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The great towel rip off

robanddiane

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cruzincurt

cruzincurt

Posted
Posted
We got a water out of the fridge on day 2 of 7. We pay cash for everything, so on the last night we asked for our money we deposited back, thinking everything was ok. Well 8am on the last day the mini bar guy is knocking on our door to ask to come in and check it out, we asked him to come later since I was in the shower. At 9:30 I go to guest services to pay the 3.95 I think I owe, and they said nothing was on our bill, now I wonder if the new room occupants were charged.....I should edit ot say we were never charged for the water on any of the days I looked, I just figured they miss counted the water left or something.

I think I ended up being charged for your water.:eek:

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subtchr

subtchr

Posted
Posted
Now, the stewards won't touch them, so you have to schlep up to the pool deck after a shore excursion, in order to swap out your sandy, wet towel for a clean one! :rolleyes:

 

On Serenade in December, they had a towel station set up on Deck 2, so you could trade those wet and sandy towels for clean ones as soon as you stepped aboard, before returning to your cabin. So convenient!

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wwcruisers

wwcruisers

Posted
Posted
On Serenade in December, they had a towel station set up on Deck 2, so you could trade those wet and sandy towels for clean ones as soon as you stepped aboard, before returning to your cabin. So convenient!

 

Well, that's certainly an improvement, but I wish RC would go back to the old system. It's a little irritating to be told how much they value my business -- but I can't be trusted not to lose/steal their crummy beach towels! :eek:

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funfamilyfun

funfamilyfun

Posted
Posted
I say it's a scam also. We were charged on our last cruise, so I had to stand in line on disembarkation morning to get it straightened out. This was even after I asked the towel check in guy if indeed we had been credited, and he responded yes (because this isn't the first time we have had to deal with this).

 

I just came from a huge hotel in Orlando. And guess what, the towels were sitting by the pool....no problem. I think the cruise line is banking on the fact that some people don't check. As you can see, there are so many problems, that just by saying..."Yes I returned my towels." ....that the charges are removed. This has never happened to us, but it would be frustrating! As much as we love our cruises, it sure was nice to just pick up a towel in the Orlando hotel and at our All inclusives.

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Brad1185

Brad1185

Posted
Posted
I just came from a huge hotel in Orlando. And guess what, the towels were sitting by the pool....no problem. I think the cruise line is banking on the fact that some people don't check. As you can see, there are so many problems, that just by saying..."Yes I returned my towels." ....that the charges are removed. This has never happened to us, but it would be frustrating! As much as we love our cruises, it sure was nice to just pick up a towel in the Orlando hotel and at our All inclusives.

 

Celebrity and HAL has the towels stacked out by the pool, use as many as you want no checking them in and out. How can they do it and RCI can't

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Pickels

Pickels

Posted
Posted
One of my absolute pet peeves about paying for my cruise with a credit card is their policy of tacking things onto the credit card bill after you've disembarked! :mad:

Although we haven't been hit with a towel charge (yet), twice we've incurred after-the-fact minibar charges. We never use anything from the minibar, and one of the charges showed up on a cruise where we had the attendant empty the fridge on the first day! :eek:

We always keep track of our daily charges, and go over the final bill carefully before leaving the ship. But, the only thing you can do if they tack on something extra afterward is what we have done: call and insist that the charge be removed immediately! :cool:

 

Don't you get a "final" bill before you leave the ship. That should be the last of the charges unless you added something right before you left the ship but, I think you have to add it to your charge card.

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BonTXNY

BonTXNY

Posted
Posted

I am not loving the towel system. It just takes cruising further away from what it once was. I know times have changed but really....RCI not trusting us with their towels? It's annoying and just one more extra thing we shouldn't have to deal with while on vacation. I don't think it's a scam but I do think the system is flawed to the point that it probably is doing lots of harm.

 

On our next cruise I will be sure to visit the gym for some no swipe towels unless RCI gets wise and that changes as well. Thanks for the tip, 39august! oops maybe it shouldn't have been mentioned.:o

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matj2000

matj2000

Posted
Posted
You're joking, right??????:confused:

Of course I am joking, but there is some truth within it.

Many of the Hardcore RC find no wrong or fault in the cruiseline whatsoever.

Kind of a "blind faith"

Then you have the High Society followers in the suites with their Diamond ++++++++ status. You would think they are among the Rockerfellers, Hughes, or Hearsts.

If thats the case than whats $50?

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tinaparrotthead

tinaparrotthead

Posted
Posted
On Serenade in December, they had a towel station set up on Deck 2, so you could trade those wet and sandy towels for clean ones as soon as you stepped aboard, before returning to your cabin. So convenient!

 

Glad to hear this...we sail on Serenade in November. Hopefully, they will still be doing this!

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Goes Cruising

Goes Cruising

Posted
Posted
Doesn't the towel charge system reduce chair hogs?

 

I just read this entire thread wondering if anyone had thought of this, and I get to the last one, and you have reached the conclusion I have always thought was the point of the exorbitant towel charge. For $25, I'm certainly not going to leave the towel unattended on a chair for hours.

 

It's amazing that it doesn't stop the hogs!

 

Rather than check towels in/out every day, it it easier to just keep exchanging them for dry until the last day. Less opportunity for screwed up extra charges, with only one check out and in.

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Tucker in Texas

Tucker in Texas

Posted
Posted

I always "inventory" the contents of the mini-fridge upon getting to the cabin to make sure there is nothing missing so I can get it straightened out right away if something is. So far in 35+ cruises, this has not happened. However, once in a hotel in Paris I was being charged for some liquor that they said was missing from a fridge. It wasn't, but in the process of hunting for it to prove I hadn't consumed it, I noted that several of the "colored" bottles were empty and had been "resealed" which is another reason I check out the contents of my cabin mini-fridge.

 

Turn around day cabin doors are left open and a lot of people who are not room stewards but pressed into helping turn the cabins have access to the cabins to get it ready for the next occupants. I doubt the ship could even track who has been in the cabin and who hasn't. There is nothing to stop one of them who is thirsty and knows the fridge has not been inventoried and restocked to help themselves resulting in a charge being added to your bill after leaving the ship. Or, it could have been inventoried and restocked and the next person using the cabin gets charged for it.

 

So, crew members helping out on turn around day could be the culprits. I suspect the ship knows it and that is the reason they are so willing to reverse the charges when you complain.

 

Celebrity locks the mini-fridges up the last night while you are at dinner. Some people have complained about "being treated like thieves" but I welcome it. If there is a charge, it will be reflected on the statement that is put under the door the last night. Hopefully, I will have time to correct it before leaving the ship.

 

As for towels, they don't appear to discourage chair hogs which surprises me. I don't think I would be comfortable leaving those $25 towels sitting around for hours "unsupervised." I can see people just taking one that is obviously being used as a chair holder (clean, unused) and not bothering to check out any on their ticket.

 

Tucker in Texas

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satxdiver

satxdiver

Posted
Posted

I love your idea Tucker. Simply take one of the towels the chair hogs have left behind and turn it in when you are done. Let them worry about it! :rolleyes:

 

If you use a credit card, one option is to contest the amount with the card issuer. You have 60 days from the time the monthly statement is sent to contest any charges in writing (don't call, send a letter and keep a copy). Let RCI argue with the card issuer and you delaying payment for several months. That may discourage their sloppy accounting methods. The only time I have had to contest a charge was on a RCI cruise when my bill showed a $90 charge in the beauty salon. I am a male and follicular challenged. It took some arguing but I finally got the point across. I always check my bill every day for wrong charges. I have never had a problem on the other cruise lines I have cruised. Wonder why?

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wwcruisers

wwcruisers

Posted
Posted
Don't you get a "final" bill before you leave the ship. That should be the last of the charges unless you added something right before you left the ship but, I think you have to add it to your charge card.

 

Actually, that was my point -- we keep track of all of our charges, and review them nightly on the interactive television service. If anything is amiss, we deal with it immediately. The last morning, we carefully go over our final bill, to make sure that everything "adds up". But, we are talking about are charges that do NOT show up on your on-board final bill. However, when your credit card statement arrives, and you compare it to your final bill, there are additional charges that you did not sign for or approve. When you call RC to find out the reason for the discrepancy, it's something nebulous, like a bottle of water from the mini-bar that you didn't drink, or, in the case of the OP -- towels that you checked back in before the deadline! I won't go so far as to call it a "scam", but it's a practice that definitely needs to stop!!! :eek:

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wassup4565

wassup4565

Posted
Posted

Can't be bothered by this towel nonsense. Had the same silliness at many land-based resorts, not worth the bother when we're on vacation to enjoy ourselves.

 

We bring cheapo, ugly bargain beach towels with us, and mark our names on them beforehand with indelible pen. If somebody wants to steal them, have at it, and if we see you with them later, good luck explaining to Security why our names are on them, not yours.

 

Plus, when I climb out of the hot tub or the pool wiping the chlorine out of my eyes, I can always spot my chaise longue immediately - the one with the ugly towel.

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chan4070

chan4070

Posted
Posted
Can't be bothered by this towel nonsense. Had the same silliness at many land-based resorts, not worth the bother when we're on vacation to enjoy ourselves.

 

We bring cheapo, ugly bargain beach towels with us, and mark our names on them beforehand with indelible pen. If somebody wants to steal them, have at it, and if we see you with them later, good luck explaining to Security why our names are on them, not yours.

 

Plus, when I climb out of the hot tub or the pool wiping the chlorine out of my eyes, I can always spot my chaise longue immediately - the one with the ugly towel.

 

 

I was wondering about doing this. Me and the Mrs. will be taking our first RC cruise for our one year anniv. in Dec. and I really don't want the headache of dealing with a towel issue. I was wondering if we could just pack a couple of beach towels in our gear and use them.

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