Had medical emergency being charged $941 pp

[Ocean Boy]

2 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

My uneducated guess is that a green purser (or whomever made the decision) went a bit too by the book instead of working with the process.

Otherwise we'd be hearing about this a lot. 

A little too much by the book by not providing needed documentation to the guest? What chapter in the book might contain those instructions?

[smokeybandit]

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

A little too much by the book by not providing needed documentation to the guest? What chapter in the book might contain those instructions?

That's where it went awry. The charge was made, but there was no protocol for documentation since the charge never should have been made.

By "by the book" I'm thinking someone thought they had to put the charge there to avoid getting in trouble for PVSA.  That total cost is darn near fine + 18% that everything else gets.

Edited September 18, 2023 by smokeybandit

[EllieinNJ]

You might also try to go with an advocate agency like the Elliott Org.

 

https://www.elliott.org/

[not-enough-cruising]

57 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd argue the fee isn't valid. PVSA violations are levied against the operator, not the person.

Valid argument 

[Babr]

1 hour ago, Floridado2020 said:

Sadly the cruise lines probably don’t care because at the end they are making a profit off this . The actual customs fee is in the 700s and rcl is charging $941 so they’re making a profit of the tragedy to start with . And if they get the CBP charge waived they make a $941 profit.

Our large family who used to cruise a lot until now will no longer be cruising . We would rather fly and stay at a hotel and not have to worry about being charged this fee or treated like crap because you have to disembark and do what’s best for your health. 

There have been class action lawsuits against cruise lines for overcharging port fees. This is not the same; nevertheless, I don’t think the practice of making profit from government fees would stand.

 

Royal must explain this with an itemized statement.

 

 

[sanger727]

Did you father get any treatment in the medical center on the ship? If so, is it possible the $1,800 is actually the bill for the medical treatment, not the PVSA fine?

[smokeybandit]

Just now, sanger727 said:

Did you father get any treatment in the medical center on the ship? If so, is it possible the $1,800 is actually the bill for the medical treatment, not the PVSA fine?

I would think any onboard treatment would have been billed to the onboard folio though.

[sanger727]

Just now, smokeybandit said:

I would think any onboard treatment would have been billed to the onboard folio though.

It sounds as though they left abruptly. They may have not had time to settle their medical bill. I think we can all agree that whatever the charge was for, it wasn't documented correctly in the first place. 

[Hutcha]

14 hours ago, Floridado2020 said:

When she presented a hospital letter they said they would try to ask customs to do a medical waiver and let her disembark with her bags without signing the form that said she had to pay the fee.

 

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It’s a valid charge; disputing it would be fraudulent 

 

Why is it you think it's a valid charge?

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The risk, which may or may not matter to the OP, is going this route can result in getting banned by RCI. Two summers ago my friend didn’t show up for a cruise because he thought he had COVID. However, when he took a COVID test it came back negative. Since he couldn’t provide a positive COVID test, RCI would not refund his fare or offer a FCC. He eventually disputed the charge with his credit card money. He got his money back from them, but shortly afterwards received a letter from RCI stating he was no longer allowed to cruise on RCI. According to a phone call he made to RCI, the ban only applied to RCI so he is still able to cruise on Celebrity, which is now his preferred cruise line. 

I guess that is a distinct possibility and I wouldn't doubt it a bit.

 

However, as far as disputing a C.C. charge and CBP is concerned (And I freely admit that my experience with doing multi-million dollars of transactions a year with customers and credit card companies, is at least a decade old and things could have changed a bit, and probably has), CBP bills the private company, as been reported in this thread, in this case, Royal (I'm assuming how that went) and then the private company tries to recoup the charge from the original customer by charging the C.C. on file, there may even be a mark-up.  When you dispute the charge, it is a dispute against the charging company, Royal, not a 3rd party in this case, CBP, it isn't CBP that put the charge in against the credit card, it was Royal.  CBP doesn't have an idea that your C.C. charge was/is being disputed.  It's all handled by the charging company (Royal).  A very large percentage of companies, I'd say most, have 3rd parties involved in the production, service, or whatever that the company provides, sells, services, et al, to their companies.  You can not dispute a charge with each and every 3rd party that is in evolved with a product, service, or whatever.  The dispute is with the POS provider.  

 

@PhillyFan33579 could be totally right, that may happen, I don't know for sure.  

[ARandomTraveler]

2 hours ago, Floridado2020 said:

Sadly the cruise lines probably don’t care because at the end they are making a profit off this . The actual customs fee is in the 700s and rcl is charging $941 so they’re making a profit of the tragedy to start with . And if they get the CBP charge waived they make a $941 profit.

Our large family who used to cruise a lot until now will no longer be cruising . We would rather fly and stay at a hotel and not have to worry about being charged this fee or treated like crap because you have to disembark and do what’s best for your health.  

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they're charging 18% on that bill 😂

[Charles4515]

33 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

It sounds as though they left abruptly. They may have not had time to settle their medical bill. I think we can all agree that whatever the charge was for, it wasn't documented correctly in the first place. 

My experience with disputing charges which is very limited is that I won both disputes by carefully explaining why I was disputing the charge. In neither case did the vendor reply so I won by default. The vendor would not reply to me when I tried to resolve the issue not did they reply to the Credit Card company. I think if the charge is not explained  by Royal  explaining what the charge is for even if it was a valid charge the  OP would win the dispute. The charge would be valid if OP violated PVSA but really the question is did Royal gat a waiver from the CBP. It would not be surprising if Royal got a  waiver and it would not be surprising if Royal did not bother asking for a waiver. With large comanys like Royal there is often incompetence. That is why they have not gotten any reply. So all they can do is dispute the charges and see what happens.  

[not-enough-cruising]

53 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

 

 

Why is it you think it's a valid charge?

There are fines for leaving mid journey. 
 

It is well documented am this and other travel blogs that these fees can, and often are, passed on to the passenger. 
 

It would be interesting to see if this fine is covered in the carriage contract. 

[PhillyFan33579]

57 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I guess that is a distinct possibility and I wouldn't doubt it a bit.

 

However, as far as disputing a C.C. charge and CBP is concerned (And I freely admit that my experience with doing multi-million dollars of transactions a year with customers and credit card companies, is at least a decade old and things could have changed a bit, and probably has), CBP bills the private company, as been reported in this thread, in this case, Royal (I'm assuming how that went) and then the private company tries to recoup the charge from the original customer by charging the C.C. on file, there may even be a mark-up.  When you dispute the charge, it is a dispute against the charging company, Royal, not a 3rd party in this case, CBP, it isn't CBP that put the charge in against the credit card, it was Royal.  CBP doesn't have an idea that your C.C. charge was/is being disputed.  It's all handled by the charging company (Royal).  A very large percentage of companies, I'd say most, have 3rd parties involved in the production, service, or whatever that the company provides, sells, services, et al, to their companies.  You can not dispute a charge with each and every 3rd party that is in evolved with a product, service, or whatever.  The dispute is with the POS provider.  

 

@PhillyFan33579 could be totally right, that may happen, I don't know for sure.  

Good information. I should add my prior post was based on what my friend told me. There are always two sides to every story and I only had his side of the story, although I did see the “banishment” letter he received from RCI. 

[smokeybandit]

24 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they're charging 18% on that bill 😂

The 2023 fine for PVSA violations is $941.

But I still feel someone at RC got ahead of themselves.  If RC charged passengers in this case then this would have made the news in the past. 

[Ret MP]

46 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

My experience with disputing charges which is very limited is that I won both disputes by carefully explaining why I was disputing the charge. In neither case did the vendor reply so I won by default. The vendor would not reply to me when I tried to resolve the issue not did they reply to the Credit Card company. I think if the charge is not explained  by Royal  explaining what the charge is for even if it was a valid charge the  OP would win the dispute. The charge would be valid if OP violated PVSA but really the question is did Royal gat a waiver from the CBP. It would not be surprising if Royal got a  waiver and it would not be surprising if Royal did not bother asking for a waiver. With large comanys like Royal there is often incompetence. That is why they have not gotten any reply. So all they can do is dispute the charges and see what happens.  

And there is that!

[HappyTexan44]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The risk, which may or may not matter to the OP, is going this route can result in getting banned by RCI. Two summers ago my friend didn’t show up for a cruise because he thought he had COVID. However, when he took a COVID test it came back negative. Since he couldn’t provide a positive COVID test, RCI would not refund his fare or offer a FCC. He eventually disputed the charge with his credit card money. He got his money back from them, but shortly afterwards received a letter from RCI stating he was no longer allowed to cruise on RCI. According to a phone call he made to RCI, the ban only applied to RCI so he is still able to cruise on Celebrity, which is now his preferred cruise line. 

 

Like you said, it may not matter.   I, for one, would not be willing to sacrifice $1800 on a fraudulent charge in order to be allowed to cruise with Royal.  

 

 

[smokeybandit]

4 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The risk, which may or may not matter to the OP, is going this route can result in getting banned by RCI. Two summers ago my friend didn’t show up for a cruise because he thought he had COVID. However, when he took a COVID test it came back negative. Since he couldn’t provide a positive COVID test, RCI would not refund his fare or offer a FCC. He eventually disputed the charge with his credit card money. He got his money back from them, but shortly afterwards received a letter from RCI stating he was no longer allowed to cruise on RCI. According to a phone call he made to RCI, the ban only applied to RCI so he is still able to cruise on Celebrity, which is now his preferred cruise line. 

One could argue that's an entirely different situation.

[nelblu]

5 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It’s a valid charge; disputing it would be fraudulent 

All of the OP is looking for proper is documentation so as to proceed with the 2nd option, Travel Insurance.  Royal needs to step up and deliver on the service.

[mjkacmom]

I would have no problem disputing it with my credit car, I’m not paying a delayed bill for “guest services” without a detailed report.

[ocean sounds]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

There are fines for leaving mid journey. 
 

It is well documented am this and other travel blogs that these fees can, and often are, passed on to the passenger. 
 

It would be interesting to see if this fine is covered in the carriage contract. 

Yes, I just checked in for my coming cruise, and looked in the cruise ticket  contract:  (9. H) 

 

9. PASSENGER’S OBLIGATION TO COMPLY WITH AGREEMENT, APPLICABLE LAWS, AND RULES OF CARRIER; QUARANTINE; INDEMNIFICATION:

…

h. Passenger acknowledges that for certain voyages, such as a round-trip voyage commencing in a United States port, the Passenger must complete the entire voyage and that failure to do so may result in a fine or other penalty being assessed by one or more governmental agencies. Passenger hereby agrees to pay any such fine or penalty imposed because Passenger failed to complete the entire voyage and to reimburse Carrier in the event it pays such fine or penalty.

 

so - not signing the form does not make the charge invalid.   Still, I wonder if Royal in good faith asked to have it waived for the Passengers under a Medical waiver?  

Edited September 18, 2023 by ocean sounds

[moposh]

Would travel insurance cover this?

[moposh]

9 minutes ago, ocean sounds said:

Yes, I just checked in for my coming cruise, and looked in the cruise ticket  contract:  (9. H) 

 

9. PASSENGER’S OBLIGATION TO COMPLY WITH AGREEMENT, APPLICABLE LAWS, AND RULES OF CARRIER; QUARANTINE; INDEMNIFICATION:

…

h. Passenger acknowledges that for certain voyages, such as a round-trip voyage commencing in a United States port, the Passenger must complete the entire voyage and that failure to do so may result in a fine or other penalty being assessed by one or more governmental agencies. Passenger hereby agrees to pay any such fine or penalty imposed because Passenger failed to complete the entire voyage and to reimburse Carrier in the event it pays such fine or penalty.

 

so - not signing the form does not make the charge invalid.   Still, I wonder if Royal in good faith asked to have it waived for the Passengers under a Medical waiver?  

So there's a fine on top of the cruise fare, which is nonrefundable?  And they didn't stay on for the whole cruise.

Edited September 18, 2023 by moposh

[smokeybandit]

I'd be shocked if RC tried to pass that onto the passenger (as a normal course of business at least) for a medical emergency even if RC in the end paid the fine.

 

That language surely is for the people who simply want to leave early.

[nelblu]

5 minutes ago, ocean sounds said:

may result in a fine or other penalty being assessed by one or more governmental agencies. 

What happens when a Pax has a medical emergency and has to be airlifted what penalties are incurred.  My only experience is some years ago, we had an emergency with my daughter going to hospital.  The next port of all was San Juan.  With Royal assistance we had a smooth exit.  Royal and any other federal entity did not charge us for anything.