ALERT & WORD OF CAUTION: SPA SERVICES (long post)

[Lil2Angelic]

Thank you for posting this thread. I'm so sorry you had to deal with this b.s. OP....After reading your post and others on here, I canceled both my prepaid spa pass and massage. 

 

When you prepay for items to be delivered to your cabin from the store..i.e. Cherry on Top, you don't get charged twice and have to go to guest services to have charges reversed. The shops are independently owned also. So why is this b.s. happening with the prepaid spa services?

[Aplmac]

On 5/1/2019 at 2:51 PM, Geargoesdown said:

I had the same thing happen when I pre bought the spa pass.

I prepaid however, I was charged again on my sail and sign account.

Had to go guest services and they removed it.  

.

Easy to assume that this is an "error" scam they try all the time?
Oh so sorry, we made a mistake!
Yeaahh and if you don't notice it, Spa makes easy double money.

 

Spa services on board are right up there/down there with the art auctions

and the sooner you wise up to that, the better! 

Their pressured sales techniques alone ..should raise several red flags for you

[BellaSweet]

Ugh, I just scheduled a treatment for our upcoming cruise. I've never gone to the spa and thought it would be fun as a first wedding anniversary present to myself. I guess I'll just see what happens.. I will make sure to print out my receipt to take with me.

[devinc]

I usually pre-book 2-3 massages for every cruise and never have had an issue with the paid charges credited to my S&S.  I let them know upfront that I am not interested in products but just the services.  

[Garf]

12 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I don't think it's as common as you claim. I was a member of the old Carnival FunVille forums before joining CC. Two places where people talk about everything Carnival under the sun and I never once saw it mentioned.

I was a member of the Carnival FunVille forums and this was on there too, I have even posted this same info along with the sales pressure on passengers on the forum. They should bring back FunVille it was the BEST !!

[Garf]

I have been using the spa on board from 2009 and this has happen a couple of times to me too. I decided to book my treatment when I get onboard the Breeze in July 2019.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the warning.

Hope you get your money back.

[Garf]

Just now, puppycanducruise said:

Thanks for the warning.

Hope you get your money back.

 

O Oyes, it was very easy they gave me the credit back on my account ASAP.

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, Garf said:

I was a member of the Carnival FunVille forums and this was on there too, I have even posted this same info along with the sales pressure on passengers on the forum. They should bring back FunVille it was the BEST !!

 

Well I've sure never seen it, neither here nor there. And judging by the responses in this thread, it sure doesn't sound like too many others have either.

 

People on those old FunVille forums who were long-time cruisers treated newcomers like garbage. There's a handful of people here who are similar, but it was pretty bad over there. I joined those forums when we booked our first cruise and it made me question whether or not we made the right choice to try cruising. At the time I thought, if this is how cruisers treat others, I do not want to be stuck on a ship with them for several days. Thankfully, attitudes on board were much better than in those forums. Anonymity helps people like that thrive.

 

3 hours ago, BellaSweet said:

Ugh, I just scheduled a treatment for our upcoming cruise. I've never gone to the spa and thought it would be fun as a first wedding anniversary present to myself. I guess I'll just see what happens.. I will make sure to print out my receipt to take with me.

 

I'd say don't let it stop you if it's something you really want to do. Just be sure to check your S&S account as soon as it's done and, yes, definitely bring your paperwork from the pre-order. And be prepared to spend some time at Guest Services.

 

2 hours ago, devinc said:

I usually pre-book 2-3 massages for every cruise and never have had an issue with the paid charges credited to my S&S.

 

But that's exactly what I don't like about it. A pre-payment should be THE payment. Passengers who pre-pay shouldn't have to pay again in the spa, then wait for Carnival to credit the S&S account at the end of the cruise. That's such an inefficient system. And like I mentioned earlier, this method would really screw up someone's S&S account who uses cash, which is what I prefer. If I pre-paid for a spa service, I sure don't want them taking out more cash funds from my S&S that I'd like to use on board. Crediting me back at the end doesn't do me much good during. And spending time at Guest Services trying to get it credited earlier isn't how people want to spend their cruise.

 

 

[BlerkOne]

17 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I don't think it's as common as you claim. I was a member of the old Carnival FunVille forums before joining CC. Two places where people talk about everything Carnival under the sun and I never once saw it mentioned.

Steiner has been on cruise ships for something over 50 years and certainly predate Funville, Cruise Critic, and for that matter, the Internet. In any event, now you know.

[ontheweb]

It was not on Carnival (actually on Royal Caribbean), my DW won a free makeover. And then they tried to charge her for it. She insisted and showed them the paperwork that it was free. They did not make her sign for any charge after that, but not until they tried. So, it is not just Carnival's spa that tries to charge when there should be no further charge. In fact, it would not surprise me if the same company is the outsourced company that various cruise lines use.

[Organized Chaos]

5 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Steiner has been on cruise ships for something over 50 years and certainly predate Funville, Cruise Critic, and for that matter, the Internet. In any event, now you know.

 

Regardless of how long that company has ran spa services on cruise lines, you said it was common knowledge that spa services were ran by a third-party company. That's what I'm disputing, because judging from all the spa discussions I've ever seen, I don't think most people knew that.

[ontheweb]

Lost in the discussion of whether people knew that the spa services are outsourced is the fact that the both the charge for the prepayment and the charge at the spa are both made to Carnival. That Carnival would make payment to the spa operator should not be the concern of either the one who made the charge or the credit card company. If Carnival does not do the right thing, have the credit card company dispute the second charge.

[mredandchis]

I have used the spa services before.  They really spoiled the experience with the strong arm sales pitch. But now i am positive I will never get an onboard massage again. Thanks

 

[Frank12]

On 5/1/2019 at 6:08 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

 

That is one more time than I have done.  I plan to keep it that way.  Thanks for posting.

29 on CCL. Never once used the Spa and don't intend to!

[momof4girls]

I never knew the spa (or any of the other places) were 3rd party run either! I've read countless stories on the "sales pitch pressure", which is just one of the many reasons why I'd never use the spa.

 

I'm sorry, OP, that this has been such a headache! I'm curious about the person that mentioned her and her sister's cruise though...

[cscurlock]

OP,

   just out of curiosity what company made the charge on your credit card?

[mek]

On 5/1/2019 at 4:59 PM, GradUT said:

Thanks for the warning.  I don’t use spa services, but I never knew they were a 3rd party provider.  I think there should be a prominent sign at the spa to that effect and a part of every contract and sales receipt that customers sign. 

I don't know of any cruise line that runs their own spa and I can't imagine why they would. I don''t see why anyone would care.  They are all technicians who have to be licensed.  I've only had one slightly unacceptable massage on a cruise ship, (the PA system was hooked into the sound system in the treatment room and they kept interrupting the music with announcements.)  Other than that one time, the massages and facials are comparable to those I get at home, although they do cost more.

[mek]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:56 PM, Mm13 said:

Ugh. I prepaid for a spa service on Fascination in June. The thought of having to deal with this annoyance is enough to make me want to cancel. I wonder what the official procedure is for pre-purchased spa services.

Don't prepay for spa services.  You will get better deals if you wait until you get on the ship.

[christyran1228]

5 hours ago, momof4girls said:

I've read countless stories on the "sales pitch pressure", which is just one of the many reasons why I'd never use the spa.

 

That's the main reason I wouldn't book one ... I hate the strong sales pitch.  Of course the prices aren't ideal, either.  lol

[Butterbean1000]

6 hours ago, momof4girls said:

I never knew the spa (or any of the other places) were 3rd party run either! I've read countless stories on the "sales pitch pressure", which is just one of the many reasons why I'd never use the spa.

 

I'm sorry, OP, that this has been such a headache! I'm curious about the person that mentioned her and her sister's cruise though...

I think people make too much out of the sales pitch. Tell them up front you are there only for the treatment.   I always so this and have never been "pitched".

[dianaeatworld]

So glad I saw this post. I was getting ready to book a couples massage for my husband and I. Not sure if I even want to book one at all once onboard considering everyone mentioning the hard sales pitches during services. That is so off-putting.

[JQTravels]

1 minute ago, dianaeatworld said:

So glad I saw this post. I was getting ready to book a couples massage for my husband and I. Not sure if I even want to book one at all once onboard considering everyone mentioning the hard sales pitches during services. That is so off-putting.

If you go in and know exactly what you want and stand firm you'll be ok. 🙂  

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/explore/onboard/spa-fitness/menus/cloud-9-menu.pdf

[dianaeatworld]

1 minute ago, JQTravels said:

If you go in and know exactly what you want and stand firm you'll be ok. 🙂  

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/explore/onboard/spa-fitness/menus/cloud-9-menu.pdf

Oh, I have no problem with telling them no, I just don't like being put in a situation where I would have to in the first place. That would totally kill my mood.

[JQTravels]

5 minutes ago, dianaeatworld said:

Oh, I have no problem with telling them no, I just don't like being put in a situation where I would have to in the first place. That would totally kill my mood.

I know what you mean, I went in blind and they were trying to up-sell another massage more expensive than the one we purchased.  I said no thank you and a manager came strolling past and said "it's only $150 dollars more what's the big deal?"  I looked at her and my mind told me "you are on vacation!! you are on vacation!!!, ignore it!!! "   I held back escalating the situation, but I made it known on the survey they send at the end of the cruise that was extremely rude.