Mini Bar charge

[joe6666]

Ok... It was not a big deal, but the mini bar guy charged us about $5 for a bottle of water that we didn't use.

We never use the mini bar and I told the guy just that.

I also showed him where I had put all the mini bar items in a cabinet.

So my choice was eat the mistake or go stand in line.

There is no way that jerk could have charged us by mistake. This is the second time this has happened, and I swear the next time I will find out the guy's name and mention him by name to Mr Goldstine, the Captain, and anyone else I can think of that this jerk should be fired.

And yes.... He is a jerk.

And no….. They refuse to remove the mini bar items from my cabin.

[PH8]

I had the same thing happen.....we had taken the sodas out to make room for water bottles...........forgot to put them back......but I called and they reversed the charges....

 

Maybe if you call and ask nicely:),they will do the same.. 800-256-6649

[lady_cruiser]

So sorry you feel that the guy is a jerk. A simple phone call to Customer Service would have had that charged removed it a matter of minutes.

 

It has happened to us several times and will probably happen again and we will continue to call, explain it was an error, tell them where to find the missing item and will continue to have it remove from our sign and sail account.

[luv2cruiserccl]

on day 1 before we leave port i leave a note or stop and talk with stateroom attendant and have all times removed from the frig so this don't happen and give me more room for anything i want to keep cold.

[rolloman]

On one particular cruise our stateroom attendant cleaned out the fridge per our request and at the end of the cruise we were charged for the entire contents.

On NCL we had a mini bar that was locked and I requested it stay locked. Once the cruise was over I was charged for the entire contents.

 

I made some calls and charges were reversed both times but it does kind of make you wonder.....I mean for starters are there people out there who actually eat and drink every single item in their fridge? I kind of doubt it so this should send some kind of a message to the fridge inspector post cruise to at least ask the stateroom attendant or easier yet look in the drawers.

[joe6666]

So sorry you feel that the guy is a jerk. A simple phone call to Customer Service would have had that charged removed it a matter of minutes.

 

It has happened to us several times and will probably happen again and we will continue to call, explain it was an error, tell them where to find the missing item and will continue to have it remove from our sign and sail account.

 

As I said, this has happened on two cruises. In the future, should it happen again, I will try to call Customer Service to get the charge reversed over the phone.

But I can tell you that on Enchantment last week, Customer Service would reverse the charges when I stood in line, but would not remove mini bar items from our cabin.

 

And there is no excuse for charging me for items I did not use and I will make sure that everyone knows what a poor job the guy is doing and I will reccomend that they fire him.

 

Why would it be so hard for the mini bar guy to leave us a note telling me that there has been a charge for a mini bar item and exactly what that item was?

[gr8cruisn]

It makes me so mad when this happens. Shouldn't they leave a receipt? I'll never understand why I have to waste my time standing at guest services to reverse charges.

[wwcruisers]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, several years ago we had our room steward clear out the mini-fridge on the first day. When we got home, we still had a charge for a bottle of water turn up on our credit card bill (it wasn't on our final morning bill, either). These things happen, unfortunately. Your best bet is to call RC and explain what happened -- they can refund the charge to your credit card.

BTW -- especially since RC is allowing wine to be brought on, they need to reinstate their earlier policy of letting the room stewards empty the mini-bar upon request. I really wish that they would just give you an option when you book a cabin, of whether or not to have the mini-bar stocked. :cool:

[Doug S]

As I said, this has happened on two cruises. In the future, should it happen again, I will try to call Customer Service to get the charge reversed over the phone.

But I can tell you that on Enchantment last week, Customer Service would reverse the charges when I stood in line, but would not remove mini bar items from our cabin.

 

And there is no excuse for charging me for items I did not use and I will make sure that everyone knows what a poor job the guy is doing and I will reccomend that they fire him.

 

Why would it be so hard for the mini bar guy to leave us a note telling me that there has been a charge for a mini bar item and exactly what that item was?

 

 

It's just a stinkin' bottle of water. Make the call and get it taken off the bill and get over it. Simple as that. Definitely not worth getting some poor working stiff fired over. I hope you never make a $5 mistake where you work. And if you do opt to complain to Mr. Goldstein about this rogue Mini-bar guy that keeps meesing up your cruise, make sure you spell his name correctly. Spelling a prominent CEO's name incorrectly could get you fired from some jobs.

[karena1]

On 7 night cruises we just always ask our cabin person to empty the mini fridge and we have never had a problem. On 3 night cruises, we empty it and put them on the top of the vanity above the mirror, again never had a problem in all the cruises we have taken on Royal

[LisaGoeke]

My parents were charged two different times on our last cruise for items that they did not use. The first time it was taken care of right away. The second time they said they would take care of it (this was the last day) and later that evening after checking their account thru the t.v. again it was still there so my daughter stood in line for them, again, to finally get it taken care of.

 

We asked our room steward to clear both of our fridges out the first day. He said he'd have to contact the proper department to have them do it. After the third day when it was still there we removed the items and put them on the floor so we could use the fridge. By that evening all the items disappeared.

[luv2cruiserccl]

I like this idea. If they did this we would know right away and be able to fix it then. We get a receipt for everything else even on the private islands.

 

 

i admit i do like the receipt idea alot and i think this would be a easy thing to do. I have a photo of the mini bar charges thought i would post.

[joe6666]

It's just a stinkin' bottle of water. Make the call and get it taken off the bill and get over it. Simple as that. Definitely not worth getting some poor working stiff fired over. I hope you never make a $5 mistake where you work. And if you do opt to complain to Mr. Goldstein about this rogue Mini-bar guy that keeps meesing up your cruise, make sure you spell his name correctly. Spelling a prominent CEO's name incorrectly could get you fired from some jobs.

 

Ok, you keep a big smile on your face as you continue to try to catch the jerk's overcharges and go stand in line to get them reversed.

 

I suspect the mini bar jerk gets a piece of the 15% gratuity from mini bar sales, and that's why these overcharges are so common.

[bridedoll1026]

Two different sailings we were charged for Red Bull that we didn't take. Both times on Allure! When I talked to the guy his response was "well it's not there, who else would have taken it"!! A visit to customer service corrected the charge but my request to have the minibar emptied was ignored. I suspect that not only does the guy get a cut of the 15% but also has a stash of his favorites in his room.

 

I spend thousands of $$ on cruises with RCCL, I really don't think I need to steal a Red Bull from them!:eek:

[matj2000]

We asked our room steward to clear both of our fridges out the first day. He said he'd have to contact the proper department to have them do it. After the third day when it was still there we removed the items and put them on the floor so we could use the fridge. By that evening all the items disappeared.

 

They don't remove the stuff from your cabin, they put it in your closet...

[Trekker954]

We normally just put all the stuff on top of the cabinet and tell the attendant that is where it is. We rarely use the refrig as we bring our own cooler which we keep iced.

 

I travel alot and I'm finding that high end hotels are now charging about $25 to remove all items from the refrig. When checking into the Vegas Cosmo, they asked me at check in if I wanted the things removed and I said sure, that would be great. Imagine my shock to see the $25 charge. I complained and they removed the charge. About a month later, it happened at a Ritz, but I told them no don't empty it but that I wouldn't be using it. So be careful.

[kc320]

From my understanding it is NOT your cabin attendant who is in charge of the mini bar...it is the Bar Staff...they have knocked on the door before & asked to come in & inventory the contents....maybe next time your request to have the items removed is not honored...ask for the food & beverage manager...

 

So far I have been lucky...the only charges I've had are for the occasional soda that I have drank....

[joe6666]

Two different sailings we were charged for Red Bull that we didn't take. Both times on Allure! When I talked to the guy his response was "well it's not there, who else would have taken it"!! A visit to customer service corrected the charge but my request to have the minibar emptied was ignored. I suspect that not only does the guy get a cut of the 15% but also has a stash of his favorites in his room.

I spend thousands of $$ on cruises with RCCL, I really don't think I need to steal a Red Bull from them!

I don't think these charges are mistakes. It's too common to be a mistake.

And one would think that Customer Service would discipline an employee who makes so many mistakes.

The mini bar guys don’t seem to be worried about making too many mistakes.

[robtulipe]

They don't remove the stuff from your cabin, they put it in your closet...

 

or in a cabinet, on a shelf (beside a warm operating TV) or under the bed. I've seen all being used but as you stated the goods are left in the cabin. I often wonder about the effect of the warm storage has for some product, such as beer.

[uktraveller]

I don't think these charges are mistakes. It's too common to be a mistake.

And one would think that Customer Service would discipline an employee who makes so many mistakes.

The mini bar guys don’t seem to be worried about making too many mistakes.

 

I don't believe that it's a mistake either. We never use (or empty) the minibar, yet we have had charges added to our account on nearly every cruise...often after we have left the ship.

 

We finally got irritated and wrote to the UK office to complain....they called us back to apologise, thanked us for bringing the problem to their attention and sent us a future cruise certificate to use against our next cruise!

 

Having said that, I fully expect it to happen again.:(

[rubrrick]

Maybe you are one of the unlucky ones. We empty our cooler, show our stateroom attendant where we stored everything, asking him to pass it on to the bar man.

 

So far, knock on wood, we have never been charged for anything not used.:)

 

Rick

[Mark_K]

More than a dozen cruises, never had an errant minibar charge.

[kc320]

or in a cabinet, on a shelf (beside a warm operating TV) or under the bed. I've seen all being used but as you stated the goods are left in the cabin. I often wonder about the effect of the warm storage has for some product, such as beer.

 

No Beer in the Mini Bar....now "I" worry about the chocolate though...;):D

[Tagsalong]

Recently on the Monarch, I was in the room when the mini-bar guy came in to inventory. No fridge on the Monarch, stuff on shelf above desk. He said a coke can was missing and I told him we had not touched anything on the shelf and had not drunk a coke in 100 years. He said he would have to report it and I said "just do your job and I'll take car of it" (nicely - by the way). Quest services took the charge off our bill. Did not notice if there were two cans of coke in the room on embarkation day or if it disappeared later.

[pspercy]

Never had this on Royal but Celebrity did similar, an extra $5 or so on the credit card charge vs. the final statement delivered onboard. I disputed it with Visa and it was refunded immediately and I never heard another word.