Curious charge to my credit card

[Tony UK]

27 minutes ago, B-HQC said:

If you are talking about the 4 transparent MB shower gel bottles that are normally left on the shelves next to the vanity, these are definitely free of charge to use onboard and chargable if removed. Quite frankly I don't see why anyone would take them as they are opened (no plastic cap), used, and rather large bottles. There was definitley a notice next to them to the effect that a charge would be applied to your account if they were removed, which i found to be a little tacky. 

 

I normally pick one bottle to relocate to the shower (as I find these to be better quality than the products in the white opague bottles) and one next to the sink to use as hand soap. Everything else, I put aside in the far corner of the tub (which also never gets used) or with the extra TP.

 

I do find it a little strange that SB offers a selection of 5 different shower gels in the bathroom, which is unheard of in luxury hotels, but it takes 2 seconds to put them away, so not something I would bother to complain about!

Its not just removed, it is if used at all. We also thought all the different varieties were confusing, however we thought there were samples, like a sales pitch to sell Molton Brown from the shop. 

From these posts it is obviously not clear. An added irritation is the fact that it is added after the final on board invoice, charged to CC, and then no  final invoice by mail showing what the extra charge was for. I guess it might not be noticed in the total charged to CC. I Have never recently been on a ship which doesn't email a final invoice.

[Tony UK]

12 hours ago, johng75370 said:

We’re all friends here, and hoping no one rats me out 🫣.  I will be on notice next time.

 

But checked and we’ve done 7 SB sailings from 2021 onwards (when I think they started this “offering”) and have never seen this charge at the end of the voyage, and have not held back in trying the soaps.  @Tony UK I am sorry for what you had to struggle with SB overall, and to have this charge also is not very nice.  I’ll be back onboard next month and will ask if this was something recent, or if there are reasons it may have been waived before.  But thanks for letting me know I’m not as innocent as I thought 😇

If it had suited my skin, and if I'd thought I'd be charged, I would have taken them with me for an onward stay in Italy. I only used the shampoo once, as did my husband, and a smear of the body lotion, But it brought me out in a rash...AND I was charged for the privilige!

At least when you know, you know lol!

[Tony UK]

13 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

It was fine 3 weeks ago.  They are for your use onboard. 

Well, my info came from the Chief execs office in the last couple of weeks. You might have been lucky last time. It might be worth confirming with your room attendant next time!

[whogo]

After making sure they are free to use while onboard, next cruise I will take all four gels into the shower for double blind testing, try #1 on my left forequarter, #2 on my right forequarter, #3 on my left hindquarter, #4 on my right hindquarter and hope the combination of scents doesn't knock me out. I will get my wife's opinion, see how what I use meshes with what she uses, try to hammer out a mutually satisfactory gel agreement without the benefit of our therapists. As we switch from the scent of home washed clothes to ship washed clothes we will have to revisit the gel issue. It is a shame we will not have time to do anything on our cruise except experiment with Molton Brown products.

[galeforce9]

4 hours ago, Tony UK said:

Well, my info came from the Chief execs office in the last couple of weeks. You might have been lucky last time. It might be worth confirming with your room attendant next time!

We did.  There was no charge for using ONBOARD and we were not charged 

[Mauzac]

How strange this is... our cruise earlier this year, I tried out all 4 big bottles to decide which I liked the best and put the chosen one in the shower.  Then changed it for another one, so all 4 had some used.

 

Just before disembarkation, I could see the ones I wasn't using were topped up ready for the next guests in our suite.

I hope they won't be charging for them now, if so I will put them underneath the sink out the way! 

 

 

[Lilly55]

Have never been charged for using the MB shower gels displayed when walk into suites and there is a sign that clearly states you will be charged if you take the bottles away.

 

Just messaged someone working in Seabourn Square on Ovation at moment. They say no charge if used onboard but when cleaning the room following departure a count is made of all bottles and a charge added to the room for missing bottles.
 

This is done because so many bottles are being removed from the rooms - they also check the bathrobes are still there as that is another item that people decide to take.

[Robisan]

I guess the lesson here is make sure you return the MB bottles to their original place before disembarking so you won't be mistakenly(?) charged for taking them. If you feel the need to take a photo with date and time for proof just in case, cherish it as another Seabourn Moment.

[Sunprince]

1 hour ago, Lilly55 said:

This is done because so many bottles are being removed from the rooms

Then why have them in the room in the first place??  Nobody seems to want them in the room, and they are large and in the way.  They can be purchased in the shop if you want to take them home, everyone knows that.   The extra work for the housekeeping crew to manage and keep track of the inventory is a waste of time that could be better served on other value added tasks.  And then when guests are charged in error, it becomes a negative experience and a “bad moment” reflected back on Seabourn. 

[Tony UK]

There seems to be a kind of suggestion that I might have mistakenly taken the bottles home without realising it lol!

In fact I have used Molten Brown at home with no problems but the one I used from the bottles gave me a rash so only used it once and certainly wouldn't have taken it home!

They really should ask for a signature or something before charging you dont you think? Like the original poster I didn't even realise until I queried the CC charge and was supplied with an updated account where it showed up! I do think its all a bit....well underhand!

[Lilly55]

8 minutes ago, Sunprince said:

Then why have them in the room in the first place??  Nobody seems to want them in the room, and they are large and in the way.  They can be purchased in the shop if you want to take them home, everyone knows that.   The extra work for the housekeeping crew to manage and keep track of the inventory is a waste of time that could be better served on other value added tasks.  And then when guests are charged in error, it becomes a negative experience and a “bad moment” reflected back on Seabourn. 

I for one are happy to have them in the room as tend to use various ones throughout a cruise and don’t like the white bottles in the shower.

I think you are assuming all the missing ones are errors in housekeeping - being realistic when listening to people in hotel club lounges - many people take these things from their rooms - no doubt there are some errors but don’t believe that some people are not taking these home rather than paying £20 a bottle from the shop 😀

 

Tony UK - How can they ask for a signature when the check is only done when you have departed the room and they are cleaning it?

[Sunprince]

2 minutes ago, Lilly55 said:

I think you are assuming all the missing ones are errors in housekeeping

No, I am not assuming that.  However, there have been at least 2 posters recently who clearly stated that they did not take them, yet they were charged, so that is an error somewhere in the Seabourn process. 
 

I am not doubting that many people do take the bottles and either didn’t read the signage next to them (or the signage was missing). In those cases I do agree that Seabourn should charge them, with appropriate notification prior to the final billing. 
 

It would be so much easier to just remove the needless bottles from the suite and if you wanted an alternative to the white shower bottles, then your suite attendant could arrange for that.

 

BTW, no one has answered my question on what they do with the partially used large bottles. Refill them and reuse? 

[Covepointcruiser]

They refill all of the bottles and reuse them.   There was one we liked and we ordered it from Amazon.   Received no extra charges from Seabourn.

[frantic36]

I am so glad my husband and I aren't into the gels and just use the loofah soap. I get the stewardess to remove the others and just leave me with the body lotion. I used the body lotion and there was no charge for using it on the ship when I got off 2 weeks ago. 

[texanaust]

It is sad to see what Seabourn has become if they are now charging to use the Molton Brown toiletries.  CD Ross was literally encouraging passengers to steal the stuff in his announcements until recently.     

[Neilio]

I think there is a lot of missing or misinformation regarding this topic. Happy Sailing to All.

[SLSD]

Here is one weird thing that happened in our suite last summer.  One day--one of our bathrobes was missing.  It had not been worn. But on that particular day, both of us wanted to wear a bathrobe.  I alerted our attendants to the situation and another bathrobe was brought to our suite.  This was early in our 28 day cruise.  What the heck!

 

We have NO interest in taking these bathrobes home They are too heavy and bulky for our liking.  But wht happened to the second bathrobe?  It was there at the beginning of our cruise.  

Edited October 14 by SLSD

[Isklaar]

I was trying to recall the original policy. I found my own post from our 25 day B2B, from back in the halcyon days of December 2019.

On Sojourn this change from the small bottles of MB happened at the beginning of the Holiday cruise segment.

 

If this is the same policy now, and seemingly it is, then IMO it sounds as if there is some misunderstanding happening amongst the crew at the point the guest has left the room to disembark. I would urge people to claim back any erroneous charges from SB. 

 

 I don't know how to bring it over as a quote so here C&P :

 

Isklaar

Author

#21   

Posted December 21, 2019

I can confirm that we have the new size containers for the MB products here on Sojourn.  Can also confirm that a card was left with them reminding guests that they can be purchased from the boutique, or a charge will be made for any that go missing.

 

They are a pump dispenser, the tops do unscrew and I am assuming that they will be refilled but will check for sure at some point during the next segment and will update here.

 

[SLSD]

25 minutes ago, Isklaar said:

I was trying to recall the original policy. I found my own post from our 25 day B2B, from back in the halcyon days of December 2019.

On Sojourn this change from the small bottles of MB happened at the beginning of the Holiday cruise segment.

 

If this is the same policy now, and seemingly it is, then IMO it sounds as if there is some misunderstanding happening amongst the crew at the point the guest has left the room to disembark. I would urge people to claim back any erroneous charges from SB. 

 

 I don't know how to bring it over as a quote so here C&P :

 

Isklaar

Author

#21   

Posted December 21, 2019

I can confirm that we have the new size containers for the MB products here on Sojourn.  Can also confirm that a card was left with them reminding guests that they can be purchased from the boutique, or a charge will be made for any that go missing.

 

They are a pump dispenser, the tops do unscrew and I am assuming that they will be refilled but will check for sure at some point during the next segment and will update here.

 

This still doesn't explain why there was shower gel IN the shower AND four huge bottles (that looked sealed) representing four different scents on the bathroom counter.  The bottles in the shower were refillable.  The large bottles on the counter looked like something you would buy retail.  There was no note with the bottles.  They just seemed extra and superfluous to me.  

[Isklaar]

2 minutes ago, SLSD said:

This still doesn't explain why there was shower gel IN the shower AND four huge bottles (that looked sealed) representing four different scents on the bathroom counter.  The bottles in the shower were refillable.  The large bottles on the counter looked like something you would buy retail.  There was no note with the bottles.  They just seemed extra and superfluous to me.  

 

 

I understand this, it's confusing and absolutely there should be an explanatory note. 

[Isklaar]

SLSD, further information which may or may not be helpful. My husband's recollection is that the large bottles on display were there for marketing purposes, e.g guests not to use their contents unless they wanted to purchase them. Guests should wait for the suite attendants to refill the bottles in the shower. This is contrary to the experience described by some of our CC posters, so who knows what is accurate.

[SLSD]

54 minutes ago, Isklaar said:

SLSD, further information which may or may not be helpful. My husband's recollection is that the large bottles on display were there for marketing purposes, e.g guests not to use their contents unless they wanted to purchase them. Guests should wait for the suite attendants to refill the bottles in the shower. This is contrary to the experience described by some of our CC posters, so who knows what is accurate.

Exactly.  So confusing.  They definitely looked like marketing to me, but they took up a large part of the small bathroom counter.  I moved them to the lowest open shelf on the corner cabinet by the bathtub.  That was space I would have liked to use for our own things.  

 

I seem to recall that someone asked their suite attendant to take the large bottles away and they were told that this could not be done.  I suppose you could set them inside the bathtub if you were not using it.  

[frantic36]

8 hours ago, SLSD said:

I seem to recall that someone asked their suite attendant to take the large bottles away and they were told that this could not be done. 

 

I ask for them to be taken away as like you I find they take up too much space. Last month they just locked them in their locked storage cupboard in the bathroom. 

[Covepointcruiser]

We had a card by the bottles clearly stating you could use the bottle onboard but if you decided to take any home you would be charged for the bottle.    The card was only written in English so if that is not your language you could misunderstand their use.

[Sunprince]

I will be onboard in a few weeks.  I will see if there is a sign, whether the bottles are sealed, for sale or for use, and also ask the suite attendant what the deal is. If I don’t get answers that make sense, then I will ask further until it does. This is all so unnecessary for a luxury cruise, but I will try to do my duty…at least for clarity sake.