5 Star free Pinnacle dinners being charged incorrectly

[DaveOKC]

Over the past 2 cruises and 4 meals in the Pinnacle and Tamarind we have experienced a problem with getting the free dinners for 5 Star members charged correctly.  This was on the Eurodam and the cruises were 2 months apart.

All 4 times we were charged 50% off (plus 18% service charge) instead of being free.  This happened despite me informing the reservation person and the main person in charge that it was to be a FREE meal for being 5 Star!

While I ended up getting the charges fixed (removed), if I had not checked my bill I would not have known, which could have been a real problem for meals taken the final day as no time to fix.

 

Has anyone else experienced this recently?  Or is HAL just picking on me??

[canadianbear]

I’ve read others are also experiencing this.  I’ve found you really have to watch your bill all the time. 

[BetsyS.]

10 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

I’ve read others are also experiencing this.  I’ve found you really have to watch your bill all the time. 

I agree. You have to watch your bill all the time.  I've read that some posters call HAL 

AFTER they are off the ship if they have problems.  I have found that Guest Services onboard have been very helpful. Some people have said the lines are too long, but 

I don't mind waiting. It's worth it to me because if you call HAL after leaving the ship,

people have said they were on hold forever and they gave up. 

[Crazy For Cats]

I always watch our on board statement.  We were on Eurodam in March and Zaandam over the summer and had no issues getting our free dinners.  Let’s see how the NA is next week.

[Cruising-along]

DH has always watched our statement closely. We’ve caught mistakes for years. Onboard the NS now for a month and between the HIA and free 5-Star dinners we have 6 free dinners. So far hasn’t been too bad, one Pinnacle dinner charged at 50% off and one drink charge in the Tamarind. One more Pinnacle free dinner coming up. 

[BetsyS.]

8 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

I always watch our on board statement.  We were on Eurodam in March and Zaandam over the summer and had no issues getting our free dinners.  Let’s see how the NA is next week.

Bon Voyage!

[SilvertoGold]

Dave:  It is not only you :)   According to President's Club members WCB's current blog, they were charged for one of their 10 free Specialty Dining meals in the Pinnacle. Yikes!

 

Everyone's account is available on the computer at the desk of the Specialty Dining venues.  If they look you up, see what you are entitled to (including TA gift meals) they can see what you have used, what is left and charge properly.

Edited October 31, 2022 by SilvertoGold

[iflyrc5]

3 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

I agree. You have to watch your bill all the time.  I've read that some posters call HAL 

AFTER they are off the ship if they have problems.  I have found that Guest Services onboard have been very helpful. Some people have said the lines are too long, but 

I don't mind waiting. It's worth it to me because if you call HAL after leaving the ship,

people have said they were on hold forever and they gave up. 

Rather than having to wait in line you might try using the "Let us know" tab under the connect menu on the Navigator app.  If I have a billing issue I will try that first on our cruise starting Nov 6.  This tab can be used for reporting problems and also giving a crew member a positive input which will get them recognition from their supervisor on the ship.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

This has been a perennial problem on some ships since before the "pause" as well as after. I was one who had to get Seattle involved as the Nieuw Amsterdam in September 2021, could not resolve the problem. It took some time to get the Konigsdam to resolve the problem in March 2022. Why some ships can manage this, and others cannot boggles my mind. It would seem to be a simple technical issue to fix but I guess not.

[BetsyS.]

38 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

Rather than having to wait in line you might try using the "Let us know" tab under the connect menu on the Navigator app.  If I have a billing issue I will try that first on our cruise starting Nov 6.  This tab can be used for reporting problems and also giving a crew member a positive input which will get them recognition from their supervisor on the ship.

I used the "Let us know" tab in August on the Niew Statendam. They said they 

no longer had comment cards.  I was thanked for some of my positive input by

crew members and one supervisor.   Bon Voyage!

[DaveOKC]

A couple of times I went back to the venue and got them to fix the issue.

 

[dfish]

I haven't had a correct statement since cruising resumed.  More problems with the last statement than the others.  Going to the front desk didn't really help.  One was incorrectly charged excursions and I had to go to Shore Excursions to get that fixed.  Another was a problem with a charge at the Pinnacle Grill.  I had to go to the Pinnacle Grill to get that fixed.  They were amazed that I wanted to use my prepaid dinner instead of paying for it again.   I think they need to start over with the accounting department.  

[MISTER 67]

Why is this occurring? Is HAL trying to get away with things or is it sloppy bookkeeping, either way it shouldn't be happening, things like this leave a bad taste in passengers mouths.

Edited October 31, 2022 by MISTER 67

[dfish]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

Why is this occurring? Is HAL trying to get away with things or is it sloppy bookkeeping, either way it shouldn't be happening, things like this leave a bad taste in passengers mouths.

Two out of three times they were trying to give me more money than I had coming to me.  They go both ways.  Once they refunded me for dinners in the Pinnacle that I hadn't used.  Trouble is, I never booked them nor paid for them.   Another time they charged me too little for the Crew Appreciation.  This last cruise they tried to refund me for an excursion that I hadn't cancelled (nor had they).  They thought I had the money coming because of the HIA excursion allowance, but I explained I had used all of that and had nothing coming back.  

[Florida_gal_50]

This happens way to much to be an accident.  I think hal wants to see what they can get away with. Not a good way to treat long time customers.

[Loreto]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

Two out of three times they were trying to give me more money than I had coming to me.  They go both ways.  Once they refunded me for dinners in the Pinnacle that I hadn't used.  Trouble is, I never booked them nor paid for them.   Another time they charged me too little for the Crew Appreciation.  This last cruise they tried to refund me for an excursion that I hadn't cancelled (nor had they).  They thought I had the money coming because of the HIA excursion allowance, but I explained I had used all of that and had nothing coming back.  

We were on the 2nd Alaska cruise in July 2021 as HAL returned to service.  We had booked 2 ss suites on the Nieuw Amsterdam, taking our son and family with all charges going on our credit card.  We booked before the pandemic, and every time the cruise was cancelled it was rescheduled with more on board credit.  Our on board account became so convoluted that the Guest Services Manager asked to send a copy of my big box ta printout to Seattle to figure it out.  In the end we were comped for all our specialty dinners and we left the ship with a zero statement...first time ever.  My husband called it "cruise math."

[cbr663]

For me, incorrect billing issues are the epitome of poor customer service.  This has been an on-going issue for HAL for years and I, like many others, simply cannot understand why they seem incapable of getting it right.

 

Every passenger should be commenting on this issue on their surveys.  Maybe, just maybe, someone will actually look at it one day.  🤣

[Loreto]

2 hours ago, cbr663 said:

For me, incorrect billing issues are the epitome of poor customer service.  This has been an on-going issue for HAL for years and I, like many others, simply cannot understand why they seem incapable of getting it right.

 

Every passenger should be commenting on this issue on their surveys.  Maybe, just maybe, someone will actually look at it one day.  🤣

Depending on who you dealt with at Guest Services, you got a different answer.  I always bring my TA printout so I know exactly what I am owed....they seemed surprised when I pointed discrepancies out.

 

This time I prebooked and paid for our 2  5*comped meals plus one that is 50% off.  I have been told it will be refunded to my credit card at the end of the cruise.

[shanni-shanni]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:24 AM, DaveOKC said:

Over the past 2 cruises and 4 meals in the Pinnacle and Tamarind we have experienced a problem with getting the free dinners for 5 Star members charged correctly.  This was on the Eurodam and the cruises were 2 months apart.

All 4 times we were charged 50% off (plus 18% service charge) instead of being free.  This happened despite me informing the reservation person and the main person in charge that it was to be a FREE meal for being 5 Star!

While I ended up getting the charges fixed (removed), if I had not checked my bill I would not have known, which could have been a real problem for meals taken the final day as no time to fix.

 

Has anyone else experienced this recently?  Or is HAL just picking on me??

It happened to us when we were on the Niew Amsterdam in Sept. except it was an overcharge for a 4 stars Mariner in the Tamarind. Front Office cannot fix the problem and the manager of Tamarind was not available and could not be disturbed. Took a long time to fix the mistake.

 

It also happened in the Exploration Cafe where they charged me with someone else's order of cocktail instead of a coffee. Also took a long time to fix. 

 

Extra hassle that I did not need on a cruise.

 

Tom.

[DaveOKC]

21 minutes ago, Loreto said:

Depending on who you dealt with at Guest Services, you got a different answer.  I always bring my TA printout so I know exactly what I am owed....they seemed surprised when I pointed discrepancies out.

 

This time I prebooked and paid for our 2  5*comped meals plus one that is 50% off.  I have been told it will be refunded to my credit card at the end of the cruise.

Good Luck!