Feeling Ripped OFF!

[bplazo]

On RCCL last month I noticed a charge for the mini bar for $1.95. All though we didnt use the mini bar it wasnt worth the hassle of arguing about it.

[twoofus]

easy for you marti to comment ;; but i too felt robbed i was on that same cruise and however nice u or i think barcleona is is not the point when u pay for a cruise one expects to be crusing not land locked/so i say right on to ahoy matey for the accurate take on what happened..YES WE WERE ROBBED

[msbptg]

Charges for this type of thing are the best reason for settling the bill in cash. When you get on you leave a cash deposit for your account and when it gets used they call you for more. Then if there is a dispute you can get it straight right then. I am an immediate gratification kind of woman! I've heard other people say they have had issues with cards that are frozen by the cruise line for some wierd reason. It tells me they are dangerous people to give your number to. Just something to consider.

Celebrity-DANGEROUS?? Millions of people sail with that line, and never have a problem with there tab..To advise people to take hundreds of dollars on board a cruise to me is just plain silly.. I,m sure mistakes have been made by celebrity, as noted buy a few posters..But don,t let that convince you to take that much cash into another country...

[bububr]

you need to be on top of your spending accounts when on board.

 

I just returned from the 2-day to Cococay, and although we were given beach towels, a little note was attached.

 

DO NOT BRING TOWELS TO THE POOL

 

I can't tell you how many of these towels we saw by the pool, not to mention how many we saw that were left on CocoCay. I'm sure there are going to be a few that will be puzzled by the extra charges by not following the rules.

 

However in saying that I also realize that we are human and make mistakes, being said the ship with 1500+ passengers can make a mistake also.

 

What we have learned from our first cruise is to frequently check our account on the interactive TV and save our reciepts, especially the HAND WRITTEN ones and the reciepts from the last night. MAny times these charges DO NOT MAKE IT onto the final bill as they have to be manually input. They are added as an after charge on your credit card.

 

Although I know it can be a hassle to try to straighten out a mistake, it is just a mistake.

 

As for cash, the only time we ever pay cash for any part of the expenses is if we win big at the casino , or bingo. This way we're not walking around with too much extra money that could be lost, stolen, or in my case spent frivolously.

 

Although I do not like to be miscellaneously charged for items or services, if a charge for a lost towel, or a drink by the pool appeared I would simply call AND write to challenge it.

 

Just my opinion of this thread:)

 

Dave:eek:

[uktog]

It is very important to keep on top of your account and sort out any errors BEFORE you leave the ship if you live in the UK. Trying to resolve any issues through the UK office is painful. It took me two months to resolve an issue that they agreed on Day 1 was indeed an erroneous charge but they had to get the changes issued from Miami. Needless to say I lost out on the currency conversion as well

[bplazo]

My daughter left one of her ship towels on an excursion and I told her that if we were charged for it she was coming up with the extra money. Our room steward just left another towel in the room and didnt charge for it.

[heyjude27]

The only serious bummer during our 12-day holiday cruise on the Galaxy was the failure of the Guest Services Desk and the Shore Excursion Desk to straighten out erroneous charges on my account. $100 total. We haven't forgiven them!

 

I started to try to fix this on about day four, when I discovered the charges, and gave up about a week later. I was shuffled back and forth between the two desks. It was really starting to ruin my day!

 

Everything on this thread came up during the hours of trying to fix this - I'll work on it and get back to you -- then no results. We have to go through Miami (you're kidding, right). I'm passing it on to the Shore Ex desk - you'll have to contact them -- this was after I was sent to Guest Services by the Shore Ex desk. On up the ladder - no help. It just seemed to get worse.

 

You can't imagine how frustrating it was for me. I started to cry at one point I was so frustrated. Then I realized it was Christmas Day. I refused to let them ruin my day any more and ruin my cruise.

 

At first I felt sort of sorry for them because they seemed so stupid. Then I sort of panicked because I thought, my God, they are handling oodles of charges and they're darned incompetent. Then, one evening, when I checked to see how the problem was being handled, one of the attendants at the Shore Ex desk stated, I'm so sorry, I tried but they won't let me change it -- I have no authority..... they don't care about me and they don't care about you. That's pretty much a word for word quote. Well, then I realized it wasn't stupidity, it wasn't incompetence -- It was theft -- or given that we were at sea, piracy. I was very unhappy.

 

I reported that I would dispute my credit card bill -- I did go the office of the hotel manager - or whatever his title is - left a message asking for assistance with my bill - never heard from him.

 

No one in a uniform or with a title that worked this cruise impressed me -- officers down to activity staff. The workers (room attendants and waiters etc) impressed me -- they were perfect at their job, hard-working and sincere. Thank God Celebrity trains them -- the rest of the bunch is worthless.

 

It was a good cruise, a great time for us. Nothing can ruin a cruise. This problem definitely put a damper on things and blotted my opinion of Celebrity. That shouldn't happen.

 

Oh, and reading this thread, yep, there sure was a charge from a lounge that we never visited - a small "tip" charge (54 cents) on the bill also. Reading that these little things turn up on other bills -- well, let's guess how many people are charged small amounts, maybe even that towel that was definitely returned, and then don't bother to wait in line to have it corrected.

 

Pirates.

 

J

[Iamboatman]

Granted there are little annoyances in life and I am not saying $15 here, $28 there, etc. should be ignored, but come on: Refuse to take another great cruise over a relatively little problem? Seems like shooting one's self in the foot.

 

Insistance on perfection is unrealistic and will drive many to madness. If I consider every drink I didn't finish or every ice cream cone my kids let drip away, I am certain over my cruises I "lose" well over $50. I could drive myself crazy, but is it worth it? I am on vacation afterall...and it is merely the slippage that goes along with it.

 

Yes, your $15-$28 is important and Celebrity should be responsive to it, but what about those man hours "immediately" addressing your relatively small issue when Celebrity is working on larger problems for other passengers? Sometimes being too aggressive puts you on the bottom of the pile, while being nicely and reasonably persistant works you closer to the top.

[flashdog_1]

Re: a charge from a lounge you didn't frequent. I had this on my first cruise. BUT it turned out Celebrity was correct. My husband is a beer drinker and there were not enough beers in the minibar so I asked our steward to bring him 6 Miller Lights (did this twice). I thought the charge would be totaled at the end, but it was charged immediately from a bar we had not been to. I questioned it at Guest Relations. She said she'd check. Later in the day the steward said, "remember when you asked for 6 more beers? I got them from the nearest lounge, which happened to be Cova Cafe." i felt stupid, but was glad I didn't wait to enquire.

[halos]

:) I'm glad you got that straightened out and I just wanted to add that you did mention (prior to getting this fixed) that you wouldn't sail X again...just wanted to say that this isn't just an X issue. I've read the same complaint on other boards about other lines as well. The key is persistance. Yes, $28 isn't the end of the world, but it would piss me off as well if I was charged for 'nothing'. You did the right thing by going back and trying again, and I'm glad it worked out for you.

[CaribbeanBound]

Thankfully, we haven't been hit with strange charges after leaving the ship. We have gotten hit for incorrect charges for drinks in the show lounge. Like getting charged for a coke when you have a soda card. They take a couple of days to clear up. Thankfully we do check out charges occasionally on the TV and do keep all receipts.

[VaTraveler]

I had a similar thing happen on RCI a couple of years ago. I had my copy of my itemized statement marked paid in full. Then two weeks later a $75 charge showed up on my charge card. My son had been on the same cruise with me and had a $25 charge on his. There was no explanation given in either case. I called RCI, who said they had no record of this charge and that I would have to take it up with my credit card company. I did. Long story short, it finally got resolved 3 months later, but not after RCI refusing to credit it a couple of times with no explanation:mad: It hasn't stopped my cruising with RCI, though, but it does leave a bad taste.

[C 2 C]

easy for you marti to comment ;; but i too felt robbed i was on that same cruise and however nice u or i think barcleona is is not the point when u pay for a cruise one expects to be crusing not land locked/so i say right on to ahoy matey for the accurate take on what happened..YES WE WERE ROBBED

 

Was this the result of the blockade by fisherman that did not allow ships to enter or leave the harbor?

 

Was this then a Spanish not a cruiseship robbery?:confused:

[tbelian]

Too bad that we booked the Carribean Princess B2B starting Dec 2.

 

In this whole thread, the above is the only thing that doesn't surprise me .

[BB5953]

We were charged on 2 separate occasions on the same cruise for drinks we did not have. We caught it the same day and immediately went to guest relations who took the charges off immediately.

[travelingmom37]

We have done five Celebrity cruises w/ as many as 12- 17 family memebers. We have NEVER had a billing problem or bogus charges. Thought our experience might offer some balance.Only problems tend to motivate people enough to bother to speak up. Glad at least one person had their billing error resolved. There is never an excuse for poor customer service.:confused:

[tbelian]

I want to relate another story that is related but not related. This pertains to the guest relations, and shore excursion people who have previously been 'slammed' in this thread for being 'worthless'.

 

On our recent Mercury cruise (ok it was 10/2005), one of the port stops was changed from docked to tendered. We were travelling with my mother in law who had a broken wrist. We didn't learn about the change until the evening show (about 8pm) but she decided right away she didn't want to go on the tender instead of getting off the ship at the dock.

 

I went to guest relations, but they did say that the shore excursion desk would have to handle this (hey ya know there is a process to everything, and initially I was a little miffed). Ok, shore excursions isn't open at 8pm. We would have to wait till the next day (the actual 'port day'). Kind of worried about cancelling the excursion the same day because, well, you know, policy says that .....

 

One trip to the shore excursion desk first thing in the morning and the shore excursions were credited back, no huff, no guff, no problem. Nobody even blinked an eye. So, in our particular case, we were absolutely fine with the way the 'worthless' people handled the situation.

[C 2 C]

The only problem we have had involves charges to credit card in the correct currency. As a foreigner.. (Canada) we are charged a larger deposit when we book a cruise than Americans (US$ 450) Canadians $700 (@20% = US$ 540). We use an American $ credit card for our holidays so that we can buy our own US$. Time and again we have had to argue with the bank on board and Customer relations that we don't want to pay the surcharge of having our billing changed from American to Canadian dollars because of Celebrity's poor exchange rate of $30%; Celebrity charges an additional 3% for the exchange. There is a box to check off on our boarding ticket that we don't want this exchange transfer but they always get it wrong... and then blame shore check in for the "misunderstanding". I have had this same problem with Princess and with both lines it requires many visits to the front desk to get it right.:(

[Host Walt]

A procedure I have used consistently is to request a copy of our account two days out, then four, and so on so I can review all charges. I always seem to find one or two "mistakes" that are corrected on board.

 

When the preliminary final bill is slipped under the door near the end of the cruise I check everything then proceed to the pursers office and ask to sign the credit card charge and request a copy. That way I have a ship issued document that I can use if there is a later dispute.

 

That said, I really like the cash deposit/pay cash method far more than anything else. That way all is well - and settled - before you walk off the ship. And the rude surprise when the Amex bill arrives home when we do goes away as well. And it makes those "might as well" expenditures a bit less likely to occur.

[msbptg]

A procedure I have used consistently is to request a copy of our account two days out, then four, and so on so I can review all charges. I always seem to find one or two "mistakes" that are corrected on board.

 

When the preliminary final bill is slipped under the door near the end of the cruise I check everything then proceed to the pursers office and ask to sign the credit card charge and request a copy. That way I have a ship issued document that I can use if there is a later dispute.

 

That said, I really like the cash deposit/pay cash method far more than anything else. That way all is well - and settled - before you walk off the ship. And the rude surprise when the Amex bill arrives home when we do goes away as well. And it makes those "might as well" expenditures a bit less likely to occur.

Sorry host Walt, but I still disagree..If a cash deposit is necessary I would suggest before cruising, the purchasing of an american express debit card or visa debit card with a specific ammount chosen.. I just don,t feel comfortable carrying all that cash from home on to a plane and than on to a ship.. These cards act like cash and are great for excessive spending habits..lol

[msbptg]

A procedure I have used consistently is to request a copy of our account two days out, then four, and so on so I can review all charges. I always seem to find one or two "mistakes" that are corrected on board.

 

When the preliminary final bill is slipped under the door near the end of the cruise I check everything then proceed to the pursers office and ask to sign the credit card charge and request a copy. That way I have a ship issued document that I can use if there is a later dispute.

 

That said, I really like the cash deposit/pay cash method far more than anything else. That way all is well - and settled - before you walk off the ship. And the rude surprise when the Amex bill arrives home when we do goes away as well. And it makes those "might as well" expenditures a bit less likely to occur.

Sorry host

[PVogel]

I do as Walt does. You can view your shipboard account directly from your stateroom television at any time you like. I have only had one spurious charge show up, and that was removed immediately. I also take at least $28 worth of hand lotion and shampoo home with me!!!!

[C 2 C]

I also take at least $28 worth of hand lotion and shampoo home with me!!!!

Do you take the containers off the wall... I kinda remember that lotion and shampoo are in dispensor containers in the shower and on the wall... Perhaps it's just the shower caps and ear cleaners that are so readily mobile?:eek:

[heyjude27]

Back again to say, after posting to this thread with a complaint against Celebrity, that I use the boards to glean information to better assist me in planning my family's cruise vacations and to provide information that might be useful to others who use the boards for the same reason.

 

Bottom line for me on this thread: I did all my homework and did exactly as I was supposed to do. Checked my account regularly, verified everything against receipts, ensured that I had all my facts straight -- and then went to the Guest Services desk for assistance. Mistakes happen - that's for sure. I never would have imagined that the Celebrity staff would fail to fix these mistakes. I've never had a problem like this before on a cruise. I didn't wait until the end of the cruise -- started early and waited days while the problem was handed off (along with me trotting back and forth) to different individuals. It was unpleasant.

 

A Celebrity employee, cruising not working, told me that I should have sought the help of the Hotel Director. Apparently, this is THE GUY who can step in with his authority and fix a problem. Too late. Time to go. If I had anticipated the Guest Services and Shore Ex staff's inability, and ultimately their failure to help me, I'd have sought help earlier on from someone higher up the ladder.

 

No cruise is perfect. Along with finding good service overall on the ship, it was a tremendous disappointment to me to have to deal with this, to the extent that I was forced to deal with it, while on a vacation.

 

The message is that you can't take for granted that (the-nearly-Beatified-and-on-its-way-to-Sainthood-on-this-board) Celebrity is without its problems.

 

Mistakes happen. I'd advise to do your homework, take responsibility for maintaining you own records, seek assistance to correct any discrepancies, and find the Hotel Director early on if you think you really need some help. Or you might end up posting on a thread that starts with "feeling ripped off."

 

J

[alwayscoldmom]

O.K. here is my story. My sister and I went to Chops. Had a lovely dinner with drinks the whole works. Gave them my cruise card, and even left a extra tip for the great service. A couple of days later we get a strange call from the manager of chops, it seems like they charged someone eles cruise card for our meal. I guess the filio (sp?) numbers were similar and our cabins were right next door to each other. They got it all worked out, and we had a good time kidding the neighbor about buying us dinner...Moral of the story check your account.