Final statement

[RuthC]

I check every receipt as it's handed to me. I know how much my drink costs, and notice if the charge isn't correct. When I use a beverage card, I know the amount I have on the card going in, and check that the correct amount has been subtracted.

In all my cruises I've had two problems with the settlement bill.

The first was a charge from the shop on my preliminary bill. Since I'm not a shopper, and it was too small an amount for a fabulous piece of jewelry, I knew it was an error. I had to go to the shop to have it removed, but after discussion, and their inability to produce a signed receipt, the charge was removed.

It is sad that the preliminary bills are no longer given on the last full day.

The second was a charge on my credit card that was in excess of my final bill by about $8.00.

I keep all my receipts, and proof them against the final bill on that last morning. Then, I take them all home to check against by credit card. When the credit card bill came in with the overcharge, I contacted HAL and they removed the charge.

I long-since started to wonder if the "mini-bar" line was just a standard excuse, though. I doubt that Seattle checks on every dispute of the credit card charge. I suspect that there's an amount below which they don't argue, and the "party line" is given while the charge is removed.

I do believe the overcharges are honest errors. But if so, then there is something systemically wrong with procedures that needs to be corrected so these errors don't continue.

[sail7seas]

It's rather sad we are having this conversation on a day Carnival announced HAL and Seabourn was awarded very high Ethics /Morality Award. I think it was well earned and there is nothing deliberate about these errors. I think it's just volume of bills being generated, human error factor and maybe some overworked front office folks trying to do too much, too fast to get those bills cranked out before we leave the ship.

 

Anyone know if there are now fewer front office workers than there used to be? Fewer stewards may also mean fewer staff/crew in other departments??

 

[cruz chic]

It's rather sad we are having this conversation on a day Carnival announced HAL and Seabourn was awarded very high Ethics /Morality Award. I think it was well earned and there is nothing deliberate about these errors. I think it's just volume of bills being generated, human error factor and maybe some overworked front office folks trying to do too much, too fast to get those bills cranked out before we leave the ship.

 

Anyone know if there are now fewer front office workers than there used to be? Fewer stewards may also mean fewer staff/crew in other departments??

 

I believe that HAL is very ethical but that doesn't mean that everyone that works for them is......

[sahara1]

I have been charged on 3 cruises. I email them and they give me a credit which costs me 5% as currency is converted twice. Now as soon as I enter the room I phone 90 and have everything removed from the minibar. I also get a copy of my bill twice a day to watch for charges. As a 4 star Mariner I am quite suprised they continue to do this. No other company has.

[Typhoon1]

I have been charged on 3 cruises. I email them and they give me a credit which costs me 5% as currency is converted twice. Now as soon as I enter the room I phone 90 and have everything removed from the minibar. I also get a copy of my bill twice a day to watch for charges. As a 4 star Mariner I am quite suprised they continue to do this. No other company has.

 

Being you are charged on multiple occasions, it makes me wonder if these additional charges are intentional.

[fleckle]

...............I keep all my receipts, and proof them against the final bill on that last morning. Then, I take them all home to check against by credit card. When the credit card bill came in with the overcharge, I contacted HAL and they removed the charge.

 

I long-since started to wonder if the "mini-bar" line was just a standard excuse, though.............

We had asked to have our mini-bar emptied on the first day of the cruise specifically to avoid any possibility of such errors, or so we naively thought.

 

The final bill for our account was correct. The mini-bar was still empty when we left the cabin on the final day for disembarkation.

 

Then after arriving home, when we compared the HAL charge on our credit card statement to the total on the final bill for our stateroom account, we discovered the discrepancy.

 

So we called HAL. The woman in the accounts receivable department looked up our account and said the charge was for a couple of mini-bar beverages. She apologized for the error and immediately issued us a credit.

 

If the person who inventoried the mini-bar truly was not aware that it had been emptied on the first day of the cruise, then we should have been charged for the entire missing minibar inventory, not only for a couple of items.

[sail7seas]

<snip>

 

 

So we called HAL. The woman in the accounts receivable department looked up our account and said the charge was for a couple of mini-bar beverages. She apologized for the error and immediately issued us a credit.

 

If the person who inventoried the mini-bar truly was not aware that it had been emptied on the first day of the cruise, then we should have been charged for the entire missing minibar inventory, not only for a couple of items.

 

 

I would have said just that to the accounts receivable woman. Would have been interesting to hear her response.

 

[labguides]

Can we ask to have nothing in mini bar to prevent any possible extra charges?

[pms4104]

Can we ask to have nothing in mini bar to prevent any possible extra charges?

I don't think that is an option ... but, as others have stated, you might be able to reduce the error factor by asking your steward on embarkation day to empty it out.

[pms4104]

Once I happened by the front desk and did not see a line, so I stopped and asked them to print off a copy of my bill so far. The lady did so, but made a curt comment that my Neptune concierge could do it for me! Kind of pissed me off the way she said it, but I just nodded and walked away - not worth a hassle.

 

DaveOKC

Funny thing ... when we were on Princess last Fall I noted at least four staff working the front desk, each at separate stations with individual computer terminals and cash drawers. One of them was working the Suite line (as there is no concierge-type Neptune lounge) and he gladly welcomed the great unwashed when there were no Suite people to be serviced.

[footlooseFF]

I disagree with the statement that Holland America looks after its billing well. It is one of the items that I felt was done very poorly on our cruise. We had several items charged to our cabin that were not ours and it took several trips to the Neptune Lounge to have them removed, only to find other charges that weren't ours the next time we requested a bill printout. We also had items from the mini bar charged to our account in error.

 

Re: the purchases charged to the wrong cabin, I would think it would be simple to train HAL wait staff to doublecheck the last name on the receipt with the customer standing right in front of them at the time of purchase.

 

I sailed on the Zuiderdam returning on March 30th and I just discovered that my credit card was charged a different amount than my final bill (printed the morning we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale). In fact, all three bills that I requested during the 11 day cruise were incorrect. I fully expect that in today's age of computers and electronic key cards that the charges would be correct.

 

I have little recourse now that I am home to dispute these additional charges. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[kazu]

I disagree with the statement that Holland America looks after its billing well. It is one of the items that I felt was done very poorly on our cruise. We had several items charged to our cabin that were not ours and it took several trips to the Neptune Lounge to have them removed, only to find other charges that weren't ours the next time we requested a bill printout. We also had items from the mini bar charged to our account in error.

 

Re: the purchases charged to the wrong cabin, I would think it would be simple to train HAL wait staff to doublecheck the last name on the receipt with the customer standing right in front of them at the time of purchase.

 

I sailed on the Zuiderdam returning on March 30th and I just discovered that my credit card was charged a different amount than my final bill (printed the morning we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale). In fact, all three bills that I requested during the 11 day cruise were incorrect. I fully expect that in today's age of computers and electronic key cards that the charges would be correct.

 

I have little recourse now that I am home to dispute these additional charges. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Sorry I disagree - you can dispute the charges - just email HAL - they will send you the bill showing the changes in charges. If they are not yours, they will certainly reverse them:) Just my experience:D

[Jen&Joe]

Our friends were charged for 2 bathrobes and a hair dryer (not on their bill but charged separately after they had left the ship). When they called to enquire they were told the charges occurred on a day that they were not even on the ship! It was a completely different cruise.

 

Eventually the amount was refunded to them. The HAL agent said that they do have an issue with people taking items like this...she said apparently some people even take the paintings off the wall. :eek:

[GeriatricNurse]

Our last cruise was HAL after a couple of RCL ones - we loved that we could see our bill on the TV on RCL. I was certainly wishing we had it as we also had an error on our bill and of course it was on our door the morning of debarkation and I had to stand in line, then wait for the head of the department and so on. On RCL we could look daily if we wanted and it was pretty up to date.

 

Interactive T.V.! :) Isn't it great? :) I had it on my two X cruises as well! However, I wouldn't hold my breath that there will interactive t.v.'s anytime soon on HAL! ;)

 

[cruz chic]

The HAL agent said that they do have an issue with people taking items like this...she said apparently some people even take the paintings off the wall. :eek:

Those are some classy folks:D.

[PRWeezer]

The Neptune concierge can easily print you off a bill at anytime. I usually do it about half way through the cruise and again early in the day before departure day.

 

Once I happened by the front desk and did not see a line, so I stopped and asked them to print off a copy of my bill so far. The lady did so, but made a curt comment that my Neptune concierge could do it for me! Kind of pissed me off the way she said it, but I just nodded and walked away - not worth a hassle.

 

DaveOKC

 

We had a similar frustrating experience with the front desk. On disembarkation day my husband couldn't find his stateroom key card. He looked all over then figured he must have left it in the pocket of the pants he wore to dinner the night before, which had been packed and sent away with our luggage overnight. (turns out that's where it was)

 

Since it was necessary to have a key card to scan him off the ship he went to the front desk for a new one. At the same time he asked for a new print-out of our bill, and at first the agent refused to print it, saying one had been left in our room the night before. He insisted she give him a new bill, just in case his key had fallen into the wrong hands & charges had been made. It took calling over a manager (or at least a second person) for his request to be granted. The bill was in order, but we're still scratching our heads over why it was an issue to have it re-printed? That was the only interaction we had with the front desk all week.

 

Like others, we tend to review our bill mid-trip then carefully scan it at the end. Fortunately the only problem we've had in all our travels was an incorrect bar bill at a hotel in Spain, which was immediately reversed once the front desk agent reviewed the signed tab, not signed with either of our signatures.

[serendipity1499]

I believe that HAL is very ethical but that doesn't mean that everyone that works for them is......

 

Completely agree & amazed at how many people have had mistakes on their final bills &/or Credit cards..I check our receipts against the final bill & then toss the receipts.. From now on think we should bring all our receipts home with us.. Believe only once or twice have found an additional amount on our final bill, but it was so small that we just left it alone..

I honestly wonder if that many mistakes could happen.. Perhaps HAL employees may be taking the liquor, soda, water or wine out of the mini-bars for their own consumption & charging it to the Psgrs..We had several cases of dishonesty & had things stolen from our company.. Also had several alcoholics who worked for our company..

Alcoholics can be sneaky..Had Friends who rented their home to other Friends while they were away for several months..Our Friends left a cabinet filled with liquor & assumed it would not be touched... After the owners got home they had a small party & served hard liquor to their guests.. When they poured it, some of the drinks tasted awful..They discovered several liquor bottles had been watered down.. Later they learned that one of their renter Friends was an alcoholic.. Very sad case, as he eventually passed away due to his alcoholism..:(

Betty

[Laminator]

With the rooms being ready so much earlier I don't think there is enough time for staff to check and refill the mini bars properly. On our last two cruises we were in the room for 15 to 45 minutes before the mini bar was checked and refilled from the cruise prior. We had not taken anything from the mini bar but if we had I am sure it would have been charged to whomever just left the room.

 

I believe this may be the cause of some of the discrepancies.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Completely agree & amazed at how many people have had mistakes on their final bills &/or Credit cards..I check our receipts against the final bill & then toss the receipts.. From now on think we should bring all our receipts home with us.. Believe only once or twice have found an additional amount on our final bill, but it was so small that we just left it alone..

 

I honestly wonder if that many mistakes could happen.. Perhaps HAL employees may be taking the liquor, soda, water or wine out of the mini-bars for their own consumption & charging it to the Psgrs..We had several cases of dishonesty & had things stolen from our company.. Also had several alcoholics who worked for our company..

 

Alcoholics can be sneaky..Had Friends who rented their home to other Friends while they were away for several months..Our Friends left a cabinet filled with liquor & assumed it would not be touched... After the owners got home they had a small party & served hard liquor to their guests.. When they poured it, some of the drinks tasted awful..They discovered several liquor bottles had been watered down.. Later they learned that one of their renter Friends was an alcoholic.. Very sad case, as he eventually passed away due to his alcoholism..:(

 

Betty

 

That is so sad.

[solocanadian]

Another RESURECTION from March 27, 2012:rolleyes:

[Lady Chew]

Another RESURECTION from March 27, 2012:rolleyes:

 

Well I don't mind that it was resurrected - I was on the same cruise as the OP and somehow missed this thread! We also had an error on our bill.

On the last morning, I made the mistake of letting Mr Chew review the bill. We keep every receipt from every venue and if we don't get one we write it down - I always compare the receipts to the bill, and I always keep the receipts until we get the CC bill. (credit card, not Cruise Critic!) We had only had a problem one time previously - a charge for the mini-bar, which we were able to have removed before we left the ship.

Well, this time - Mr Chew said everything's okay, and tossed the receipts. When we got home, I was putting the bill in our credit card file and gave it a quick look. There was a charge from a bar on Half Moon Cay. Only one problem - we hadn't gotten off the ship that day. I think it was about $8 or $9.

If I had made that mistake, at the very least I would've gotten a lecture :rolleyes: and would have had to make all the phone calls back & forth to get it removed from our bill ... since Mr Chew made the mistake, he said "oh, no big deal"

From now on, I'll be going through the receipts & looking at the bill myself!!

[serendipity1499]

With the rooms being ready so much earlier I don't think there is enough time for staff to check and refill the mini bars properly. On our last two cruises we were in the room for 15 to 45 minutes before the mini bar was checked and refilled from the cruise prior. We had not taken anything from the mini bar but if we had I am sure it would have been charged to whomever just left the room.

 

I believe this may be the cause of some of the discrepancies.

 

You may be correct & DH & I & our Friends have agreed to request that the Mini bar be cleaned out on our first day of our cruise..

 

Another RESURECTION from March 27, 2012:rolleyes:

 

Actually I resurrected it from April 18 not March 27...I'm following Cruise Critic's Guidlines, instead of starting a new thread & brought it forward in order to have our Friends read it..:confused:

Quote: Browse Before You Post

Browse a topic first to see if your question has already been asked or answered by someone else. Also, many of the major cruise lines forums have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) topic that has been created by our members. Give that a try first. Browsing is your #1 best resource! Please post your messages in an appropriate topic so that you'll receive the best possible response. It is very time consuming to move misplaced messages that are in the wrong topics. UNQUOTE

Perhaps you might want to go over the guidelines before you criticize another poster for doing the same thing! :(.

Betty

[Typhoon1]

Stop at the front desk the night before disembarkation and ask for a copy of your statement.

 

It is much easier to examine it in detail the night before. If you don't feel like walking down, give them a call, it will be delivered to your cabin.

[cruz chic]

Stop at the front desk the night before disembarkation and ask for a copy of your statement.

 

It is much easier to examine it in detail the night before. If you don't feel like walking down, give them a call, it will be delivered to your cabin.

Yeah that might help with some charges. When I was on the Eurodam I got charged $75 for the minir bar. I'm a 4* so that would have been $150. This was charged after I got off the ship. I didn't touch one thing in that mini bar.

[mikjr]

I always check our bills.

Since HAL is no longer giving out pre-liminary bills the before the end of the cruise -- I always ask for one.

That way I don't have to check but the last couple of items we buy the last night of the cruise.

Once the credit card bill arrives at home -- I do check to make certain that it is the same amount as when we left the ship.

So far we haven't had anything extra added to our bill once we have left the ship.

 

Princess is now doing something pretty slick... just got off Sea Princess, they have Kiosks in the lobby... you just pop in your card and it prints out your current statement... anytime, day or night!! It was very nice...