Problem with beverage package

[DeckLife]

My husband and I had a fun time on the Christmas week cruise on Navigator out of Galveston. The ice show was fantastic! However, we had a serious problem at the end of the cruise.

 

Five days before we cruised, we purchased two premium beverage packages and paid for them online. Yet on day 7 of the cruise, late in the day or overnight, a $330 beverage package was charged to our account ($330, it turns out, is the cost of a 6-day package).

 

How does something like this happen? What's wrong with the ship's software that it doesn't kick out a beverage package being charged on the last day of the cruise, to a cabin with two people already with packages?

 

Why, at Customer Service on debarkation morning, was this charge not immediately conceded to be the bogus charge that it was? The service person helping us was friendly enough but her mindset seemed to be not on correcting an error but rather on explaining and justifying the charge.

 

We were at Customer Service for a full hour. We explained over and over again that we had paid in full five days before cruising for two premium beverage packages. We showed the stamps on our sail cards. We repeated that there were only two of us. (Some of our explanation had to do with our changing our package choices online but still concluding with two premiums purchased five days ahead.)

 

Early in this process, no bar staff were answering their phones. Eventually a senior bar crew member or officer came to the desk and instantly upon hearing our summary of the situation said he would take care of it right away. He went off and returned moments later, and we got a correct statement at last. (This is what should have happened immediately when we went to Customer Service.)

 

It was clear to us that Customer Service people are not empowered either with any kind of authority or with suitable information. It seems doubtful that our online purchases showed up on the desk person's screen. I don't even know whether her screen showed that we had the two packages.

 

Early in the week we noticed five drinks charged to our account. When we brought this up with Customer Service, the desk person had to forward the issue to a supervisor to remove the $35 in bogus charges later in the day. The charges were indeed removed, but why wouldn't you have your regular Customer Service staff empowered to do this?

 

Our ultimate question is who charged the $330 to our account and why. I would assume that bar staff get gratuity credit when they swipe our cards for each drink. We also tipped one server with some cash on the last night. Is it possible this was assumed to be the only tip? Am I right that the servers get credit for the drinks they serve to package passengers?

 

This will undoubtedly be an unsolved mystery, but I thought it worthwhile to tell people about it. In future, I'll bring credit card statements with me showing charges made. (Showing them on my phone was not persuasive.)

 

By the way, Royal Caribbean is to be commended for not requiring both adults in a cabin to buy the beverage package. I wish other cruise lines would follow suit.

[SConnolly]

Sorry you had a problem but its not with the actual package rather its a billing issue.

 

You are correct in thinking Guest Services should be ale to handle quickly sometimes that depends upon the individual you get behind the desk. I have learned over the years that they only have so much control and that they do have to each out to different department to chase down issues. Completely agree the charge made no sense towards the end of the cruise.

 

Suggest you just chalk it up to occasionally things go wrong and you are right in that folks should periodically check their statements.

 

Glad you caught it and did not have to deal with it on the last morning.

[woehwdy]

My husband and I had a fun time on the Christmas week cruise on Navigator out of Galveston. The ice show was fantastic! However, we had a serious problem at the end of the cruise.

 

Five days before we cruised, we purchased two premium beverage packages and paid for them online. Yet on day 7 of the cruise, late in the day or overnight, a $330 beverage package was charged to our account ($330, it turns out, is the cost of a 6-day package).

 

How does something like this happen? What's wrong with the ship's software that it doesn't kick out a beverage package being charged on the last day of the cruise, to a cabin with two people already with packages?

 

Why, at Customer Service on debarkation morning, was this charge not immediately conceded to be the bogus charge that it was? The service person helping us was friendly enough but her mindset seemed to be not on correcting an error but rather on explaining and justifying the charge.

 

We were at Customer Service for a full hour. We explained over and over again that we had paid in full five days before cruising for two premium beverage packages. We showed the stamps on our sail cards. We repeated that there were only two of us. (Some of our explanation had to do with our changing our package choices online but still concluding with two premiums purchased five days ahead.)

 

Early in this process, no bar staff were answering their phones. Eventually a senior bar crew member or officer came to the desk and instantly upon hearing our summary of the situation said he would take care of it right away. He went off and returned moments later, and we got a correct statement at last. (This is what should have happened immediately when we went to Customer Service.)

 

It was clear to us that Customer Service people are not empowered either with any kind of authority or with suitable information. It seems doubtful that our online purchases showed up on the desk person's screen. I don't even know whether her screen showed that we had the two packages.

 

Early in the week we noticed five drinks charged to our account. When we brought this up with Customer Service, the desk person had to forward the issue to a supervisor to remove the $35 in bogus charges later in the day. The charges were indeed removed, but why wouldn't you have your regular Customer Service staff empowered to do this?

 

Our ultimate question is who charged the $330 to our account and why. I would assume that bar staff get gratuity credit when they swipe our cards for each drink. We also tipped one server with some cash on the last night. Is it possible this was assumed to be the only tip? Am I right that the servers get credit for the drinks they serve to package passengers?

 

This will undoubtedly be an unsolved mystery, but I thought it worthwhile to tell people about it. In future, I'll bring credit card statements with me showing charges made. (Showing them on my phone was not persuasive.)

 

By the way, Royal Caribbean is to be commended for not requiring both adults in a cabin to buy the beverage package. I wish other cruise lines would follow suit.

Instead of bringing your credit card statement, just bring a copy of your order history off the the RCCL website.

[DeckLife]

Ah, but we DID have to deal with the problem on the last morning. For an hour.

We showed them a copy of the order history, but it didn't help.