The great towel rip off

[Alamogirl]

We take cheapie beach towels 2 for each of us and usually leave them in the room when the cruise is over. I actually bought 12 TX theme towels at a store that was going out of business last year, got all for $12.00!

[Tucker in Texas]

When we went down to the desk to dispute the charge, there were two lines, one for settling up your bill and one for towel disputes. Hmmmm....my thought was "scam". They didn't question us and promptly took the charge off. I often wonder how many people pay for towels by not checking their statement. :cool:

 

Now that tells me something, too, when they EXPECT a bunch of people to come down and dispute towel charges enough to set up a separate line!

 

Either they know of the incompetence of their pool crew in checking towels in or they are hoping only one in five will show up to ask that it be removed or a combination of both

 

Tucker in Texas

[Brad1185]

Now that tells me something, too, when they EXPECT a bunch of people to come down and dispute towel charges enough to set up a separate line!

 

Either they know of the incompetence of their pool crew in checking towels in or they are hoping only one in five will show up to ask that it be removed or a combination of both

 

Tucker in Texas

 

Told you a complete scam. Shame on RCI. Say 500 people are ripped off a cruise times $25 times 52 weeks times 25 ships is $16,250,000 a year.

[darfee]

We too buy beach towels cheaply at the end of summer. Got them last year for $1.50 each. If there is room in the luggage great, if not no big loss. Doesn't fix their problem but avoids one for us.

[dakacz]

We are going on our 1st RCL cruise since 1993. This towel system seems a pain. Not looking forward to having to worry about a towel charge.

On Celebrity, Princess Holland Ameica, Norwegian & Cunard we picked up towels or they were in our cabin. Some lines had the towel in the cabin for use during shore excursions. It was returned to the cabin after the shore excursion and the cabin steward replaced it with a clean one. Others had bins to put your towel when returning to the ship. Towels were readily available at the pool for use there.

If RCL is concerned about towel loss the system of having a towel in the room and bring that towel back to the cabin to be replaced by a clean towel would help. If a person left a towel at the pool it still is on the ship so no loss to RCL.

[cruzemaven]

These towel charges are way beyond a simple accounting mistake. I still say it's a deliberate scam that RCI is doing to get extra money. There are so many posts here with all the same phony towel charges.

 

...not to mention the angst caused if your kids loose towels and you have to search for them. I've been cruising for many years and can't get over that a cruiseline guest is put into a stressful situation over towels. I know RCCL nickles and dimes you but charging for missing towels is disgusting.:mad:

[north29]

Is all over the place in opinions, so here is mine.

I like the towel policy, like someone said above, the towels would be all over the place, even taking up chairs, if you look at the junk/trash left behind by cruisers, you will understand.

I always double check towel check outs/in, and have even found them to be to my advantage. I think it is the towel attendants, who do not watch what they are doing.

I do not feel like it is a scam from RC to raise a few thousand dollars.

Now if the charge was added after the final statement YES they have a problem not a scam.

Mini bar, we have had problems with it as well, I wish it was filled on request

WOW, someone above was stopped at the debarkation, for pool towels NOT GOOD, I would have been livid.

I never check receipts, against the final bill, but I just usually have toooo many and some will be lost. I do try to check the on line account if time is available and I have the desire to do something boring.

Now, I may have been over charged and never picked it up, but I doubt it, even at my age, memory is still good.

[mcmarya]

I can understand having to check out towels for taking off the ship. But, I do not understand checking out towels at the pool. Our upcoming cruise is our first on Royal Caibbean and I am not excited about having to worry about pool towels. We have cruised on Carnival, NCL, HAL, and Celebrity and have never had to check one out. I will be watching my credit card bill. This is a stupid policy.

[Scotty G]

Wow, cruising in 85 days. Never would have thought to check for such charges. thank you for this post!

Whoever is responsible for paying the incurred bill should be looking for the "Superbill" early in the morning of the last day. It is usually shoved under the cabin door. It is then that incorrect charges should be discovered and resolved prior to getting off the ship. I say this for new cruisers so they can be aware of the process.

[smoosh21]

This is also my biggest pet peeve about Royal. I don't understand why they have to charge. And it is not a rare occurrence that people get charged. It has happened 2 of the 4 times I have sailed on Royal 50% is not rare. Technically, it is 2 out of 3 because when we stayed in the owners suite, we had towels and didnt have to check them out.

Sure, they credit back, but it is a major hassle to stand in line on that last morning (luckily the last time I was charged we had our sheets by 2 AM so I was able to go to desk in middle of the night)

 

I guess I would say my second biggest pet peeve are the Cruise critic members who feel that any criticism of the towel policy is unwarranted. We all know that Royal reads these boards and if enough people keep complaining maybe they will get rid of it.

Every cruise line has good points and bad points and in my opinion, the towel policy is very bad for Royal.

[belles53]

We sailed on Serenade on 10/16. Just looked at the seapass charge on my bank account and knew there was an overcharge. I never receieved a bill in my room on the final day and was in a rush to get to an excursion that morning. Anyway, I called RCCL today...found out they said that it was an $80 charge for pool towels. I told them I wouldn't want their stained, stringy towels that would add weight to my luggage and that I had returned them on Saturday. Also asked how it could be $80 when all signs said $25 per towel. They said it must have been an error. However, they then said that they have to send an email to the ship and get back to me next week. Even Walmart would have just credited my account in order to keep customer satisfaction. Looking at these boards tonight, I have to wonder if it is a scam. How many people really look at their bills? If they do not return my money, I will switch to another cruise line. Bad policy.:(

[Gilgo Surfer]

I was also wrongly charged fifty dollars for unreturned towels. I was able to clear it up at the front desk on the morning of disembarkation.

[cindyland]

We plan to fly into Orlando a day before our cruise. Guess we'll be stopping at WalMart or Target or some junky Disney store to pick up towels and water before we get on our cruise. I don't want to pay the extra weight for our flight, but I don't want to pay a towel charge. Thanks for the advice!

[canuckcruiselover]

I didn't read all the threads but one way to avoid any problems with the towels is to take as many as you need every day from the fitness centre/spa. There is no attendant and no charge. They are a different colour from the pool towels. Just leave them in your cabin and get clean ones as needed.:)

[time4u2go]

nvm

[CrusingJoe]

Whoever is responsible for paying the incurred bill should be looking for the "Superbill" early in the morning of the last day. It is usually shoved under the cabin door. It is then that incorrect charges should be discovered and resolved prior to getting off the ship. I say this for new cruisers so they can be aware of the process.

 

I ask for a copy of my bill after dinner the last night so I can cheek it out and if there is a problem, I can have it fixed. I also always look to be sure they credit my towels back when I return them. All you have to do is check to see if they posted it to your cabin on the return sheet.

[dz9yvr]

I borrow some pool towels from a Chair Hog early in the cruise and then I don't need to worry about it. This is a lot easier than buying them at walmart before you leave and you always have clean towels. It's not stealling the towels because I always return it to the same chair onthe last night of the cruise. ;)

[CrusingJoe]

I didn't read all the threads but one way to avoid any problems with the towels is to take as many as you need every day from the fitness centre/spa. There is no attendant and no charge. They are a different colour from the pool towels. Just leave them in your cabin and get clean ones as needed.:)

 

No, that's very nice, maybe you are the cause of the towel problem........

[monicajay]

On our one RCCL cruise in Nov. of 2009 this was not in affect. Thinking it will be a PITA. I will be very careful when we cruise again but hopefully, RCCL will have gotten rid of it by then:mad: when they see how many people are not happy about it.

 

The customer service line-up just for towels speaks volumes. For each person that takes the time to complain, how many don't?

 

I have no problems signing and returning towels for shore excursions, but on the ship ??? Is this really necessary??

 

Next, people will start bringing their white cabin towels to the pool.:rolleyes:

 

I'm just glad none of the cruise-lines did this when we cruised with our children. I can't imagine the extra stress this would add for parents.

[Ocean Boy]

We sailed on Serenade on 10/16. Just looked at the seapass charge on my bank account and knew there was an overcharge. I never receieved a bill in my room on the final day and was in a rush to get to an excursion that morning. Anyway, I called RCCL today...found out they said that it was an $80 charge for pool towels. I told them I wouldn't want their stained, stringy towels that would add weight to my luggage and that I had returned them on Saturday. Also asked how it could be $80 when all signs said $25 per towel. They said it must have been an error. However, they then said that they have to send an email to the ship and get back to me next week. Even Walmart would have just credited my account in order to keep customer satisfaction. Looking at these boards tonight, I have to wonder if it is a scam. How many people really look at their bills? If they do not return my money, I will switch to another cruise line. Bad policy.:(

 

That's funny. What the heck were they going to e-mail the ship and ask them? " Hey, did belles53 from cabin ### not return a towel last week?"

 

On second thought, it is not really funny, it is a bit sad..... and annoying. RCI should have just fixed the problem and moved on. Those types of nagging annoyances are just the type of thing to get people to look at the competition the next time they book. A problem like a towel charge should be fixed on the spot not left dragging for a customer to stew about.

[teajak]

No, that's very nice, maybe you are the cause of the towel problem........

What about it is not nice? I think it is a great idea.

[zywnywld]

Not towel related but feel used. Booked 2 grandchildren then decieded to cancel one because he was not potty trained yet and felt he wouldn't be happy not using the pool. Money for kids paid with using checking account but RCCL refunded $966 to a credit card I had used in the past and didn't have anymore.

Solution ....... NONE !!!!

Credit card company says its RCCL problem and RCCL says get it from credit card company.

 

We tried for a few months with both but no luck.

 

Now use a seperate account for travel and cash account with RCCL..

[EVALUATOR]

 

We got a letter in the room upon embarkation telling us how D+ had complimentary pool towels in the room. When I asked the stateroom attendant, he said we needed to get them on deck 11.

 

We picked up and returned the towels there, but low and behold, 6:00 a.m. this morning there was a $20.00 charge on the sea pass account for a pool towel. Before leaving, I stopped at the Guest relations desk to have the charge removed. He said he couldn't remove the charge, only housekeeping could. They would show up at 7:30 and all we had to do is get in line with all the others disputing the charge.

 

I think not. Discover will remove the charges for me.:mad:

 

That's funny. What the heck were they going to e-mail the ship and ask them? " Hey, did belles53 from cabin ### not return a towel last week?"

 

On second thought, it is not really funny, it is a bit sad..... and annoying. RCI should have just fixed the problem and moved on. Those types of nagging annoyances are just the type of thing to get people to look at the competition the next time they book. A problem like a towel charge should be fixed on the spot not left dragging for a customer to stew about.

 

When I returned from the Monarch cruise I called the D+ to address the towel charge. They apologized, and said a credit would show up in 3-5 days.

 

A few weeks later, a similar towel thread appeared on CC prompting me to check the credit card account. No credit for the towel charge.

 

I called the D+ desk back and questioned them. I was told I never called, and that even if I did, it wasn't something that the D+ desk would correct. After basically being called a liar, and that I never called, I was transferred to the post cruise comments department.

 

I started to explain the towel charge, calling D+, and being promised the credit. I was quickly interrupted, and I was informed by RCI that I did indeed call the D+ desk about the issue. They knew who I called, and the exact time and date of the call. In fact, a credit was actually issued. They gave me the confirmation number for the credit.

 

I called Discover, and they told me no such credit was processed. Discover even offered to put the amount in dispute. I told them to wait until I called the RCI rep back.

 

When I called back RCI, they said they would investigate and get back to me in a day or two. They called back the next day, and in another day or two the credit appeared.

 

Bottom line, the guest relations officer should have removed the charge when I questioned it. I don't know what to make of the D+ rep that told me I never called, when post cruise had complete records of the call.

[MrsPete]

What about it is not nice? I think it is a great idea.

I agree. I have no sympathy for chair hogs.

[luvstwocruise]

I watch my pennies..And I would not be happy with a 25.00 extra charge, but scam I dont think so...

This is obviously such a hot subject that I dont think RCCL would rish the opportunity of a repeat customer...

If we do the math, the 25.oo towel proberly cost them...9.999(at least)...so they would make a profit.

But, Would they actually jeapordize a future potential customer for the sake of $10.00. No!

I think they work to hard to provide quality service and a product to put that into harms way. Can you inmagine how much they made off of your cruise, extras and drinks..10.00 is a drop in the bucket.

Sometime bad things happen to Good people unfortuniatly it was your day :(

 

Think of the positive experience and feeling you had while onboard...ahhhhhhh.

Just my 2cents worth.