Some concerns about on board fees and charges

[aeonix01]

1) I was told by a relative that on the EotS (and possibly other RCI ships), when you "borrow" a towel at the pool, your credit card either gets charged, or a hold for $20 is placed against your CC, or Seapass account.

Is this true?

 

2) I've purchased a soda package for myself, and my fiancee. From the description you get a cup to refill, which you must bring everywhere for fills/refills.

a)What if you lose or have the cup stolen?

b)Do you have to pay for a replacement cup? If so, what is the charge (the flat fee in the first place being $50)

 

3) Can I go get my cup filled and bring it into Johnny Rockets so that I don't have to pay for drinks any more than I already have? Will they provide water at least without charging you in Johnny Rockets?

 

4) Are there any other charges/fees that people should be aware of?

 

(I haven't been on a cruise in a very very very long time. When I last went, towels were loaned for free, soda was free everywhere. In fact, so was juice, and coffee. There was none of this nonsense that there is now, although I do understand why it's being done that way. It's a business, and they must come up with new ways to make money, and keep adding ships, innovations, and things to remain a top brand.)

[emtb12]

1) I was told by a relative that on the EotS (and possibly other RCI ships), when you "borrow" a towel at the pool, your credit card either gets charged, or a hold for $20 is placed against your CC, or Seapass account.

Is this true?They will swipe your seapass card. If at the end of the cruise you have not returned a towel, you will be charged. With that said you can exchange your wet towels for dry ones any time you want. When you are returning it for the last time, you need to tell them and they will swipe your card to take the charge off.

 

2) I've purchased a soda package for myself, and my fiancee. From the description you get a cup to refill, which you must bring everywhere for fills/refills.

a)What if you lose or have the cup stolen?You will receive a cup, but you do not need it to get soda. You will have a mark on your seapass card that will tell any bartender that you have the soda package. You will then get your soda in a glass with ice. The cup is nice if you want to take it to the bar and have it filled while spending the day by the pool. It will keep it cooler longer.

b)Do you have to pay for a replacement cup? If so, what is the charge (the flat fee in the first place being $50)

 

3) Can I go get my cup filled and bring it into Johnny Rockets so that I don't have to pay for drinks any more than I already have? Will they provide water at least without charging you in Johnny Rockets?Not sure, we never eat at Johnny Rockets on the ship.

 

4) Are there any other charges/fees that people should be aware of?Photos are $20 a piece. We would go every night and find our pictures from the night before and put them in one cental location. So on the last night of the cruise all our photos are together. We can then choose the best and only pay for the ones we really want.

 

(I haven't been on a cruise in a very very very long time. When I last went, towels were loaned for free, soda was free everywhere. In fact, so was juice, and coffee.You can get free juice in the Windjammer in the morning. I always order a tomato juice from our waiter. They also have OJ and apple out in the help yourself area. Never paid for coffee. Alwasy got in WJ or in the Cafe Pomanard. There was none of this nonsense that there is now, although I do understand why it's being done that way. It's a business, and they must come up with new ways to make money, and keep adding ships, innovations, and things to remain a top brand.)

[arlodog]

For the soda package you will have a sticker or some way that it is designated on your sea pass card (sorry it has been awhile since I have purchased one) You don't have to have your cup, just your card with you to get a refill at any bar. You don't get a replacement cup.

 

I have never heard of a towel charge at the pool. They aren't worried about losing the towels until you leave the ship! When you are scheduled for a day on land they will often leave towels in your room you can bring off the ship. If they are not returned (i.e. you lose them/leave them at a beach) you are charged the $20.

 

There are lots of ways that they will upsell you on board. You just have to be aware. For instance you can buy a drink of the day in a souvenir cup (upsell) or a regular glass. Your choice, but guess which ones they walk around with on their trays? You will have lots of opportunities to buy stuff on board, but you don't have to buy anything extra if you don't want to. There is still free juices in the morning, as well as coffee, tea and lemonade.

 

I can't answer the Johnny Rockets question. Someone else can jump in and answer that for you.

[searaider]

Hi, I may have culture shock when I cruise next on RCI in the spring, though I last cruised with them in 2009.

 

I just finished a HAL cruise and we could bring wine and soda on board, order espresso in the dining room for no additional charge, and buy 1/2 price soda cards before the cruise started which meant soda by the can, not daily unlimited. HAL's ice cream bar is also included in cruise at no additional charge, unlike others I have been told. This may be some of the reason that some of their cruises are a little more than RCL.

 

I am not exclusive to any line yet, so always learn something new when I cruise.

 

Happy cruising everyone!

[aeonix01]

Thank you all for the clarification!

 

I was scared I was going to lose a soda cup, and have to pay another $50, or have issues with my charge card for having $20 constantly add to, and then later credited on the account.

 

Based on these answers, I'm actually a lot more at ease knowing this. All that mis-information. I can certainly understand them charging me for a towel not returned to them at the end of a cruise. I'm also happy to learn the "You need to bring your cup everywhere for soda" is wrong. I thought that was a bit rediculous.

 

I also heard that you can't get soda or juice even with your soda or juice package in the MDR at dinner. I'm assuming that's not true either.

 

Again, thank you for your responses.

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you all for the clarification!

 

I was scared I was going to lose a soda cup, and have to pay another $50, or have issues with my charge card for having $20 constantly add to, and then later credited on the account.

 

Based on these answers, I'm actually a lot more at ease knowing this. All that mis-information. I can certainly understand them charging me for a towel not returned to them at the end of a cruise. I'm also happy to learn the "You need to bring your cup everywhere for soda" is wrong. I thought that was a bit rediculous.

 

I also heard that you can't get soda or juice even with your soda or juice package in the MDR at dinner. I'm assuming that's not true either.

 

Again, thank you for your responses.

 

Juice is not included in the soda package. Just fountain soda.

 

You can get soda in any venue: bars, windjammer, main dining room, specialty restaurants (!!!), anywhere where there is a soda fountain.

 

It does not include soda in cans. Therefore it does not include the soda in your refrigerator in the cabin nor soda from room service.

 

If your cruise is 7 nights, you should have been charged $48.30 each.

 

Towels are free for your use, but you swipe them out with your SeaPass card, and swipe them back in when you return them. If you don't return them, you will be charged for them.

 

Your relative seems to be somewhat misinformed. :rolleyes:

[robinp]

You can use your soda card in Johnny Rockets, you only pay the cover charge if you are ordering food.

[waterbug123]

I have never heard of a towel charge at the pool. They aren't worried about losing the towels until you leave the ship! When you are scheduled for a day on land they will often leave towels in your room you can bring off the ship. If they are not returned (i.e. you lose them/leave them at a beach) you are charged the $20.

 

 

Towel policy on Royal has changed. They used to leave towels in your room the night before port calls, that you could take to the beach or on a snorkel trip or whatever. Not anymore. All pool/beach towels are checked out at a station by the pool. They swipe your card, and swipe it again when you return them. You can keep the same towel all week if you want to, or swap wet towels for dry ones 10 times a day if you so desire. At the end of the week, if it shows you have a towel checked out that hasn't been returned, you'll be charged $20/towel.

[JeffHatfield]

4) Are there any other charges/fees that people should be aware of?Photos are $20 a piece. We would go every night and find our pictures from the night before and put them in one cental location. So on the last night of the cruise all our photos are together. We can then choose the best and only pay for the ones we really want.

 

We try to do that too, but the photographers always unsort ours so we get to look for them again.

[emtb12]

Thank you all for the clarification!

 

I also heard that you can't get soda or juice even with your soda or juice package in the MDR at dinner. I'm assuming that's not true either.

 

 

You are able to get soda in the MDR free of charge. You will be able to get juice (apple, OJ & tomato) in the MDR free of charge for breakfast. Not sure if you can get them free for lunch or dinner as we never ordered. If you want FRESH squeezed OJ and not FROM CONCENTRATE, then you will pay a charge for that.

As far as the towels go, our last cruise we had 11 in our party. I was nervous that we would get charged for a towel. What if they forget to swipe our card when we return it. No worries. Not one person in our party got charged. They are good at what they do!

[mjldvlks]

Looks like your questions have pretty much been answered. I get the package every cruise. I don't drink so it gives me something to do while visiting with friends who are drinking. So I thought I would offer a couple of points that are not directly responsive but sort of related to your questions.

 

As others have said, you don't have to take your cup along to get soda -- it is just a souvenir. However, there are times when I do use it. It holds 20 oz., so sometimes it is convenient to use it rather than having to get frequent refills. Most bar glasses only hold 8-10 oz. There are some ships that have a self service machine. I don't think EOS is one of those, but I am not sure. On those ships, you can use the cup [which has a chip in it] to serve yourself at certain machines, which I think are in the pool area. But even there, you do not HAVE to use the cup -- you can also get sodas from the bars.

 

Since it is only a souvenir, you do not have to worry much about the cup being stolen. If your sea pas is stolen [or who hasn't had a sea pass get de-magged?] they will simply put the sticker or imprint on your new card. Not a big deal. I have never been on a ship with the self service machines, so I do not know what happens if you lose that one.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[dyjack]

Unless you are constantly washing your cup out please don't carry it around and have it refilled. The bartenders HATE this. They'd rather give it to you in a glass. Think of the germs...

 

When we've gotten the package in the past, we grab the cup and pack it away immediately. It isn't used until we get home or give it away as a souvenir.

[househunter]

You are able to get soda in the MDR free of charge. You will be able to get juice (apple, OJ & tomato) in the MDR free of charge for breakfast. Not sure if you can get them free for lunch or dinner as we never ordered. If you want FRESH squeezed OJ and not FROM CONCENTRATE, then you will pay a charge for that.

 

As far as the towels go, our last cruise we had 11 in our party. I was nervous that we would get charged for a towel. What if they forget to swipe our card when we return it. No worries. Not one person in our party got charged. They are good at what they do!

 

This is not correct! Soda is not free anywhere on the ship.

[orville99]

On ships with self-service machines, you need the cup. It has an RFID chip in the base that the machine reads before it will dispense anything (including water). It actually was a bit comical on our last FOS cruise watching people with cups trying to get them refilled at those machines. You have to place the cup firmly on the pad or it won't read it, so there's no way to transfer germs to the filler spouts. If you lift up the cup even a fraction of an inch, the machine shuts off. BTW, it won't work with that cup again until a pre-set time interval has elapsed.;)

[emtb12]

This is not correct! Soda is not free anywhere on the ship.

 

 

If you read OP's question it is regards to the soda package. So yes if the soda package is purchased , then yes they will get free soda everywhere on the ship:).

[TPKeller]

You are able to get soda in the MDR free of charge. You will be able to get juice (apple, OJ & tomato) in the MDR free of charge for breakfast. Not sure if you can get them free for lunch or dinner as we never ordered. If you want FRESH squeezed OJ and not FROM CONCENTRATE, then you will pay a charge for that.

As far as the towels go, our last cruise we had 11 in our party. I was nervous that we would get charged for a towel. What if they forget to swipe our card when we return it. No worries. Not one person in our party got charged. They are good at what they do!

 

This is not correct! Soda is not free anywhere on the ship.

 

If you read OP's question it is regards to the soda package. So yes if the soda package is purchased , then yes they will get free soda everywhere on the ship:).

This is an out-of-context message just begging to cause someone a great deal of confusion.

 

If you have purchased the soda package, then the soda you consume in conjunction with that package is not "free", it is already purchased. There is no additional charge at the time of consumption.

 

The first poster (of my quoted messages) should have clarified that with the soda package, there is no additional charge for soda in the MDR.

 

There is generally no free soda anywhere on the ship (certain high-end C&A perks notwithstanding), but if you have purchased the soda package, then you may have soda with out any additional charge at the time of consumption.

 

The first post was lacking context, and as soon as I saw it, I knew the question would come up... Hopefully newbies will read further down the thread to find this clarification.

 

Theron

 

ETA: Reminds me of a funny story concerning the student youth group at my church... Several years ago we planned a night out to a local bowling alley. The cost was to be $10 per student, which included transportation, shoe rental and two games of bowling. A couple of students wanted to clarify the details, so pressed the pastor with the question, "So we get to bowl two games for free?" He went 'round and 'round with them that no, the two games were paid for out of the $10 fee for the entire night... they weren't "free", but their assumption was correct in that no, there would be no additional cost at the bowling alley at the time of the games... Same thing here. :)

[emtb12]

Dear Househunter & TPKeller: Here is the post that I answered and it was quoted with my answer:

 

I also heard that you can't get soda or juice even with your soda or juice package in the MDR at dinner. I'm assuming that's not true either.

You are able to get soda in the MDR free of charge. You will be able to get juice (apple, OJ & tomato) in the MDR free of charge for breakfast. Not sure if you can get them free for lunch or dinner as we never ordered. If you want FRESH squeezed OJ and not FROM CONCENTRATE, then you will pay a charge for that.

 

As far as the towels go, our last cruise we had 11 in our party. I was nervous that we would get charged for a towel. What if they forget to swipe our card when we return it. No worries. Not one person in our party got charged. They are good at what they do!

 

So yes he will be able to get "free" at no extra charge soda and juice as stated above. Househunter took my answer out of context to the question! I am not out to start a thread war, but please do not misquote me! So maybe I should have used the term with your soda package, but if you read post #10, I quoted the question in my answer! All I did was answer the question asked, I was NOT in anway saying that the ship gave free soda. My free statement was a direct answer to a question asked. When you start cutting and pasting random answers is where the confusion comes:).

[Jimnbigd]

Ben & Jerry's ice cream costs. So does the specialty coffee place. But we always end up spending the most money in the casino.

[aeonix01]

Again, thank you ALL for your replies. They are really helpful.

 

To be clear, I now understand that with my soda package, I can get soda where soda can be served at no additional charge including the main dining. I also understand that I do not NEED my souvenir cup to get soda around the ship, but I do need my pass with the sticker on it.

 

For Juices, I don't have a package, but it's good to know that at breakfast in the MDR, I can have juice from concentrate at no charge.

 

For towels, I check out a towel, they swipe my pass, and I can use it or swap it for dry ones at the station by the pool. I can check one out from there and bring it to the beach. If, by the end of the cruise, I fail to return it, I will be charged $20 per towel.

 

Thanks for the additional information about the photographs, and the charge for those as well. We probably would like to have a souvenir of my (soon to be) wife's first cruise. We really don't have many pictures of us, although, at the wedding, that will definitely change. We're REALLY paying for that to happen.

[TPKeller]

Dear Househunter & TPKeller: Here is the post that I answered and it was quoted with my answer:

 

I also heard that you can't get soda or juice even with your soda or juice package in the MDR at dinner. I'm assuming that's not true either.

You are able to get soda in the MDR ---->free of charge<----. You will be able to get juice (apple, OJ & tomato) in the MDR free of charge for breakfast. Not sure if you can get them free for lunch or dinner as we never ordered. If you want FRESH squeezed OJ and not FROM CONCENTRATE, then you will pay a charge for that.

 

As far as the towels go, our last cruise we had 11 in our party. I was nervous that we would get charged for a towel. What if they forget to swipe our card when we return it. No worries. Not one person in our party got charged. They are good at what they do!

 

So yes he will be able to get "free" at no extra charge soda and juice as stated above. Househunter took my answer out of context to the question! I am not out to start a thread war, but please do not misquote me! So maybe I should have used the term with your soda package, but if you read post #10, I quoted the question in my answer! All I did was answer the question asked, I was NOT in anway saying that the ship gave free soda. My free statement was a direct answer to a question asked. When you start cutting and pasting random answers is where the confusion comes:).

Two problems.

 

1) People are notorious for not reading the entire message, sometimes missing the nuances implied by a previously quoted message. Sure it's their fault, but confusion ensues.

 

2) The content of your message is still incorrect, it is not "free", it is "already paid for". No amount of context will correct this problem. It is never "free", it is always "already paid for." Perhaps a better way to say it in ordinary English would be "sodas in the MDR are included in the soda package." That's fairly clear.

 

The horse is dead, I think we've beat it enough to resolve any residual confusion that may have otherwise ensued, so mission accomplished to us all!

 

:D

 

Theron

[nelblu]

 

We try to do that too, but the photographers always unsort ours so we get to look for them again.

 

On the Oasis this past Feb. you go to the photo kiosk, enter your room or seapass # and your photos will be there for your review/selection. I don't know if this is available on any other class of ships.

[TPKeller]

 

On the Oasis this past Feb. you go to the photo kiosk, enter your room or seapass # and your photos will be there for your review/selection. I don't know if this is available on any other class of ships.

Just off Enchantment a week ago, the seapass card had a section for photo ID number, but they were zeroed out.

 

Theron

[nanner10]

RE: Towels. I had mine swiped, AKA stolen, off my chair while on Labadee in January. Since my nice dry, clean towel was on my chair with all my stuff and somehow disappeared while my DH's wet towel was left behind on his chair right next to mine, even I can't convince myself that someone mistook it for theirs. :rolleyes:

 

When I got back on the ship I went up to the pool deck and explained this to the crew that was staffing the towel kiosk. They thanked me for telling them what happened and gave me a replacement towel.

 

I was not about to "pay it forward" (sorry for the misuse of the intent of this) and take someone elses towel. I absolutely would have paid the $20.00 instead. I am a believer that who you really are is how you act when you know no one is looking.

[Daghis]

I also understand that I do not NEED my souvenir cup to get soda around the ship, but I do need my pass with the sticker on it.

You are absolutely correct about this, but I wanted to restate one thing for others who may read this thread later.

 

The souvenir cup is just a convenient cup. Except on ships that have the self-serve machines that can detect the chip in the cup, you do need to have your properly marked SeaPass card that shows you have the soda package, even if you carry your cup up to a bar to get filled. The cup itself is not proof of the soda package.

 

Of course, it's pretty much a moot point since people would generally be carrying their SeaPass card with them at all times anyway.

 

I will say that I did find the self-serve machine on the Majesty of the Seas to be more convenient than I thought it would, although getting the cup filled from the "soda gun" at the bars worked easily as well. I did like its capacity.

[Mark_K]

RE: Towels. I had mine swiped, AKA stolen, off my chair while on Labadee in January. Since my nice dry, clean towel was on my chair with all my stuff and somehow disappeared while my DH's wet towel was left behind on his chair right next to mine, even I can't convince myself that someone mistook it for theirs. :rolleyes:

 

When I got back on the ship I went up to the pool deck and explained this to the crew that was staffing the towel kiosk. They thanked me for telling them what happened and gave me a replacement towel.

 

I was not about to "pay it forward" (sorry for the misuse of the intent of this) and take someone elses towel. I absolutely would have paid the $20.00 instead. I am a believer that who you really are is how you act when you know no one is looking.

Since the main purpose of instituting the charge was to stop people from leaving them at random beaches rather than bringing them back to the ship, it makes sense that they would be less concerned about one left at their beach where they get it back anyway.