Stateroom Etiquette Question

Will be cruising in December of this year. Since we cruised last my husband has had serious surgery. Even though it was 3 years ago he has some lasting after effects. The one I am concerned most about is extreme fatigue. This doesn't happen every day but when he has a "tired" day he will take a very long nap, three to four hours. Because of this we will have some days where we may not leave the cabin for any length of time.

I appreciate how hard the room stewards work and hate to mess with how they plan their time to work in the cabins. Should I attempt to explain our "problem" or just put out the do not disturb sign and hope for the best. I certainly won't be unhappy with the service if we are the ones who mess it up. No change in gratuities.

Thanks for any insight.

Just put out the sign. On another line I have seen a notice put in the door late in the afternoon saying that the cabin wasn't refreshed due to the notice and if you wanted it done contact the steward.

Your room steward does have a routine to follow that allows him to be most efficient. I would advise him of your concerns (without going into too much detail). He will respect your "Do not disturb" sign. I "heard" that they are suppose to check your cabin at least once a day. Maybe someone can advise on this policy.

I think that communication is a good thing. On the first day, the room steward will come to see you, and to introduce himself or herself. This would be a perfect time to explain the situation.

Two different views have been expressed here, so please consider which one best fits your personal style. Either way, enjoy your cruise😊

On Sea days we spend a lot of time in our cabin and on our balcony. When we have days where we don't want to be disturbed I generally will let the steward know that we won't be needing any service that day or evening and then I put out the do not disturb sign. That way they can cross our room off their list and not worry about it.

Communications with the Room Steward will solve the problem. Most have told us to leave the sign on the door when we leave saying the room is ready for service. Or when we wish not to be disturbed. Never had a problem and the room is always in great shape.

I'm of the communication with the steward camp. My suggestion is to put the "Please make up room" sign out in the morning when you go to breakfast. We find that the steward likes to get going on cleaning rooms since some folks sleep in, and when we put the sign out he/she appreciates it and 99% of the time it is done when we return. Then when your husband is napping in the afternoon put the "do not disturb" sign out. Same process in the evening when you go to dinner, especially important for those who have anytime rather than traditional dining, so the steward knows when you leave to go to dinner.

good luck!

I agree you should tell your room steward. Many, many people cruise who have similar concerns, maybe for different reasons. People with small children who nap, the very elderly who, if they are anything like my dad was, take naps. My sister felt sick (seasick or something she ate?) on our last cruise and she was in bed most of one day.

The room stewards are usually in your room once in the morning and once in the early evening. There are hours and hours in between when they're not around at all. There should be plenty of time for naps. And the evening one is particularly easy for them to skip. You would be out your turn down and little chocolate treats, but other than to check if you need anything and tidy up a bit, that's really all they do in the evening.

Let your room steward know. I also have fatigue issues, but we simply tell the cabin steward on the first day, that sometimes we will not want the room refreshed in the evenings or might not leave in the morning, and that we do not expect service. I do also ask for enough linens (specific as to what we want) so this is not an issue. Sometimes, we might be in the room, and he will just empty the trash, refresh linens, leave the breakfast menu and the chocolates. It is easier for them if you let them know at the outset, and easier on you as well since they won't be looking for opportunities to get in the stateroom when you are trying to rest.

On several occasions we have told the room steward to skip our room for one reason or another. Usually they just ask if we need towels, ice, etc. They are probably happy to have one less thing to do. But, we actually skip the service, we don't expect them to come back later, or change their routine. It is not problem.

Carnival has gone to having the steward ask if you want morning or evening service. You can specify you want both, which I have done. but for our next cruise I am going to tell him/her to only service in the evening. Reason is that my sister has a hard time getting out of bed before noon (her has job was 3-11 shift). The cruise will be 8 days, with only three ports, and one of those we don't dock until 1pm. We shower before dinner, so towels would be refreshed with late service. She will be able to sleep in without feeling she is inconveniencing the steward. EM

Carnival has gone to having the steward ask if you want morning or evening service. You can specify you want both, which I have done. but for our next cruise I am going to tell him/her to only service in the evening. Reason is that my sister has a hard time getting out of bed before noon (her has job was 3-11 shift). The cruise will be 8 days, with only three ports, and one of those we don't dock until 1pm. We shower before dinner, so towels would be refreshed with late service. She will be able to sleep in without feeling she is inconveniencing the steward. EM

This response is not relevant to Princess. Princess has not made this change. Princess still services the room twice each day.

I'm of the communication with the steward camp. My suggestion is to put the "Please make up room" sign out in the morning when you go to breakfast. We find that the steward likes to get going on cleaning rooms since some folks sleep in, and when we put the sign out he/she appreciates it and 99% of the time it is done when we return. Then when your husband is napping in the afternoon put the "do not disturb" sign out. Same process in the evening when you go to dinner, especially important for those who have anytime rather than traditional dining, so the steward knows when you leave to go to dinner.

 

good luck!

I agree with this response. Tell the room steward that there will be days when you will not want service or will only want it once, but you don't have to give him detailed reasons. Put out the "Do not disturb" whenever you don't want to be disturbed. In your case, it is important to put out the "Please make up the room" sign whenever your room is available to be made up.

There have also been times when DW was napping that I told the steward to go ahead and make up the bathroom. He did that without disturbing her nap. Note that I only did that when I was in the room awake while she was napping.

Put the "Please make up my room" sign in your door anytime you leave your cabin in the morning. Newbies have the hardest time grasping this idea. It tells your steward you're out and he/she is free to get in there to clean. IME, the steward will usually get in within 1 hr.

Once he's ready for his nap, put the "Do Not Disturb" sign up because a lot of deliveries happen in the afternoon.

No worries....put the "do not disturb" sign out, and he won't be bothered....it's not a big deal!

No matter the situation, it is your vacation. Simply put out the privacy sign and relax.

From experience...my husband just completed chemo/radiation extensively and after 2 months we had our cruise booked. Docs said to go, just be careful. He was tired and this was a cruise for him to relax and heal. I met up with Raymond, our room steward and explained the situation to him. I asked that when we went to Sabatini's for breakfast if he could quick do our room and then turn down our bed when we went to dinner. I keep our room clean and picked up; so not much to do anyways. He was glad I told him. He also got us extra blankets for my husband on the balcony, had an extra bucket of ice daily and always asked how he was and if he could do anything. So he would know why the privacy was on. We did 5 back to backs on this cruise and he arranged the liquor to be changed to wine/pop so we would not be interrupted unnecessarily knowing the situation. He was the best room steward we have ever had.

This worked for us. We just would go by him and tell him we were leaving for breakfast or dinner and he would do our room next. As I said, this worked great for us and our room steward was glad he was able to schedule our room accordingly.

Yep, as others have said, just put the sign up and then they'll clean it when the sign's not up. Communicate with them as well. They're generally really good and will do their best not to disturb you, while ensuring that the room is tidy and clean.

Another vote for just telling Stewart. When we leave our cabin in the morning and we see him we just say we'll be back in an hour (or two or three) so that he can plan his other cabins around mine. Helps us and helps him. I would guess the same goes for staying in. Just tell him so he can plan doing the other cabins around DH's naps.

I'm with the "just put up the sign and don't worry about it" people. The cabin stewards are constantly adjusting their schedules to accommodate people who rise early, people who sleep in, people who put up their do not disturb signs. It's not a big deal.

We will always tell the steward if we are staying in and also not to worry about doing the room. They have always seemed very appreciative of knowing. Sometimes in the morning if we are on the balcony having coffee we'll tell him to feel free to come in and do the room while we're on the balcony. It may not seem like a lot but with all they have to do, why not let them know so they don't have to keep checking:)

When we are ready to have our room done in the morning, let the Room Steward know, he does the room next, we use are room and balcony a lot during the day... Room Steward is always happy to do as soon as we ask.

Sort of nice to tell your cabin steward your situation and why you may have the "Do No Disturb" and not require service some days. :)