Wildly inconsistent fridge contents

[Gunther1]

We have all noticed that the fridge mini-bar contents wildly vary.  
 

Personally, rather than  wait for the room attendants to clear it, I always take a picture of it, clear it out ( and store in a drawer), and then replace (in the same positions) as the picture I took on embarkation day.

 

I have NEVER been charged for any mini-bar items…..and have quite a few HAL cruises under my belt.

 

My question: any idea how charged from the mini-bar are determined ?  As the contents and number of containers vary from cruise to cruise, I’m at a loss how it’s determined.

 

Edited to apologize for blank picture..…tried to insert picture of most recent contents, but having no luck.

Edited May 26 by Gunther1

[CruiserBruce]

Why not let your cabin stewards do this?

 

I am sure any inconsistencies are supply related. 

 

Why does it matter?

[canadianbear]

I take a photo before & after as well but get the room steward to remove the items.  Here’s a photo of our last cruise in February of what was stocked in ours.  

[Gunther1]

17 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Why not let your cabin stewards do this?

 

I am sure any inconsistencies are supply related. 

 

Why does it matter?

(1) Because they are overworked and it’s no skin off of my back to do it.  I figure it’s the kind thing to do.

 

(2) Why does it matter ?  Because I’m curious as to how people are charged….as each fridge (at least in my case) always has different items and amounts.  I highly doubt that those  employees that actually charge a room have a list of the individual contents of each room/fridge.

 

Feel free to not follow this thread…and kindly do not reply unless you have a direct answer to my original question….thanks and take care. !!!!!!

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

40 minutes ago, Gunther1 said:

I highly doubt that those  employees that actually charge a room have a list of the individual contents of each room/fridge.

 

The bar staff handle the resupply and billing, so I suspect they absolutely do know what is in the cabin fridges.

[Seasick Sailor]

@Gunther1 Do you use the refrigerator to store your own drinks, or do you not use it at all? An easy way to resolve any questions as to the contents, I put a sticky note on the fridge that says "We do not use the mini bar" and as @CruiserBruce states, the bar staff supplies the contents. 

[Boatdrill]

2 hours ago, canadianbear said:

I take a photo before & after as well but get the room steward to remove the items.  Here’s a photo of our last cruise in February of what was stocked in ours.  

Just curious...what are the drinks on the top left (door) shelf ?

[canadianbear]

2 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

Just curious...what are the drinks on the top left (door) shelf ?

No idea!  We had the HIA package & were on the ship for 35 days so wanted the fridge empty so we could put pop and water etc in it.  Maybe someone will know but I didn’t pay attention, sorry.  

[Live4cruises]

Those are pre-mixed cocktails. There’s an assortment, obviously, and I don’t recall what they were, but think Margarita, Old Fashioned, etc.

[sunviking90]

On our last cruise we were told the room steward is responsible for the mini bar contents. On past cruises, it was the bar staff. Maybe it varies from ship to ship.

I wish they would just eliminate the mini bar. It’s a hassle getting the contents removed, etc, and we’ve twice had charges show up on our bill after debarkation. Was easy to call and get it rectified pre Covid but after, a nightmare.

With so many people getting the HIA now, it really seems unnecessary. 

Princess mini fridges are empty (unless you have an elite mini bar setup).

Edited May 27 by sunviking90

[canadianbear]

10 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

On our last cruise we were told the room steward is responsible for the mini bar contents. On past cruises, it was the bar staff. Maybe it varies from ship to ship.

I wish they would just eliminate the mini bar. It’s a hassle getting the contents removed, etc, and we’ve twice had charges show up on our bill after debarkation. Was easy to call and get it rectified pre Covid but after, a nightmare.

With so many people getting the HIA now, it really seems unnecessary. 

Princess mini fridges are empty (unless you have an elite mini bar setup).

I agree.  I’d like an empty fridge when we arrive.  If people want it stocked maybe it could be requested prior to boarding or a request to fill out once on board.  We’ve had charges years ago and we didn’t even touch what was inside so always get the items removed now.  

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, Boatdrill said:

Just curious...what are the drinks on the top left (door) shelf ?

I read "On The" on bottles 1&3 and "Rocks" on #4 = "On The Rocks".

 

31 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

On our last cruise we were told the room steward is responsible for the mini bar contents. On past cruises, it was the bar staff. Maybe it varies from ship to ship.

I believe it was changed a while ago, on all ships, to the cabin stewards. Like they needed something else to do!!! I like the idea of a photograph, and then putting the contents in the under-bed drawers (or some other un-needed storage).

[KAKcruiser]

I had the contents of the minibar removed upon arrival and still had a charge added to my account after the final statement.  It took me three phone calls to get it removed.  

[shipmeoff!]

This is the line the premixed cocktails in the door are from. 
https://www.otrcocktails.com/about-us
Pretty sure I see the old fashioned there, I’ve had that and their original Negroni and they are quite acceptable. 

[sunviking90]

32 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

I had the contents of the minibar removed upon arrival and still had a charge added to my account after the final statement.  It took me three phone calls to get it removed.  

We had a similar experience. Only took 2 calls, lots of arguing and explaining what a mini bar is to the rep, and 3 hours on the phone to resolve 😉. While I don’t think the stewards need extra work, on our last cruise we at least knew our steward wouldn’t likely charge us in error as he’d been the one to remove the goods.

Edited May 27 by sunviking90

[julia]

Can you EVEN imagine how many times a minibar is emptied and restocked with the same cans that have been rolling around for months?!  😲

 

***PAY ATTENTION HAL***

It's very simple, more economical, AND more time effective, to have your website (insert deep sigh here) have a CHOICE of: "would you like your minibar stocked, check yes or no?"  Mine is a hard no (but I understand if others enjoy it!) 

 

MAKE IT AN OPTION!

 

 

 

[Blackduck59]

We always have our travel agent put it in the "instructions" or is it special requests? We need a power cord for my CPAP and empty the "mini bar". Our first HAL experience last year there was no power cord, and we asked the steward to stop stocking the mini bar. He carried on like he didn't understand. He did bring the power cord though. We emptied the mini bar ourselves, but shouldn't have to.

[Fouremco]

12 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

Just curious...what are the drinks on the top left (door) shelf ?

On the Rocks Premium Cocktails. https://www.otrcocktails.com

[ottahand7]

22 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

On the Rocks Premium Cocktails. https://www.otrcocktails.com

Those cocktails are great.  We were in a Neptune with HIA and they were stocked in the lounge with Signature package.  For quite a while bar service was horrible in the lounges and short hours in the Eurodam and these became my before dinner cocktail. 

[Fouremco]

The mini-bar provides a revenue stream for HAL, so it's unlikely that they'll stop stocking them.

 

As for charges, while the contents may vary from time to time and from ship to ship, they are fixed for any given cruise. We've been in our cabin when a beverage service employee has come to check the contents and he had a printed sheet listing the items and the number of each item, and a place to indicate any refills made. Any charges would be based on the latter.

 

One potential drawback to this system occurs on turn-around day if the beverage services employee is unable to check the mini-bar before the new occupants arrive. If the new passengers help themselves to a bottle or two before the check is made, the former occupants could be charged for them. That might explain some of the mystery mini-bar charges that seem to crop up regularly.

 

 

[Dutchman48]

17 hours ago, Gunther1 said:

We have all noticed that the fridge mini-bar contents wildly vary.  
 

Personally, rather than  wait for the room attendants to clear it, I always take a picture of it, clear it out ( and store in a drawer), and then replace (in the same positions) as the picture I took on embarkation day.

 

I have NEVER been charged for any mini-bar items…..and have quite a few HAL cruises under my belt.

 

My question: any idea how charged from the mini-bar are determined ?  As the contents and number of containers vary from cruise to cruise, I’m at a loss how it’s determined.

 

Edited to apologize for blank picture..…tried to insert picture of most recent contents, but having no luck.

 

Notice a few years ago that the mini bar varied from ship to ship. Asked room steward and he told me they were determined by each ship not fleet wide based where they were cruising. He explained they had an inventory list of what was in the fridge, and it was checked periodically.

Have handled the mini bar differently on our cruises. 

1. If we know we won't use it we have it emptied.

2. When we think we may use it we ask for the items we know we will not use be removed. That way we have room to put what we want in the fridge (snacks, meds or other items that need to be kept cool).

[bajae]

What is the mini bar like in the rooms w/o a refrigerator? Is there no mini bar or do they just place the drinks somewhere else?

 

As far as I know, this would be the inside and OV on the Volendam and Zaandam.

[crystalspin]

1 minute ago, bajae said:

What is the mini bar like in the rooms w/o a refrigerator? Is there no mini bar or do they just place the drinks somewhere else?

No mini-bar even if you rent a fridge. At least pre-shutdown. There may have been the bottled still water on a shelf, but wouldn't swear to it. 

[RuthC]

42 minutes ago, bajae said:

What is the mini bar like in the rooms w/o a refrigerator? Is there no mini bar or do they just place the drinks somewhere else?

 

As far as I know, this would be the inside and OV on the Volendam and Zaandam.

You're correct that those two ships don't have a mini-fridge. 

They do have a tray, with two glasses and an ice bucket, and two cans each of 4 different Coke products on the top of the desk. You can have the cans removed, or changed out to whichever flavor sodas you want. 
You can request ice service at both morning and evening cabin service. 

[POA1]

Empty Mini Fridge is a special services item. I have it added whenever we have a beverage package. The room stewards usually take care of it. If they miss it, I'll ask again or put a post-it note on cabinet that contains the fridgelet. Our December Nieuw Statendam guys had it done when we arrived. Our Rotterdam stewards this year needed a post it reminder. (We said thank you in both cases.)

 

We usually get a retreat cabana and wind up with a decent supply of bottled water. The empty fridge gives us somewhere to store it.