How does the in room mini-bar work? Can it just be left empty?

[shiner6]

Is the mini-bar use similar to hotel mini-bars?  Does HAL stock it before you arrive? Are you allowed to use it for your own personal use?

[KirkNC]

Yes it is stocked beforehand.  We always ask them to empty it and then use it for our personal stuff.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

If you ask, they will send someone from beverages to empty it and inventory what they remove. That way you won’t accidentally get charged for removed items.

[Crew News]

It is not as cold as a refrigerator so long term storage of edibles is not a good idea.  Bring some Ziploc bags to keep small plates of cheese and sandwiches from drying out.

[cruzn single]

I always ask for it to be emptied.  Thus, no charges.  I will pay for what I get at other venues on the ship!

[Boytjie]

We have done 8 HAL cruises (and a number of other cruises) and I have asked every time to have the minibar emptied. It has never happened. 

 

On HAL I have just put its contents in the desk "ottoman" or the cabinets and made sure to show the cabin steward where it was on the last day. Never had an issue being charged for anything by mistake,

Edited August 5, 2021 by Boytjie

[atexsix]

Funny story, the room steward on our last sailing misunderstood when I asked it be emptied out except for the coke.  I intended for him to stock it with several, but each day there was one lonely can in there. 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

We have had success in the past by contacting Ships Services to have the cooler emptied before we board. We also request that the robes be removed. 

hal_ship_services@hollandamerica.com

[T8NCruise]

I always empty it and store the stuff in the drawer at end of the bed, and tell the room Steward.

[Crew News]

I learned from many Room Stewards that they are not allowed to touch the minibar since it belongs to Beverage Services.  They just relay the guest's request to have it emptied.  On a few occasions, I have removed the contents and reminded my Room Steward for two days before submitting a Comment Card to the Front Desk  The next morning a very apologetic Beverage Services person took possession of my removed contents.

 

I was unaware that calling Ships Services was an option but I will add it to the vast amount of information that I have learned here on CC.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Crew News

[AV8rix]

53 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

We have had success in the past by contacting Ships Services to have the cooler emptied before we board. We also request that the robes be removed. 

hal_ship_services@hollandamerica.com

Thanks, neighbor!  I always immediately ask the stewards to empty it, but sometimes I have to ask once or twice again.  Yours is a MUCH better idea -- for me AND the overworked stewards.

[Gunther1]

1 hour ago, Boytjie said:

We have done 8 HAL cruises (and a number of other cruises) and I have asked every time to have the minibar emptied. It has never happened. 

 

On HAL I have just put its contents in the desk "ottoman" or the cabinets and made sure to show the cabin steward where it was on the last day. Never had an issue being charged for anything by mistake,

I always do the exact.  Why ask the overworked room steward to do that on the first day, when I can do it much faster ?  We have NEVER been charged.

 

We take a picture before emptying it so we can return the overpriced items in the exact same order :).

 

 

[Boytjie]

10 minutes ago, Gunther1 said:

I always do the exact.  Why ask the overworked room steward to do that on the first day, when I can do it much faster ?  We have NEVER been charged.

 

We take a picture before emptying it so we can return the overpriced items in the exact same order :).

 

 

 

Oh, you are very kind!!! You restock it. I just show them where it is and they must restock it before the next embarkation. 😄

[Gunther1]

We restock it the night before…part of the packing process.  I figure the am of debark is also a zoo for them.  

[Brentt_M]

I asked the steward to empty ours as soon as we met him on our current cruise and by the time we got back from embarkation lunch was it not only emptied, but he had restocked from the 12-pack of soda we carried on! We were very impressed.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Brentt_M

[Crew News]

30 minutes ago, Brentt_M said:

I asked the steward to empty ours as soon as we met him on our current cruise and by the time we got back from embarkation lunch was it not only emptied, but he had restocked from the 12-pack of soda we carried on! We were very impressed.

Your Steward might have had a friend in Beverage Services that bypassed the bureaucracy.

[KirkNC]

3 hours ago, Crew News said:

Your Steward might have had a friend in Beverage Services that bypassed the bureaucracy.

We never had a problem getting it emptied. 

[T8NCruise]

7 hours ago, Crew News said:

Your Steward might have had a friend in Beverage Services that bypassed the bureaucracy.

What bureaucracy?  That is a strange comment, and misleading.  Never a problem in emptying it yourself or having your room steward do it.  Adding - having read your earlier post - never, ever, has a beverage steward had to come remove it.  

Edited August 5, 2021 by T8NCruise

[Chickadee910]

We have had no problem with it being emptied either. Get extra juice at breakfast to drink whenever. Same with fruit.

[kevingastreich]

12 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

 We also request that the robes be removed. 

What have you got against the robes? Curious.

[atexsix]

12 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

We have had success in the past by contacting Ships Services to have the cooler emptied before we board. We also request that the robes be removed. 

hal_ship_services@hollandamerica.com

That's a good idea on the robes, there's not enough space in those closets as it is.

[kevingastreich]

13 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

If you ask, they will send someone from beverages to empty it and inventory what they remove. That way you won’t accidentally get charged for removed items.

Not necessarily.  One time we asked the room steward to please empty the mini-frig. They did so and we never thought anything more about it.  Bev. services re-stocked it and charged us for EVERYTHING that had been removed.  The room steward had stashed it all someplace and didn't tell anybody where it was.  It took awhile to get it all sorted out.

[shiner6]

Thanks everyone! Great information.

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, Chickadee910 said:

We have had no problem with it being emptied either. Get extra juice at breakfast to drink whenever. Same with fruit.

The fruit bowl never works for us either, every time the bananas are nice and ripe they replace them 😞 And no place to hide them, you need to eat it on the spot.

[IPB4IGO]

1 hour ago, kevingastreich said:

Not necessarily.  One time we asked the room steward to please empty the mini-frig. They did so and we never thought anything more about it.  Bev. services re-stocked it and charged us for EVERYTHING that had been removed.  The room steward had stashed it all someplace and didn't tell anybody where it was.  It took awhile to get it all sorted out.

The same thing happened to us one time. The first day of the cruise we had the steward remove the contents of the fridge. When we got home and received our final bill we found that they had charged us for everything in the fridge.

 

Getting the charge on our credit card reversed only took a phone call to HAL, though.