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Pool Towel Charge


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I’m sure this is everyone’s favorite topic but I need advice. We were on Adventure July 3-10. Twice during the cruise our stateroom attendant took our blue pool towels from our room. This has never happened to us before but I just figured he was being nice and took care of it for us. Fortunately I asked the next day when I went to get more towels because they were still on our account. They took care of it and all was well.

On the full last day of our cruise our stateroom attendant took them again. This time I didn’t get the chance to go back up to the pool to check to see if they were returned, but sure enough there was a $75 charge on our final invoice after leaving the ship.

I’ve called several times and get disconnected most of the time, but I was told today that they would need to email the ship to verify they were returned and only then could they refund it. This sounds kind of ridiculous as I told them what had happened and I’m sure no one on board could verify anything.

Anyone else ever come across this? Is there another department I should be contacting? Either way, lesson learned. I will always check on this before leaving the ship and might have to start hiding my pool towels. Crazy!

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16 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

I’m sure this is everyone’s favorite topic but I need advice. We were on Adventure July 3-10. Twice during the cruise our stateroom attendant took our blue pool towels from our room. This has never happened to us before but I just figured he was being nice and took care of it for us. Fortunately I asked the next day when I went to get more towels because they were still on our account. They took care of it and all was well.

On the full last day of our cruise our stateroom attendant took them again. This time I didn’t get the chance to go back up to the pool to check to see if they were returned, but sure enough there was a $75 charge on our final invoice after leaving the ship.

I’ve called several times and get disconnected most of the time, but I was told today that they would need to email the ship to verify they were returned and only then could they refund it. This sounds kind of ridiculous as I told them what had happened and I’m sure no one on board could verify anything.

Anyone else ever come across this? Is there another department I should be contacting? Either way, lesson learned. I will always check on this before leaving the ship and might have to start hiding my pool towels. Crazy!

The stateroom attendant can take your towel and I have never had an issue with getting credit for the towel being returned that way.  I always make a point to return any towels on the last day directly to the towel guy at the pool and make sure I am current and avoid any issues. 

It most likely showed on your final onboard account the morning you left and it is important to check all charges before leaving as it is much easier to deal with on the ship vs off.

Unfortunately, this won't help you now.  I would email the ship as they suggested and then escalate if you can't get a refund.

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18 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

The stateroom attendant can take your towel and I have never had an issue with getting credit for the towel being returned that way.  I always make a point to return any towels on the last day directly to the towel guy at the pool and make sure I am current and avoid any issues. 

It most likely showed on your final onboard account the morning you left and it is important to check all charges before leaving as it is much easier to deal with on the ship vs off.

Unfortunately, this won't help you now.  I would email the ship as they suggested and then escalate if you can't get a refund.

Thanks. The rep I talked to on the phone is supposedly emailing the ship and will call me once she is able to issue the refund. Guess I’m just hoping for the best at this point. 

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16 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd love to know how many people actually try to steal the towels. Better yet unintentionally take them home. I'm guessing not many.

Agreed, they’re certainly not worth it. I’m assuming the charge is an effort to prevent loss when guests take them off the ship in foreign ports and don’t bother to bring them back.

I’d be interested to know just how many people get charged for towels yet never notice it or bother to complain. After 7 nights and over $1,000 in various charges it could be easy to miss on the final invoice, especially since it doesn’t show up on the paper invoice you get on your last night.

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8 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

I wonder how may people get incorrectly charged for them like Biff215 but don't review their folio closely and just pay..........

I have had a few issues with bad charges.  Last cruise, we were charged for a drink at Coco Cay even though I had the drink package.  It was easily fixed but it definitley pays to watch your on board charges closely throughout the cruise.

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21 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

I have had a few issues with bad charges.  Last cruise, we were charged for a drink at Coco Cay even though I had the drink package.  It was easily fixed but it definitley pays to watch your on board charges closely throughout the cruise.

I find the account feature on the app really nice as it post charges quickly. I usually check it every morning while eating breakfast. Mistakes can happen. 

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18 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

I have had a few issues with bad charges.  Last cruise, we were charged for a drink at Coco Cay even though I had the drink package.  It was easily fixed but it definitley pays to watch your on board charges closely throughout the cruise.

I assume you were smart and got it fixed while on board? So far it has been extremely difficult to get in contact with Royal to fix this from home. An email I sent over a week ago hasn’t yet been answered. It took me about ten calls to finally get someone on the line (disconnected or hung up on the first nine), and even when I got someone, it took over 20 minutes to get where I am now, still waiting on a resolution that I’m guessing may never come.

It’s a shame as it was otherwise a great cruise. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth until it’s fixed. 

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1 hour ago, cdixon22 said:

I find the account feature on the app really nice as it post charges quickly. I usually check it every morning while eating breakfast. Mistakes can happen. 

I agree completely, I checked that often and it helped catch a discount we didn’t get in one of the stores. Unfortunately towel charges get tacked on after you’re off the ship. It would be nice if they connected that system to the app so you always knew how many towels you had out. Well that and telling the stateroom attendants not to take them during the cruise. ?

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10 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

I assume you were smart and got it fixed while on board? So far it has been extremely difficult to get in contact with Royal to fix this from home. An email I sent over a week ago hasn’t yet been answered. It took me about ten calls to finally get someone on the line (disconnected or hung up on the first nine), and even when I got someone, it took over 20 minutes to get where I am now, still waiting on a resolution that I’m guessing may never come.

It’s a shame as it was otherwise a great cruise. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth until it’s fixed. 

Good luck. Hopefully they make it right. I bet they will. 

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8 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

I assume you were smart and got it fixed while on board? So far it has been extremely difficult to get in contact with Royal to fix this from home. An email I sent over a week ago hasn’t yet been answered. It took me about ten calls to finally get someone on the line (disconnected or hung up on the first nine), and even when I got someone, it took over 20 minutes to get where I am now, still waiting on a resolution that I’m guessing may never come.

It’s a shame as it was otherwise a great cruise. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth until it’s fixed. 

Yes, It took a short wait at guest services to get it taken off.  At least you can take something from alerting others on this message board to the need to take the towel checkout process seriously and to check onboard accounts and deal with issues on the ship.

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9 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

We’ll that and telling the stateroom attendants not to take them during the cruise. ?

I've never had any issues with the stateroom attendant handling our pool towels.  I let them know we need 2 each day and they keep switching them out.  It sounds like your attendant messed in logging you old ones back in.

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50 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

I've never had any issues with the stateroom attendant handling our pool towels.  I let them know we need 2 each day and they keep switching them out.  It sounds like your attendant messed in logging you old ones back in.

Yep. If they had traded them out that would have been appreciated and then my responsibility to return them.

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1 hour ago, cdixon22 said:

I find the account feature on the app really nice as it post charges quickly. I usually check it every morning while eating breakfast. Mistakes can happen. 

That was the method I used as well...I caught 1 minor glitch that was quickly reversed with a call to guest services. 

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Update…got a call back from the same rep at Royal who said she heard back from the ship and could now process my refund. So hopefully in the next few weeks it will go through.

Lesson learned, don’t ever assume your stateroom attendant is taking care of it and don’t leave the ship until you’re sure everything is accounted for!

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1 hour ago, Biff215 said:

Update…got a call back from the same rep at Royal who said she heard back from the ship and could now process my refund. So hopefully in the next few weeks it will go through.

Lesson learned, don’t ever assume your stateroom attendant is taking care of it and don’t leave the ship until you’re sure everything is accounted for!

Thanks for the update. Glad they took care of it. Go team Royal. 

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1 hour ago, Psycho and Barb said:

We always tell our attendant to leave the pool towels alone and we will take care of them.  We exchange them out as soon as we come back onboard.

Yeah, I think the lesson here is to take care of it on your own.  You're ultimately responsible for the towels, so might as well just do it.   We've been having this conversation with the two other parties we will be cruising with to make sure they understand that each room just needs to do it and not "be nice" and take other peoples towels back.

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Just definitely be aware that your stateroom attendant may be “nice” and take the towels without actually returning them in the system. Through six other Royal cruises we’ve never had this issue and I would have thought they were told not to take the blue towels. Maybe they get a cut of that $25! ?

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