Issue with pool towels

[bedfordmom]

Recently got off the Navigator; the cruise was great but we did have one incident with the towels. My daughters had left three dirty towels in their stateroom and when they came back they disapeared. Apparently the cabin steward had picked them up for them the day before and did not replace them. When I went to check on my two towels they were also gone. I found the steward who said that he had picked them up for me. I told him that now I was responsible for five towels!! He gave me back the two that he had just picked up and wasnt sure that he could get back the other three. Boy was I mad. I found out the steward was new only on the job three weeks and didn't even know about the towel policy

 

I went down to the front desk to complain and found out my daughters who did not have charging priviledges were not even supposed to be taking out towels. They told me not to worry about it buy I didn't believe them.

 

Well it ended well. The cabin steward found three towels to give back to us. I also discovered some blue towels among the clean towels in the work out room, took a couple just in case this happened again and we zeroed out our account at the end.

 

I do have a suggestion; towels should have a chip in them and should they leave the ship unauthorized they could sound off. For shore excursions, people should then sign them out and then exchange them for new ones when they board. Labadee should be stocked with fresh towels as well. But I think the towels should be unlimited on the ship as they easily be misplaced especially by children on the ship.By the way, I wouldnt waste room in my precious luggage room for their thin ratty towels.

[akcruz]

Recently got off the Navigator; the cruise was great but we did have one incident with the towels. My daughters had left three dirty towels in their stateroom and when they came back they disapeared. Apparently the cabin steward had picked them up for them the day before and did not replace them. When I went to check on my two towels they were also gone. I found the steward who said that he had picked them up for me. I told him that now I was responsible for five towels!! He gave me back the two that he had just picked up and wasnt sure that he could get back the other three. Boy was I mad. I found out the steward was new only on the job three weeks and didn't even know about the towel policy

 

I went down to the front desk to complain and found out my daughters who did not have charging priviledges were not even supposed to be taking out towels. They told me not to worry about it buy I didn't believe them.

 

Well it ended well. The cabin steward found three towels to give back to us. I also discovered some blue towels among the clean towels in the work out room, took a couple just in case this happened again and we zeroed out our account at the end.

 

I do have a suggestion; towels should have a chip in them and should they leave the ship unauthorized they could sound off. For shore excursions, people should then sign them out and then exchange them for new ones when they board. Labadee should be stocked with fresh towels as well. But I think the towels should be unlimited on the ship as they easily be misplaced especially by children on the ship.By the way, I wouldnt waste room in my precious luggage room for their thin ratty towels.

 

I 100% agree with you on the desire to have unlimited towels without having to check them out. Unfortunately many did take those thin ratty towels back in their luggage causing the rest of us to suffer. As is usually the case, the acts of a few impact many.

[cattylady]

...my hubby had taken one towel on his card and I had taken one a day later on my card.

At the end of the cruise my hubby took both towels back (not realising he needed to take my card as well).

The staff just took both towels back and did not query with my husband that there was only one registered to him, thereby leaving me owing for one towel!

Luckily I realised my husband had taken it and immediately went over to clarify - so the staff took the towel off my card. Another 5 minutes or change of staff and this would not have been possible to rectify.

Just beware that staff may not always assist when they can see a possible problem.

[fdthird]

I agree...as with so many issues in our life, we can thank our fellow cruisers for the situation. Yes, it's a pain that you have to do what you have to do, but if we didn't cruise with folks who think that they are "free" to take home, the situation would probably be different. I suggest you return towels after each use...just makes it easier! On the Allure in November they were at the gangway and you could check in those dirty sandy shore excursion towels as you came back on the ship. Perfect solution to me.

[TEXASMUNK]

was saying it nicely! I would say it a bit more frankly! The only reason we have to sign in and sign out is thieves. Rarely a mistake....people stole too may towels so we all get inconvenienced.

[bedfordmom]

I agree...as with so many issues in our life, we can thank our fellow cruisers for the situation. Yes, it's a pain that you have to do what you have to do, but if we didn't cruise with folks who think that they are "free" to take home, the situation would probably be different. I suggest you return towels after each use...just makes it easier! On the Allure in November they were at the gangway and you could check in those dirty sandy shore excursion towels as you came back on the ship. Perfect solution to me.

 

You are right; need to check in the dirty towels. I was being lazy returning from shore excursion -being on the 6th floor, too tired to go up to the 11th to return mine and then the room was cleaned. I think my kids just dragged their towels around all day not to lose them. So to them, they were doing the right thing.

[cruiseinfoseeker]

was saying it nicely! I would say it a bit more frankly! The only reason we have to sign in and sign out is thieves. Rarely a mistake....people stole too may towels so we all get inconvenienced.

 

While I agree there are probably towel thieves, I also noticed a problem (before this check out policy) of people leaving their wet sandy towels at port beaches because they didn't want the bother of taking them (now heavy and dirty) back to the ship, especially if they plan to do walking/shopping before they go back--which of course is a lazy selfish thing.

 

On cruises where I have extra luggage space and no worries of $$ airline fees I tend to pack at least two very (very) cheap thin towels for the beach or excursions so that I can just throw them away (or give them away) if they are filthy and heavy and it would be much more comfortable for the rest of my day if I didn't have them with me before heading back to the ship.

[wethetraveler]

Interesting comparison.

 

I have sailed on RCI ten (10) times and Celebrity two (2) times. In January 2012, I sailed on Celebrity Eclipse and the towel exchange was not monitored, you did not have to sign out or check out a towel. The towel exchange operated on the honor system. They also placed two very large Celebrity towels in the room just before entering the first port of call and they picked up the towels on the last day of the cruise. Just a point of observation and comparison. It is a shame that all must suffer because of the actions of a few. I have attached a picture of the large Celebrity towel that was placed in our stateroom.

[fdthird]

And I bet a lot of folks could alos post pictures of those same towels at their home pools or local beaches!

[cb at sea]

Even if you are charged erroneously, they will remove the charge, if you tell them to! It's not the big deal it's made out to be. Even hotels are making folks sign out towels nowadays....as it seems to make folks more responsible with someone else's stuff!

[ChevyCruiser]

Interesting comparison.

 

I have sailed on RCI ten (10) times and Celebrity two (2) times. In January 2012, I sailed on Celebrity Eclipse and the towel exchange was not monitored, you did not have to sign out or check out a towel. The towel exchange operated on the honor system. They also placed two very large Celebrity towels in the room just before entering the first port of call and they picked up the towels on the last day of the cruise. Just a point of observation and comparison. It is a shame that all must suffer because of the actions of a few. I have attached a picture of the large Celebrity towel that was placed in our stateroom.

 

 

How many Chair Hogs used the FREE towels to claim their Chair Hog Nest on the Eclipse?

 

When I was on the Solstice, I could never find a cabana free - they were all Chair Hog Nests with a towel or two, a paperback, and maybe some flip flops. Staff were totally uninterested in enforcing the "No Reserving" policy, so, I enforced my own policy and moved whatever abandoned towels, paperbacks, and flip flops I found and used whichever cabana I wanted. Only one day did someone appear and try to reclaim their Chair Hog Nest, but I had been there a couple of hours at that time and I was younger and bigger than they were so I told them to sod off.

 

ON RCI, I NEVER bother to check out a pool towel anymore. I just find one where I want to sit and move the old paperback/magazine etc etc. If enough of us did it, the Chair Hogs might get the message and not leave their stuff to "claim" a chair for hours.

 

And I don't care that they may be on the hook for the towel, if they are arrogant and stupid enough to leave it lay about to "reserve" a chair, they deserve the charge for the towel.

[johneeo]

How many Chair Hogs used the FREE towels to claim their Chair Hog Nest on the Eclipse?

 

When I was on the Solstice, I could never find a cabana free - they were all Chair Hog Nests with a towel or two, a paperback, and maybe some flip flops. Staff were totally uninterested in enforcing the "No Reserving" policy, so, I enforced my own policy and moved whatever abandoned towels, paperbacks, and flip flops I found and used whichever cabana I wanted. Only one day did someone appear and try to reclaim their Chair Hog Nest, but I had been there a couple of hours at that time and I was younger and bigger than they were so I told them to sod off.

 

ON RCI, I NEVER bother to check out a pool towel anymore. I just find one where I want to sit and move the old paperback/magazine etc etc. If enough of us did it, the Chair Hogs might get the message and not leave their stuff to "claim" a chair for hours.

 

And I don't care that they may be on the hook for the towel, if they are arrogant and stupid enough to leave it lay about to "reserve" a chair, they deserve the charge for the towel.

 

Yep, I agree.

 

Go to the pool in the morning and the chair hogs are kind enough to leave tons of towels for your convenience. Just take as many as you need.

[tikif6]

Well it ended well. The cabin steward found three towels to give back to us. I also discovered some blue towels among the clean towels in the work out room, took a couple just in case this happened again and we zeroed out our account at the end.

 

 

Smart, but this could have caused another issue. What if those towels belonged to another guest who happened to have forgotten them there and suddenly realized it only to go back to the work out room to not find any towels? Then after asking the staff to look around and not find any blue towels are then now faced with the grief of having to pay. If you didn't take (well steal) them then the staff might have found it for them.

 

This is of course just hypothetical and may not of happened as they were with the "clean towels" but its just my .2 as to not take what is not yours as you never know.

[Ocean Boy]

Even if you are charged erroneously, they will remove the charge, if you tell them to! It's not the big deal it's made out to be. Even hotels are making folks sign out towels nowadays....as it seems to make folks more responsible with someone else's stuff!

 

Yes, it is a pain in the butt. Usually, by the time you find out there has been a mistake made it is near the very end of the cruise and the customer service desk is mobbed. I don't enjoy spending the end of my cruise having to deal with fixing errors made by the crew.

[ksuds]

Does anyone actually have knowledge of RCI charging someone for towels. I know the policy is in place, but at the end of the day I see lots of abandoned towels laying around. I've never been told by someone that a towel charge showed up on their bill.

 

Hey, if you want a free towel, go down to the spa. They are a lot nicer than the blue one's. And you don't have to check them out.

[Ocean Boy]

Does anyone actually have knowledge of RCI charging someone for towels. I know the policy is in place, but at the end of the day I see lots of abandoned towels laying around. I've never been told by someone that a towel charge showed up on their bill.

 

Hey, if you want a free towel, go down to the spa. They are a lot nicer than the blue one's. And you don't have to check them out.

 

There have been plenty of posts on these boards from people who were charged.

[mbjboyle]

While I agree there are probably towel thieves, I also noticed a problem (before this check out policy) of people leaving their wet sandy towels at port beaches because they didn't want the bother of taking them (now heavy and dirty) back to the ship

 

I personally like the new policy. I remember receiving 2 towels in our stateroom. In order to exchange used towels, one had to go to the pool area and find the racks of clean towels. The only issue what that people would take several at a time:mad::mad::mad:

 

If none were available, which was normally the case, the room steward could exchange towels. Passengers were constantly reminded to not use their bath towels on deck or take them off the ship.

 

It may be a hassle to some, but the process is a little more streamlined now.

[Ander026]

Well I never worried about the cruise line towels because I always bring my own which is much bigger than what RCCL has.

 

When I sailed the Carnival Destiny there was 2 beach towels folded ready for use. I just moved them and still used my own towel. Never a towel charge here and I plan on doing the same on my next 2 cruises

[Canusa02]

Does anyone actually have knowledge of RCI charging someone for towels. I know the policy is in place, but at the end of the day I see lots of abandoned towels laying around. I've never been told by someone that a towel charge showed up on their bill.

 

Hey, if you want a free towel, go down to the spa. They are a lot nicer than the blue one's. And you don't have to check them out.

 

There is actually a thread on here where a lot of people say that they have been charged for the towels (even though they returned them). Some say that the charge came at 3 a.m. the last night, when they obviously would not be at the pool.

[PSCruiser]

How many Chair Hogs used the FREE towels to claim their Chair Hog Nest on the Eclipse?

 

When I was on the Solstice, I could never find a cabana free - they were all Chair Hog Nests with a towel or two, a paperback, and maybe some flip flops. Staff were totally uninterested in enforcing the "No Reserving" policy, so, I enforced my own policy and moved whatever abandoned towels, paperbacks, and flip flops I found and used whichever cabana I wanted. Only one day did someone appear and try to reclaim their Chair Hog Nest, but I had been there a couple of hours at that time and I was younger and bigger than they were so I told them to sod off.

 

ON RCI, I NEVER bother to check out a pool towel anymore. I just find one where I want to sit and move the old paperback/magazine etc etc. If enough of us did it, the Chair Hogs might get the message and not leave their stuff to "claim" a chair for hours.

 

And I don't care that they may be on the hook for the towel, if they are arrogant and stupid enough to leave it lay about to "reserve" a chair, they deserve the charge for the towel.

 

"Chair Hog Nest" - love that term!!!

Yes, I remember just a few years back when it was unlimited towels - Chair Hog Heaven! Towel checking seems like a pain, but its the best ting to happen to us anti-chair hogs. The newest chair hog ploy I've seen is to go to the spa, get those old tan towels, and use them for their hogging. I consider a chair with a tan towel to be an unreserved chair!

[moneycanbuyhappiness]

On the Explorer last week I was amused to see the old faded Blue and White pool towels being "nested" on the pool deck the first nice day. I imagine they were quite embarassed to discover the towels they had stolen on the previous cruise no longer matched the light blue ones the ship was now handing out. They stood out like sore thumbs.:D

[bedfordmom]

Smart, but this could have caused another issue. What if those towels belonged to another guest who happened to have forgotten them there and suddenly realized it only to go back to the work out room to not find any towels? Then after asking the staff to look around and not find any blue towels are then now faced with the grief of having to pay. If you didn't take (well steal) them then the staff might have found it for them.

 

This is of course just hypothetical and may not of happened as they were with the "clean towels" but its just my .2 as to not take what is not yours as you never know.

 

Next to the spas cream towels, there was a bunch of clean light blue towels. Perhaps the spa ran out of clean spa towels and put the blue ones out

[Dave85]

I understand why they do this... yada yada yada... I don't like it but whatever.

 

Piggybacking on what Ander026 said, why can't Royal just do what Carnival does? If there are two people in your cabin, Carnival has 2 beach/pool towels waiting for you when you board. You can of course exchange for dry ones on deck whenever you want, but if they're soiled, your cabin steward will exchange them for you at night. Then, at the end of the cruise, you're responsible for those 2 towels being left in your room.

 

It's not that different than RCI (the concept is the same), but it's a lot more convenient IMO than having to do the whole sign in / out song and dance in the pool deck.

[davekathy]

I understand why they do this... yada yada yada... I don't like it but whatever.

 

Piggybacking on what Ander026 said, why can't Royal just do what Carnival does? If there are two people in your cabin, Carnival has 2 beach/pool towels waiting for you when you board. You can of course exchange for dry ones on deck whenever you want, but if they're soiled, your cabin steward will exchange them for you at night. Then, at the end of the cruise, you're responsible for those 2 towels being left in your room.

 

It's not that different than RCI (the concept is the same), but it's a lot more convenient IMO than having to do the whole sign in / out song and dance in the pool deck.

 

Princess does the same.

[herdfans4]

Just cruised Disney dream and the towels where available on the pool deck in a nice little heated cabinet to grab as many as you wanted whenever you wanted. This seems like a real pain to me. I might be more of a Disney fan after all. We will see on our cruise in a few weeks.