Any time throughout the cruise, but particularly after the preliminary statement has been received, guests will wish to confirm, clarify or dispute charges which appear on their accounts. It is our obligation to assist in clarifying the situation as soon as possible, or if necessary make a correction. Depending on when the charge is being disputed, the charge the department is from and the amount of the charge, a certain procedure is followed.
BEFORE APPROXIMATELY 7PM – THE NIGHT BEFORE DEBARKATION:
• Charges from business partners and other departments – refer guest to department manager
• Shore Excursions – Contact Shore Excursion Manager. If not on duty at that time, request assistance from a supervisor.
• Bar Charges – Check statement and ensure that the charge still remains on the account. If it still remains then highlight charge and stamp statement with the rubber inquiry stamp. Complete the stamp fields using information found in the Offline Charges screen in the Cash Out screen.
Place in the accounting box to be collected and processed.
DEBARKATION MORNING ONLY:
• Charges from our Business Partners and other departments – refer guest to department manager
• Shore Excursions – Speak with Shore Excursions, if not on duty at this time, request assistance from a supervisor.
• Bar Charges – Check statement and ensure it is still posted on the account as adjustments could have been made after the statement was printed. If the charge still appears ask clarifying questions and try to identify what the charge might be for. If the guest still denies making the charge then there are two options, as follow:
If the charge is less than $10 – The charge may be removed. Discreetly transfer the charge to folio 9999 using the Offline Charges screen.
If the charge is more than $10 – The charge may not be removed on board. Print a copy of the statement and highlight the disputed charge.
Complete the Sail and Sign Inquiry form and make a copy. The original goes to the accounting department and the copy goes to the guest so that they may follow up with Guest Relations upon their return home. If found to be incorrect and the guest has a credit account, the charge will be refunded to the credit card. For cash accounts a refund check will be sent to their home address. Both procedures take approximately one week to process.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DISPUTED CHARGES –
Which departments keep their checks? Any discrepancies from the following departments should be dealt with by the department directly.
- Gift Shop - Infirmary
- Art Auction - Spa
- Golf Pro - Internet Cafe
- Photo Gallery - Camp Carnival
- Casino - Tattoo Artist
- Bingo (Entertainment) - In Cabin Beverages (Housekeeping)
The Purser should contact the department on the guests’ behalf and initiate the investigation. On debarkation morning many of these departments will not be open. However, there will be someone on call, who can help resolve such disputes as they cannot be adjusted by the Purser’s Office.
Shore Excursions – All Shore Excursions receipts are kept at the Information Desk and the investigation can be started with the Purser. However, authorization to refund the charge will be required from the Shore Excursions Department.
How Does the Satellite Phone Work? – The Chief Purser is the only person who may authorize adjustments to phone charges.
To help resolve telephone call disputes it is important to know the following:
- Phone calls are charged from point of connection to the satellite not by the amount of talk time
- All calls are billed by the minute and are rounded up. So even if a guest talks for one minute and one second they will be charged for two minutes.
- All 1-800, phone card and toll free numbers are charged at the same rate of $6.99 per minute
- The responsible person in the cabin will be charged for phone calls regardless of who made the call. If a guest states their room-mate made the call, the room-mate needs to come to the desk and authorize the charge to be moved to the correct folio through the Offline Charges screen.
- A daily report is printed of all telephone calls (MTN report). If all parties deny the call the Purser should check the report and see if the guest recognizes the number. If not, the guest’s boarding pass (APIS Update) may be checked to see if the number dialed matches the number on file.
- If the guest still denies the charge the only person who can adjust the charge is the Chief Purser. A statement should be printed and any changes authorized are at their discretion.
