Phantom debarkation day minibar charges

[Xrayal]

Without wanting to turn this into another tipping/gratuities thread I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had a similar experience.

 

After a 7 night cruise on Infinity this month we received our invoice by email and noticed a minibar charge of $8.50 for the last morning.  We hadn't used the minibar.  An email to Celebrity One Touch has had this charge refunded without question but my husband thinks it was the room steward being vindictive because we didn't leave an additional tip.  He says this is common in the hotel industry too.  Has anyone else experienced this?

 

We are British so the tipping culture is different for us, but when we go away we think "their house, their rules".  We always leave the auto gratuities on and consider it to be a - you do your job, we'll do ours relationship.  The room stewards job being to steward the room twice a day at mutually convenient times.  Our job being to pay the auto gratuities, keep the stateroom tidy, accessible and notify the steward of any problems so they can be easily rectified.  We leave an additional tip when the steward goes above their job specification, for example remembering our names, predicting or doing an extra service.  On our cruise on Reflection our room steward remembered our names, always greeted us regardless of where we saw him on the ship and arranged for an inexpensive piece of art (<$100) we'd purchased in Grand Cayman to be wrapped by his friends in the maintenance department so that it'd survive the flight home.  When he left the verandah tap on and water was streaming across the back of the ship we called him and he couldn't have been more apologetic despite the fact it had no impact on our enjoyment of the cabin.  He even arranged for a bottle of wine as an apology.  We felt he was more like a butler than a room steward!

 

We didn't leave an additional tip on Infinity because the steward didn't do their basic job.  On every cruise we've been on we've met the steward during embarkation day.  We met our steward on Infinity on day 3 and that was because we introduced ourselves.  For the first 3 days we only got the room serviced in the morning, no evening service. He said he assumed we only wanted it once a day.  We had no shampoo for the entire cruise despite asking for it, and leaving a note.  And the wash cloths that they put in an 'X' shape in the bathroom appeared once.  On the last morning he walked past us without acknowledging us.  Other stewards from other staterooms stopped and said good morning.  In fact I'm struggling to think of a single time on a Celebrity ship when I've walked past any member of staff and they've not at least nodded or said hello.

 

Were we unreasonable not to leave an extra gratuity?  Has anyone else experienced phantom mini bar charges in similar circumstances?

[Jorg_]

I really can't believe the room steward would take out a revenge by charging you 8.50 for whatever from the mini bar. What would he ever win on that?

On our last cruise we were charged for some Pringles on the first day. Just that there were no Pringles in the cabin when we arrived. So maybe that was the case for you too - the room steward only on the last day realised that one thing (or more) was missing from the mini bar and so assumed you had taken it. But it might never have been there in the first place. Or he just simply mixed the cabin numbers up and you got charged for someone elses mini bar.

[spencerdrivecruiser]

Another scam.  We wanted a few miniature Vodkas from the Mini Bar and noticed they looked sealed at the top, were very tight but they tasted like water and in-fact it was water.   I had a very hard time getting anyone to believe that some prior guest drank the mini bar alcohol and replaced in contents with water.

 

Lesson learned.  The first day I have the Attendent remove all contents in the ice box and store until the end of the cruise.  Amazing what people would do for some free libations.  The little bottles appeared sealed on first glance but they weren't.  I dont like to be in a position of trying to prove something that is almost impossible to prove, its just my word.  Luckily I was not charged.

[hcat]

Wow.. that,s a new one...really sick

 

OP .. Added charges happen fairly often.  We have the contents removed to use for our own water and  sodas and juices,   so that cuts down on potential inventory issues.

 

.  Stocking the bar and keeping track seems to be a big time waster.  They could eliminate this by just leaving some water, soda and chips and remove the alcohol permanently.  Steward would have more time to service the rooms .

 

You could have  spoken to the steward about lack of attention to your room, or filed a comment card or spoken to a housekeeping supervisor about poor service while on the cruuie  or removed the auto grat if it was really poor!

Edited July 25, 2019 by hcat

[Alakegirl]

Actually its a different person who stocks the bar, so it is extremely unlikely that this was anything more than a simple error.  It happens, and a call to Celebrity will get the charge removed

[Carried_Away]

On my first cruise, I had a couple of incorrect charges for minibar items. I think this is a common, easily made mistake, and I highly doubt it had anything to do with not giving your steward an additional tip. I’m American, and I like to tip well for good service, so I had given a cash tip to our room steward (who was very nice and hard-working) in addition to our auto gratuities. But I think it’s totally fine not to add to the auto gratuities, and that should not have been cause for your steward to be vengeful. 

[vtcruising]

We have had extra minibar charges on our bill quite a few times on RCI and X (seems like it it always a soda for us), even though we always have them remove everything the first day. It is often in a bag under the bed during the cruise and then I imagine the cabin steward replaces everything when cleaning the cabin. I would hate to say how just one thing manages to disappear each time I am charged, but it could be due to many reasons (errors in the count, thirsty steward, thirsty person walking by open cabin or accounting error, though I would doubt it is cabin steward revenge). Many people probably don't even notice, so it likely happens more than we know (since it has happened to us about 4-5 times). I always check my bill when I get home.

 

It sounds like you didn't get a great cabin steward. I wouldn't have given anything extra either, but would have let Guest Services know earlier in the cruise (I have never complained about a cabin steward before, but this would have tipped me over the edge).

 

 

[Bo1953]

More than likely an error along the way, especially if final day.

 

I would not take it personally, just request removal...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[TeeRick]

Simple error fixed by Celebrity when you contacted them.  No need for conspiracy theories really IMO.

[helen haywood]

On our recent Equinox cruise, on the next to last day I was checking the TV account of our bill and saw a minibar charge of $6.60.  I knew we hadn't had anything from the minibar.  I was on my way to Guest Services to get it removed when I saw our cabin steward in the hall so I asked him if he'd processed a charge from our minibar.  He asked to come back to the cabin and see for himself as he said he had not and it must be a mistake.  I showed him the charge on the TV.  He took out his phone and called someone and reiterated our cabin number and that it must be a mistake and to call him back.

 

Later he knocked on the cabin door and explained that when something is taken from the minibar a receipt bill just like you get for any purchase on the ship is generated and left in your cabin.  He showed me the receipt that had been printed for another cabin's consumption of a bottle of Evian.  Whoever printed the receipt had put our cabin number on it erroneously.  The person in the other cabin had signed the bill without noticing that there was another person's name on it.  So this went to Accounting looking like a charge from our cabin.  Our cabin steward knew he had not generated the receipt so another steward along the corridor had obviously just made a type with the cabin number when generating the receipt.

 

This was news to me (we never eat/drink anything from the minibar) because I had no idea they generated a paper trail for the minibar contents.  I suspect it may be done this way on Equinox but perhaps not on Infinity. 

 

That being said, we've also had phantom charges appear on our account after debarkation.  On each occasion I've called Celebrity and had it removed with no problem.  I agree with the other posters that it probably had nothing to do with the lackluster cabin steward.  Just a coincidence.  And I hate to complain too but I would have spoken to Guest Services to pass it along to housekeeping.

[micheleata]

Last February when we left the Equinox I had left $2 refundable OBC on my account, basically as a test to see if it would be refunded to my credit card as I hadn't experienced that before.   Imagine my surprise when I had a charge for a pop when my statement came.    I called Celebrity and they removed it.   We had a great room steward and tipped him extra.   We also had a drink package and had left more cans of pop in the mini bar than we started with.   So I just figured it was a mistake.   Must happen often, as the Celebrity rep didn't even question it,  just took it off.    Now I have them empty it on the first day.   I also take a picture of the tv final statement in the morning before we disembark.

[Marelaine]

The charge was probably an error.  No one should expect an extra tip above the auto gratuities. We usually get excellent service from our steward and give an extra cash tip at the end of the cruise.  I wouldn't have tipped your steward, either. 

[gold1953]

Last cruise we found a bowl of mouldy fruit in our fridge. It was on top of the drinks . The room steward was quite embarrassed

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, micheleata said:

   I also take a picture of the tv final statement in the morning before we disembark.

 

I do that as well, but it really doesn't protect you for charges that are added after you leave your cabin.  I think they are probably instructed to just remove any charges below a certain amount if people call in to say it wasn't a valid charge.

[bEwAbG]

Having them empty the fridge and put everything under the bed doesn't protect you, either.  

 

These are just common mistakes that get made.  I have had the same thing happen to me on HAL.  A charge for a Coke from the minibar even though I don't drink Coke and our minibar was full.  It was a fat-finger error on somebody's part.

 

The time to address the steward's performance was when on the ship.  I can forgive a mistake or two but if I have to ask more than twice, I'll be asking the supervisor.  The autogratuities were more than enough if he was barely doing the job.

[varoo]

11 hours ago, Xrayal said:

...........................Has anyone else experienced phantom mini bar charges in similar circumstances?

 

It is a common occurrence.

All we needed to do whenever it happened to us was call Celebrity, and whoever answered always apologized and immediately removed the charge.

But still, it was a minor nuisance needing to call Celebrity about it each time.

 

So now we always ask our stateroom attendant to empty the minibar and remove all the contents from our stateroom on the first day of every cruise, making a point to explain that we don't want any more of those minibar charges.

 

Since we started doing this, a number of years ago, we have never again experienced any minibar charges.

      

I wish they would provide a place on their website where you could request to have your minibar left empty in advance.

 

 

[K12Guy]

We discovered the solution. Royal or Penthouse Suite. Either one the fridge is stocked daily and there is never a charge.

 

Hmmmm.... now that I think of it the cost of an extra soda might be less expensive. 🙂

 

[bEwAbG]

Here is what is wrong with the logic that having them empty the minibar prevents this problem:

 

1. If there is an item already missing, the person who does the inventory (not necessarily always your stateroom attendant) will still have the same issue that any missing items are still missing when they do the inventory.

 

2. Most of the phantom charges are transcription and/or data entry errors.  If the person in room 123 uses their minibar and the person doing the inventory puts the charge through to 213, then the charge will appear on 213's folio.  There is nothing you can do to prevent that other than to keep tabs on your account charges.

 

It's fine if you want them to empty the fridge so you can use it.  Just don't do it because you're afraid you'll get erroneously charged for something.

[Baron Barracuda]

There was a very long thread on the Royal board a year or two back (searched but could no longer find) where many, many people complained about a systemic problem of mysterious mini bar charges.  The charges never showed on stateroom tv, but appeared later on final statements emailed home.  If memory serves, there were hundreds of complaints, especially from folks who had recently sailed Anthem of the Seas.  Anyone who contacted Royal had the charges reversed without question.  Conspiracy theorists wondered whether these "accidents" were really a disguised money grab by Royal as many passengers don't review their statements.

[wrk2cruise]

It was also common place on Celebrity probably 10 years back.  4 cruises in a row came home to ~$150 charges which when called were told minibar charges, pretty much the entire contents.  Each time reversed without issue.  We have never used anything out of our minibar and on at least a few of these had requested minibar remained locked for the duration of the cruise.  This problem seemed to be corrected years ago.

[varoo]

14 hours ago, bEwAbG said:

Here is what is wrong with the logic that having them empty the minibar prevents this problem:

 

1. If there is an item already missing, the person who does the inventory (not necessarily always your stateroom attendant) will still have the same issue that any missing items are still missing when they do the inventory.

 

2. Most of the phantom charges are transcription and/or data entry errors.  If the person in room 123 uses their minibar and the person doing the inventory puts the charge through to 213, then the charge will appear on 213's folio.  There is nothing you can do to prevent that other than to keep tabs on your account charges.

 

It's fine if you want them to empty the fridge so you can use it.  Just don't do it because you're afraid you'll get erroneously charged for something.

 

Interesting theories.

 

All we know is that ever since we started asking to have the contents of the minibar removed and deliberately make a point of mentioning that we do not want any more minibar charges, each time the stateroom attendant has replied by assuring us that we would not get any minibar charges, and we didn't.

 

Coincidence?

Perhaps, but we  really don't care since we no longer need to waste time calling Celebrity to have erroneous minibar charges removed,

plus we prefer having an empty minibar available to use exclusively for our own stuff without needing to juggle their stuff around.

 

[TeeRick]

14 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

There was a very long thread on the Royal board a year or two back (searched but could no longer find) where many, many people complained about a systemic problem of mysterious mini bar charges.  The charges never showed on stateroom tv, but appeared later on final statements emailed home.  If memory serves, there were hundreds of complaints, especially from folks who had recently sailed Anthem of the Seas.  Anyone who contacted Royal had the charges reversed without question.  Conspiracy theorists wondered whether these "accidents" were really a disguised money grab by Royal as many passengers don't review their statements.

I remember this and when I sailed on Anthem around that time it happened to me as well.  It was reversed quickly on one phone call once I got back.  I still do not believe in a conspiracy theory where a large public corporation such as RCCL would systematically try to defraud their customers with extra mini-bar charges.  It would not even amount to peanuts on their bottom line.  Never mind the expense of fixing the charges and the bad public relations. Mistakes do happen.  But I do know that some people are just conditioned to mistrust corporations and businesses for their own personal reasons.

[evandbob]

Years ago at a Bora Bora hotel, we stored some meds in the rooms mini bar.  We re-arranged some of the contents in order to accommodate the meds containers.

 

We were hit with an enormous mini bar charge.  The hotel staff claimed there were sensors in the cooler that noticed the movement of the liquor bottles and put the charges on our bill.

 

Neither of us drink, but it was still a bit of an (unnecessary)  issue to get the charges reversed.

[GastroGnome]

Some hotel mini bars do have sensors detecting when an item is moved - its to prevent drinks being consumed and then topped up with other liquids.  But X ships don't. 

 

X do reserve the right - and fairly so - to add charges to your account if room items are missing after disembarkation.  Not for a moment saying it is the case for any poster here but I'm sure several someones have thought to empty the mini bar on their way off ship having settled their account.  Or removed slippers / robes etc (at least if the amount of them available on ebay is anything to go by!).  But the overwhelming majority of the time it is just an error and easily sorted. 

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We’ve never had an issue with a room steward, but I would fear some type of retaliation if I reported him during our cruise. If you do report a service problem, do they change stewards?  I guess it’s similar to my fear of returning food at a restaurant. I’m always scared they will tamper with it if I do, so I usually don’t say anything.