Onboard billing

[Hsan262]

anyone have a problem with onboard billing on the Zuiderdam?  I just got my credit card statement and it was for more than the last day balance?  I called and was told I was charged $250 for the Bose speaker I had taken!?!?!  I never used it, didn’t take it. They have to open a case and it may take 4 to 6 weeks. Never had a problem with any other cruise 

  lines we have used. 

[billbunger]

I'm not sure you should call this thread a problem with on board billing, from your message it appears when you disembarked all was well with your bill. 

 

The problem was a missing Bose unit and that charge was after the fact. Good luck on getting this straightened out.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope you can get it straightened out.

 

Have no idea how you are going to prove that you did not take the Bose at the end of the cruise.

[Hsan262]

Billbunger...thanks.  Won’t let me go back and edit. 

[Spender Nui]

I've had surprise last bills several times.  It's a hassle and time consuming but usually gets straightened out.  Never for missing equipment or after the fact as you did.  Can your TA offer help?

[boards]

Where would the bose speaker have been located?   Was it a separate speaker?

[canadianbear]

7 minutes ago, boards said:

Where would the bose speaker have been located?   Was it a separate speaker?

We are currently on the NA and this is a photo where they usually are.  I hope you get it sorted out.  We’ve been charged for liquor from the 

minibar which we never touch but that’s a lot less than what you’re going through.  

 

 

[boards]

17 hours ago, canadianbear said:

We are currently on the NA and this is a photo where they usually are.  I hope you get it sorted out.  We’ve been charged for liquor from the 

minibar which we never touch but that’s a lot less than what you’re going through.  

 

 

That must be in a cabin higher than a verandah.  There was nothing like that in ours on the Koningsdam.   Sure looks like it is easy to steal.   Shame on Hal for putting temptation so easily in our way.

[canadianbear]

1 hour ago, boards said:

That must be in a cabin higher than a verandah.  There was nothing like that in ours on the Koningsdam.   Sure looks like it is easy to steal.   Shame on Hal for putting temptation so easily in our way.

It’s a Neptune suite on the NA.  Basically it is held by Velcro.  I’ve never used one and have no idea how but when I saw the post I took a photo! 

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, boards said:

That must be in a cabin higher than a verandah.  There was nothing like that in ours on the Koningsdam.   Sure looks like it is easy to steal.   Shame on Hal for putting temptation so easily in our way.

Shame on HAL?   Really?

[Fouremco]

13 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Shame on HAL?   Really?

My thoughts exactly. 🤦‍♂️

[DaveOKC]

32 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Shame on HAL?   Really?

I guess they should stop putting out umbrellas and binoculars in some cabins as well?  You just cannot trust those Neptune suite passengers!

 

 

[Catlover54]

I overheard someone who finished a HAL cruise today say his $150 jacket had been stolen from the Crow’s Nest and he was “disappointed”.  I guess following the logic  above, one should say “ shame on the passenger” for putting temptation to steal the jacket so easily in others’ ( pax and crew) way.🙄

 

If you have the burden of proof to get rid of the $250 charge, it will be hard to prove a negative, e.g., to prove you are “not a crook”, unless you documented with a date and time stamp and signature that the Bose were there when you left, and who is so paranoid and does that in a luxury Neptune suite? Either the Bose had been missing a long time and someone just noticed, room stewards just stole it, or you accidentally sleep packed under the influence of ambien and put it in your suitcase.

 

Seems to me unless a passenger has a track record of missing items, he should be given the benefit of the doubt.

 

 

[billbunger]

This is not a shame on HAL incident at all, why any one would think this is HAL's fault is beyond me. HAL lets everyone know well in advance that there will be a charge for missing "stuff", binoculars, beach towels etc.

 

 

[JudithLynne]

Hsan262:  We had this same problem 2 years ago on the Amsterdam.  We called HAL and did get it straightened out.  The HAL rep said that the cleaning crew for turn around day is not composed only of the stewards on the floors, but also additional staff that are pulled from other areas. Being in a rush to get the job done, they make mistakes.

 

We will be on the Amsterdam again in 6 weeks in a NS and I have prepared a message, printed it on card stock in large letters and will leave it in a conspicuous place upon disembarkation.  Here it is:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

July 1, 2019

To the disembarkation cleaning crew:

We have not taken anything from this cabin.  Please do not mistakenly charge us for items that we have not taken, especially from the refrigerator.  This happened to us two years ago on the Amsterdam and we do not want to repeat the hassle this created.  We have also notified the concierge of this information.

 

Edited May 4, 2019 by JudithLynne

[avian777]

On 5/4/2019 at 3:29 PM, JudithLynne said:

Hsan262:  We had this same problem 2 years ago on the Amsterdam.  We called HAL and did get it straightened out.  The HAL rep said that the cleaning crew for turn around day is not composed only of the stewards on the floors, but also additional staff that are pulled from other areas. Being in a rush to get the job done, they make mistakes.

 

We will be on the Amsterdam again in 6 weeks in a NS and I have prepared a message, printed it on card stock in large letters and will leave it in a conspicuous place upon disembarkation.  Here it is:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

July 1, 2019

To the disembarkation cleaning crew:

We have not taken anything from this cabin.  Please do not mistakenly charge us for items that we have not taken, especially from the refrigerator.  This happened to us two years ago on the Amsterdam and we do not want to repeat the hassle this created.  We have also notified the concierge of this information.

 

 

🙄🙄🙄  That should do the trick nicely ... you may want to add a line about having taken hourly pictures of the Stateroom each day of your cruise to document what was and what wasn't there.  And it certainly wouldn't hurt to get your message notarized or at least "witnessed" by one of the Senior Officers.

[DaveOKC]

On 5/4/2019 at 2:29 PM, JudithLynne said:

Hsan262:  We had this same problem 2 years ago on the Amsterdam.  We called HAL and did get it straightened out.  The HAL rep said that the cleaning crew for turn around day is not composed only of the stewards on the floors, but also additional staff that are pulled from other areas. Being in a rush to get the job done, they make mistakes.

 

We will be on the Amsterdam again in 6 weeks in a NS and I have prepared a message, printed it on card stock in large letters and will leave it in a conspicuous place upon disembarkation.  Here it is:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

July 1, 2019

To the disembarkation cleaning crew:

We have not taken anything from this cabin.  Please do not mistakenly charge us for items that we have not taken, especially from the refrigerator.  This happened to us two years ago on the Amsterdam and we do not want to repeat the hassle this created.  We have also notified the concierge of this information.

 

So sad that passengers worry about such things.  In my case, I would rather that they did not put the Boise speaker in the cabin in the first place if it is going to create a potential hassle.

 

[boards]

On 5/4/2019 at 3:16 PM, billbunger said:

This is not a shame on HAL incident at all, why any one would think this is HAL's fault is beyond me. HAL lets everyone know well in advance that there will be a charge for missing "stuff", binoculars, beach towels etc.

 

 

I assure you I am not actually blaming Hal, it was suggesting the Hal to their credit, they trusted that they could put something so easily taken and that someone would actually take it.  The shame is really on the person if they actually took it.

[HamOp]

On 5/2/2019 at 3:41 PM, Krazy Kruizers said:

Hope you can get it straightened out.

 

Have no idea how you are going to prove that you did not take the Bose at the end of the cruise.

It's not up to the OP to prove they did not take it.  It's up to HAL to prove they did.

 

If I were in that position, I'd dispute the charge with my credit card company.

[boards]

2 hours ago, HamOp said:

It's not up to the OP to prove they did not take it.  It's up to HAL to prove they did.

 

If I were in that position, I'd dispute the charge with my credit card company.

I would to if I didn't take it.   I'd be pretty upset about it.  It would finish me with cruising with Hal.

[Hsan262]

I did call AMEX to dispute the additional charge. I’m sure HAL will handle it but since they said 4-6 weeks I wanted to make sure I didn’t have a problem if I wasn’t satisfied and hadn’t  notified CC company in time.  I was really upset and and posted here to check if it was happening frequently to other cruisers on HAL. Doesn’t seem to be a recurring issue with other cruiser so I believe it was just a mistake. Thanks for all the info. 

[Fouremco]

Part of the problem here may lie with HAL's approach to disembarkation and allowing passengers to remain in their cabins until they are ready to leave. More than once, we've still been in our cabin when the crew member responsible for the bar fridge has come in and taken inventory. Following his departure, it would have been very easy for us to grab a bottle or two or three and the new occupants would no doubt have been charged for them at the conclusion of their cruise.

 

I don't know if or when there is a specific inventory taken of other items in the cabin, but if there is and a less than honest passenger was still in the cabin when it was taken, it would be quite feasible for the passenger to grab the speaker before leaving and its loss go unnoticed until the next inventory is taken.

[billbunger]

On 5/4/2019 at 8:56 AM, boards said:

That must be in a cabin higher than a verandah.  There was nothing like that in ours on the Koningsdam.   Sure looks like it is easy to steal.   Shame on Hal for putting temptation so easily in our way.

 

You best re-read your post quoted above, you are blaming HAL for what happened.

[boards]

1 hour ago, billbunger said:

 

You best re-read your post quoted above, you are blaming HAL for what happened.

Sorry that is not what I was suggesting at all.  What I was suggesting is that Hal has items out in plain sight that can easily be taken, but trusts the passengers enough,  expecting them not to take the items.   what I was suggesting was shame on Hal for being so trusting, which was meant to be a compliment. to Hal.