Just back and charged an additional $272.87???

[agc291]

We got back from a wonderful cruise on Saturday. I checked my bank account and noticed there were 4 charges from Carnival. We had a cash account on board but on thursday we added a card to our account to finalize everything because we had to debark early to make our flight. Our final bill was slipped under our door at 6 am totaling $114.71 to be charged to the card.

 

I now have 4 charges totaling $272.87 We were on top of our account during the week since it was cash and there is no way we racked up these additional charges. The first charge is $141.46, 26.75, 47.53, 57.18. If you add our bill total and $26.75 you get $141.46 ( one of the charges) so I am sure that the 141 amount is correct. It is possible we spent another $26 after the bill was ran. It is time stamped at 12:17 and we were out til about then. However I am not sure about the other charges totaling almost $110.

 

I called guest services but they are closed until tomorrow. I want to make sure the charges they have are legit. I am quite disappointed seeing as we had such a great cruise and now have to deal with this fuss. I should have just added more cash the night before debarking but figured this was the easiest. I will go back to 100% cash accounts in the future.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

We always go to guest services the last nite and get a print out to make sure

everything is correct.

[KPfromCT]

Hopefully there is an explanation for it. There is another thread going right now, in regards to a bartender at the Red Frog Pub, that was charging a guest $11 each time she ordered a drink....basically a tip for himself...Hopefully you have a better outcome. Keep us posted, and Good Luck!!!:D

[agc291]

We always go to guest services the last nite and get a print out to make sure

everything is correct.

 

I have my print out that they provided from the final night and it is correct- minus a few drinks we had when we were headed to bed.

[SadieN]

Did you purchase anything the last morning?

Pictures? videos? drinks?

[firemanbobswife]

Could it be gratuities? I wouldn't know because I always prepay mine.

[Samm116]

Sometimes the "authorize" that days charges each night and it puts a hold on the card, after a few days the auth hold falls off and the final purchases are put through as a sale. The last couple charges are pretty close to the final $141 amount. Only off by $10 I think

 

 

03/01/14 Carnival Breeze

11/24/13 Carnival Valor

4/28/13 Carnival Glory

4/14/2012 Carnival Valor

3/26/2011 Carnival Freedom

3/13/2010 Carnival Freedom

10/22/2006 Carnival Pride

10/5/2003 Carnival Elation

4/25/2002 Carnival Imagination

1/12/2002 Carnival Imagination

1/7/2002Carnival Imagination B2B

[agc291]

Did you purchase anything the last morning?

Pictures? videos? drinks?

 

Nope. We had an 11 am flight so we were up and out of there by 730. I didnt even know you could buy drinks the final morning. We didnt buy anything in the shops the final day and didnt purchase any photos the whole cruise.

Edited February 12, 2014 by agc291

[agc291]

Could it be gratuities? I wouldn't know because I always prepay mine.

 

Those were taken off 2/5- usually they are done pretty early in the cruise

 

Sometimes the "authorize" that days charges each night and it puts a hold on the card, after a few days the auth hold falls off and the final purchases are put through as a sale. The last couple charges are pretty close to the final $141 amount. Only off by $10 I think

 

That would be nice and hopefully so. I would hate to have to fight with them over this. We had such a great cruise.

[Dolfan2681]

The same thing happened on my last cruise. The best way to explain it is once your card is linked to your account Carnival randomly places holds on your card in the amount you have purchased on your S&S card. Once you bill is paid (usally about 24-48 hrs) the holds are released and the actual amount is posted to your account. Carnival can call your bank to have the funds released if it takes longer than that. I really don't like how they do that. But I am sure they have been burned before. Once again the few make it difficult for the majority of us.

[happy cruzin]

We got back from a wonderful cruise on Saturday. I checked my bank account and noticed there were 4 charges from Carnival. We had a cash account on board but on thursday we added a card to our account to finalize everything because we had to debark early to make our flight. Our final bill was slipped under our door at 6 am totaling $114.71 to be charged to the card.

 

I now have 4 charges totaling $272.87 We were on top of our account during the week since it was cash and there is no way we racked up these additional charges. The first charge is $141.46, 26.75, 47.53, 57.18. If you add our bill total and $26.75 you get $141.46 ( one of the charges) so I am sure that the 141 amount is correct. It is possible we spent another $26 after the bill was ran. It is time stamped at 12:17 and we were out til about then. However I am not sure about the other charges totaling almost $110.

 

I called guest services but they are closed until tomorrow. I want to make sure the charges they have are legit. I am quite disappointed seeing as we had such a great cruise and now have to deal with this fuss. I should have just added more cash the night before debarking but figured this was the easiest. I will go back to 100% cash accounts in the future.

 

Are the posted or pending transactions???

Pending - then I'm 99% sure its a temporary hold on the account that will drop off in the next day or so - expect the final one for the "final" amount. If they are showing as posted transactions then that's a different story.

[happy cruzin]

The same thing happened on my last cruise. The best way to explain it is once your card is linked to your account Carnival randomly places holds on your card in the amount you have purchased on your S&S card. Once you bill is paid (usally about 24-48 hrs) the holds are released and the actual amount is posted to your account. Carnival can call your bank to have the funds released if it takes longer than that. I really don't like how they do that. But I am sure they have been burned before. Once again the few make it difficult for the majority of us.

 

EXACTLY - which is why some who use a debit card can have a problem. Because for 24 - 48 hours the holds and the actually amount can be listed for the account. The balance in the account must support the entire balance - until the holds fall off!

[happy cruzin]

Sometimes the "authorize" that days charges each night and it puts a hold on the card, after a few days the auth hold falls off and the final purchases are put through as a sale. The last couple charges are pretty close to the final $141 amount. Only off by $10 I think

 

 

That's what it seems like - to me!

[Sarah@Sea]

We got back from a wonderful cruise on Saturday. I checked my bank account and noticed there were 4 charges from Carnival. We had a cash account on board but on thursday we added a card to our account to finalize everything because we had to debark early to make our flight. Our final bill was slipped under our door at 6 am totaling $114.71 to be charged to the card.

 

I now have 4 charges totaling $272.87 We were on top of our account during the week since it was cash and there is no way we racked up these additional charges. The first charge is $141.46, 26.75, 47.53, 57.18. If you add our bill total and $26.75 you get $141.46 ( one of the charges) so I am sure that the 141 amount is correct. It is possible we spent another $26 after the bill was ran. It is time stamped at 12:17 and we were out til about then. However I am not sure about the other charges totaling almost $110.

 

I called guest services but they are closed until tomorrow. I want to make sure the charges they have are legit. I am quite disappointed seeing as we had such a great cruise and now have to deal with this fuss. I should have just added more cash the night before debarking but figured this was the easiest. I will go back to 100% cash accounts in the future.

 

I hope you get it figured out. Were you aware of the ATM like machines where you could add money to your account without waiting in line at GS? I was able to get my account credit refunded to me by using the machine before we got off the ship verse waiting in the long GS line.

[chasinraynbowz]

Op, did you use a debit card? This happened to me and like happy says, they were pending charges. Depending on your bank, it may take a few days for the charges to drop.

[agc291]

The same thing happened on my last cruise. The best way to explain it is once your card is linked to your account Carnival randomly places holds on your card in the amount you have purchased on your S&S card. Once you bill is paid (usally about 24-48 hrs) the holds are released and the actual amount is posted to your account. Carnival can call your bank to have the funds released if it takes longer than that. I really don't like how they do that. But I am sure they have been burned before. Once again the few make it difficult for the majority of us.

 

Are the posted or pending transactions???

Pending - then I'm 99% sure its a temporary hold on the account that will drop off in the next day or so - expect the final one for the "final" amount. If they are showing as posted transactions then that's a different story.

 

 

Makes me feel better - they are pending. I will wait for them to clear before I call Carnival. Very frustrating. I will use cash in the future for sure.

 

Thanks for all of your help! Hopefully this is the case and I can go back to planning my next Carnival cruise:cool:

[ImmortalxKiss]

Cruises are just like hotels. Charges are authorized on the card that eventually fall off. I don't know why this is still so shocking to some people.

 

If it's pending. It's pending. Doesn't mean it's posted, so there's not a need to think they've taken money

Edited February 12, 2014 by ImmortalxKiss

[funinthesun1964]

Sometimes the "authorize" that days charges each night and it puts a hold on the card, after a few days the auth hold falls off and the final purchases are put through as a sale. The last couple charges are pretty close to the final $141 amount. Only off by $10 I think

 

 

 

 

And depending on the bank, the hold may not fall off for up to 7-10 days. I deal with this same thing at my job.

[mistycruiser]

Because of the holds, it's highly recommended to use a Credit Card and not a debit card to avoid more funds than necessary being tied up until the holds fall off. Just something to consider for next time.

[happy cruzin]

Cruises are just like hotels. Charges are authorized on the card that eventually fall off. I don't know why this is still so shocking to some people.

 

If it's pending. It's pending. Doesn't mean it's posted, so there's not a need to think they've taken money

 

 

BUT....it is still deducted for the "available balance" until the hold falls off. That's why we won't use a debit card.

[happy cruzin]

Makes me feel better - they are pending. I will wait for them to clear before I call Carnival. Very frustrating. I will use cash in the future for sure.

 

Thanks for all of your help! Hopefully this is the case and I can go back to planning my next Carnival cruise:cool:

 

That - to me - is a bigger hassle then giving them a credit card and just using my cash to pay it of once home.

But...it is probably better than using a debit card - unless you plan to keep a large enough balance in the account to cover the holds and final balance.

[agc291]

Cruises are just like hotels. Charges are authorized on the card that eventually fall off. I don't know why this is still so shocking to some people.

 

If it's pending. It's pending. Doesn't mean it's posted, so there's not a need to think they've taken money

 

Probably because whenever I have stayed at a hotel it is an even amount that I am told about. Not random charges. Like I said I have NEVER done anything besides a cash account and when they added my card there was no mention of a hold. I will wait to see if it posts before I call. I checked here because maybe there are some people here who like to help and give insight.

[RD64]

Something similar happened to me this past summer on the Breeze (although I was using a credit card). On the last morning, the statement that was delivered was accurate and we left the ship.

 

Upon returning home, I phoned the credit card company to find out what the actual charge was when the Sail and Sign balance was converted to Canadian dollars. I was shocked to find that it was significantly more than the balance showing on my FINAL statement.

 

I phoned/emailed Carnival several times without a response. It was once I started posting on Facebook, and on John Heald's page, that someone finally started looking into it. The charge was for mini-bar charges that were conveniently added after we disembarked. I refused to pay it - and it was only when they analyzed my actual bar charges to find that we had not once in the eight days drank anything that they claimed was taken from the mini-bar.

 

Long story short, the cabin steward was questioned, and he admitted that he had not done an inventory of the mini-bar for the past several cruises. When he finally got around to it at the end of our cruise - we were charged for everything that was missing. I was impressed that Carnival was able to get to the bottom of this, even though it was several weeks later. To their credit they did remove the charge from my credit card statement.

 

In the future, I will always ask to have the fridge cleared out as soon as I meet my steward. It is frustrating to try and get something cleared up from 1500 miles away.

 

Hopefully your issue just has to do with the "holds", but if not Carnival will be able to tell you exactly what the charges are for, and if it is alcohol, even the brand in question.

 

Good luck with everything.

[happy cruzin]

Something similar happened to me this past summer on the Breeze (although I was using a credit card). On the last morning, the statement that was delivered was accurate and we left the ship.

 

Upon returning home, I phoned the credit card company to find out what the actual charge was when the Sail and Sign balance was converted to Canadian dollars. I was shocked to find that it was significantly more than the balance showing on my FINAL statement.

 

I phoned/emailed Carnival several times without a response. It was once I started posting on Facebook, and on John Heald's page, that someone finally started looking into it. The charge was for mini-bar charges that were conveniently added after we disembarked. I refused to pay it - and it was only when they analyzed my actual bar charges to find that we had not once in the eight days drank anything that they claimed was taken from the mini-bar.

 

Long story short, the cabin steward was questioned, and he admitted that he had not done an inventory of the mini-bar for the past several cruises. When he finally got around to it at the end of our cruise - we were charged for everything that was missing. I was impressed that Carnival was able to get to the bottom of this, even though it was several weeks later. To their credit they did remove the charge from my credit card statement.

 

In the future, I will always ask to have the fridge cleared out as soon as I meet my steward. It is frustrating to try and get something cleared up from 1500 miles away.

 

Hopefully your issue just has to do with the "holds", but if not Carnival will be able to tell you exactly what the charges are for, and if it is alcohol, even the brand in question.

 

Good luck with everything.

 

 

Wow...that is CRAZY!

Last time I asked to have the fridge emptied - on the Magic I believe - I was told "no" that he wasn't allowed. :rolleyes: So - now we just asked that it be lock it - it's not cold enough to keep anything in anyway...IMO!

[ImmortalxKiss]

BUT....it is still deducted for the "available balance" until the hold falls off. That's why we won't use a debit card.

 

Yes, correct :)

Edited February 12, 2014 by ImmortalxKiss