Watch your onboard account very carefully on Rotterdam

[Real NHDOC]

Just letting everyone know I have experienced a lot of accounting errors on our account. About one in three bottles of wine we ordered from our package gets charged directly as a purchase. Restaurants not applying the 5* perk to the correct meal, being charged for the wine tasting we are invited to as 5* mariners, etc.  Basically almost every day I have to contact guest services to get something corrected. It took over a week for them to correctly apply our mariner’s discount to pre-booked meals at the specialty restaurants. It seems every venue on the ship does things their own way and very often does them wrong so if you’re traveling on Rotterdam watch your bill very closely!  I have never experienced so many errors before on any HAL cruise. Interestingly every error seems to favor HAL!

[Florida_gal_50]

It happened a lot on the koningsdam as well.  It’s not just the Rotterdam.  Thanks for the reminder.

[dfish]

And it happened on the Nieuw Statendam as well.  

[seaoma]

We had trouble on the Nieuw Amsterdam too.  Over $2000 charge from the spa, a place I had never even been to. 

[Suzanne123]

I started taking screen shots of my final bill in case additional charges are made to my credit card after I get home.  That’s happened a couple times.

[WriterOnDeck]

12 minutes ago, Suzanne123 said:

I started taking screen shots of my final bill in case additional charges are made to my credit card after I get home.  That’s happened a couple times.

You can ask at guest services for a print out. But it's a shame so many are having problems.

[DaveOKC]

After having issues on several ships, I came to the conclusion that most times it is due to HAL's IT department, not the crew. Since many people do not watch their billing closely, HAL makes alot of money on these "extra" billings.

 

[Real NHDOC]

It’s not just errors but also inconsistencies in the way things are accounted for that is very frustrating. They don’t post every bottle of wine used from the package the same way from venue to venue. Typically it posts as a “signature beverage package credit” with $0. That’s how they’ve been handling it on other ships recently but on Rotterdam sometimes it is posted like that, sometimes just says the venue name and $0 and sometimes nothing is posted. Makes it impossible to check to see how many bottles they think we’ve used. And guest services claims they can’t see the details of these transactions but that’s BS. 
 

They also have a nasty habit of changing postings made days or weeks ago so if you notice your balance changes but nothing has recently been posted you literally have to go back and look at every past posting to see what has changed. Their finance department is terrible on this ship. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[HappyInVan]

Pretty scary. I wonder why HAL doesn't repair their IT systems?

[Iamthesea]

My husband checks our shipboard accounts every day, and also keeps any receipts he is given.  Is HAL still having one sign for every drink even though they have a package?   DH does not like that idea, but will hang on to those if they are having him sign.  The main reason we started purchasing packages on cruises was so he did not need to keep count of what was spent.

[Quo Vadis?]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

And it happened on the Nieuw Statendam as well.  

For us as well.

[AKJonesy]

I usually look at the charges each day on the TV in my stateroom under my account or check the Navigator App.  I find it best to deal with the mistake immediately and not be surprised at the end of the cruise when everyone is standing at the customer service desk on board.  

[Real NHDOC]

We met with the beverage manager and head sommelier yesterday at the mariner’s award presentation and were assured our account would be reviewed and a printout of the charges for bottles of wine would be provided. They also promised to train personnel on how to properly handle these charges. No printout has come yet and last night I ordered my wine directly from the head sommelier who understood the issues and knew the bottle was from our package. When I checked my accounts I had received four charges for $12.98 from the MDR - presumably for wine by the glass which we didn’t order. Unbelievable. 

[Florida_gal_50]

26 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

We met with the beverage manager and head sommelier yesterday at the mariner’s award presentation and were assured our account would be reviewed and a printout of the charges for bottles of wine would be provided. They also promised to train personnel on how to properly handle these charges. No printout has come yet and last night I ordered my wine directly from the head sommelier who understood the issues and knew the bottle was from our package. When I checked my accounts I had received four charges for $12.98 from the MDR - presumably for wine by the glass which we didn’t order. Unbelievable. 

Wow.  It seems the people that should understand it the most don’t.  I had the person I believe was the front desk manager tell me that 5 star freebie meals are only at the pinnacle.  When I showed her online that wasn’t true she said that was old information 🙄.  Even some of the more junior people at the front desk know that isn’t true.

[QuattroRomeo]

Onboard Rdam, and laundry put through a charge for $77 at the start of our second leg.We had pre-purchased unlimited laundry, so had to get it removed by guest services.

[dfish]

My accounting problems started on Nieuw Amsterdam in 2021.  I had reservations in the Pinnacle for 3, but needed to cancel one.  That was done.  Somehow, I ended up with reservations for 5.  We cancelled 3 of those.  Next, I had reservations for 11.  I gave up at that time because I would have ended up with 17 reservations.   At the end of the cruise they reimbursed me for all those unused reservations.  That was an interesting phone call.  

 

On the Rotterdam they charged me the wrong rate for the Crew Incentive.  We were being charged for the non suite rate and it should have been suite rate.  I reported that and was assured that the night auditor would take care of it.  Nope.  After trying to pay them more money on several occasions, I gave up.

 

On the Nieuw Statendam the first problem was that they reimbursed me for an excursion I never bought.  I had that fixed at the front desk.  Then, I changed excursions for one port.  Instead of reimbursing me for the cancelled one, they charged me again and for the new excursion.  That took a few days to figure out.  Lastly, I had pre-purchased a dinner at the Pinnacle Grill and they charged me for it.  When I asked to have the charge removed they acted amazed that I would want to use the pre-purchased dinner.  It was the last day of the cruise.  I wasn't going to eat there again.  Yes, I wanted to use the pre-purchased dinner. So, they took the charge off and then they reimbursed me for the charge again. One more trip to the front desk before I left the ship that morning.  

 

I noted in my evaluation that the accounting department was going to do them in.  If it was up to me, I'd start over from scratch.

[fsufancc]

Dollars to doughnuts they outsource/offshore their IT work.  It's not just HAL.  We are sailing on RCL in June and the website is out of commission annoyingly often. Sailings don't show up, you can't buy stuff, it is crazy bad.

 

You'd think that will so many years in the business, that they could have a fairly bug free system designed by now.  

[SilvertoGold]

8 hours ago, dfish said:

My accounting problems started on Nieuw Amsterdam in 2021.  I had reservations in the Pinnacle for 3, but needed to cancel one.  That was done.  Somehow, I ended up with reservations for 5.  We cancelled 3 of those.  Next, I had reservations for 11.  I gave up at that time because I would have ended up with 17 reservations.   At the end of the cruise they reimbursed me for all those unused reservations.  That was an interesting phone call.  

 

On the Rotterdam they charged me the wrong rate for the Crew Incentive.  We were being charged for the non suite rate and it should have been suite rate.  I reported that and was assured that the night auditor would take care of it.  Nope.  After trying to pay them more money on several occasions, I gave up.

 

On the Nieuw Statendam the first problem was that they reimbursed me for an excursion I never bought.  I had that fixed at the front desk.  Then, I changed excursions for one port.  Instead of reimbursing me for the cancelled one, they charged me again and for the new excursion.  That took a few days to figure out.  Lastly, I had pre-purchased a dinner at the Pinnacle Grill and they charged me for it.  When I asked to have the charge removed they acted amazed that I would want to use the pre-purchased dinner.  It was the last day of the cruise.  I wasn't going to eat there again.  Yes, I wanted to use the pre-purchased dinner. So, they took the charge off and then they reimbursed me for the charge again. One more trip to the front desk before I left the ship that morning.  

 

I noted in my evaluation that the accounting department was going to do them in.  If it was up to me, I'd start over from scratch.

Thank you for this post!  Fascinating, hilarious, scary and disgusting all in one.  You are very long-suffering and how you handle this so stoically and politely impresses me!

Edited March 7, 2023 by SilvertoGold

[SilvertoGold]

17 minutes ago, fsufancc said:

Dollars to doughnuts they outsource/offshore their IT work.  It's not just HAL.  We are sailing on RCL in June and the website is out of commission annoyingly often. Sailings don't show up, you can't buy stuff, it is crazy bad.

 

You'd think that will so many years in the business, that they could have a fairly bug free system designed by now.  

Yes, you would think so!  Too many newbies who are not well trained could be part of it. That this type of accounting problem is so persistent I find embarrassing for HAL. If they made these errors consistently with cruise reservation accounting I am sure they would get it fixed!

[dfish]

18 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

Thank you for this post!  Fascinating, hilarious, scary and disgusting all in one.  You are very long-suffering and how you handle this so stoically and politely impresses me!

What can you do?   I just deal with it as it comes.  30 years in a classroom with teenagers taught me to be stoic.  As I told the teenagers, no sense raising my blood pressure because they were being a fool.

[HappyInVan]

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

Yes, you would think so!  Too many newbies who are not well trained could be part of it. That this type of accounting problem is so persistent I find embarrassing for HAL

 

Likely lowest bid by far. Otherwise, HAL would switch to a more reliable contractor, at a higher price.

[NCTribeFan]

I check my onboard account regularly on every cruise, no matter what line I'm sailing.

 

They all make mistakes.  Some are more easily cleared up than others.

 

On Carnival, my cruise buddy has to input MY birthday to get her card to work in the casino.  They keep saying it's been corrected, and it may be for a day or two, and then it's back to being my DOB.  Ridiculous!  Too bad I don't get credit for her play, since she regularly gets better casino offers than me! 😄

[SilvertoGold]

16 hours ago, dfish said:

What can you do?   I just deal with it as it comes.  30 years in a classroom with teenagers taught me to be stoic.  As I told the teenagers, no sense raising my blood pressure because they were being a fool.

Haha!  I know about that from teaching in university :) You rock!!!

[TomAndJane]

We just got off the Nieuw Statendam on March 4th and while onboard I had to go down to the front desk twice because of being charged for drinks we did not purchase.  Approximately $43 each time because we supposedly ordered 4 Grey Goose Vodkas at once.  We are four stars and have been on many other ships and do not recall this ever happening before.  Regardless, this was fixed and I got off the ship expecting a $.50 charge that was on the app as my final bill.  After I got home and was able to check my credit card bill (Monday), I had a posted charge (Not a hold) of $169.70.  I immediately called HAL Customer Service and asked about the charge.  HAL told me that my wife and I had purchased an excursion the DAY we got off the ship.

 

After asking what the excursion was, it was for a Kayak, Snorkel and Beach excursion in St. Thomas.  Guess where our cruise went?  Half Moon Cay, Aruba and Curacao.  I still have the posted charge and awaiting for Ship Services to let me know how much I enjoyed my excursion in St Thomas.. 🙂  

 

The accounting department on that ship has a lot of issues and I hope it gets straightened out soon.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, TomAndJane said:

We just got off the Nieuw Statendam on March 4th and while onboard I had to go down to the front desk twice because of being charged for drinks we did not purchase.  Approximately $43 each time because we supposedly ordered 4 Grey Goose Vodkas at once.  We are four stars and have been on many other ships and do not recall this ever happening before.  Regardless, this was fixed and I got off the ship expecting a $.50 charge that was on the app as my final bill.  After I got home and was able to check my credit card bill (Monday), I had a posted charge (Not a hold) of $169.70.  I immediately called HAL Customer Service and asked about the charge.  HAL told me that my wife and I had purchased an excursion the DAY we got off the ship.

 

After asking what the excursion was, it was for a Kayak, Snorkel and Beach excursion in St. Thomas.  Guess where our cruise went?  Half Moon Cay, Aruba and Curacao.  I still have the posted charge and awaiting for Ship Services to let me know how much I enjoyed my excursion in St Thomas.. 🙂  

 

The accounting department on that ship has a lot of issues and I hope it gets straightened out soon.

That is simply amazing.  It’s a wonder they didn’t ask, are you sure you didn’t go? I have to wonder if they do it just to see if people won’t notice.