The Stewards Need Some Help

[Boytjie]

Oh, Peter, have you actually observed people in the Lido scooping food from the buffet with their hands? :confused: I didn't think that you ate with the masses in the Lido? :rolleyes:

 

Yes, I have seen it! And, you think wrong! I don't eat dinner in the Lido! But I eat there most other times!

[Boytjie]

There were NO signs posted anywhere or ANY other printed notices/documents in either my stateroom or onboard that specifically indicated that access to the (unlocked) room containing the ice machines was a service area where I, (along with many others), was/were not supposed to be! ;)

 

You seem to be being very legalistic as to what signs there may (or may not have been! Was there a sign that said "No entry", "Service Area" , "Staff Only" or something similar?! The comment the stewards made to Brian ("Oh Mister Brian, you must not be here!") seems to indicate that it is not public area!

[fleckle]

How sanitary it is can depend on the type of ice machine used, just as at hotels.

 

The type where you place your container under the spout, press a button and the ice drops down into it is not so bad.

 

The unsanitary ones are the type where people reach in to scoop the ice out of a bin.

Often the scoop is dropped back in with the ice, so the handle that all the previous people held is right against the ice that you may scoop out and put into your drink.

 

At hotels we do not use those type of ice machines ourselves, (unless just gathering ice to chill a bottle, not to put into a drink).

 

But realistically when someone else brings you ice, in a hotel room or a cruise ship stateroom, you usually don't know the source or what method was used to put that ice into your ice bucket or your drink. :eek:

 

Yet most of us are willing to trust that the people who handle our food have been properly trained and use sanitary methods.

 

We have no such expectations of unknown hotel or cruise ship guests who help themselves to ice.

[Rowena]

The guys are overworked as it is - But it doesn't take me 2 minutes to walk down the hall and do it myself.

 

Totally agree here. DH and I just got off of the Westerdam on Sunday. We had a wonderful trip. We had a cabin very close to the elevators this trip. When the dishes piled up in our room, DH being the helpful gentleman that he is, would run them up to the Lido during an 'off time' so as to not disturb other pax on the ship. He was successful in doing this twice. On the third time the cabin steward must have been watching via closed circuit tv... the minute DH opened the door the steward was there to 'help him with that tray'.

 

I am certain that the steward thought that he was in trouble or something. Fact is, DH is just that helpful, and didn't mind taking them upstairs. DH thought he was being helpful to the steward. Personally, I thought that putting the soiled dishes outside the door was more of a hazard than DH's 'good deed'. We saw a lot of dirty dish trays from room service just plopped outside cabin doors this trip.... Just weird, I guess.

 

What alarmed me was that I filled out the 'special needs' form they have those with special needs fill out, and never got a sharps container for my Enbrel shot!! They even took a hi-lighter marker to my sheet upon arriving at the check-in counter to make a 'special note' that a sharps container was needed. The thing NEVER showed up the entire week we were on board. Again, DH being the helpful guy that he is, ran the use syringe down to the infirmary for proper disposal.

 

Some of the changes we saw on this trip was just odd compared to our other trips on HAL. I am hoping the changes start getting better instead of worse. The tray issue was 'nothing' in our book, however that used syringe could have really hurt someone.

 

Ah well.....

[Boytjie]

What alarmed me was that I filled out the 'special needs' form they have those with special needs fill out, and never got a sharps container for my Enbrel shot!! They even took a hi-lighter marker to my sheet upon arriving at the check-in counter to make a 'special note' that a sharps container was needed. The thing NEVER showed up the entire week we were on board. Again, DH being the helpful guy that he is, ran the use syringe down to the infirmary for proper disposal.

 

Did you ask your stewards where the sharps container was?

[geocruiser]

I try to keep the steward's work down by keep the cabin neat. When we leave the cabin there is nothing left out. All our stuff is put away. All clothers and shoes in the closet and the tops of the funture & sink are clear of our stuff. The wet towels I roll them into one bunch so he can pick it up with one time bending down. Any used glasses are put in one stop so he doesnot have to look for them I think this helps him get out of our cabin faster.

[serendipity1499]

Hi Betty , I agree the Marriott on Marco is overpriced , I've been there . But compare apples to apples . Do the math based on 10 days using your examples , I only come up with $6010

for 10 days on land at $499 hotel ( pricey) $72 dinners ( reasonable) $30 lunch ( a bargain) and of course you get maid service for $499 a night .

Try the Bella Sera in Naples , for $300 you will get a 2 bedroom condo with great service .

 

No , I don't think the cruise is so cheap, unless as I said , you stay in a little tiny room where 2 people can't walk around at the same time . Cheers !

 

 

OK Frank I'll buy that, but you still forgot one thing..For the price you pay on HAL, you also get transportation to all those exciting ports, so you can continue to spend your hard earned money or if you wish just walk around town..:):):)

LOL

Cheers....:)Betty

[fleckle]

............Personally, I thought that putting the soiled dishes outside the door was more of a hazard than DH's 'good deed'. We saw a lot of dirty dish trays from room service just plopped outside cabin doors this trip.... Just weird, I guess.

I don't believe that people who do that are deliberately inconsiderate, but just thoughtless.

It probably doesn't occur to them that they are creating obstacles for those who use wheelchairs, scooters, walkers or even strollers.

 

Also they are never the ones who need to clean up the mess they cause in the hallway during rough seas when the dirty dishes from those trays on the floor get tossed around all over the hallway, spattering the walls and carpet.

 

They are also probably unaware of the unnecessary difficulty they create for the cabin steward or room service person who needs to bend down to pick up the tray of dishes from the floor.

 

If the passengers who do that were required to lift that tray of dishes from a table, and then lift the same tray of dishes from the floor, they might gain an awareness of what a difference it makes and think twice before leaving a tray on the floor the next time.

[Rowena]

Did you ask your stewards where the sharps container was?

Yes.

[Boytjie]

Yes.

 

And what was their response? From what I have heard they were good at getting it when needed.

[Salacia]

On our first voyages on two different cruise lines (Cunard and Princess), the I called room service and asked if they would collect the room service tray since we had finished eating. Both times, I was told to put it outside the cabin door and they would pick it up. And that is what we have done ever since.

 

We'll be taking our first Holland America cruise soon, and would appreciate knowing the acceptable procedure for removing room service tray from our cabin. Thank you. -S.

[kazu]

On our first voyages on two different cruise lines (Cunard and Princess), the I called room service and asked if they would collect the room service tray since we had finished eating. Both times, I was told to put it outside the cabin door and they would pick it up. And that is what we have done ever since.

 

We'll be taking our first Holland America cruise soon, and would appreciate knowing the acceptable procedure for removing room service tray from our cabin. Thank you. -S.

 

 

You will see a note on your tray requesting you call room service. Just call, leave it in your room and it will be picked up:D

[RuthC]

cruise soon, and would appreciate knowing the acceptable procedure for removing room service tray from our cabin. Thank you. -S.

As Jacqui said, call Room Service, even if there is no note on the tray. You can just leave it on the table, or the desk, and it will be retrieved.

 

Please! Under no circumstances leave it on the floor of the passageway! Those corridors are not wide enough for a wheelchair, or a walker, to pass by a tray.

[sail7seas]

On our first voyages on two different cruise lines (Cunard and Princess), the I called room service and asked if they would collect the room service tray since we had finished eating. Both times, I was told to put it outside the cabin door and they would pick it up. And that is what we have done ever since.

 

We'll be taking our first Holland America cruise soon, and would appreciate knowing the acceptable procedure for removing room service tray from our cabin. Thank you. -S.

 

 

All our HAL cruises, whenever we have room service, I neatly stack the dirty dishes/glasses on the tray, I spread an open napkin over the top and leave the tray on the table. It has always been removed when we return to our cabin.

 

[Sage]

We have always been told to call room service when we are finished, and they would arrive within ten minutes or so to take away the tray. I have always enjoyed wonderful service when ordering room service.

 

In fact I remember on one of our Alaska cruises, we ordered breakfast to be served in our cabin, and when I answered the door, there were six young men with six trays, and each young man called out their order and when we sat at the table, they would place our order in front of us. After a couple of days, they knew each of our orders, and would automatically place them where we sat at the table.

[Salacia]

I did not complain to the front desk about the need for the cabin to have a deep cleaning. Why? I do not think that the problem is the stewards. The problem is 1) either HAL's policies or 2) an unacceptably lazy/lax Hotel Staff. I believe that a complaint to the powers that be on the ship would have resulted in black marks for the hard working stewards.

 

I wrote a review of the past trip which should be posted in the next day or two.

 

If any of you have the same thoughts or others on this subject, post them. I am sure that HAL reads this blog.:D

 

dag, while I wanted to take a nice bath in my A category cabin on the Veendam last May, the tub had obviously not been properly cleaned. Like you, I did not complain because I also felt the steward would suffer the consequences. I took showers instead, and that was good enough. I was thinking of taking cleaning supplies on board for my next voyage so I could clean the tub myself...but heck, I'll just soak in the ocean and shower on board.

 

HAL and other cruise lines face the consequences of asking staff to do too much while asking passengers to accept much less. Regards, Salacia

[Salacia]

All our HAL cruises, whenever we have room service, I neatly stack the dirty dishes/glasses on the tray, I spread an open napkin over the top and leave the tray on the table. It has always been removed when we return to our cabin.

 

 

Thanks Sail, that has also been my usual procedure on various ships within the past couple of years. But as it turned out, on several different mornings during our May voyage on Veendam, we received a call from Room Service about an hour after our breakfast was delivered, asking if they could pick up the tray. I didn't think that was necessary since we were given the number to dial to have the tray collected, but nevertheless, I replied that the tray could be collected. More than once, after waiting more than an hour for them to pick up the tray, I got on with my day and was in the shower when room service knocked on the door to collect the tray, despite having the Do Not Disturb sign on the door.

 

One morning, my husband and I were on our balcony after breakfast in our night clothes. We looked into our cabin and saw someone from room service picking up our breakfast tray and leaving. Obviously, we didn't hear him knock since we were outside, and had already given permission much earlier for the tray to be picked up, but we weren't expecting someone to just walk in with the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door (although we know better now!).

 

Another morning, when we phoned room service to collect our breakfast tray, we were told to leave it outside our cabin door. Which we did, although we were not comfortable doing so because just around the corner from our cabin was a mobility chair (scooter?) being charged with a cord that pluged into an electrical outlet on the opposite side of the corridor...two major tripping hazzards within two feet of one another.

 

Perhaps some might consider this excellent service, but, to be honest, I was not comfortable with the inconsistancy.

 

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the May cruise so much so that we are repeating it again in August. I think I'll tell room serivce if they call asking if they can pick up the tray, that I'll call them when they can collect the tray (and that will be after we're showered and dressed, just before we leave our cabin in the morning!).

 

Regards,

Salacia

[WpgCruise]

dag, while I wanted to take a nice bath in my A category cabin on the Veendam last May, the tub had obviously not been properly cleaned. Like you, I did not complain because I also felt the steward would suffer the consequences. I took showers instead, and that was good enough. I was thinking of taking cleaning supplies on board for my next voyage so I could clean the tub myself...but heck, I'll just soak in the ocean and shower on board.

 

HAL and other cruise lines face the consequences of asking staff to do too much while asking passengers to accept much less. Regards, Salacia

 

It's been a few years since we have been on a HAL, (since 2004 when we were on the Volendam) We had been thinking of trying HAL again, but if we need to take our own cleaning supplies and clean our own bathrooms.........well maybe we'll stay with Celebrity.

 

Good grief folks cleaning your own rooms ??????? What are you thinking?

[Salacia]

It's been a few years since we have been on a HAL, (since 2004 when we were on the Volendam) We had been thinking of trying HAL again, but if we need to take our own cleaning supplies and clean our own bathrooms.........well maybe we'll stay with Celebrity.

 

Good grief folks cleaning your own rooms ??????? What are you thinking?

 

Hi WpgCruise. Please don't take my comment about one voyage on one HAL ship in a particular cabin to mean anything other than just my personal experience. BTW, I was referring to the whirlpool bath tub in my cabin - the rest of the bathroom was very clean. Regards, -S

[PathfinderEss]

It's been a few years since we have been on a HAL, (since 2004 when we were on the Volendam) We had been thinking of trying HAL again, but if we need to take our own cleaning supplies and clean our own bathrooms.........well maybe we'll stay with Celebrity.

 

Good grief folks cleaning your own rooms ??????? What are you thinking?

Wow, haven't ever had a cleaning problem with Hal. Once on Celebrity, we had a problem with mildew in the tub shower area, all I did was tell the room steward and it was taken care of quickly.

[kcscrapper]

Good grief folks cleaning your own rooms ??????? What are you thinking?

 

I always take a cylinder of cleaning wipes. When we get into the cabin, out they come and everyone wipes down all surfaces. It takes very little time. I also have hand sanitizer set up always.

 

It isn't that I don't think the room is clean ... but I doubt that it is sanitary. I am neither a germophobe, nor a neat freak but I do take more care with "communal" spaces. I wash my hands first thing when I return home. Same idea.

[sail7seas]

Thanks Sail, that has also been my usual procedure on various ships within the past couple of years. But as it turned out, on several different mornings during our May voyage on Veendam, we received a call from Room Service about an hour after our breakfast was delivered, asking if they could pick up the tray. I didn't think that was necessary since we were given the number to dial to have the tray collected, but nevertheless, I replied that the tray could be collected. More than once, after waiting more than an hour for them to pick up the tray, I got on with my day and was in the shower when room service knocked on the door to collect the tray, despite having the Do Not Disturb sign on the door.

 

One morning, my husband and I were on our balcony after breakfast in our night clothes. We looked into our cabin and saw someone from room service picking up our breakfast tray and leaving. Obviously, we didn't hear him knock since we were outside, and had already given permission much earlier for the tray to be picked up, but we weren't expecting someone to just walk in with the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door (although we know better now!).

 

Another morning, when we phoned room service to collect our breakfast tray, we were told to leave it outside our cabin door. Which we did, although we were not comfortable doing so because just around the corner from our cabin was a mobility chair (scooter?) being charged with a cord that pluged into an electrical outlet on the opposite side of the corridor...two major tripping hazzards within two feet of one another.

 

Perhaps some might consider this excellent service, but, to be honest, I was not comfortable with the inconsistancy.

 

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the May cruise so much so that we are repeating it again in August. I think I'll tell room serivce if they call asking if they can pick up the tray, that I'll call them when they can collect the tray (and that will be after we're showered and dressed, just before we leave our cabin in the morning!).

 

Regards,

Salacia

 

What an unpleasant experience.

I never call for them to pick up the tray and were they to call and ask if it was convenient for them to pick up the tray, I would respond 'No'. When we are in our cabin, we do not wish to be disturbed. We put out the do not disturb sign and double lock the door.

 

My system seems to have worked fine for more than 75+ cruises on HAL. I have never called for tray removal and it always disappears when we have left the cabin. I don't know who or how or when but I don't think we have ever found the tray still there when we returned. :)

 

[startwin]

All our HAL cruises, whenever we have room service, I neatly stack the dirty dishes/glasses on the tray, I spread an open napkin over the top and leave the tray on the table. It has always been removed when we return to our cabin.

 

 

This is exactly what we do. I always make sure the dishes are stacked in such a way that they won't fall over, and cover all with the napkin. We've done this since cruise one, and we have breakfast in our cabin every day. We've never called for pickup since that first cruise.

 

The only call we've had from room service was on our last cruise - every single day (and it was a long cruise:D) the phone would ring sometime after we'd eaten breakfast, and it would be "Juan from Room service, how was your breakfast today?". By the end of the first week I was picking up the phone and saying "Hi Juan" before he even spoke, and we'd both laugh. He only ever wanted to know if breakfast was OK and delivered on time.

[Cruising-along]

This is exactly what we do. I always make sure the dishes are stacked in such a way that they won't fall over, and cover all with the napkin. We've done this since cruise one, and we have breakfast in our cabin every day. We've never called for pickup since that first cruise.

 

The only call we've had from room service was on our last cruise - every single day (and it was a long cruise:D) the phone would ring sometime after we'd eaten breakfast, and it would be "Juan from Room service, how was your breakfast today?". By the end of the first week I was picking up the phone and saying "Hi Juan" before he even spoke, and we'd both laugh. He only ever wanted to know if breakfast was OK and delivered on time.

 

We do the same thing too, we've never called for the trays to be picked up. Although we don't have breakfast in our cabin every morning, we do often during a cruise.

 

Funny about the call from room service. On our last cruise we got that call each time, it became a joke with us too. Had never gotten that call before, unless there had been a problem getting our delivery.

[iancal]

HAL could use some help in the MDR as well.

 

Perhaps some the the passengers could start serving coffee or bussing the tables.