Koningstam - Drink Receipts

[canadarocks]

Just back from 11 nights of the Koningsdam and an FYI about a strange change: They don't give receipts for drinks unless you ask for them. At first I thought it was because I was using a Beverage Card. I kept having to ask for either a receipt or a verbal "tally" on what we had left on the card.

 

But after the Beverage Card was finished and we started just using our ship's card to pay, it was the same policy at all the venues. Very different than anything we've experienced on any HAL ship. I didn't like it.

[sail7seas]

I certainly understand why many people will not like not getting a r eceipt but I'm not sure I really care aobut it that much. Though I fdid pt manyof our receipts in an envelope, I never checked them off the bill at the end of a cruise so it was really a saste of paper and ink in my case. We had a very similar routine on all our cruuises DH and had a a ba ball park idea what the bill would be for a 10 days cruise, 7 day cruise and we were almost always were very close. to correct. He and I always scanned the bill bfore we left the ship b we mostly looked for a quuestionable charge, somehting very larrge ( we couldn't identify or somehting on a day or evening we were offf the ship most of th time. We never fouund anything particuular to question if I rememember correctly but if we didr, i wouldd ewsant to haber my e nvelop of receipts. What other proof does a cruiser have? A dcomparison of how all other slips had ben signed would be useful. If HAL preoduc eds a slip they claim f to be min e and I know tthagtg is nogtgt my signagture, I suspedct, I am oufg of luck sith no redcdeipts ta all. It isn't as though computer entry people never make mistakes..... ' the com,puter says is jus not good enough for me. People and computers make errors.

 

When you had tro keep asking for receipts, shat did bartenders/ stewards say as reason why they were not automatically gving them to you like in he past?

Edited April 13, 2017 by sail7seas

[taxmantoo]

Same experience on the Oosterdam last month. You were handed the usual paper slip receipt when the waiter got your order without entering it into their portable tablets. When they used the tablets to take your order, no receipt unless you specifically asked for one. Same scenario when being charged corkage fee in the MDR; if entered directly into the computer at their wait station, a receipt is given; if entered via the tablet, no receipt. I found it very annoying to have to ask and often forgot ... there is no other way to balance your account. :mad:

[BrightyB]

On the 3/22 KO, my DW requested a paper receipt after every drink purchase. Servers had to return to their service bars to get them but it was never a problem. Made her happy since, when supermarket shopping, she checks every item for correctness before we leave the premises!!

[sail7seas]

On the 3/22 KO, my DW requested a paper receipt after every drink purchase. Servers had to return to their service bars to get them but it was never a problem. Made her happy since, when supermarket shopping, she checks every item for correctness before we leave the premises!!

 

 

Seems to be another one of those' improvements, iinstituted for the c onvenience of their guests. Not. :rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

If they do not have a signed receipt, how do they prove you made the charge if it is contested?

Edited April 13, 2017 by sail7seas

[pris993]

I pay attention to receipts... and charges and check my account daily.... I have found they make mistakes in various way.

 

I will continue to ask for receipts and check my bill. I have been charges for drinks that we did not order and actually had a charge changed after we signed a reciept because the bar menu price was wrong... the lounge manager corrected after we signed the receipt... I got a credit... so don't pay any attention if you like... I prefer to stay on top it. Happy to pay for what I order but not anything else.

[sppunk]

You order and pay via tablets now so printing receipts is cumbersome and time consuming fir the steward.

 

I really liked not having pieces of paper everywhere. To each their own.

[canadarocks]

You order and pay via tablets now so printing receipts is cumbersome and time consuming fir the steward.

 

I really liked not having pieces of paper everywhere. To each their own.

 

I agree about now wanting excess pieces of paper. But not knowing what we were actually being charged each time was annoying.

[sail7seas]

You order and pay via tablets now so printing receipts is cumbersome and time consuming fir the steward.

 

I really liked not having pieces of paper everywhere. To each their own.

I understand how they are taking orders and making charges. This new system is for the covenience of the stewards (understood )and takes from the guest, the ability, if they are so inclined. to check their bill for errors. Even with the old receipt system of the past, they made plenty of errors. if they could not produce a signed receipt, the error was corrected. Now what? I would like to add that in dozens and dozens of cruises, we never asked for a charge to be removed but I always saved the receipts, neatly in an envelope in the e vent we wanted them. No need for them to be 'all over the cabin. An enelope kept them quite orderly. This change has not been made for the 'convenience of their guests. '

 

 

No, it is not to each their own in this case. They have made it a nuisance and inconvenience to the steward for the guest to get a receipt if it is wanted.A receipt for any purchase should bd automatic.I sincer doubt the steward, happily goes skipping off to get the guest a receipt. Try and get him to serve you a drink the next night. :rolleyes IMO Seed my point?

Edited April 14, 2017 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

You order and pay via tablets now so printing receipts is cumbersome and time consuming fir the steward. I really liked not having pieces of paper everywhere. To each their own.

I understand how they are taking orders and making charges. This new system is for the coveniencer of the stewards (understood )and takes from the guest, the ability, if they are so inclined. to check their bill for errors. Even with the olfdd receipt sysgtem of the past, they mae plenty of errors. if they could not produce a signed receipt, the error was corrected. Now what? I would like to add that in dozens and dozens of cruises, we never asked for a charge to be removed but I always saved the receipts, neatly in an envelope in the e vent we wanted them. No need for them to be 'all over the cabin. An envelope kept them quite orderly. This change has not been made for the 'convenience of their guests. '

[sail7seas]

You order and pay via tablets now so printing receipts is cumbersome and time consuming fir the steward. I really liked not having pieces of paper everywhere. To each their own.

I understand how they are taking orders and making charges. This new system is for the covenience of the stewards (understood )and takes from the guest, the ability, if they are so inclined. to check their bill for errors. Even with the old receipt system of the past, they made plenty of errors. if they could not produce a signed receipt, the error was corrected. Now what? I would like to add that in dozens and dozens of cruises, we never asked for a charge to be removed but I always saved the receipts, neatly in an envelope in the e vent we wanted them. No ned for them to be 'all over the cabin. An envelope keeps them quite orderly ,This change has not been made for the 'convenience of their guests.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just back from 11 nights of the Koningsdam and an FYI about a strange change: They don't give receipts for drinks unless you ask for them. At first I thought it was because I was using a Beverage Card. I kept having to ask for either a receipt or a verbal "tally" on what we had left on the card.

 

But after the Beverage Card was finished and we started just using our ship's card to pay, it was the same policy at all the venues. Very different than anything we've experienced on any HAL ship. I didn't like it.

 

 

 

I certainly don't like that idea. No receipts no matter what you use to buy beverages doesn't work for me.

Sure hope this doesn't spread to other ships.

[sail7seas]

Another thread is a dicussion of ordering drinks on ( I tHink Koningfsdam) and the steward enters the order on his/her tablet and no paper receipt is providedf to the guest. I guests ask for one, sgteward has to run back to the computer to print one and bring it to guess. Try and get him to serve you another drink after you put him through that!

 

I hope the other HAL ships have not (yet adopted this system. ) I think it very bad for the guests.

Th anks. :)

[iflyrc5]

We got paper receipts on the Maasdam in Oct/Nov 2016 and on the Rotterdam in Feb/Mar 2017

[canadianbear]

We were on Zuiderdam in March and received the receipts without asking. I am one that keeps track of receipts especially on a long cruise. I did use the Navigator app and liked it for keeping track of what we spent (comparing it with our receipts).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[debsjc]

I'll be asking for receipts for sure, it's too easy to miss a mistake if not.

[styles27]

We were on Zuiderdam in March and received the receipts without asking. I am one that keeps track of receipts especially on a long cruise. I did use the Navigator app and liked it for keeping track of what we spent (comparing it with our receipts).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I do the same thing...save all my receipts and then double check with our final statement.

 

I haven't cruised with HAL since 2012 so I'm not sure what the Navigator App is? Is that a way of tracking our accounts?

 

Some of those tablets have the ability to print receipts. We just had a guy from Comcast here to upgrade our service and he did everything including printing out our receipt from his tablet.

That would make it a lot easier for the servers on HAL if they had something like that.

[jtl513]

I haven't cruised with HAL since 2012 so I'm not sure what the Navigator App is? Is that a way of tracking our accounts?

It's not an app that you install on your device, it is simply a home page on the ship's LAN. It offers a half dozen functions, one of which is checking your account. (One of the functions is connecting to paid internet, all others are free.) Not all ships have this yet. I don't know about the Eurodam, but my guess would be that it does have it. Edited April 14, 2017 by jtl513

[esimon]

it is so important to get paper receipts - so you can take them back to your room and throw them out

[msmayor]

Sail, on the Zuiderdam last month and most times we got a paper slip...but there were other times when we did not.

 

Most evenings when we ordered glasses of wine or cocktails in the dining room, we never got paper slips. The wine steward would take our order on her tablet, swipe our cards and a server would bring just the drinks a few minutes later.

 

When we ate at the Pinnacle for Le Cirque, my husband and I ordered glasses of wine to have with dinner and just as in the main dining room, no slips were provided.

 

All other locations we got slips.

 

Normally I would have been asking for the receipt but on this trip we had Explore 4 so we had the beverage package, and I knew we'd never bump up to the limit so not concerned about tracking our drinks.

 

(We did, however, save all the slips we DID get and estimated with the ones that were missing to see what we would have spent out of pocket had we not had the drink package).

[jtl513]

it is so important to get paper receipts - so you can take them back to your room and throw them out

True if you don't care to check the accuracy of your bill and be able to dispute an error.

[dogo88]

Received receipts on last months Oosterdam cruise. In the MDR no receipt. In the bars was given one. Not a big deal at all.

Dan

[igraf]

That is their problem, not mine. If there is a charge then I will ask for a receipt.

 

igraf

 

 

 

You order and pay via tablets now so printing receipts is cumbersome and time consuming fir the steward....

[Happy2cruise]

Just off the Nieuw and got paper receipts;)