Charged a drink before getting onboard

[OceanZena]

I'm just curious if this has happened to anyone else? After boarding today I headed straight to my cabin and set up my WIFI and checked my HUB account to ensure my $200 Cruise Cash was available to spend. Well, almost all of it was lol. Apparently someone beat me to it and there was a $15.73 Pool Bar charge for a Miami Vice including a $2.25 tip. 

My Sail & Sign envelope didn't have any rips in it and didn't appear tampered with, but I went straight to Guest Services to alert them of the mysterious charge. She nicely took off the charge and handed me back my S&S Card, but when I asked "Shouldn't I get a new card with a different Folio number to ensure the culprit can't buy more Miami Vices, or anything else?"....I was given a dumbfounded look, like why would I want to do that? 

She said they were going to investigate the charge and see if it was an actual person who made the charge at the Pool Bar or just a computer error...Ok, but what do I do in the mean time if it was an actual person I asked? 

Again, I got the dumbfounded look from her lol. But she finally conceded after some pressing on my concern and said "if you really want a new card, I can give it to you."...."Um, yes, please!"....With $200 available on there, I wouldn't want to risk more Miami Vices racking up on my account before the ship even sailed! 

 

All is well and I have my new card now, but the whole thing is just really odd because my envelope didn't appear to be tampered with. I'm just really curious if this issue has ever happened to anyone else? It makes me want to check my account every 10 minutes now to make sure nobody else has my new Folio number. 

[staceyglow]

My guess is that a server wrote a folio number down wrong when taking someone else's order. Don't stress about it. 

[OceanZena]

2 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

My guess is that a server wrote a folio number down wrong when taking someone else's order. Don't stress about it. 

I guess that makes sense and perfectly logical....I also hope that's what happened...that means some lucky passenger got a free drink today. 😄

 

On a lighter note....my cake was waiting in the room and it seems they really are cutting corners everywhere. Instead of "Bon Voyage"....it's just "BV" on the cake now lol. It's really good though! 🙂 

[Knights on the Beach]

Ha! Looks like they used the little disc they put on the free cakes in the dining room.

 

[ShakyBeef]

35 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

Ha! Looks like they used the little disc they put on the free cakes in the dining room.

 

 

"Ha!"  I see what you did, there.🤣

[ShakyBeef]

1 hour ago, OceanZena said:

I'm just curious if this has happened to anyone else? After boarding today I headed straight to my cabin and set up my WIFI and checked my HUB account to ensure my $200 Cruise Cash was available to spend. Well, almost all of it was lol. Apparently someone beat me to it and there was a $15.73 Pool Bar charge for a Miami Vice including a $2.25 tip. 

My Sail & Sign envelope didn't have any rips in it and didn't appear tampered with, but I went straight to Guest Services to alert them of the mysterious charge. She nicely took off the charge and handed me back my S&S Card, but when I asked "Shouldn't I get a new card with a different Folio number to ensure the culprit can't buy more Miami Vices, or anything else?"....I was given a dumbfounded look, like why would I want to do that? 

She said they were going to investigate the charge and see if it was an actual person who made the charge at the Pool Bar or just a computer error...Ok, but what do I do in the mean time if it was an actual person I asked? 

Again, I got the dumbfounded look from her lol. But she finally conceded after some pressing on my concern and said "if you really want a new card, I can give it to you."...."Um, yes, please!"....With $200 available on there, I wouldn't want to risk more Miami Vices racking up on my account before the ship even sailed! 

 

All is well and I have my new card now, but the whole thing is just really odd because my envelope didn't appear to be tampered with. I'm just really curious if this issue has ever happened to anyone else? It makes me want to check my account every 10 minutes now to make sure nobody else has my new Folio number. 

 

That is weird.  I've never heard of that particular situation occurring before.  I know folio numbers get memorized and written down wrong occasionally, but I haven't heard of it happening so early in a cruise (before folio numbers for that sailing were disseminated).  And I understand your feelings - I'd be prone to be vigilant over my S&S account after something like that, too.  Here's hoping you have no more fraudulent charges and have a fabulous cruise!😁

[kwbrad]

I have had something similar happen and it is just bc the waiters are writing down the numbers off the set sail pass, numbers get transposed or written wrong. 

[OceanZena]

1 hour ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

That is weird.  I've never heard of that particular situation occurring before.  I know folio numbers get memorized and written down wrong occasionally, but I haven't heard of it happening so early in a cruise (before folio numbers for that sailing were disseminated).  And I understand your feelings - I'd be prone to be vigilant over my S&S account after something like that, too.  Here's hoping you have no more fraudulent charges and have a fabulous cruise!😁

Thanks. I'm sure they can locate the receipt at the pool bar and see that someone else signed it and realize it was most likely a server error. I just hope they don't get in much trouble... Carnival will probably dock their pay for the drink I guess?

Other than that hiccup the cruise is off to a great start. I won $200 at the slots already and made a beeline for my room to lock it in the safe to take home lol. So I got all my Cruise Cash back haha.

It seems to be a packed sailing so I'm taking refuge on my balcony enjoying the sunset. I could sit here all weekend!

 

[Knights on the Beach]

1 hour ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

"Ha!"  I see what you did, there.🤣

 

Totally by accident - I'm not that quick. LOL

[tradewinds traveler]

8 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Yes, it always is. Thank you!!

Your dog is so cute. Enjoy & we follow your review. To me, it is so exciting.

[Guest BasicSailor]

3 hours ago, kwbrad said:

I have had something similar happen and it is just bc the waiters are writing down the numbers off the set sail pass, numbers get transposed or written wrong. 

And sometimes the waiters will add extra tips so watch your account.

[hillbillycruisers]

I've had bogus charges added to my account on four different cruises...most were fairly small...$15-$25 ...probably drinks....but one was over $200....a spa charge. They always remove the charges with a smile and an apology. I told the lady at the customer service desk that I could barely SPELL spa...and had no idea where on the boat the damn thing was. With the new hub app, it's easier tracking your expenses.

[AttilaTheMum]

I have had the reverse happen, as in I got a drink in the theatre but the charge was never added to my account.

 

My only explanation is that when the server was taking my folio number he simply wrote it down wrong, or the server who ran it through the system entered it wrong.

 

I do kind of wonder who ended up with the mysterious long island iced tea charge that they couldn't account for.

[OceanZena]

Reading the last 2 replies, I now wonder how much of an ongoing issue this is and how many people aren't even aware of these extra charges being made unless they closely scrutinize their folio? I'm not rich, (i.e. poor lol) so I have to keep track of every dollar so I watch my HUB folio like a hawk to make sure I track every dollar I spend (and lose in the casino haha). If I hadn't checked it yesterday when I boarded, I probably would've missed that $15 drink charge. 

Perhaps the lesson here is to watch that folio app closely for mistakes made by the servers. I wonder why they can't just swipe our cards during purchases that automatically deduct from our accounts like credit cards do? It seems manually entering a 5 digit number each time by the employee is ripe for making mistakes. And that $200 spa charge mentioned above is scary!! I'm glad you got that reversed! 

[ShakyBeef]

From my personal experience as well as that reported by so many others, I believe the mistaken / fraudulent charges occur quite frequently.  On almost every cruise, I find at least one charge that I am certain (and can usually prove) was not mine or my DH's.  And I don't even keep that close of an eye on my folio.  I'm sure I've missed a few of these over the years, and ended up paying for others' drinks.  I've just never heard of it happening before the folio owner was even onboard the ship yet on Embarkation Day.  That's weird.

[OceanZena]

One thing I really miss is the breakfast room order that you fill out and hang outside the door the night before.

I loved having my little carafe of coffee with toast delivered to the cabin before starting the day. I really hope that comes back someday as it was one of my favorite perks.

The WiFi is appalling, even the so called premium I have. If this is premium I can only shudder at the thought of having the basic plan lol.

Its akin to 1995 AOL waiting for pages to load. I can almost hear the little man saying "Welcome! You've Got Mail!!" playing in my head as I sit and wait for pages to open. 😂

[OceanZena]

3 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

From my personal experience as well as that reported by so many others, I believe the mistaken / fraudulent charges occur quite frequently.  On almost every cruise, I find at least one charge that I am certain (and can usually prove) was not mine or my DH's.  And I don't even keep that close of an eye on my folio.  I'm sure I've missed a few of these over the years, and ended up paying for others' drinks.  I've just never heard of it happening before the folio owner was even onboard the ship yet on Embarkation Day.  That's weird.

The charge was showed as the exact time I was down in the boarding area arriving for the cruise so I couldn't possibly be up at the pool bar too. It is kind of funny now that it's all been taken care of, but yeah, it is a shock to think they're charging me for drinks before I'm even on the ship. 🤣

[ShakyBeef]

4 minutes ago, OceanZena said:

One thing I really miss is the breakfast room order that you fill out and hang outside the door the night before.

I loved having my little carafe of coffee with toast delivered to the cabin before starting the day. I really hope that comes back someday as it was one of my favorite perks.

The WiFi is appalling, even the so called premium I have. If this is premium I can only shudder at the thought of having the basic plan lol.

Its akin to 1995 AOL waiting for pages to load. I can almost hear the little man saying "Welcome! You've Got Mail!!" playing in my head as I sit and wait for pages to open. 😂

 

[OceanZena]

8 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

That brings back such memories! But it's really what Carnival WiFi is like. You'd think by now they'd have normal speed service.

[ashkir]

This happened to me on Carnival Panorama. I got charged for 2 drinks, 2 souvenir cups, and someone left a good tip to the bar. 

 

Guest Services said they'd speak with the bar manager, and they took the charges off. On the last day of my cruise they readded the charges and the costs. Still pissed about it... 

[OceanZena]

2 hours ago, ashkir said:

This happened to me on Carnival Panorama. I got charged for 2 drinks, 2 souvenir cups, and someone left a good tip to the bar. 

 

Guest Services said they'd speak with the bar manager, and they took the charges off. On the last day of my cruise they readded the charges and the costs. Still pissed about it... 

Wow! Sorry that happened to you! All the more reason to scrutinize the S&S account. I can't believe they added it all back on and I hope it doesn't happen to me, but I won't cry over $15 bucks now compared to what happened to you. I think Carnival needs to do something about this and hope they make some changes to provide more security to our accounts.

 

Today was Nassau and to change things up I went to Baha Mar instead of my usual Atlantis and I really liked it. It has a nice big casino and a nice alternative to Atlantis.

 

I took the city bus both ways for just $1.25 each way! Great deal....I just about lost all the money I brought until I won half of it back and then felt like a winner lol. 

 

Here's a nice picture of outside...it's a beautiful warm day and feels like summer 🤩

[ShakyBeef]

17 minutes ago, OceanZena said:

Wow! Sorry that happened to you! All the more reason to scrutinize the S&S account. I can't believe they added it all back on and I hope it doesn't happen to me, but I won't cry over $15 bucks now compared to what happened to you. I think Carnival needs to do something about this and hope they make some changes to provide more security to our accounts.

 

Today was Nassau and to change things up I went to Baha Mar instead of my usual Atlantis and I really liked it. It has a nice big casino and a nice alternative to Atlantis.

 

I took the city bus both ways for just $1.25 each way! Great deal....I just about lost all the money I brought until I won half of it back and then felt like a winner lol. 

 

Here's a nice picture of outside...it's a beautiful warm day and feels like summer 🤩

 

It may be slightly OT, but I kinda love how you're multitasking this thread into a mini live review!😁  I'm glad to see you're having such a good cruise even though it started off with a bit of a sucky situation.😊  Thanks for sharing! 

Edited February 25, 2023 by ShakyBeef
added "live"

[ShakyBeef]

Just one tiny part of Carnival's business plan:  put a dent in that 3 cajillion dollar debt one fraudulent drink charge at a time.😜🤣

[OceanZena]

7 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

It may be slightly OT, but I kinda love how you're multitasking this thread into a mini live review!😁  I'm glad to see you're having such a good cruise even though it started off with a bit of a sucky situation.😊  Thanks for sharing! 

Thank you. I'm enjoying posting all the fun stuff. This is my first vacation since before 2020 and it feels wonderful. I'd forgotten how much fun traveling is it's been so long! I'm just sad I chose a short 3 day because I don't want it to end and am already planning my next cruise for later this year lol. 

[mz-s]

I personally have had more incorrect charges on my bill since the restart than EVER before...every cruise I've had to go to guest services or a bar manager to get something fixed.