charges Post Cruise

[BecciBoo]

There may be change in the air. Just read on the Royal Caribbean blog that minibars are now empty and you have to fill out an order forms to have it stocked

 

 

Yep for the first time ever we didn't have to have our steward remove anything...and so far no charges.

[Clarea]

... Since this seems to be a frequent issue I thought that was insulting! ...

You would think the customer service reps would be very used to fixing this "mistake".

[CruisinCrow]

This happened to us also. We got off the Anthem April 29, the final bill we got on the ship looked fine. A couple days later I checked my credit card and the charge from Royal was $12.36 more than the final bill. I had seen a thread on this a while back before we went on the cruise so I knew what the charge was for. I called and the charge was reversed, but the woman I talked to asked me where the water bottles were. I told her they were on the back of the desk area, they were not in the way so we never moved them the whole time. Then she asked me several times if they were still there when we left. I had to insist that we did not drink the water, and they were still on the desk when we left. Since this seems to be a frequent issue I thought that was insulting!

 

Thanks to those who posted about this and for posting the phone number to call.

 

So now we have to watch our credit card charges, waste time calling customer service to have their mistake fixed and get accused of lying on top of that. It's been going on for months and months now. Royal Caribbean has no excuse for this.

[Biker19]

Royal Caribbean has no excuse for this.

except, how do we know that this (using of the water bottle by some after final bill) is not happening?

[thrifty99]

I sent an email to the CEO and a link to this forum so his executive staff can see how these fraudulent charges are leaving a negative impression at the end of many customers cruises. I suggested they remove the water from cabins and have them available for sale around the ship (bar, restaurants, shops, guest services, etc.).

 

I just want to see how they respond. I bet they make a decent amount of sales on bottled water... just wonder how much of that comes from the "mistakes".

[nealstuber]

except, how do we know that this (using of the water bottle by some after final bill) is not happening?

 

 

A good way for us to know would be for RCCL to not make so many false charges. If they were right 99% of the time they could challenge false protests from customers with confidence.

 

I really doubt many folks would go through the trouble of calling to avoid paying the $12 they know they owe. Even those wrongfully charged are not doing it for the 12 bucks.

 

This is one case where it really is the principle of the thing. We're trusting them with our credit line and they are violating that trust.

 

It's also important to keep in mind the cruse line is maybe paying 50 cents per bottle. To challenge a customer who went through the trouble to call when the true out of pocket cost to the cruise line is a dollar is pure stupidity.

 

 

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[Biker19]

A good way for us to know would be for RCCL to not make so many false charges.

It could also be that they lump in this water issue with all the other issues for which folks call in for credit.

 

Biker, who still thinks this (the charging for the water) is just plain incompetence on RCI's part - not quite in the fraud/scam camp yet.

[TinyPinkBug]

Anyone else wonder if maybe the room stewards are taking the bottles and charging them to the guest? Like if it has become a way for the stewards to get back at guests they didn't like or if they are just taking them to consume? They spend all day talking to each other on their phones, an idea like this from one steward would travel fast.

[Clarea]

Anyone else wonder if maybe the room stewards are taking the bottles and charging them to the guest? Like if it has become a way for the stewards to get back at guests they didn't like or if they are just taking them to consume? They spend all day talking to each other on their phones, an idea like this from one steward would travel fast.

I would more suspect other guests passing staterooms that are open on disembarkation day.

[TinyPinkBug]

I would more suspect other guests passing staterooms that are open on disembarkation day.

 

I thought that too at first. But it seems far too common to have that many passengers walking off with someone else's water.

 

Disney Cruise Line has a similar issue with their laundry bags. We haven't sailed Disney in a few years so I haven't followed their boards in a while, but there were always repeated posts about $10 fees after disembarking and multiple calls to have the charge reversed. I wonder if Carnival or Norwegian have a similar chargeable item that appears after the sailing.

[nikki908]

I wonder if Carnival or Norwegian have a similar chargeable item that appears after the sailing.

We've cruised on both Carnival and Norwegian several times and have never had a charge added after the final bill. And both those lines also have bottles of water available in the room to purchase.

[thrifty99]

I mentioned I sent an email this morning to the CEO's office. I just received a call back from a lady on his executive team. We had a nice talk about this problem. She did visit the forum and saw how there were many complaints of this incorrect billing and said they (including Mr. Bayley) were unaware of the issue. They are looking into the situation and how to remedy it. She mentioned how they had recently made a change in no longer stocking the mini bars in the cabins due to customer feedback. I let her know the water bottles "mistaken" charges are a nuisance to their loyal customers. We pay thousands of dollars to cruise with them and then get hit with a bill after leaving the ship for water bottles that were still in the cabin upon embarking. I told her it now requires me to monitor my credit card billing after the cruise to see if I get hit with this incorrect charge. Then I have to waste my time to call and get the charge reversed if it happens. Definitely a bad last memory of a Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

She said they are looking into this across the fleet and to give them time to investigate and make any necessary changes. I appreciate how quickly they responded to my inquiry into this.

 

I would suggest when this happens to anyone to send your actual experience to the CEO's office via his e:mail. It is the best way to let them see the frequency of this happening and that there is an issue to address. Here is his email:

 

mbayley@rccl.com

[CruisinCrow]

except, how do we know that this (using of the water bottle by some after final bill) is not happening?

 

It probably is in some cases. But there are way too many reports here on CC alone for Royal Caribbean not to realize they have a problem they need to fix.

[Host Kewlguy]

I would guess the percentage of guests who notice the "error" on their credit card statements post cruise would be very small. People reading this information on CC are only a tiny fraction of the overall cruising public. It may in fact be simple incompetence on Royal's part but it's adding up to a very nice profit for the cruise line. It's not the stateroom attendants or people walking past the staterooms. This problem is too widespread, fleet wide to be that simple of an explanation. It's been going on for years.

[akcruz]

Anyone else wonder if maybe the room stewards are taking the bottles and charging them to the guest? Like if it has become a way for the stewards to get back at guests they didn't like or if they are just taking them to consume? They spend all day talking to each other on their phones, an idea like this from one steward would travel fast.

We brought a partial case of water onboard with us, all of which was not used. We probably left 5 or 6 bottles of our water in the cabin and were still charged the $12 plus after our cruise, if the steward wanted water he could have easily taken our unopened bottles not those provided by Royal.

 

We are fairly simple cruisers, the only extra we ask for is ice, and we pick up after ourselves pretty well. I don't see a reason for the steward not to like us other than not leaving a big tip on top of our prepaid ones.

 

Just doesn't make sense and is very frustrating to have this charge applied. As I have stated on this forum before when I called the rep knew of the issue and said they were in the process of resolving it. Obviously not.

 

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[nealstuber]

I wonder if Carnival or Norwegian have a similar chargeable item that appears after the sailing.

We've cruised on both Carnival and Norwegian several times and have never had a charge added after the final bill. And both those lines also have bottles of water available in the room to purchase.

 

 

The Carnival board had a similar thread on beach towels a couple of weeks before; however, most of those issues had underlying reasons (like we left the towels at the station when the attendant was not there). It did not appear to by systemic like this (other than perhaps a crackdown on a long standing policy that caught folks unaware).

 

 

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[Ocean Boy]

I mentioned I sent an email this morning to the CEO's office. I just received a call back from a lady on his executive team. We had a nice talk about this problem. She did visit the forum and saw how there were many complaints of this incorrect billing and said they (including Mr. Bayley) were unaware of the issue. They are looking into the situation and how to remedy it.

 

 

 

Just doesn't make sense and is very frustrating to have this charge applied. As I have stated on this forum before when I called the rep knew of the issue and said they were in the process of resolving it. Obviously not.

 

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So they did or did not know anything about this? Here is a simply solution.... don't put anything in my cabin that I could be charged for unless I ask for it. If I want a bottle of water I'll go get one.

[andrew2346]

"Incompetence" on this scale is fraud. Ingredients for class action lawsuit right here.

[TravelerThom]

...She did visit the forum and saw how there were many complaints of this incorrect billing and said they (including Mr. Bayley) were unaware of the issue...

I'm wondering if she saw the numerous times on this thread where people have said they have contacted Bayley's office? IMO there are two choices: stupid or lying. Actually I think the answer may be both stupid and lying.

 

I think that Bayley should seriously consider that two senior officers of Wells Fargo each lost in excess of $60 million in reclaimed bonuses for being similarly blind to what was happening in that company. Those WF officers apparently did not directly order the fraud, but through probably purposeful neglect they allowed it to continue.

Edited May 12, 2017 by TravelerThom

[salmonoftheseas]

Back from Serenade 16night TA. Had the water bottles removed at day 1 of the cruise; all fine including last day when I received the correct bill at disembarkation morning.

At home I checked my AMEX and bingo - water bottles charged that had never been in my cabin!

Inquired at RCCL's guest relation email and my AMEX organisation and received the full "water bottle" refund after a quick 4 days!

[lmd4941977]

I have been charged for minibar the last 3 Royal cruises. I think in the future I will have one day of gratuities removed from bill. That would compensate for the minibar charge. I will inform the guest service personnel of the reason for this. If every CC did this, they may take notice.

[Clarea]

Back from Serenade 16night TA. Had the water bottles removed at day 1 of the cruise; all fine including last day when I received the correct bill at disembarkation morning.

At home I checked my AMEX and bingo - water bottles charged that had never been in my cabin!

Inquired at RCCL's guest relation email and my AMEX organisation and received the full "water bottle" refund after a quick 4 days!

I've read reports like this several times, which makes it hard for me not to believe this "mistake" is not intentional.

[ThirstyCruiser]

While this thread seems to be the main one for posting about this "innocent mistake by Royal", where they strain their arm patting themselves on the back for refunding the money they stole from you as a "courtesy", there were a couple of other threads with a few pages on this topic as well. Here are the links:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2459202

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2434014

[nealstuber]

I mentioned I sent an email this morning to the CEO's ..She mentioned how they had recently made a change in no longer stocking the mini bars in the cabins ...

 

mbayley@rccl.com

 

 

Their may be a grain of truth in this. When they stopped stocking the mini bars, the folks tasked with stocking them likely took a big financial hit and are looking to make it up somehow.

 

 

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[Biker19]

When they stopped stocking the mini bars, the folks tasked with stocking them likely took a big financial hit and are looking to make it up somehow.

I seriously doubt the folks who stock the cabins get paid by the volume of their deliveries.