Money left on our beverage cards.

[lizjohn]

We arrived home on December 9 from the Sea of Cortez cruise aboard the Eurodam.  We had cash left on our beverage cards and I was wondering when we would receive a final accounting from Hal.  Does it take a couple of months.  I want to make sure that he left over money is credited back to us.

[CruiserBruce]

I don't think you get it back...never heard that you do.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The left over money from your Beverage Cards should have shown up on your final statement.  Ours always did.

 

If you don't owe anything else on your final statement -- like gratuities -- things bought in the shops -- shore excursions, etc., the credit should show up very soon on your credit card.  Ours has always shown up on the first billing cycle after we got home.

[SFO Peter]

12 minutes ago, lizjohn said:

We arrived home on December 9 from the Sea of Cortez cruise aboard the Eurodam.  We had cash left on our beverage cards and I was wondering when we would receive a final accounting from Hal.  Does it take a couple of months.  I want to make sure that he left over money is credited back to us.

 

We were on the Eurodam with you.   We bought our beverage card on board charging our account.   The remaining credit showed up on our final ship statement as a credit to our account.

 

Peter

[kazu]

20 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I don't think you get it back...never heard that you do.

 

If the OP bought the beverage cards (the regular ones that you use for any drink) and activated them, yes any money left on them is refunded to their on board account.

 

OP there should have been a credit at the end of your statement assuming the above is the case.

 

I buy them for most cruises and any excess is always refunded to our account.

 

 

[OVgirl]

If you receive the beverage card as part of a promotion or any other reason from HAL, you will not get a refund on the balance. As stated above, only if you paid for the card yourself. 

Soda card only gives a refund if you used less than $25.

[lizjohn]

Thanks everyone for the info.  We did receive the beverage cards from Hal as a gift because the price of the cruise went down after final payment.  Our TA negotiated this for us.  I did go down toward the end of the cruise and asked what would happen to the unused portion of the beverage card and was told that it would be refunded to us,  but I know that sometimes we are not given the correct information.  First time ever having a beverage card either bought or given to us.  Looking forward to many more cruises.  We learn more each cruise.

[I like vacation]

I hope this gets resolved in your favor.  IMO the refund shouldn't be dependent upon whether you purchased it or it was a gift/promo.

Edited January 4, 2019 by I like vacation

[Fouremco]

9 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

I hope this gets resolved in your favor.  IMO the refund shouldn't be dependent upon whether you purchased it or it was a gift/promo.

Like OBC given to you by HAL, you either use it or lose it. There has always been a difference between those items that you purchase and those that are gifts/promos/perks, and I seriously doubt that there will be any exception made in this case.

[I like vacation]

7 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Like OBC given to you by HAL, you either use it or lose it. There has always been a difference between those items that you purchase and those that are gifts/promos/perks, and I seriously doubt that there will be any exception made in this case.

 

I hope they make an exception considering they inquired and where given bad information.  Do you have to get every response from the front desk on a cruise in writing to back up your claim?

[VMax1700]

12 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

 

I hope they make an exception considering they inquired and where given bad information.  Do you have to get every response from the front desk on a cruise in writing to back up your claim?

 

If they did not state at the time that the card was a gift from HAL, then the Front Desk would be within their rights to presume that it had been purchased and so the information given was then correct.

[doone]

I am confused, I understood if you purchased a beverage card and didn't use all the $$ on it the balance would be credited back to your charge card you bought it with, no?  Doesn't matter either a credit on my shipboard account or credit card, just want to make sure I understand.

[I like vacation]

2 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

 

If they did not state at the time that the card was a gift from HAL, then the Front Desk would be within their rights to presume that it had been purchased and so the information given was then correct.

 

Since the front desk should be aware of the nuances regarding a beverage card why criticize the OP?  The front desk should have inquired about the origin of the card since they deal with it all the time and then explain the differences to the OP.  Sounds like the repeated criticisms about getting different info from HAL agents when you call customer service.

[Fouremco]

6 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

 

I hope they make an exception considering they inquired and where given bad information.  Do you have to get every response from the front desk on a cruise in writing to back up your claim?

OP stated "I did go down toward the end of the cruise and asked what would happen to the unused portion of the beverage card and was told that it would be refunded to us" but doesn't say that the guest services employee was specifically told that the beverage card was a HAL gift and not one purchased by the OP. That said, even if the employee was told that the card was a gift, he or she might have misunderstood, or may simply have made a mistake . As the card was a freebie to begin with, the OP isn't out of pocket due to the (mis)information provided by the employee.

[I like vacation]

1 minute ago, Fouremco said:

 .As the card was a freebie to begin with, the OP isn't out of pocket due to the (mis)information provided by the employee.

 

Sounds like the OP is out of pocket from someone:

 

We did receive the beverage cards from Hal as a gift because the price of the cruise went down after final payment.  Our TA negotiated this for us.

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, doone said:

I am confused, I understood if you purchased a beverage card and didn't use all the $$ on it the balance would be credited back to your charge card you bought it with, no?  Doesn't matter either a credit on my shipboard account or credit card, just want to make sure I understand.

 

Yes if you PURCHASE a beverage card and don't use it, it is credited back to your on board account and if you are in a credit scenario to your credit card.

 

If it is gifted from HAL or a TA, it is usually not.

[kazu]

32 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

 

I hope they make an exception considering they inquired and where given bad information.  Do you have to get every response from the front desk on a cruise in writing to back up your claim?

 

It's like getting an exception because someone in Seattle gave you bad info IMO.

they probably thought it was purchased and honestly, some front staff don't know the inuendos of cards gifted and cards purchased.

 

They "assume" (and yes I know what happens when you assume) that the card was purchased.

 

Non refundable OBC, non refundable beverage cards - pretty sure the terms and conditions (at least I hope so) were there.

[doone]

7 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Yes if you PURCHASE a beverage card and don't use it, it is credited back to your on board account and if you are in a credit scenario to your credit card.

 

If it is gifted from HAL or a TA, it is usually not.

Great, thanks so much.

[Fouremco]

5 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

 

Sounds like the OP is out of pocket from someone:

 

We did receive the beverage cards from Hal as a gift because the price of the cruise went down after final payment.  Our TA negotiated this for us.

Someone gifts you a dinner for two at a nice restaurant. You both enjoy your meal but decide to skip dessert because of your New Year's resolutions. Would you really expect the restaurant to credit you the cost of the two desserts? 

[I like vacation]

2 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Someone gifts you a dinner for two at a nice restaurant. You both enjoy your meal but decide to skip dessert because of your New Year's resolutions. Would you really expect the restaurant to credit you the cost of the two desserts? 

 

OP attempted to get a rate reduction due to a price decrease which is discussed many times on this board.  For whatever reason, the requested reduction was negotiated and "payment" made in the form of beverage cards.  Perhaps if the OP was aware of the strings attached they would have held out for legit OBC or used the full value of the cards.  

[VMax1700]

34 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

why criticize the OP?

 

i was not criticizing the OP, nor did I intend to criticize.  I was stating a fact.  However, you are correct that the front desk should have asked about the origin of the card.

[Fouremco]

9 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

 

OP attempted to get a rate reduction due to a price decrease which is discussed many times on this board.  For whatever reason, the requested reduction was negotiated and "payment" made in the form of beverage cards.  Perhaps if the OP was aware of the strings attached they would have held out for legit OBC or used the full value of the cards.  

As you say, a subject frequently discussed on this board. HAL is under no obligation to do anything, but will at times provide non-refundable OBC or beverage packages. We've just made sure that we used all the OBC, but we were well aware of the conditions. Unfortunately, the OP wasn't aware. BTW, good luck holding out for "legit" OBC is you experience a price drop. I'd never say never, but it would be exceptional in my experience.

[I like vacation]

2 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

 BTW, good luck holding out for "legit" OBC is you experience a price drop. I'd never say never, but it would be exceptional in my experience.

 

Never thought of myself as exceptional but I received price reductions and added benefits (free gratuities and OBC) for existing bookings on future cruises this year and next during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.  Additionally, although not the same situation, I was able, through my TA, to secure an additional $200 OBC yesterday by applying the VPM code to our January 19th departure.  The upcoming cruise was booked last week. 

[JudithLynne]

We just got off the Eurodam on 12-30.  We were given 2 non-promotional beverage cards for a cabin rate adjustment  and we purchased another one ($100) in the Ocean Bar the first day.  On our final accounting statement we were given $5 back on one of the three cards but not the other two.  I am in contact with Passenger Services in Seattle and the Mariner's Society trying to get this money back.  I am getting no where and am out $60 total.  Our CCL Stockholder credit was also missing from our final acct., but after much work on my part HAL has given it to us via a credit on our next HAL cruise in June.

This was our 43rd cruise and we have never had a final acct statement with errors on it.

I am wondering if it is related to the Eurodam.

If anyone has any advice on how to recover left over funds from beverage cards I would love to know that.