Mini Bar Charges Post Cruise

[Biker19]

There's no reason that a budget brand like Ruffino should have the cost that it does on board.....

.....except for the fact that people are willing to pay it.

[grapau27]

Agreed. In order to compensate for the extra wine and beer being drank the bottle and glass prices of those have gone up. There's no reason that a budget brand like Ruffino should have the cost that it does on board.

I agree totally the wine tasted cheap.

[grapau27]

.....except for the fact that people are willing to pay it.

You don't have a great choice.

The pinot grigio was $11 per glass so no extra charge but again it tasted cheap.

[grapau27]

We were on the Grandeur June 1-10 (our first RCI cruise). When the Evian bottles appeared in our room on June 4, I called the customer service desk and requested that they be removed. A member of the bar staff removed them shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, our bill on disembarkation included an $11.68 minibar charge for June 4. I went to the service desk, and the representative noted that my account reflected that the bottles had been removed, and she reversed the charges.

 

Problem solved? No. That evening I received by email a revised statement including a new minibar charge of $6.14 dated June 10. I challenged this charge, and it is now supposedly under investigation by an auditing group. RCI obviously has a systemic error in the procedures it follows to assess minibar charges, given the number of complaints appearing here. Despite the small amount, this is a strong disincentive for us to cruise with RCI again.

On 2 occasions on Freedom 4-11 june we were charged​ for bottled water and a beer when we had the premium drinks package and after going to GS the charges were taken off so i think it is a ships error??for charging after you disembark not RC head office.

[Biker19]

so i think it is a ships error??for charging after you disembark not RC head office.

To the customer it doesn't really make a diff.

[grapau27]

To the customer it doesn't really make a diff.

No but my experience was it was the ships staff rather than RC to blame.

[grapau27]

No but my experience was it was the ships staff rather than RC to blame.

I am pleased to say i checked with our credit card company and no additional charges on our ship bill from Freedom (4-11 June 2017).

[TravelerThom]

I am pleased to say i checked with our credit card company and no additional charges on our ship bill from Freedom (4-11 June 2017).

It is a sad commentary on the trustworthiness of a company when the fact that they didn't rip you off gets an internet post.

[grapau27]

It is a sad commentary on the trustworthiness of a company when the fact that they didn't rip you off gets an internet post.

I think the fact there are 559 posts on this thread tells its own story.

[glituner32]

Just out off the Anthem yesterday june 26th, Got home and got an email saying extra charge of $12.36 lol. I even took a pic of the waters in the cabin before I left the room knowing that there was a 90% chance it would happen.

 

Does anything know if its the room steward that makes the call for checking the water or is there another person that just handles the water check after each cruise? I wonder if they get the extra service charge and that why they do it.

[Clarea]

Just out off the Anthem yesterday june 26th, Got home and got an email saying extra charge of $12.36 lol. I even took a pic of the waters in the cabin before I left the room knowing that there was a 90% chance it would happen.

 

Does anything know if its the room steward that makes the call for checking the water or is there another person that just handles the water check after each cruise? I wonder if they get the extra service charge and that why they do it.

My understanding was that it's a member of the bar staff that checks the water.

[skid10]

It seems that each charge is $12 and change, with the amount of change varying. Mine was $12.82. Back in May, when I called to have it reversed, they said it could be either the cabin steward or a bar staffer. But they also said that starting July 1st they will no longer be leaving those water bottles in the cabins.

I hope some cruisers follow up in the next couple of weeks to let us know if this practice was stopped.

[BillHoo]

I got off Anthem yesterday as well. I took picures of the water also. but I have not yet been charged for the water. Keeping my finger crossed.

 

I HAVE been charged $50 to my credit card for no apparent reason. Listed as a Temp Transaction. so I'm hoping it goes away after a few days. Details read:

 

ANTHEM OF THE SEAS

Transaction date:06/23/2017Card type:VisaTransaction type:Temp Auth / Pending PymtReference number:TEMP

Temporary authorizations (Temp Auth) are approved transactions that haven't posted to your account. They've been deducted from your available credit, but if the merchant doesn't complete the transaction the temporary charges will be removed.

• If you have questions about this transaction, you can reach out to the merchant for more information as the description and purchase amount might change before the purchase is finalized.
  
• If you suspect fraud on your account or have not done business with this merchant, please contact us immediately.
  
• If you do not suspect fraud and you want to dispute this transaction, you can do so once it has posted to your account.
  

Pending payments (Pending Pymt) are payments received from you and are in the process of posting to your account.

[dwayneb236]

One of the reasons we don't put a credit card on our account. We only use cash so the card can't be charged later. Well, so far.

[Biker19]

I HAVE been charged $50 to my credit card for no apparent reason. Listed as a Temp Transaction. so I'm hoping it goes away after a few days.

 

That's normal and happens all the time. What everyone here is talking about are posted charges, not pending ones. Yes, pending ones will drop off after a few days.

[BillHoo]

Interesting though. I went to Guest Services the last night and waited 20 minutes in a line to ensure my bills were taken care of for both staterooms and I ended up walking away with $51.99 in cash for excess OBC. So, if this charge remains, it might be a mistake in their billing and I'll pursue recovery.

 

And btw. Don't take towels from the pool to bring with you to the beach when in port. They WILL charge you for the towels if you don't bring them back! Maybe a third of the people waiting in line were for Towel charges.

[grapau27]

Interesting though. I went to Guest Services the last night and waited 20 minutes in a line to ensure my bills were taken care of for both staterooms and I ended up walking away with $51.99 in cash for excess OBC. So, if this charge remains, it might be a mistake in their billing and I'll pursue recovery.

 

And btw. Don't take towels from the pool to bring with you to the beach when in port. They WILL charge you for the towels if you don't bring them back! Maybe a third of the people waiting in line were for Towel charges.

If you take the towels off the ship and lose them RC are right to charge for lost towels.

[ray98]

Quite a scam they have going on.....

[ray98]

And btw. Don't take towels from the pool to bring with you to the beach when in port. They WILL charge you for the towels if you don't bring them back! Maybe a third of the people waiting in line were for Towel charges.

 

 

Well that should be obvious.....you lose a towel you pay for it.

[richstowe]

I also took it that way. Why do you have ask for, and receive special attention to not get those ridiculous scam

charges AFTER your final bill and AFTER you leave the ship? That should be noted indeed for EVERYONE. :mad:

 

Please...please RCI...listen to us. ELIMINTATE THOSE WATER BOTTLES LIKE YOU DID THE REST OF THE MINI BAR!! No reason to have those there when they can be ordered.

 

Having a cash account will make it more difficult to charge you for anything after the cruise.

Although the above recommendations are reasonable , I wonder why consumers should

have to make these changes to avoid fraud . Smarten up Royal ! :confused:

[rvrocker]

Quite a scam they have going on.....

Hopefully it ends tomorrow. According to the state of Florida make believe investigation NOT a scam. But that was the response Royal gave them. You can find my post about in several pages back

[grapau27]

Hopefully it ends tomorrow. According to the state of Florida make believe investigation NOT a scam. But that was the response Royal gave them. You can find my post about in several pages back

It will be interesting to see if the water bottles are removed from the cabins tomorrow as has been reported.

If anyone is posting tomorrow from any RC ship it would be appreciated by some of us on this thread who have had phantom water charges.

[skid10]

It will be interesting to see if the water bottles are removed from the cabins tomorrow as has been reported.

If anyone is posting tomorrow from any RC ship it would be appreciated by some of us on this thread who have had phantom water charges.

Agreed! Personally I am interested in Adventure OTS because I will be sailing her again in May and did get hit with that charge last time. TIA.

[Biker19]

So, for anyone who embarked after July 1 - were the water bottles gone?

[marci22]

I got off the ship on July 1, and I have a $12.36 charge on my account (actually added onto the final charge I saw before leaving the cabin). Weird thing was, there were 3 bottles in one room and 2 in the other, and it stayed that way the whole trip. So not sure if I had an extra one or not. Think there are supposed to be two.