The great towel rip off

[redjockey39]

I think the point the opening poster was making, and the point I am making too, is that the charge for towels was not on the final invoice (made up sometime during the last night) but that the $50 extra was taken from the credit card and only noticed when checking credit card bills later.

 

There was no onboard bill to query at the time, as it all appeared correct.

 

Scanning towels (or not) did not cause the discrepancy; charging $50 more than the invoice did.

[temple1]

So far no problem with the towels or minibar charges. I think several have pointed out the real problem - no a major corp is not going to "Scam" :rolleyes: its customers for few minibar charges or towels; more like not very well trained staff.

[Cruzaholic41]

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?

 

A little bitter are we? I think it may be a good time for you to take a deep breathe and take a little break from CC.

[richstowe]

I will be the first to admit their towel system in inconvenient. But that said, it really isn't much of a faff and it's not as bad as it seems here on CC. It takes a whole 30 seconds out of your day to get a stupid towel and while some people have had incorrect charges, it is not nearly as common as it is made to sound. Of all my RCI cruises, we, and all the folks that cruise frequently with us, have never had this charge.

Agree with all except the 30 seconds part. I have waited alot longer then that. The lines DO get long.

[BillOh]

Doesn't the towel charge system reduce chair hogs?

 

Not as much sas you hope, many of them bring their own towels as evidenced by this picture.

 

 

The tan ones in the middle where the default towels on Freedom back in 07 when this was taken. I did notice Hotel and other corporate towels being used by chair hogs on several cruises.

[BillOh]

 

Scanning towels (or not) did not cause the discrepancy; charging $50 more than the invoice did.

 

You are exactly right, that is why they have the cutoff time on the last day, so they can process the charge. I wouldn't mind if they missed a charge in a shop or bar, that required a signature , was added to my account after getting off the ship, but if they can't get this in the overnight hours, they shouldn't charge it.

[wwcruisers]

Not as much sas you hope, many of them bring their own towels as evidenced by this picture.

 

 

The tan ones in the middle where the default towels on Freedom back in 07 when this was taken. I did notice Hotel and other corporate towels being used by chair hogs on several cruises.

 

Yep, the new towel policy is not as much of a deterrent to chair hogs as you might think! They either bring their own towels, or use other personal items (books, hats, flip-flops) to 'reserve' their special seat for the day. But, you surely don't see a lot of the ship's pool towels, lying around unattended! :rolleyes:

[wcook]

You don't have to swipe in and out every time. We get a towel using our seapass card at the beginning of the cruise, then throughout the cruise just trade wet ones for dry when we need to. You don't need to swipe them in and out to do that. Then the final night return the last towel and swipe the seapass for credit. I never understand why people would feel the need to swipe the pass every time.

On our cruise, the guys working the towel stand were often confused by the notion of wanting to trade towels without swiping. The lines went faster if people just handed over their card.

[wcook]

While the towel policy doesn't deter the chair hogs, it does make sure there aren't hundreds of towels left lying around on chairs from people who left the pool hours ago and couldn't be bother to drop it in the used towel hamper.

[wcook]

<risking the wrath of the board moral police>

 

Nobody should be too afraid of the towel charges. While on board, if you are inappropriately dinged for not returning a towel, you can try and talk you way out of it, with a good chance of success. Or there are a couple very easy ways to "scam" the towel guys.

[Red Mini Stapler]

liberty of the seas got "30 min" rule, if items are left unattended for more than 30 min. they will remove the item to another area, even though there are signs all over the places, some people still flip out when their stuff gets removed "WHAT ABOUT OTHER'S ITEMS??? WHY ME???? WHY ONLY MY STUFF???"

[spammie]

The entire pool towel policy on RCCL is stupid. It certainly doesn't stop the chair hogs by the pool. I LOVE how Celebrity does it. They have BIG carts holding pool towels so you can take what you want. For the people who are to lazy to drop them in the dirty towel cart, they actually do go around and remove towels off of chairs after 30 minutes. They actually have pool butlers who do a pretty good job of keeping the chair hogs in check. :) When we cruise on RCCL I only take one towel and bring a cheapy one from home as I like to have two towels but don't want the stress of worrying about being charged for them.

[Finbar127]

As others have said this is not a deliberate scam being conducted by RCI. However it is a very bad policy (IMHO).

I don't buy any of the excuses offered here explaining why RCI implemented this policy. Having pool attendants police up towels at the end of the day does not cost RCI any more money. The attendants are walking around anyway picking up debris and securing the lounge chairs so picking up a few towels is no big deal. Any pool towels left in the cabin could simply be removed by the stateroom attendants. All the towels end up in the same laundry anyway.

I also doubt towel wastage was that big of an issue. I'm sure RCI does lose a small percentage of towels to theft and careless/lazy passengers leaving them behind on the islands but I don't think it justifies inconveniencing all passengers. It certainly does not justify threatening a passenger with a $25 charge because they forgot their towel by the pool.

IMHO the bean counters at RCI see the policy as a way to turn a small towel wastage issue into a nice profit by overcharging passengers for a lost towels. Perhaps not a scam but some could see it as unethical. In any case it certainly is not a passenger friendly policy.

[Ciar0468]

$25 is not much. my last holiday at an AI resort the towel charge was $70 per towel.

[KathyPet]

I have been hit with bogus mini bar charges more times then I can count at hotels. Never had it occur on a cruise. Now one of the first things I do is to inventory the mini bar myself the day I check in.

[Metaxus]

Never been on a cruise before, but all this sounds very iffy.

 

I would certainly only expect to have my card swiped twice for towels, once at the start for the intial charge and then at the end for the credit. I was alarmed to hear that "the guys working the towel stand were often confused by the notion of wanting to trade towels without swiping."

Not sure I want to take my wet towel back to the cabin, and would like to exchange for a dry towel on leaving the pool area.

 

 

Even more alarmed to hear that RCCL can charge your credit card company with a different amount than the amount I have signed for on the last night.

I would certainly query that with the credit card company, and seek their advice on how to proceed.

 

 

Also think we will need to ask the cabin steward to empty all their drinks and chocolate, etc from the drinks fridge.

In any instance, if we are buying (or smuggling) bottles of wine into the cabin, we will need room for them.

[CalGal777]

Louetta & TC Jester....

Where the Hardy and 45 meet

[iluvcruzin]

is still happening on the Grandeur Of The Seas. Just got our credit card bill from our cruise on July 24 to find $50 added after our final bill was produced. Customer services said this was a towel charge for not handing the towels back in. The towels had to be in for 10.30 pm and we handed ours in approx 5pm which is in plenty of time. Our final invoice that we received was printed at 01.36am on the Sunday morning but the towel charge was added at 02.08 but no further invoice given to us for us to query onboard. Reading previous posts this is now becoming quite common and I wnder how many people have not picked up on this scam and paid the extra. Thankfully customer services have agreed to refund the money back to us but it has still left a bitter taste after a fantastic cruise and makes us reluctant now to use the towels provided which were quite shabby anyway and definately not worth stealing.

 

Yes. I think it happens more often than not. It happened to us on the Radiance last fall. I turned them in the afternoon before disembarking. RCCL removed the charge after I called them to contest the add-on after disembarking. This whole towel rental thing is ridiculous.

[uksimonusa]

Never been on a cruise before, but all this sounds very iffy.

 

I would certainly only expect to have my card swiped twice for towels, once at the start for the intial charge and then at the end for the credit. I was alarmed to hear that "the guys working the towel stand were often confused by the notion of wanting to trade towels without swiping."

Not sure I want to take my wet towel back to the cabin, and would like to exchange for a dry towel on leaving the pool area.

 

 

Even more alarmed to hear that RCCL can charge your credit card company with a different amount than the amount I have signed for on the last night.

I would certainly query that with the credit card company, and seek their advice on how to proceed.

 

 

Also think we will need to ask the cabin steward to empty all their drinks and chocolate, etc from the drinks fridge.

In any instance, if we are buying (or smuggling) bottles of wine into the cabin, we will need room for them.

 

You don't sign for a charge on the last night, you sign for it when you board

[Smurphy]

I agree. This puts a damper on my cruise. I don't want to have to worry about stupid towel charges. I would never steal a towel or leave them behind on an island because I was too lazy to bring the wet and sandy one back.

 

On our Oasis cruise last January, my three kids were up at the FlowRider and when I went back to the cabin. Later they all returned to the cabin WITHOUT THEIR TOWELS!!!! $75 worth of towels!!!! I don't like the fact that I am on vacation without a worry in the world . . . oh, except the worry of being charged for towels I did not steal. I was constantly chasing down towels and worrying where my kids were leaving them.

 

People say it's not a big deal . . . just go to guest services and have the charge removed. Sorry, but I prefer not spend time in line at guest services for this. Sometimes those lines get verrrry looonnnngg.

 

My kids were able to go back and retrieve their towels before they were taken so I lucky and wasn't charged. As someone on another thread mentioned . . . it is very nice that RC leaves a bunch of towels layed out on chairs in the morning if you ever need to replace a missing towel . . . very nice of them ;)

[Cruzaholic41]

Even more alarmed to hear that RCCL can charge your credit card company with a different amount than the amount I have signed for on the last night.

 

As uksimonusa pointed out, you do not sign for the amount. You get a statement of charges under or on your door and just like in a hotel, there can be charges after that statement is printed.

[cruzeluver]

Royal needs to start treating their customers like adults and use the same towel policy as their other line, Celebrity.

[tahqa]

Royal needs to start treating their customers like adults and use the same towel policy as their other line, Celebrity.

 

Maybe if people acted like adults... :D

 

Seriously, people were leaving towels on the beaches on shore excursions and using them to hog chairs etc... maybe it's not the best way for Royal to handle the towel issue but it's how they're doing it.

[Metaxus]

As uksimonusa pointed out, you do not sign for the amount. You get a statement of charges under or on your door and just like in a hotel, there can be charges after that statement is printed.

 

 

With hotels in the UK I'm used to leaving an imprint of my credit card at the start of the stay.

But, when I'm departing, I'm given a final bill, which I check, and then they take the credit card payment for that amount. They would often ask a question like "have you used your mini bar this morning", which I would answer honestly.

And that is the end of the matter.

 

I don't like the idea of only being able to review what amounts to interim invoices from RCCL, and then receiving a charge on my credit card account which, if different, is not accompanied by a final invoice.

 

Having booked through a travel agent, I have no direct dealings with RCCL. I hope I would be able to contact an office in England?

But if they can't resolve satisfactorily before I have to settle my credit card account, I would have to flag the item as "in dispute" with my credit card company, and by agreement with them, either pay the amount I'd accepted on the final day of the cruise or pay nothing until it is resolved satisfactorily.

[Mainer59]

With hotels in the UK I'm used to leaving an imprint of my credit card at the start of the stay.

But, when I'm departing, I'm given a final bill, which I check, and then they take the credit card payment for that amount. They would often ask a question like "have you used your mini bar this morning", which I would answer honestly.

And that is the end of the matter.

 

 

There are a few words above that, if all followed, would avoid all the hassle. Unfortunately so many choose not to answer in that manner to get away with not paying for something, and so many choose to abuse simple things like an honor system towel system, that companies like RCI are required to implement policies annoying to all.

 

Yes. Errors occur with mini-bar inventories and towels are honestly misplaced but we've all encountered those who pride themselves on "getting something for nothing", who can't be bothered to return a wet towel because "I'm on vacation and there are people for that" or who actually steal the things because they're just too cheap to go out and buy their own at home.

 

As was stated a few posts above, wouldn't it be nice if we all behaved like responsible adults so we could be treated like responsible adults. A vacation from our everyday lives does not entitle us to a vacation from personal responsibilities and common courtesy. In the end you really do get what you collectively pay for.