The great towel rip off

[robanddiane]

is still happening on the Grandeur Of The Seas. Just got our credit card bill from our cruise on July 24 to find $50 added after our final bill was produced. Customer services said this was a towel charge for not handing the towels back in. The towels had to be in for 10.30 pm and we handed ours in approx 5pm which is in plenty of time. Our final invoice that we received was printed at 01.36am on the Sunday morning but the towel charge was added at 02.08 but no further invoice given to us for us to query onboard. Reading previous posts this is now becoming quite common and I wnder how many people have not picked up on this scam and paid the extra. Thankfully customer services have agreed to refund the money back to us but it has still left a bitter taste after a fantastic cruise and makes us reluctant now to use the towels provided which were quite shabby anyway and definately not worth stealing.

[cruzincurt]

When I drop off our towels, I ask the attendant if the card scan registered before I walk away.

 

In the haste of moving a long line, maybe they ran your card backwards and it didn't register. I really don't think they are running a "clever" scam on purpose.

[cruisinfanatic]

is still happening on the Grandeur Of The Seas. Just got our credit card bill from our cruise on July 24 to find $50 added after our final bill was produced. Customer services said this was a towel charge for not handing the towels back in. The towels had to be in for 10.30 pm and we handed ours in approx 5pm which is in plenty of time. Our final invoice that we received was printed at 01.36am on the Sunday morning but the towel charge was added at 02.08 but no further invoice given to us for us to query onboard. Reading previous posts this is now becoming quite common and I wnder how many people have not picked up on this scam and paid the extra. Thankfully customer services have agreed to refund the money back to us but it has still left a bitter taste after a fantastic cruise and makes us reluctant now to use the towels provided which were quite shabby anyway and definately not worth stealing.

I assure you, this is not quite common and sure isn't a scam. You only here it here now and then when a seapass is not credited correctly.

You don't hear it from the thousands of others where it was.

You got credited with no problem, so what's the big deal?

[redjockey39]

Hi, I posted almost exactly the same post last week..... we sailed on Grandeur end of June, bill through door timed at 01.46am. Credit card statement came and showed an extra $50. I emailed RC, who (eventually) got back to me and said it was for towels not returned. I queried when I could have used 2 towels between 1.46am and disembarking the ship by 8am. Again, they 'investigated' and decided I had been charged by mistake for someone elses towels (another stateroom) and they agreed to reimburse my card within 14 days. Well it is now 30 days and no reimbursement. I have contacted them again and they are 'investigating' again. I did point out that it seems a clever scam to charge everyone for towels and hope they don't notice; 1500 staterooms X $50 each is a good profit - doesn't leave me too happy as a first time cruiser with them. It's not even as if anyone would want to keep the scabby towels.

[EVALUATOR]

It is kind of sad that they charge $25 for the crappy used and frayed plain towels when brand new, larger, multi-colored, RCI logo beach towels only cost $29.95.:(

[wwcruisers]

One of my absolute pet peeves about paying for my cruise with a credit card is their policy of tacking things onto the credit card bill after you've disembarked! :mad:

Although we haven't been hit with a towel charge (yet), twice we've incurred after-the-fact minibar charges. We never use anything from the minibar, and one of the charges showed up on a cruise where we had the attendant empty the fridge on the first day! :eek:

We always keep track of our daily charges, and go over the final bill carefully before leaving the ship. But, the only thing you can do if they tack on something extra afterward is what we have done: call and insist that the charge be removed immediately! :cool:

[whyrlygig]

Grandeur seems to have some major accounting issues! We were overcharged for laundry and a tshirt purchase.

[LegalEagle2012]

We are just off the Voyager and during our cruise only one pool towel was used. I watched them scan in back in on the 4th day of our cruise and on the other trips to the pool we took our bathrobes.

 

Imagine our surprise when we received our final bill to find a charge for two pool towels at $50. My husband went down to the desk and had quite a fight to get the charges removed. We then had to return to the desk shortly before departing to make sure that the charge had been removed and we asked for a further copy of our bill just to be sure.

 

Also had one mini bar charge for $5 - never even used the mini bar at all!

 

Karen

[erin_cruisers]

Sorry to hear about the towel charge, but they did fix it right away. Right?

We've never had it happen to us.

Like others, we always ask the attendant to verify that the credit was recorded before we leave the station.

"stuff" happens. Its not done on purpose, and if its looked after right away, thats all I ask.

 

We always ask for a printed statement on the last day so we can go over every charge and match it to our receipts.

We've had a few mysterious charges show up on our statement, but when we asked for them to be removed, there has never been a problem.

Maybe we're one of the lucky ones??!! :o

[cruzincurt]

 

Also had one mini bar charge for $5 - never even used the mini bar at all!

 

Karen

We've had that issue when we get into our cabin for the first time, something is missing from the mini-bar. Obviously the passenger who left that morning took the opportunity to take something, I got the bill. So, when does the mini-fridge guy visit the cabin? After the passenger left or sometime after you are checked in that first day? Leaves a pretty small window of say 10:00 to 1:00 to visit all the cabins. Seems like a 50-50 chance the wrong person gets charged that first day.

 

So it's important to check your account as soon as it is available for review in the first part of the week.

[Finbar127]

I assure you, this is not quite common and sure isn't a scam. You only here it here now and then when a seapass is not credited correctly.

You don't hear it from the thousands of others where it was.

You got credited with no problem, so what's the big deal?

 

The big deal is the OP should not have been charged in the first place.

 

The policy is terrible and the value of those towels is nowhere near $25. It's bad enough that I have to worry about my tween kids losing their sea pass cards. Now I have to worry about getting hit for $25 or $50 because they left their pool towels by the ice cream machine.

[foxesden1]

We did a 14 night TA cruise and the lastnight, I went up to the pool deck and made sure they had no towels out, not returned on my account. Hassle, yes, but much less stressful then trying to get a refund.

 

Clearly they are charging because SOME PEOPLE do take the towels. :rolleyes: And I am sure they add up...

 

Right now my child is not by the pool with out us, when she is older, I will just bring a towel from home if I was worried that she would loose it. Hassle yes.

 

T

[wwcruisers]

The big deal is the OP should not have been charged in the first place.

 

The policy is terrible and the value of those towels is nowhere near $25. It's bad enough that I have to worry about my tween kids losing their sea pass cards. Now I have to worry about getting hit for $25 or $50 because they left their pool towels by the ice cream machine.

 

Agreed (and I don't have kids' towels to keep up with either)! ;)

When this policy was implemented a few years ago, RC's position was that it was merely to discourage pax from losing or taking the towels. Now, it's starting to look like just another profit center for the cruise line. :rolleyes:

[laplabs]

Wow, cruising in 85 days. Never would have thought to check for such charges. thank you for this post!

[workstocruise]

Wow RCI needs to copy Princess' towel rules. The beach/pool towels are kept in your cabin and when you use them, simple throw them on the floor with your wet bath towels and your cabin steward will replace them with dry ones for the next day. Have never had a problem with a towel charge.:)

[wwcruisers]

Wow RCI needs to copy Princess' towel rules. The beach/pool towels are kept in your cabin and when you use them, simple throw them on the floor with your wet bath towels and your cabin steward will replace them with dry ones for the next day. Have never had a problem with a towel charge.:)

 

Back in the "good old days" RC had a similar policy (X still does). One beach/pool towel per person was provided in the stateroom and replaced (as needed) by the room steward. Extra clean towels were almost always available at the pool (no card swiping, either) -- or, you could just ask your room steward. Now, the stewards won't touch them, so you have to schlep up to the pool deck after a shore excursion, in order to swap out your sandy, wet towel for a clean one! :rolleyes:

[adamken]

Wow RCI needs to copy Princess' towel rules. The beach/pool towels are kept in your cabin and when you use them, simple throw them on the floor with your wet bath towels and your cabin steward will replace them with dry ones for the next day. Have never had a problem with a towel charge.:)

 

That's how royal caribbean did it up until about 2 years ago. never had a problem

[farmer92]

OK so while we are on the subject, do we need to bring our own beach towels for excursions or can we aquire one from the ship?

[CUinSeptember]

we also were charged for a towel we returned. We noticed it on the final bill and went to guest services (on Explorer) and the charge was immediately removed. The problem is...how many don't notice they've been incorrectly charged and how concerned is RCCL about getting it correct if they're making money off it. It's not a good system.

[liberiben]

We've had that issue when we get into our cabin for the first time, something is missing from the mini-bar. Obviously the passenger who left that morning took the opportunity to take something, I got the bill. So, when does the mini-fridge guy visit the cabin? After the passenger left or sometime after you are checked in that first day? Leaves a pretty small window of say 10:00 to 1:00 to visit all the cabins. Seems like a 50-50 chance the wrong person gets charged that first day.

 

So it's important to check your account as soon as it is available for review in the first part of the week.

 

We got a water out of the fridge on day 2 of 7. We pay cash for everything, so on the last night we asked for our money we deposited back, thinking everything was ok. Well 8am on the last day the mini bar guy is knocking on our door to ask to come in and check it out, we asked him to come later since I was in the shower. At 9:30 I go to guest services to pay the 3.95 I think I owe, and they said nothing was on our bill, now I wonder if the new room occupants were charged.....I should edit ot say we were never charged for the water on any of the days I looked, I just figured they miss counted the water left or something.

[RaiderFaninNM]

Funny in that on our last night we returned 3 towels and they said nope, only have 2 checked out........................ugm.............. :confused:

 

We showed them the 3 towels and they looked at the computer and were stunned that we had "2 checked out". I am glad it was not the other way around..........Nice big plush towels but not $25 worth, gald you got it worked out, sounds like a computer issue like ours............

[shipshape sam]

It is a shame they have to even mess around with the charge, but everyone should know why they are having to do it. Because enough passengers in the past have taken the towels off ship/home with them that the 'shrinkage cost' was too high.

 

I too hate having to provide my card, but asking to confirm that the return credit showed up/cleared is a very good idea. :)

[crazy 4 cruising]

When I drop off our towels, I ask the attendant if the card scan registered before I walk away.

 

In the haste of moving a long line, maybe they ran your card backwards and it didn't register. I really don't think they are running a "clever" scam on purpose.

good idea. I don't beleive it is a scam either, but it does look like Grandeur has a problem with it.

 

Grandeur seems to have some major accounting issues! We were overcharged for laundry and a tshirt purchase.

 

OK so while we are on the subject, do we need to bring our own beach towels for excursions or can we aquire one from the ship?

you can "check" out towels for excursions.

 

I have to admit that I do like the "old" days of the pool towels being in the cabin.

 

As for the mini bar, we always take everything out of it and tell the bar staff whose job it is to restock. then on the last morning, we put it all back in. This last time on majesty, the guy took the candy with him, but we were not charged.

[Brad1185]

It's a big scam. If RCI makes up say 500 people each cruise did not return a towel and how many ships RCI has thought it was around 25 the would make $16,250,000 a year in fake unreturned towel charges. It's a very big scam

[Crewzer33]

I say it's a scam also. We were charged on our last cruise, so I had to stand in line on disembarkation morning to get it straightened out. This was even after I asked the towel check in guy if indeed we had been credited, and he responded yes (because this isn't the first time we have had to deal with this).