X Strikes Again....

[mechcc]

Heather - I appreciate and agree with your posts. While I may sometimes have a different opinion than you, I think your bottom line, no-nonsense approach is refreshing without being snide or combative.

 

Beyond that, and back to the larger issue, the fact that a debit card was used surprised me a little, especially when the OP mentioned the "Credit Card company" often, but I now better understand the pain of the OP. VISA and most major banks have protections built into the process to provide provisional credits on unauthorized charges (provided certain criteria are met) within 48 hours, if not sooner, and it sounds like Wells Fargo is honoring this. These protections are valid for both credit and debit cards, but most people are obviously more exposed if there is a debit card issue b/c their actual cash flow is impacted. If Wells Fargo processed the chargeback on Friday afternoon, then hopefully the OP has some relief by now, as most processing happens in batch 7 days a week.

 

Personally, I never use my debit card for anything more than withdrawing cash, but these are individual choices. For those of you who prefer to use debit cards, it might be a good idea to brush up on exactly how your bank handles such issues. For those who may not have a credit card, keep in mind there are many similar stored value products available that could suit your needs - VISA gift cards, VISA Buxx, Visa TravelMoney - to name a few. They come at a price and often carry fees, but they can also provide a nice alternative, some protection and some peace of mind.

 

Going back to post #60 from the OP, I think it's unfair to expect that folks on the X boards would remain objective and tactful (though I suppose tactful might be nice :) ). The OP chose to post on the X board, then place the same post on the HAL board. You could make an arugment that the original post itself was not objective or tactful. I'm always confounded when folks post to an opinion board, and then voice concerns when people express opinions back. It's a two-way street, and you have to take the good with the bad on a open forum like this one.

 

Exactly! 2-way street - Good with Bad - Don't condem those that dare express opinions that go against the grain. An honest, fair debat is great; a forum that worships only long standing members opinions and rejects new expressions differing form the self appointed experts is doomed to failure.

 

My personal feeling is that this was a place for equal debate, a place for the cruiselines to learn their customer's expectations. Over the last year, I have learned, conform or be personally attacked. And the cruiselines aren't paying as much attention to this board as before. They want honest expression, not the feelings of few who try to control others. Anyone ever wonder why Carnival doesn't try to match the give aways RCCL does with their "meet and greet"?.

[JLC@SD]

Brian - Just curious. Since X charged all of the room's expenses to your card, did Don & Scotty walk off the ship without paying a dime?[/font]

Those were my thoughts.

 

Certainly they got off the ship..............knowing their payment was in the neighborhood of 1,500 short.............and probably said nothing...............since Brian claims he got blindsided with the charge........:)

 

Glad I don't have friends like that.

[mechcc]

Those were my thoughts.

 

Certainly they got off the ship..............knowing their payment was in the neighborhood of 1,500 short.............and probably said nothing...............since Brian claims he got blindsided with the charge........:)

 

Glad I don't have friends like that.

 

Okay, I'm calling foul! To blame Brian's friends for X's mistake is being a little shortsited. Inexperienced cruisers may, in all honesty, think that the cruiseline will charge their account presented at boarding, at the end of the cruise.

 

Is this another attempt in blaming X's shortcomings on Brian and his friends?

[JLC@SD]

Okay, I'm calling foul! To blame Brian's friends for X's mistake didn't say that is being a little shortsited. Inexperienced cruisers may, in all honesty, think that the cruiseline will charge their account presented at boarding, at the end of the cruise.

 

Is this another attempt in blaming X's shortcomings on Brian and his friends? didn't say this either

 

All I said was Brian has irresponsible friends.......When they charged this:

 

5/8/2006 2 MARTINI BAR $10.93 (USD)

5/8/2006 2 MARTINI BAR $1.00 (USD)

5/8/2006 2 DINING ROOM/CHAMPAGNE $2.24 (USD)

5/8/2006 2 DINING ROOM/CHAMPAGNE $1.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 LAUNDRY $12.75 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 AQUA SPA $36.30 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 MARTINI BAR $21.85 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 MARTINI BAR $4.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 DINING ROOM/CHAMPAGNE $2.24 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 DINING ROOM/CHAMPAGNE $1.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 2 NAVIGATOR DISCO/LOUNGE $27.43 (USD)

5/10/2006 2 CASINO ENTERTAINMENT $100.00 (USD)

5/8/2006 3 SKY BAR $13.17 (USD)

5/8/2006 3 MARTINI BAR $10.93 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 AQUA SPA $108.90 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 AQUA SPA $36.30 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 AQUA SPA $22.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 GIFT SHOP $3.99 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 TASTINGS BAR $5.75 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 TASTINGS BAR $1.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 MARTINI BAR $32.78 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 MARTINI BAR $2.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 CASINO ENTERTAINMENT $20.00 (USD)

5/9/2006 3 NAVIGATOR DISCO/LOUNGE $6.84 (USD)

 

 

per day and it doesn't show up on their bills and they say nothing to Brian....that is why he got blindsided.

[bepsf]

As you know, your shipboard account charge doesn't happen till a few days after you disembark the ship.

 

Don and I signed off on our charges before we left the ship in SF May 10. Scotty received a statement before he left the ship at the end of the cruise and tells me that he also tried to rectify the billing before he left the ship Friday before last, as it was all posted to my account for some unknown reason. We three did our part - X clearly screwed up.

 

BTW -- I may have posted this before, but apparently WF didn't get the reversal in time to post before the end of business Friday, so I was left with no cash this weekend. Fortunately, Don being the pal he is, insisted on sending me some pocket-dinero via PayPal.

 

I'm looking forward to waking up in the AM to see if in fact X did process a reversal Friday afternoon, because if they didn't there's gonna be a mushroom cloud in SF visible from the RCCL offices in Miami...

:cool:

[Bramcruiser]

This past weekend, I thought to myself that all the X-folks can't be all-happy all the time so I took another peek. They're not. There are several threads complaining about various things that X doesn't get right (normal). And the nastiness towards each other continues. I couldn't believe some of the comments I was reading. There was a thread started a couple of weeks ago about the Summit's pod problems & missed ports. The moderators actually posted a "behave yourself & be nice to each other" comment. Unreal. Here folks are mostly pleasant to each other.

 

Well Sunshine I thought pretty much the same thing - that the Celebrity board just appeared to be nasty overall. However, I find there are times that a certain group of people or a certain mood sweeps over a particular board and hijacks the whole tone of the place. Then, miraculously it clears up and goes back to being - er, normal! For a while, I thought the Cunard board was full of snobs who look down on people but a backlash from others who felt the same turned the board around and now its just as friendly and helpful as the HAL board. So, I am not so sure that the Celebrity board is regularly this particularly nasty. Although the bitterness I've seen over there these days is perhaps the worst I have seen. I've seen HAL have its little fights but nothing so widesweeping thankfully. (Knocking on wood here!) If there is a point to all of this - he he he:) - is that the bickering over there will likely die down and life will return to normal. Never sailed Celebrity, was once willing, now a bit hesitant, but too caught up on other cruises on other lines to worry about them. Hopefully, the normal will rise up and take control again. Its okay to say no to unreasonable behaviour and unrealistic demands.

[gizmo]

 

Have to admit I have absolutely no idea what a "pod" is or that they've been failing on the Summit. Certainly there was no such problem when we cruised.

 

The pods are "azipods" and to make it simple they drive the ship.

 

X has had major problems with them from the very beginning. There are techy explainations on the X board. Something breaks on the pods every couple of years. X has to cancel a cruise to get it fixed. I think I read that the manufacturer keeps trying something new, but nothing has worked to date.

 

The Summit just had a pod break again and all h*** broke loose on the ship.

[HeatherInFlorida]

...............- there was nothing attacking you in my post, in fact I stated that I valued your opinion. ........................ ............... I have the right to state that X has had problems lately with the M class ships and do not deserve your dismissal of my opinion as being totally uninformed. For anyone who has have a brain and investigates the claim on their own will find that the M Class X ships do have a problem with their pods.

 

Maggie, my confusion continues. I never said you attacked me:) ! I don't think you did. I just wanted to make sure I was clear that I have never negated Brian's experience in any way.

 

Nor did I suggest you shouldn't post that X is having problems. In fact, I said I have no idea whether they are or not. Not having any Celebrity cruises planned, I have not been researching in any way.

 

And I certainly never "dismissed" your opinion or tell you that you're uninformed. Where do you see that? When I said "that's that" I simply meant I had nothing more to say. Still here I am again:o .

 

This is all so silly. I said we should offer a balance here so people can judge for themselves. On Brian's other thread about this cruise someone has linked their review of the very same cruise with a totally different experience. Balance is good.

 

Gizmo, many thanks for that explanation. We were just lucky, I guess, not to cruise when the "pods" broke down!

 

Bramcruiser, you are so right. Every board goes through this sort of thing from time to time. This board has sometimes turned "horrific";) ... I have noticed a very cliquey atmosphere on the Celebrity board from time to time, but I have to also give credit to all the help and info I've received there.

 

Remember, too, that the Celebrity board has different hosts who handle uprisings differently than our hosts. In fact, they "allow" a lot more bickering over there. When that much nastiness rears its head here, it's generally removed returning this board to calm. It's one of the reasons (as Brian says) I "play" in this sandbox:D .

[Quendryth]

If you are referring to my post, (?)

 

Above, I wrote:

 

 

Winning a free cruise might be that 'compelling reason' :) I referred to. That's what makes my statement 'realistic' for Me. Obviously, I can't speak for anyone else.

 

 

 

 

 

No I was not referring to your post.

[Bramcruiser]

Remember, too, that the Celebrity board has different hosts who handle uprisings differently than our hosts. In fact, they "allow" a lot more bickering over there. When that much nastiness rears its head here, it's generally removed returning this board to calm. It's one of the reasons (as Brian says) I "play" in this sandbox:D .

 

I agree Heather. Considering my next two cruises are going to be on Cunard I wonder why I am still hanging around the HAL board. Hey, I still consider HAL my benchmark to date but more importantly............its a great place to play in.:)

[patwell]

I'm with Bramcruiser on this. The Cunard board had its share of malcontents and it got almost unpleasant to bother with it. As I'm taking my first QM2 cruise I hung in and as he said it seemed to disappear.

 

I've been spending time here as I plan a possible cruise on the Westerdam and have been looking for help and insight. Overall I have found this board to be very pleasant, something Celebrity certainly hasn't been lately. I just don't understand when the negativity gets so personal that even a casual reader feels uncomfortable. Must be tough on newcomers to sift through the bickering just looking for advice. Cheers, Penny

[bepsf]

...and it's not happy news.

Nope, nothing posted to the account this am (big surprise) and a call into Wells Fargo confirmed that nothing was submitted. Back to RCCL/X...

First I get "well, our system shows it was done Friday - I'll see what happenned" - then, "The Accounting department needs an hour - I'll call you then"

Meanwhile, I get an e-mail from the first person I deal w/ Thursday asking me for more info (?!?!?!?!) She didn't quite get the response she expected...

After two hours, I get a call: 'Well, Accounting tells me that it can be done Wednesday at 2pm'

At this point, I become absolutely unglued. Of course I'm here in the office so I have to leave my desk as I'm screaming into the cellphone about how disgusted I am in their deceptive business practices, the lies I've been told and delay tactics I've been subjected to - and that I refused to get off the phone until this was resolved. I am also subjected to the "Well, your traveling companions cards were declined, so we charged them to your account" - which is the biggest load of horse manure i've heard yet, and so not my responsibility if that were indeed the case.

(A quick call to Scotty afterward confirmed that they had indeed started taking money from his account)

BTW - Did I ever mention that every time I tried to call in, I had to explain my situation for the umpteenth time to a call-center rep before they would transfer my call to the individual I wanted? Did I also mention that when you're on hold, you're listing to a RCCL/X recording selling you the "Celebrity Treatment - How will it affect you?" ('I pooped and barfed for days - then you stole all my money and lied to me about it...') and promising that every Alaska cruise goes to Hubbard Glacier ad-nauseum...

Finally got a confirmation number e-mailed to me (no, I couldn't write it down as I was outside where I could pace up and down screaming into the phone without scaring the entire office...)

We'll see what happens tomorrow am.

Needless to say, I'm not posting this on the X boards - I don't need any more maltreatment be people who dont know me. But my list of letter recipients keeps getting longer and longer...

Heather, I'm afraid that at this rate I'll won't be stepping aboard an RCCL/X ship until NASA announces that the Earth is flat and our Moon is made of Stilton.

I can't wait.:cool:

[GMoney]

I'm confused. Hasn't WF provided you with provisional credit, and if not, why not? I understand X holds the solution, but WF should be able to provide immediate relief.

[bepsf]

I'm confused. Hasn't WF provided you with provisional credit, and if not, why not? I understand X holds the solution, but WF should be able to provide immediate relief.

 

GM - I'm told that it takes them 10 days to "Investigate" - Dunno if that's because I used a debit card or what the deal-io is...

[Nancyquilts]

Brian - I don't see how you are staying sane - this is just so ridiculous on Xs part. Yell at them some for the rest of us. Nancy

[peaches from georgia]

GM - I'm told that it takes them 10 days to "Investigate" - Dunno if that's because I used a debit card or what the deal-io is...

I'm sure they are waiting to be sure they are going to be able to collect the amount owed from your 2 friends on their credit cards. If they credit your bank account immediately and then find they are unable to get a hold for that amount on the cards of the other 2, X will be out the $$$. It's standard procedure for any company or bank, for that matter, to not make funds available (usually for 10 days in fact) until they know they are going to be able to collect the funds elsewhere.

 

I do sympathize, but am sure this is what they are doing.

[Navy_Chief]

Brian, maybe you need to have Mike Wallace come out of retirement so they can hear those four dredded words "Mike Wallace is here" :D

[HeatherInFlorida]

....................

Heather, I'm afraid that at this rate I'll won't be stepping aboard an RCCL/X ship until NASA announces that the Earth is flat and our Moon is made of Stilton.

 

I can't wait.:cool:

 

LOL, Brian!!!!:D I absolutely get that! And you know I don't blame you if for no other reason then you would go into it assuming it will be a nightmare. With all the other cruise lines in the world, why bother?

 

Peaches, I think you're right. They don't want to be left holding the empty bag so to speak;) .

 

In life (and believe me I've lived more years than I care to remember) I've found that once things start down the wrong road, you're basically doomed.

 

But you know what I love about you, Brian??? You're holding onto that great sense of humor of yours. And that is so great. Because without that, you most definitely would go mad.

 

Keep us informed!!!

[GMoney]

I'm sure they are waiting to be sure they are going to be able to collect the amount owed from your 2 friends on their credit cards. If they credit your bank account immediately and then find they are unable to get a hold for that amount on the cards of the other 2, X will be out the $$$. It's standard procedure for any company or bank, for that matter, to not make funds available (usually for 10 days in fact) until they know they are going to be able to collect the funds elsewhere.

 

I do sympathize, but am sure this is what they are doing.

 

The 10 days you reference is only when cashing a check, not doing a chargeback. They are 2 very different things. It not up to WF to collect from the friends. WF will collect from X's bank and then it's up to X and X's bank to collect from the friends.

[Pudgesmom]

Brian,

 

I think its Conde Nast Concierge that does wonderful investigations of disasters like this. I think they have an ombudsman (sp?) that will work on your behalf, and better yet, publish his or her findings of the situation and its resolution in their printed and on line publications.

 

Beth

[peaches from georgia]

The 10 days you reference is only when cashing a check, not doing a chargeback. They are 2 very different things. It not up to WF to collect from the friends. WF will collect from X's bank and then it's up to X and X's bank to collect from the friends.

Of course in this case it is X that is waiting the 10 days to credit the $$$ back to Brian's WF account after they have been assured of payment from his 2 friends' credit cards. WF has nothing to do with Brian's situation. X is the one that has to be sure of collection of the funds from the friends, similar to a bank when it puts a 10 day hold on a check until it has cleared the checkwriter's bank. Sorry if my wording wasn't clear.

[Grumpy1]

Of course in this case it is X that is waiting the 10 days to credit the $$$ back to Brian's WF account after they have been assured of payment from his 2 friends' credit cards. WF has nothing to do with Brian's situation. X is the one that has to be sure of collection of the funds from the friends, similar to a bank when it puts a 10 day hold on a check until it has cleared the checkwriter's bank. Sorry if my wording wasn't clear.

The problem is that X has no business holding money that was erroneously charged to Brian's account. It is their responsibility to restore brian's money even if they never collect from the other parties. To do otherwise is, plain and simple, theft. Brian was never responsible for the charges, his account was cleared before he left the ship. X reopened the account and added charges. There is probably some fine print somewhere that allows them to bill for charges that may not have been in the computer at checkout, though, and that is probably what X is claiming. But the fact that all three parties had cards registered, and the charges clearly indicate which party is responsible, and account #1 had been closed, makes me think someone posting the charges at X doesn't have a clue and the ones in the front office aren't much better.

[bepsf]

Actually, the 10 days refers to WF investigating the X's overcharge to my debit card - I guess that if they find that is truly the case, they'll refund my money to my account and go after X.

X acknowledged that they overcharged me back on Thursday - but have been dragging their feet since with excuses, accusations, lies, delays and broken-promises one after another. Only today did I get hit with the "We tried to charge your friends accounts but couldn't so we charged them all to you" excuse. It was after blowing my top and snarling at the rep on the phone today, as well as naming names of future recipients of my letters (including the SF Chronicle, the NY Times, Conde Nast, the Pritzker Family Trust, Travelocity and of course CruiseCritic.com) that I guess they realized that they shouldn't drag their feet any longer and finally gave me a confirmation number for the refund (a number which I was told Friday that they could not provide)

Thanks for the compliment Heather, but frankly I've been very, very down today - I don't know which is worse - being broke or taking a loan from a friend? I absolutely dreaded having to go through this insanity on the phone with them, and I hate being provoked to be as nasty as they pushed me to be.

...I've even been considering cancelling/postponing one or more of my future cruises on HAL to go do something else. Yes, I know that one company has nothing to do with the other, but this entire episode has left such a nasty aftertaste that I wonder if I should take a break for a while? Sorta feel like a little kid who's been badly bitten by the neighbor's Pitt-Bull: even Mom's Toy Poodle starts looking a little scary...

Hopefully, this too shall pass...

[peaches from georgia]

That's what they are 'investigating'- to be sure who owes what.

 

I've never cruised with anyone but DH, so I don't know about multiple credit cards on one account. Does it have to be done this way? Can't each individual have their own totally separate ships acct. even if they are traveling together? Just asking. It looks like a recipe for disaster to me.

[bepsf]

Actually, the 10 days refers to WF investigating the X's overcharge to my debit card - I guess that if they find that is truly the case, they'll refund my money to my account and go after X.

X acknowledged that they overcharged me back on Thursday - but have been dragging their feet since with excuses, accusations, lies, delays and broken-promises one after another. Only today did I get hit with the "We tried to charge your friends accounts but couldn't so we charged them all to you" excuse. It was after blowing my top and snarling at the rep on the phone today, as well as naming names of future recipients of my letters (including the SF Chronicle, the NY Times, Conde Nast, the Pritzker Family Trust, Travelocity and of course CruiseCritic.com) that I guess they realized that they shouldn't drag their feet any longer and finally gave me a confirmation number for the refund (a number which I was told Friday that they could not provide)

Thanks for the compliment Heather, but frankly I've been very, very down today - I don't know which is worse - being broke or taking a loan from a friend? I absolutely dreaded having to go through this insanity on the phone with them, and I hate being provoked to be as nasty as they pushed me to be.

...I've even been considering cancelling/postponing one or more of my future cruises on HAL to go do something else. Yes, I know that one company has nothing to do with the other, but this entire episode has left such a nasty aftertaste that I wonder if I should take a break for a while? Sorta feel like a little kid who's been badly bitten by the neighbor's Pitt-Bull: even Mom's Toy Poodle starts looking a little scary...

Thanks for the support all - Hopefully, this too shall pass...