What to ask our steward

[bonny sparrow]

Any tips on what i should ask our steward, someone said ask which night they serve lobster tails.........
we are sailing to nz in feb, this is only our second cruise and feel we may have missed out on some things last time, we didnt realise they hd a free bbq on board......sometimes its just about knowing which questions to ask.

hope someone can help

cheers

[CruiserBruce]

If you are referring to your February cruise on Carnival, some reading on the Carnival board will give you a lot of info. The Carnival board is here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215

[6rugrats]

I've never asked my room steward anything. If you want to know what's going on, read the daily newspaper.

[cruiseco]

Originally Posted by 6rugrats

I've never asked my room steward anything. If you want to know what's going on, read the daily newspaper.

Yep, I only ask the cabin steward things that pertain to his job. If you have a butler that's different -- feel free to ask that person anything as its his/her job to answer all of your questions. But if you ask the steward where and what time the BBQ is (or something similar) he'll probably feel obligated to find out the answer for you, adding to his regular duties.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We don;t ask our cabin stewards things like that.

You will get the daily program the evening before -- read it over and plan what you want to do the next day.

[johneeo]

Originally Posted by bonny sparrow

Any tips on what i should ask our steward, someone said ask which night they serve lobster tails.........
we are sailing to nz in feb, this is only our second cruise and feel we may have missed out on some things last time, we didnt realise they hd a free bbq on board......sometimes its just about knowing which questions to ask.

hope someone can help

cheers

I introduce myself, ask his or her name, where he is from, and I am happy to have conversations about his family and interests.

[Gangway Style]

I ask the steward to please be sure to keep our ice bucket filled up at all times when he or she cleans the room.

For daily activities, events and shows on the ship, be sure to read the daily newsletter that is left in your room each evening.

[sail7seas]

The daily newsletter gives you the sort of information you are seeking.
Read where it tells dining hours for all the food venues. Read if it says there is a 'deck barbeque' that day. Questions about what will be served in the dining room are better addressed with and to your dining steward rather than your cabin steward.

Ask your cabin steward for such things as ice or more towels or a spare blanket etc

[Cruisin' Chick]

Honestly, your cabin steward will be plenty busy on the first day. So take a look around the cabin to make sure there aren't any problems (eg. not enough life jackets in your cabin, the water faucet doesn't work, that type of thing). The only time I did ask a question about dining is when our cabin card didn't say what time late dining was and couldn't find the time in the first day's Patters (I've very good about reading these and for some strange reason, this info wasn't listed until the second day's) and couldn't find the info in the booklet left on the desk. Apparently the time was changed either that sailing or the one prior, I discovered.

We're pretty low maintenance so we don't bother with requests.

[ducklite]

About the only thing I ever ask for is an extra pillow and an extra bottle/tube of hand cream.

Sometimes after a couple of days I ask them to take away the fruit basket. Nice touch, but I don't think I've ever eaten the fruit from one.

[GORDONCHICK]

Hanging out on the board of the cruise line you're sailing and reading until your sight is blurry is how you'll find out things like which night is lobster night or where the best place is to be for sail away. Another good place for info will be your roll call.

Ask your cabin steward their name(s), where they're from, how long they've been with ______________ (fill in your cruise line), please keep my ice bucket full, please empty the minibar, etc. They don't dine in the MDR nor go on deck for sail away. They are busy. But please use "please" and "thank you" and tip accordingly.

[ducklite]

My opinion of the best type of room steward is the one you never see. The one you leave notes for and they always take care of what you request via the note. The one you call "The Ghost." You leave your cabin in the morning, and before you return, your ghost has been there to tidy up. That's the steward who is going to get an extra tip from me.

[Nebr.cruiser]

My requests are two: a top sheet (and a blanket, if possible)-- hate the duvet; and extra hangers.

I don't think the stewards necessarily know what is going on each night. I love to pore over the ship's daily schedule that we get in our room each night. I either use a highlighter or a pen to mark things we might want to do.

[cb at sea]

Your cabin attendant is there for things like towels, changing the sheets, getting you ice....stuff like that. They really aren't familiar with the schedules of activites or the menus.

All the info you need will be in the daily newsletter that will be in your cabin daily! Read it!

[lady_cruiser]

Originally Posted by bonny sparrow

Any tips on what i should ask our steward, someone said ask which night they serve lobster tails.........
we are sailing to nz in feb, this is only our second cruise and feel we may have missed out on some things last time, we didnt realise they hd a free bbq on board......sometimes its just about knowing which questions to ask.

hope someone can help

cheers

This isn't my idea but someone here at Cruise Critic mentioned that they aren't into towel animals so they "asked" the cabin attendant not to leave them any. They figured that it was one less thing that their attendant had to do and would give them a few extra minutes to finish up their work. By doing this they felt they were letting their attendant get back to their cabin a few minutes early.