Mini Bar Charges Post Cruise

[Biker19]

Since this has been going on for MANY months, IMO it is in RCI's court to prove that my hypothesis is incorrect.

Folks getting incorrectly charged for items in the minibar has been going on since the first minibar was installed - this is not an issue of how long it has been happening. The issue is scale and intent - neither of which do we know.

 

You don't need to read about this on CC to realize that you were charged for something you didn't use. Most folks would probably catch that. I just don't believe the scale is there - if it was thousands of people a week calling in for a refund they'd do something about it just to get out from under the onslaught of calls. :eek:

[toras]

if it was thousands of people a week calling in for a refund they'd do something about it just to get out from under the onslaught of calls. :eek:

 

One person reported that when they called in, the agent on the phone said a big percentage of their time is spent dealing with this. So they definitely know.

[trev71]

On the Adventure last week the fridge (cooler) was empty. only had two large bottles of water on the desk. I didn't touch them or move them. Im guessing having the fridge empty is the best way to avoid a charge

[Biker19]

Im guessing having the fridge empty is the best way to avoid a charge

As was mentioned by others, nothing, even the bottles not being in the room, avoids the charge.

[Clarea]

On the Adventure last week the fridge (cooler) was empty. only had two large bottles of water on the desk. I didn't touch them or move them. Im guessing having the fridge empty is the best way to avoid a charge

Based on reports here, that does not seem to be a foolproof method.

[Kinny]

Based on reports here, that does not seem to be a foolproof method.

 

Yup. Got got off Allure last Sunday and got tagged for $6.19 on Minibar that we did not used. The fridge was empty the whole week with only one bottle of Evian water that we did not touch. Just called to have charges removed. We'll see if I get the $6.19 back. LOL

[Clarea]

Yup. Got got off Allure last Sunday and got tagged for $6.19 on Minibar that we did not used. The fridge was empty the whole week with only one bottle of Evian water that we did not touch. Just called to have charges removed. We'll see if I get the $6.19 back. LOL

Well, at least it's less than the normal $12 and change reported. Maybe the company has added some randomness to that profit center.

[Biker19]

Well, at least it's less than the normal $12 and change reported. Maybe the company has added some randomness to that profit center.

I didn't think everyone got charged for both bottles - it does seem to be random whether it's one ($6+) or two ($12+).

[TravelerThom]

I didn't think everyone got charged for both bottles - it does seem to be random whether it's one ($6+) or two ($12+).

In January on Oasis I was only charged for one. The only person I told post-cruise to check their bill was charged for two. I'd be interested on how many bottles of Evian are being purchased by RCI versus how many bottles they sell. I' m betting they "sell" more bottles than they purchase,

[Clarea]

In January on Oasis I was only charged for one. The only person I told post-cruise to check their bill was charged for two. I'd be interested on how many bottles of Evian are being purchased by RCI versus how many bottles they sell. I' m betting they "sell" more bottles than they purchase,

You've got to admit, that does result in more profit!

[Biker19]

You've got to admit, that does result in more profit!

:D

:cool:

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Just get a cash account and be done!

We now always do a cash account......

[grapau27]

This has happened to us several times for the $6.

In the UK you have to ring a high charge 0844 number costing about $5 so i bet there are lots like me that can't now be bothered with the hassle of ringing so the true number affected could be very high.

RC need to sort out this theft.

[Glad Trimble]

Yes, just happened to us too, after we got off Indy.

 

We literally checked as we disembarked that we hadn't been charged, and when we got home- our bill had increased by $12 for 'minibar charges'.

 

We left the 2 bottles of water right in the middle of dressing table, making sure they were very obvious, so this really does leave a bit of a sour taste in our mouths.

 

 

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[Thorben-Hendrik]

I think they are not even checking for the bottles - they just charge everybody and the ones that notice and complain get it back!:D:rolleyes:

[CruiseKyle]

Just off Anthem today and both my parents and our room was tagged with the $12.36 charge for mini bar. Paper statement that was provided didn't list it but I received an email copy hours later with the charges.

 

The most aggravating was I immediately called to reverse the charges and the service rep said their office didn't have a copy of the invoice so I'd have to call back on Tuesday. He said he has dealt with this problem before and would be happy to refund that amount but only when his office was sent the invoice from the ship. I offered to forward the digital invoice by email but he said it wouldn't be official and I'd have to wait.

 

How did I get an email copy from the company but their system doesn't show anything?

 

This is outright theft seeing how long the issue has been going on and the extreme number of guests with this issue. I bet the majority of guests never notice the charges or complain so it's a multi million dollar profit scheme across their fleet.

 

 

 

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[Biker19]

Belated welcome to CC and home.

[grapau27]

Just off Anthem today and both my parents and our room was tagged with the $12.36 charge for mini bar. Paper statement that was provided didn't list it but I received an email copy hours later with the charges.

 

The most aggravating was I immediately called to reverse the charges and the service rep said their office didn't have a copy of the invoice so I'd have to call back on Tuesday. He said he has dealt with this problem before and would be happy to refund that amount but only when his office was sent the invoice from the ship. I offered to forward the digital invoice by email but he said it wouldn't be official and I'd have to wait.

 

How did I get an email copy from the company but their system doesn't show anything?

 

This is outright theft seeing how long the issue has been going on and the extreme number of guests with this issue. I bet the majority of guests never notice the charges or complain so it's a multi million dollar profit scheme across their fleet.

 

 

 

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Many of us have experienced this.It always is the 1 or 2 big bottles of still water that are in our cabins that seem to be charged for and it seems to happen on a variety of ships and cruise lines.

[lkneller]

I know this has been reported in the past. this is to let you know the practice is still occuring. My new bill was e-mailed to me while we were still driving home and low and behold, there is the Mini Bar charge. We didn't use the Mini bar at all.

 

I called Royal as soon as we got home and was on hold for over 20 minutes, only to be told they couldn't do anything because the bill was not showing up there yet. To call back after next Wednesday.

 

This is really a shame that a good cruise would have to end with this black mark. Knowing this has happened in the past to many on cruise critic and it has been reported to Royal long time back, I can't buy it that this is a bug in the system. It happens way to often, and for too long already.

 

 

Sad

[easyboy]

Sorry it had to happen to you too.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

 

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[Guest maddycat]

We also returned from an RCI cruise today (9 night Anthem cruise). Our final invoice that we received on the ship this morning was correct. When I checked my email this afternoon there was a new invoice which showed a $12.36 mini bar charge. The mini bar was empty when we entered our cabin and we never ordered anything for the mini bar.

 

I called RCI's post cruise customer service (800-256-6649) and was told that the mini bar charge would be removed. I also let the woman who I spoke to know that there was a long thread on cruise critic about this problem. I told her that I thought that it was a scam and that I would be posting on cruise critic and commenting about it in the post cruise survey.

 

We had the exact same mini bar charge after our Oct. '16 Anthem cruise.

[CruiseKyle]

We also returned from an RCI cruise today (9 night Anthem cruise). Our final invoice that we received on the ship this morning was correct. When I checked my email this afternoon there was a new invoice which showed a $12.36 mini bar charge. The mini bar was empty when we entered our cabin and we never ordered anything for the mini bar.

 

I called RCI's post cruise customer service (800-256-6649) and was told that the mini bar charge would be removed. I also let the woman who I spoke to know that there was a long thread on cruise critic about this problem. I told her that I thought that it was a scam and that I would be posting on cruise critic and commenting about it in the post cruise survey.

 

We had the exact same mini bar charge after our Oct. '16 Anthem cruise.

Also off Anthem today and both my room and my parents room were hit with the same charge post departure.

 

I called customer service but they said they didn't have a copy of the bill so couldn't refund the charges and I had to call back on Tuesday. More than annoyed with this extra hassle after a relaxing cruise.

 

I also got charged for drinks despite the having the package and it did get resolved with guest services but they said it does happen on occasion the system doesn't register the drink package.

 

How many people don't notice these charges and the company just profits? Good thing I scrutinized my account and warned my parents to do the same.

 

Still love cruising though. 😀

 

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[voyager70]

Thanks for these reports. We are on Anthem in July and will be on the lookout for bogus mini bar charges.

[Biker19]

A lengthy thread running for the past 6 months on this issue:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2434965

[Johnamac123]

Hard to believe this is a "system issue" as RCI suggests. More likely charges inputted by ships crew after disembarkation. Very discouraging....