Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Mini Bar Charges Post Cruise

caymancouple

By caymancouple,
in Royal Caribbean International

 Share

Recommended Posts

grapau27

grapau27

Posted
Posted
All this means is we better have our accountant hat on and examine our bills closely.

 

With you having to order minibar to be stocked now what are they going to do with stuff left in the refrigerator? In my case I drink Coke Zero. Normally I buy it at Sams for $.30/can. On board if I order a case after the gratuity I comes out to around $2.00 a can. So if I orderva case and only drink 18 or 20 they have extra cans to restock with again. Brilliant plan sell the same $.30 item at 7 times the cost twice. So one left over can makes them a gross profit of $4.00.

Take the can with you when you get off the ship to drink later or leave it out for your cabin steward.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rvrocker

rvrocker

Posted
Posted

Agree with you on that with 1 or 2 cans. So you need to know how much of a beverage you drink in a given period so you will know how much to order.

 

I made that mistake on our last cruise I preorderd a case of water, had several liter bottles leftover

Link to comment
Share on other sites
grapau27

grapau27

Posted
Posted
Agree with you on that with 1 or 2 cans. So you need to know how much of a beverage you drink in a given period so you will know how much to order.

 

I made that mistake on our last cruise I preorderd a case of water, had several liter bottles leftover

They seem to benefit whichever way you buy.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rvrocker

rvrocker

Posted
Posted

Yep

The drink packages are another one unless you plan not getting off the ship drinking from time you get up till the time you go to bed they rip you again. My case again if I buy the coke package @ 8.00 per day that 64 for an 8 day cruise we have three ports we do get off and do stuff in port do thoses days would not be doing refills all day. So that is $24.00 basicly wasted. Now 8 per day it 12.80 per day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MrYellowDuck

MrYellowDuck

Posted
Posted
Yep

The drink packages are another one unless you plan not getting off the ship drinking from time you get up till the time you go to bed they rip you again. My case again if I buy the coke package @ 8.00 per day that 64 for an 8 day cruise we have three ports we do get off and do stuff in port do thoses days would not be doing refills all day. So that is $24.00 basicly wasted. Now 8 per day it 12.80 per day.

 

RCL caters for those that make decisions primarily based on price and for those who are making experienced based purchasing decisions and for those in between these two extremes. RCL can't really rip-off any of these groups since each behaves differently in terms of what they buy. It's a bit like the typically very expensive food options at cinemas. Price shoppers generally can't understand why any such food is sold at all while those seeking a complete end-to-end experience think quite differently about the same thing and are happy to pay a much higher overall price. Each group is seeking something quite different but both can be catered for at the same time.

 

RCL aims to provide an experience that removes price from the equation for as many people as possible; this generally maximises profit since it also maximises happiness and happy people tend to be more willing to allow their wallets to roam freely. They price test and price discriminate all of the time to find the sweet spot; they're amateurish in their execution versus the slickest operators but also much better than most.

 

They cater for coupon-clippers which is why they turn a blind-eye to cases of drinks being delivered to rooms etc. The perfect balance is when all groups are happy and spending as much money as they are willing to spend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rvrocker

rvrocker

Posted
Posted

So true. In that respect cruising is no differant than any sporting venue or theme park. We all decide how we want to spend our money. What I think is good others may think it is foolishness. If we were all thrift happy (lack of better term) we would sit at home and read books, but we are not that why sporting venues, music concerts, travel industry and everything else we enjoy survive

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
Posted
Good answer.

I blame the crew for being negligent or scamming rather than RC directly although RC must suspect something is not right but hopefully now the bottles of water have been removed these post cruise charges will stop.

This has happened to us on other cruise lines too which reinforces my opinion it is down to the crew.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

I suspect that RCI, and all cruise lines, have methods in place for correcting unwanted crew behavior. Unwanted being the key word. This has been allowed to go on way too long to let blame sit with the crew. Oh yeah, I forgot, RCI denied that they had any clue this was occurring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
grapau27

grapau27

Posted
Posted
I suspect that RCI, and all cruise lines, have methods in place for correcting unwanted crew behavior. Unwanted being the key word. This has been allowed to go on way too long to let blame sit with the crew. Oh yeah, I forgot, RCI denied that they had any clue this was occurring.

You do have a valid point.

For RC to deny knowing about these charges is unbelievable they must live on a different planet.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mommao729

mommao729

Posted
Posted

My cruise is in September on harmony. Already had a so called "glitch" in my reservation where the computer kicked out my 30% off and tried to say i owed more than I did for my final payment. My sailing has the "if one person buys the drink package the other person in the room 21 and older has to buy it. Now I have to watch for mysterious mini bar charges and possibly pool towel charges. And anything else they can think of between now and then.

I have 2 other couples who have never cruised Royal Caribbean before. I hope I didn't make a mistake. This will be my 6th cruise on Royal Caribbean. I love their ships. But it's stuff like this that is making rethink about booking with them next year. They need to get these computer issues fixed and also think about the changes they are making. I know they are all about making a profit. But these changes big & small will make me think long and hard about which cruise line I will give my hard earned money too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rvrocker

rvrocker

Posted
Posted
My cruise is in September on harmony. Already had a so called "glitch" in my reservation where the computer kicked out my 30% off and tried to say i owed more than I did for my final payment. My sailing has the "if one person buys the drink package the other person in the room 21 and older has to buy it. Now I have to watch for mysterious mini bar charges and possibly pool towel charges. And anything else they can think of between now and then.

I have 2 other couples who have never cruised Royal Caribbean before. I hope I didn't make a mistake. This will be my 6th cruise on Royal Caribbean. I love their ships. But it's stuff like this that is making rethink about booking with them next year. They need to get these computer issues fixed and also think about the changes they are making. I know they are all about making a profit. But these changes big & small will make me think long and hard about which cruise line I will give my hard earned money too!

 

 

Do not forget room service is no longer free except for suites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AZDonRose

AZDonRose

Posted
Posted

Glad we found this thread. We closely scrutinize our charges throughout every cruise we've taken. And yes, we've had incorrect charges before, which we usually have been able to remove PRIOR to disembarkation.

 

On a Holland America cruise in 2011, we were charged for specialty dinner that Costco had given us. Got that removed on our final day. Then, a mysterious mini-bar charge appeared after we disembarked. Sent an email to Holland and it was removed.

 

On a Celebrity cruise in 2014, we were charged on two separate occasions for drinks that were included in our drink package. We caught those and they were removed.

 

On a Explorer of the Seats cruise earlier this year, our final bill delivered on our last night matched our charged receipts, with the exception of the photos we purchased. They don't give receipts and it was too late to dispute the "additional" charge. Checked our credit card AFTER debarkation and guess what - there was a charge of $6.34. I made a polite query on RCI's Facebook page. After giving them our Folio # and other pertinent info, we learned it was for a bottle of "Evian" water in our cabin. We did not open, drink or toss overboard any bottle of "Evian". The charge was removed within 2-3 days.

 

This thread - at 33 pages - with post after post after post - tells me there is something more here than a simple "mistake."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Biker19

Biker19

Posted
Posted

This thread - at 33 pages - with post after post after post - tells me there is something more here than a simple "mistake."

Right, it's a very complicated mistake.

 

Biker, who wonders if the promised July 15 removal of the water bottles actually happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...