Amount on CC being more than final bill?

[Rahi]

I am taken aback at the last 2 cruises, and 2 before that.. having charges that should not be on credit card. I will admit.. before that I have not taken notice once I saw final bill..and what ever was on cc.. I accepted , and paid.. Don't do that! On my last HAL cruise.. what was on final bill...and what was on cc.. did not match.. On my one before that..Carnival... I was able to see it on final bill as a mini bar charge , and caught before off ship.. but with HAL it was not til I saw what was on cc did not match..and sadly on my other cruises I was too dumb to look up what was on cc did not match final bill.. (thank God for this message board!).

 

My lesson..and I hope one other person can learn from this.. look, and make sure your cc bill matches what your final bill should be... and if it does not .. call them. My husband sadly thinks this is how they make extra money.. I sure hope it is not.. If we all stand up to this.. it will stop...

[LHT28]

Always check you bill before the last night of the cruise

 

I usually get a print out half way through the cruise & keep all my chits to match up

[STARFISH*4]

we get a print out every nite so we keep track of all charges and if anything is different we can take care of it right away...much better than waiting til the end and trying to match up receipts etc...keep track of it DAILY!!

[Happy ks]

Just like hotels, cruise ships can adjust the bill if not all the charges are posted before the guest checks out. This is not to say all the charges are legitimate, I'm sure there can be mistakes made. If you contest the discrepancy they should provide backup for the charges. You can do this more successfully through your credi card company than you can the cruise line.

 

Edit to add, the reason they can do this is so they don't get ripped off after a guest leaves. It's called defrauding an innkeeper.

 

I worked for a hotel in the accounting dept years ago. You would not believe how many people would call when they saw what they thought were "extra" charges. Except we would show proof they had breakfast or made a few phone calls right before checkout. Same with a cruise ship, people can be out having cocktails or maybe a little shopping after the final night bill is delivered.

[fleckle]

I am taken aback at the last 2 cruises, and 2 before that.. having charges that should not be on credit card. I will admit.. before that I have not taken notice once I saw final bill..and what ever was on cc.. I accepted , and paid.. Don't do that! On my last HAL cruise.. what was on final bill...and what was on cc.. did not match......

Rahi, you are not the only one. There is currently a long thread about this on the HAL forum. It appears to be an ongoing problem, far more than someone just making an occasional "mistake" when counting the inventory.

 

If you haven't already seen it, take a look:

 

Account Charges after Disembarkation

 

When the overcharge is only a small amount, many people just let it slide by.

 

If you call customer service to report a billing error, the amount in question will be refunded to you. But that does not end the problem and next time it will happen to someone else.

 

The cruise line's upper management needs to be made aware that this problem exists and that their passengers are not happy about it, if anything is to be done to prevent its continuing recurrence.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I always check our shipboard account every 3 or 4 days as well as our final bill once the credit charge comes in.

As you know from your thread on the HAL section -- there seem to be some problems lately with HAL.

[jnc411]

We always check out onboard statement at least once during a one week cruise and more during a longer cruise and always the last night of the cruise , have only had one charge on our account that did not match and when shown to the Pursers desk it was quickly taken care of, that was on Princess, I have no complaints with them at all.

Cori

[kitty9]

This is all well and good, but what does one do when you get your credit card statement and you not only see your expected on board charges, but other charges that weren't on the final bill? That has happened a few times with Royal Caribbean. We get our CC bill and see the expected on board charge, but then, there is another charge from RCI, one time for well over $200. Try fighting that kind of crud. RCI couldn't explain it, nor would they remove it. Thank God American Express fought that fight and I didn't pay it.

[Happy ks]

This is all well and good, but what does one do when you get your credit card statement and you not only see your expected on board charges, but other charges that weren't on the final bill? That has happened a few times with Royal Caribbean. We get our CC bill and see the expected on board charge, but then, there is another charge from RCI, one time for well over $200. Try fighting that kind of crud. RCI couldn't explain it, nor would they remove it. Thank God American Express fought that fight and I didn't pay it.

 

That is why you go to the credit card company instead of the cruise line. The cruise line/hotel has to answer to a dispute and show proof.

[Rahi]

This is all well and good, but what does one do when you get your credit card statement and you not only see your expected on board charges, but other charges that weren't on the final bill? That has happened a few times with Royal Caribbean. We get our CC bill and see the expected on board charge, but then, there is another charge from RCI, one time for well over $200. Try fighting that kind of crud. RCI couldn't explain it, nor would they remove it. Thank God American Express fought that fight and I didn't pay it.

Yea.. my bill from ship was always exactly what it should have been.. ..It wasn't til I got home, and looked up my cc bill online, and saw two 48.00 charges that were not suppose to be there. If they are not off by next fri.. I will do have cc dispute it.

[chloemonkey]

I am taken aback at the last 2 cruises, and 2 before that.. having charges that should not be on credit card. I will admit.. before that I have not taken notice once I saw final bill..and what ever was on cc.. I accepted , and paid.. Don't do that! On my last HAL cruise.. what was on final bill...and what was on cc.. did not match.. On my one before that..Carnival... I was able to see it on final bill as a mini bar charge , and caught before off ship.. but with HAL it was not til I saw what was on cc did not match..and sadly on my other cruises I was too dumb to look up what was on cc did not match final bill.. (thank God for this message board!).

 

My lesson..and I hope one other person can learn from this.. look, and make sure your cc bill matches what your final bill should be... and if it does not .. call them. My husband sadly thinks this is how they make extra money.. I sure hope it is not.. If we all stand up to this.. it will stop...

 

I guess this situation is entirely possible but as we travel with 9 to 11 people and ALL of the charges go on my credit card....it would be next to impossible to verify as we all drink, eat at specialty restaurants, go to the spa, sign for money in the casino etc....

 

It would take up the larger portion of my cruise to have to sit and add everyone's individual tickets/receipts.....so I am grateful to those of you that do have the time to check your bills line by line as that may indeed keep more cruise lines in "check" when it comes to overcharging people. It is just not feasible for our group - but maybe that is what they know to be the truth - that most people don't even check?

 

So thanks to those of you that take the time....as it would just ruin my trip to have to play "accountant" during my vacation.....I do too much of that while being at home running a business! And in the larger scheme of things....maybe it makes more sense to do it my way than to constantly be worrying that the cruise lines are trying to "cheat" you? Must not make for an enjoyable vacation.....An extra couple of hundred dollars one way or the other is NOT worth the time and trouble that it takes to monitor the charges for a large family such as ours. But for those of you that are just a "couple" maybe it is easier.....just can't imagine those sessions....."Honey - Did you actually order a virgin pina colada on such and such day?"

 

Yeah......after thinking about this more - I think that I am happier just looking at the glass being half "full" and any errors on my bill were merely accidental on the cruise line's part! And if everyone had a great time, I am not willing to "sweat the small stuff" and do a spreadsheet during my vacation....

[Rahi]

I guess this situation is entirely possible but as we travel with 9 to 11 people and ALL of the charges go on my credit card....it would be next to impossible to verify as we all drink, eat at specialty restaurants, go to the spa, sign for money in the casino etc....

 

It would take up the larger portion of my cruise to have to sit and add everyone's individual tickets/receipts.....so I am grateful to those of you that do have the time to check your bills line by line as that may indeed keep more cruise lines in "check" when it comes to overcharging people. It is just not feasible for our group - but maybe that is what they know to be the truth - that most people don't even check?

 

So thanks to those of you that take the time....as it would just ruin my trip to have to play "accountant" during my vacation.....I do too much of that while being at home running a business! And in the larger scheme of things....maybe it makes more sense to do it my way than to constantly be worrying that the cruise lines are trying to "cheat" you? Must not make for an enjoyable vacation.....An extra couple of hundred dollars one way or the other is NOT worth the time and trouble that it takes to monitor the charges for a large family such as ours. But for those of you that are just a "couple" maybe it is easier.....just can't imagine those sessions....."Honey - Did you actually order a virgin pina colada on such and such day?"

 

Yeah......after thinking about this more - I think that I am happier just looking at the glass being half "full" and any errors on my bill were merely accidental on the cruise line's part! And if everyone had a great time, I am not willing to "sweat the small stuff" and do a spreadsheet during my vacation....

 

I think many are missing what I am saying.. or maybe I am not clear.. this wasn't while on the ship that I found this.. this was after I was home.. real simple to look at final bill they hand you, and compare online to your bill. Where I found a difference of 48 x 2.. that really isn't hard to pick up on. I get what you are saying totally.. I did not to go over each receipt while on board or off.. That would have driven me mad. So we really are talking about two different things.. one is simple one is hard. They do seem to have way too many "accidents" though!

[Mary Ellen]

I think many are missing what I am saying.. or maybe I am not clear.. this wasn't while on the ship that I found this.. this was after I was home.. real simple to look at final bill they hand you, and compare online to your bill. Where I found a difference of 48 x 2.. that really isn't hard to pick up on. I get what you are saying totally.. I did not to go over each receipt while on board or off.. That would have driven me mad. So we really are talking about two different things.. one is simple one is hard. They do seem to have way too many "accidents" though!

I think that you've been very clear - you've found discrepancies between your final on board bill and, later when the bill arrives in the mail, the amount charged to your credit card. However, over the years I've noticed that a number of posters apparently don't read before responding. Some may skim a post, but some may not even do that. Such is life. :rolleyes:

[CruiseLuvver]

That is why you go to the credit card company instead of the cruise line. The cruise line/hotel has to answer to a dispute and show proof.

 

And why its far better to use a credit card than a charge or debit card (although a ViSA debit card also carries some protection, at least in Europe).

[thegrans]

A lot of this problem stems from your bar bills. Some cruisers take a while to realize that on your bill when you order drinks, the tip is already included, and mistakenly put on an "additional" tip. If you purchase while in a US Port, you will also be charged the local tax. For example: if you purchase a soda card before sailing out of Florida you will be charged the additional 6 or so percent tax that you would not have been charged if you purchased it in International waters. You really need to pay attention and read what you are signing.

Veteran of 35+ cruises.

[Happy ks]

Yea.. my bill from ship was always exactly what it should have been.. ..It wasn't til I got home, and looked up my cc bill online, and saw two 48.00 charges that were not suppose to be there. If they are not off by next fri.. I will do have cc dispute it.

 

Don't wait to file a dispute, time is not on your side.