Minibar charges

[Jim_Iain]

It hasn't occurred in many years but we had erroneous charges  3-4 times over the past 20 years.   Each time they reversed them when I called in.   We got in the habit of taking a picture of the contents of the refrigerator on arriving in our room and on departure morning.  

[Moochi]

14 hours ago, cluso said:

When we returned home the final invoice had minibar charges added.

 

Congratulations for reaching Elite+!

 

Thank you for this comment. I had no idea Celebrity sends a final invoice. They only communicate with my husband, although they've got my phone number and email address. Very annoying. I'm the one reconciles our accounts and my dearest husband never thought about forwarding me the final invoice, knowing Celebrity does not communicate with me.

 

 

[bEwAbG]

My suspicion is that these charges appear when someone who is good at their job takes over the stateroom and reports the current contents correctly, which means that the charges appearing on your folio might be from someone who sailed weeks before you.  If it's really the stateroom attendants doing it now, that seems like a cost-cutting measure, too.  Would be more consistent to have dedicated people doing that job.  There is zero incentive for the stateroom attendant to do a good job with this on top of the other stuff they have to do (and more rooms with less help at that). 

 

Really, they should just empty the fridges and stop trying to use them to generate revenue.  Have a grab and go type kiosk with that type of stuff in it (that costs money) instead.  These after-the-fact charges just breed ill will with customers who didn't really partake.

[drakes2]

On 3/18/2023 at 8:38 AM, jwlane said:

I'm sure they will resolve this to your favor soon.  Next time, when you first meet your cabin steward, ask them to empty the fridge---you will not be using any of its contents.

There's never been anything in the monibar to empty af least on the last four cruises I've taken both on S and E class ships.. I assumed with most taking AI they no longer stock minibars. 

[dlh015]

15 hours ago, Moochi said:

Congratulations for reaching Elite+!

 

Thank you for this comment. I had no idea Celebrity sends a final invoice. They only communicate with my husband, although they've got my phone number and email address. Very annoying. I'm the one reconciles our accounts and my dearest husband never thought about forwarding me the final invoice, knowing Celebrity does not communicate with me.

 

 

Out of curiosity, is your husband older than you?

 

I ask because I have found the same sort of thing. I do all the bookings and calls and excursions, etc. for all our cruises. She never even logs in to the website or app. She is older than me and that seems to be the common thread. 

 

And it's not just X...same with Princess,  and Cunard. 

 

I just ended up editing her info and putting my phone number and email in place of hers...lol. I had forgotten all about it until I saw your post...

[Moochi]

3 hours ago, dlh015 said:

Out of curiosity, is your husband older than you?

 

I ask because I have found the same sort of thing. I do all the bookings and calls and excursions, etc. for all our cruises. She never even logs in to the website or app. She is older than me and that seems to be the common thread. 

 

And it's not just X...same with Princess,  and Cunard. 

 

I just ended up editing her info and putting my phone number and email in place of hers...lol. I had forgotten all about it until I saw your post...

He's 1.5 years younger...

I think it's more behavior difference than age. He's excellent in many areas but has the typical symptoms of being a spoiled husband, such as not returning tools to where it was stored after using, leaving socks on the floor instead of inside of the hamper, leaving beer bottle caps in his pockets, etc, etc... Not forwarding the documents until I ask is just one of the symptoms lol.

 

Back to OP's topic, we had to dispute a few charges while onboard. Sometimes X overcharges us, sometimes under. The crew members do make mistakes, or the information they provide can be inconsistent. Every time the charges get corrected, after we point it out, but it takes time to show up on the account. I don't see why X won't investigate OP's mini bar charge, even it happened after disenbakation. 

 

[Iriel]

Celebrity just told me they will give me a refund! But they need to call me to get my credit card. So I'll be waiting for that international call, I guess.

[j3000]

1. does anybody actually WANT the stuff in the mini-fridge - at the prices they charge?

2. we're going on Silhouette next month. Can I request an empty fridge for the whole trip, in advance?

[Newcruiser2024]

What drinks/snacks are typically in the mini-bar and how are the prices?

[drakes2]

22 minutes ago, Newcruiser2024 said:

What drinks/snacks are typically in the mini-bar and how are the prices?

Like $3.00  for a granola bar and $6.50 for a mini liquor. Mixers are not much cheaper.  About the same prices as what hotels charge  i think people who buy these just love to waste money.  On my last cruise I signed up for a wine tasting later changed my mind. I called to cancel but was assured I'd only be charged when I arrived at the tasting. Well guess what? The charge showed up plus gratuities. Called GR to have them remove it was told they would email beverage department. I said no you will refund me now and they did. It was the last evening and I didn't want to fight the charge once home. 

[1Virgo]

6 hours ago, dlh015 said:

Out of curiosity, is your husband older than you?

 

I ask because I have found the same sort of thing. I do all the bookings and calls and excursions, etc. for all our cruises. She never even logs in to the website or app. She is older than me and that seems to be the common thread. 

 

And it's not just X...same with Princess,  and Cunard. 

 

I just ended up editing her info and putting my phone number and email in place of hers...lol. I had forgotten all about it until I saw your post...

Have same issue.  Everything addressed to DH, even though our last names different and the credit card we use for Celebrity in my name and I do all the bookings. . I suspect this is “old school” thinking. I have brought this up to Celebrity.    we had a horrid time when they billed something to my credit card and it was rejected. um duh.    They used my credit card but replaced my name with husband’s    

[jagoffee]

I believe a reservation is owned by one person and it can be either one of you.  If you both have individual Celebrity accounts and you want to be the main owner, then try being the first one to log in and “claim” the reservation after  it is booked   And enter all information and make all selections with that log in.

 

As an alternative, clarify with your TA when you book the reservation.

 

I had an issue with Celebrity many years ago, because I have a Jr. at the end of my name.  The booking engine and the Captain Club system handle the Jr. differently.   To solve this issue I always book our reservation with my wife as the owner.  Her name is on the reservation as the primary owner.  I just enter all my contact information on her account and I never log into my account. It is her account, but I manage it. 

 

It is possible  that this bug has been fixed, but I do not want to risk it. I just stick with what works.  

 

I know it it is odd, but you might want to try one of the two ideas.

 

Feel free to call me weird.

 

 

[hcat]

we ask that the bar be emptied and also check for stray charges  every day including dep day... has happened  few times... 

 

 small amts but adds up in soneone's favor if they do it to  a good number of pax!

[bflohr]

On 3/17/2023 at 6:21 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Two option -   One is to e-mail Engagement Center -   CelebrityEngagementCenter@celebrity.com

The other is to message them via Twitter.   They respond pretty quickly.

I have used Twitter to complain to other companies and get a good response. They are very worried about social media awareness. 

[Jim_Iain]

53 minutes ago, bflohr said:

I have used Twitter to complain to other companies and get a good response. They are very worried about social media awareness. 

 

I usually don't complain in public post unless issue is not corrected.   On Twitter with Celebrity I use the message function and someone usually gets back to me within a couple hours.

[jelayne]

On 3/19/2023 at 6:18 PM, jargey3000 said:

1. does anybody actually WANT the stuff in the mini-fridge - at the prices they charge?

2. we're going on Silhouette next month. Can I request an empty fridge for the whole trip, in advance?

Not in advance.  Ask the cabin attendant when you meet them.  My experience has been that they will empty it or have someone empty it during the evening Cabin service.

 

[drakes2]

20 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Not in advance.  Ask the cabin attendant when you meet them.  My experience has been that they will empty it or have someone empty it during the evening Cabin service.

 

I just empty it myself but make sure everything goes back the night before. Once got charged for a mini alcohol but they soon removed the charge.  As of very recently the mini bars have been empty.

[terrydtx]

A credit card dispute is the easiest way to handle this, at least for me just a couple of online clicks and it is done.

[j3000]

15 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

.  As of very recently the mini bars have been empty.

 

I hope so....can others confirm this?

[ABoatNerd]

Happened many times on Celebrity. Started to have the steward remove everything from the mini bar but the deliberate charges still kept coming.

So this is one of the many, many  reasons I no longer patronize Celebrity, it warms my heart to realize Celebrity is still scamming customers who are too busy to challenge these charges after leaving the vessel.  

Interesting to keep up to date on Celebrity to realize their issues remain in place.

[bflohr]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I usually don't complain in public post unless issue is not corrected.   On Twitter with Celebrity I use the message function and someone usually gets back to me within a couple hours.

agreed, I did not start there, but was not getting results until it was public. My issue was not with Celebrity. 

[the_dylaness]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:38 PM, Iriel said:

They replied through Twitter! They said they will check it and let me know. Thank you everyone for your help. I know $30 is not a lot for some people, but it's a lot for me since it's not my own currency.

Even if it is or is not a lot of money it is YOUR money and you deserve to keep it!

I have had this happen as well on both X and NCL if I recall correctly...

It's less about the $15 or $30 and more about the principle, for me.

[sanger727]

There seems to be a lot of overlap between people who ask the stewarts to empty their fridges and are getting the mistake charges. I wonder if there's a connection there. We have never removed items from our minibar and have also never been charged for anything. Maybe it could be as simple as a stray coke that rolled out of the bag mid cruise. 

[Iriel]

To wrap up, Celebrity called me last Wednesday and I got my refund on the credit card today. They told me it could take up to two weeks to show up, but it wasn't that long.

 

Thank you all for your help!

[cluso]

Celebrity never acknowledged my two emails to the address listed on the final invoice.  I went online to AMEX, answered their questions, and they credited my account immediately.  Took about 3 minutes.