Carnival charges my bill more than plan

[KJENN]

I'm starting to wonder if its a scam by Carnival. I had the same thing happen last week on Magic. I was obsessive about making sure our towels were logged and returned (to the point i'd watch them write or enter the number and wait for them to tell me I was all good), made sure we had the towels in our room when we left and STILL got charged for 3 towels. It didnt' show up at all on the HUB app either so they must have charged it on the last day. I was really pissed to have to call and deal with that. There is NO WAY we didn't return 3 towels...no way at all. They refunded the charge.

[lizardhowson]

They don't typically place holds on credit cards.

 

This is incorrect !

 

Holds are put against the credit limit on a credit card just as holds are put against the account balance on debit cards.

Overtime you present a credit card for payment, a hold is placed against the credit limit of the card until the charge finalizes and it drops out of the pending column and become a charge.

 

 

Not sure what everyone freaks out worrying about towel charges. I have had wet/dirty pool/beach towels removed from my room by steward and not replaced. I simply reminded our steward the next time I saw him and they were replaced. I only do exchanges up on the Lido Deck so my cabin # is never written down on towel log.

 

I have used/swapped/exchanged/had replaced dozens of Carnival pool/beach towels and have never had a towel charge on my bill.

[Organized Chaos]

This is incorrect !

 

Holds are put against the credit limit on a credit card just as holds are put against the account balance on debit cards.

Overtime you present a credit card for payment, a hold is placed against the credit limit of the card until the charge finalizes and it drops out of the pending column and become a charge.

 

Not sure what everyone freaks out worrying about towel charges. I have had wet/dirty pool/beach towels removed from my room by steward and not replaced. I simply reminded our steward the next time I saw him and they were replaced. I only do exchanges up on the Lido Deck so my cabin # is never written down on towel log.

I have used/swapped/exchanged/had replaced dozens of Carnival pool/beach towels and have never had a towel charge on my bill.

I posted the FAQ from Carnival in post #20 to show that they do, in fact, put holds on credit cards, but thanks for reiterating.

 

As far as people "freaking out" about towel charges, lately I've been seeing a lot of people complain about being charged for them when they shouldn't have. So it's a legit gripe, in my opinion. I'm not saying this is what Carnival is doing, but it kind of looks like a way to nickel & dime passengers for a few extra bucks (not that $22 for an old used towel is cheap) and hope they don't question the charges. Tacking on $22 to an otherwise fairly large bill might not seem like much, but if they do it to a lot of guests, which they seemingly do, it adds up to a nice chunk of change for Carnival.

[Keys2Heaven]

Perhaps. But I take the OP at his or her word. They said they used a credit card. And I know when I use my credit card for items, yes holds for over the amount are placed on them depending on the purchase sometimes.

 

Our bank card is listed as a debit, but can be used as a credit card. Of course, last year I used AmEx and there were holds put on this throughout the cruise.

[Keys2Heaven]

I posted the FAQ from Carnival in post #20 to show that they do, in fact, put holds on credit cards, but thanks for reiterating.

 

As far as people "freaking out" about towel charges, lately I've been seeing a lot of people complain about being charged for them when they shouldn't have. So it's a legit gripe, in my opinion. I'm not saying this is what Carnival is doing, but it kind of looks like a way to nickel & dime passengers for a few extra bucks (not that $22 for an old used towel is cheap) and hope they don't question the charges. Tacking on $22 to an otherwise fairly large bill might not seem like much, but if they do it to a lot of guests, which they seemingly do, it adds up to a nice chunk of change for Carnival.

 

Hopefully, the Havana area on Vista won't have this activity. Oh, and I love how your location says Illinois (Not Chicago)!!

 

For the rest of folks in Illinois, it gripes me to no end that everyone outside the state think we have some sort of bond with that city. Frankly, it can split off and do its own thing and I wouldn't care less.

[TheCaveman]

This happened to us on a different line. After a week or so, we got charged $30 something. We called, and they said it was mini bar charges, and that was it.

 

We were rally mad, as, we had the package, and on the last night, they always lock the fridge, and we never take something from the mini fridge.

 

In our last 12 cruises, we always just use cash. We pre pay for everything, alcohol package and tips, than we will put whatever the min us down. and we just top it up if needs be.

 

this is much easier, as we also never overspend...

[Organized Chaos]

Hopefully, the Havana area on Vista won't have this activity. Oh, and I love how your location says Illinois (Not Chicago)!!

 

For the rest of folks in Illinois, it gripes me to no end that everyone outside the state think we have some sort of bond with that city. Frankly, it can split off and do its own thing and I wouldn't care less.

THIS!! :D Thank you.

 

Every time we go on an out-of-state vacation and strike up a conversation with people, the inevitable question, "Where are you from?" always comes up. And nearly every time we say Illinois, they ask, "Chicago?" Hence, my location tag.

 

I want this, only replace FL with Cook county IL...

 

I think the funniest instance I had when someone actually knew I wasn't from Chicago was a few years ago when we were down in the Smoky Mountains of TN. We ran into a couple from Wisconsin and after talking a bit, the wife asked me if I was from there (meaning TN). It seemed strange because I don't have a southern accent, or so I thought. I said no, we're from IL. She said, "Oh, well southern IL then." Apparently I have an accent, so much so that someone from a northern state thought I was from TN. I sure don't hear it. I mean, yeah, we're country folks down here, but dang.

[AmeliaAtSea]

Our bank card is listed as a debit, but can be used as a credit card. Of course, last year I used AmEx and there were holds put on this throughout the cruise.

All debit cards can be used like credit. Not all ATM cards are debit, though. If they're not, they can't be used like credit.

[mymy31]

This is incorrect !

 

Holds are put against the credit limit on a credit card just as holds are put against the account balance on debit cards.

Overtime you present a credit card for payment, a hold is placed against the credit limit of the card until the charge finalizes and it drops out of the pending column and become a charge.

 

 

Not sure what everyone freaks out worrying about towel charges. I have had wet/dirty pool/beach towels removed from my room by steward and not replaced. I simply reminded our steward the next time I saw him and they were replaced. I only do exchanges up on the Lido Deck so my cabin # is never written down on towel log.

 

I have used/swapped/exchanged/had replaced dozens of Carnival pool/beach towels and have never had a towel charge on my bill.

 

I don't think carnival spams people.

But there is clearly a problem with towels..$135 of towels means that i didn't bring 6 towels? it's crazy. Maybe the problem occurs when it was me or my husband who brings the towels..differents folios but same stateroom.

They refund so easily that i' think they know their system of towels doesn't work well.

[Rogueperson]

I posted the FAQ from Carnival in post #20 to show that they do, in fact, put holds on credit cards, but thanks for reiterating.

 

As far as people "freaking out" about towel charges, lately I've been seeing a lot of people complain about being charged for them when they shouldn't have. So it's a legit gripe, in my opinion. I'm not saying this is what Carnival is doing, but it kind of looks like a way to nickel & dime passengers for a few extra bucks (not that $22 for an old used towel is cheap) and hope they don't question the charges. Tacking on $22 to an otherwise fairly large bill might not seem like much, but if they do it to a lot of guests, which they seemingly do, it adds up to a nice chunk of change for Carnival.

 

The difference really between credit cards and debit cards, is what that hold entails. On a credit card, even though its there, you won't see the hold, but it will affect your the use of your card as the hold is held against your credit limit, but you never see it on your statement. On a debit card, that hold, represents YOUR money, and pretty much lack of access to it.

 

There was a huge story several years ago in my area that gas stations were holding $100+ per swipe because they were getting ripped off and the pump. They were getting ripped off because their system if i remember correctly, would only hold x amount, but when it came time to finalize the expenditure, it would get denied, but the customer had already filled the tank already and left. So they started upping the hold. I think the county or state came back and sanctioned them for it because it was causing problem, especially if someone swiped their card more than needed and got a $200.00 hold on their account because of it.

[Neotericisis]

i called the guest service this morning and the $135 more was about..towels or blankets :eek::eek:

but they will refund me..i didn't have to negotiate.

i think their politic is : we charge and if there is complain we refund.

 

This is crazy! I will be very mindful to look over everything line by line! Thanks for the heads up and I am glad it all worked out for you.

[DebJ14]

They don't typically place holds on credit cards. They are put on debit cards. That is why you should never use. Debit card as the payment for your S&S account

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

They absolutely DO get nightly holds on the credit cards for whatever was spent.

 

I watch my account daily when on a cruise and my bank sends me an e-mail every time there is a pending authorization. I set it up that way online on the credit card I use for travel so I can see how much they hold.

 

There is the original hold obtained usually in the wee hours of the morning of the day of embarkation, long before we even think about going to the pier.

 

Once I spend more than the initial hold, then the new holds start appearing.

 

My bank takes a week to 10 days to drop the holds.

 

Carnival did not charge our account immediately upon debarkation. The charge showed up a few days later, but mutliple holds totalling more than the final bill were on at the same time as the final charge. It sorted itself out within about 10 days.

 

I stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn for a week while taking care of some business for my father's estate. The room rate was $119 for 7 nights plus tax for a total of $143 per night. I expected a hold in the amount of the total bill, which would have been just over $1000 The hold was for $1600. When I inquired at the desk they said they always charge more in case I actually use their phone, purchase an internet plan, buy something in the snack are or eat in the restaurant during the stay.

 

Go get some gas and then check your credit card to see the authorizations. There will be one for more than the cost of the tank of gas, as well as one for the actual cost.

 

I only use CREDIT cards.

[no1racefan1]

It sounds like this got worked out but as somebody who works in the banking industry, I wanted to clarify a few things:

 

First call should be to the merchant, not to the bank. The bank does not authorize preauthorizations (holds) nor do they determine how long the hold is for. This is determined by the merchant processor. The merchant processor is the company that the merchant (in this case, Carnival) uses to process credit and debit card transactions.

 

We always recommend using credit cards over debit cards for this very reason--if the merchant places a preauthorization on your payment card, it will not hold up the liquid funds in your bank account if you used a credit card.

 

Glad Carnival was quick to resolve the bill for you.

[dad son team]

They said it tool 5 to 10 days...

 

Just a follow-up. I called and disputed it with Carnival on Monday, and the credit appeared on my credit card yesterday (Thursday).

[tef43]

The difference really between credit cards and debit cards, is what that hold entails. On a credit card, even though its there, you won't see the hold, but it will affect your the use of your card as the hold is held against your credit limit, but you never see it on your statement.

You absolutely *WILL* see the hold if you take the time to look at your card activity online. It *is* true that you will never see it on your statement.