Towel charges are back

[jahannah]

Douglas Adams certainly knew the value of a good towel and its many uses.

 

Moreover, as Towelly said, "Don't forget to bring your towel!" ;)

[leaveitallbehind]

Just off Independence Sunday and no towel charge / SeaPass scan required for any towels and no restrictions on how many you could take - in particular with Labadee.

[tserface]

Like.

 

It's not a big issue to check out and return towels... or bring your own from home if you don't want to hassle it on the ship. It's too bad people can't be responsible enough so as to make this unnecessary, but it is what it is and it's not a big deal.

 

Tom

 

I never had an issue with the checking out of towels. The towel stands were in convenient locations and it never took more than a minute out my day to check out/in towels. It reduces chair hogging, it reduces clutter of abandoned towels and it reduces theft/laziness of leaving towels ashore. I'd welcome the return to this policy fleet wide.

[Dave85]

I'm a fan of the "in cabin" method of distributing towels. You can either swap them out at a towel station, or let your cabin steward swap them out when your room is serviced. That way nobody hogs towels, and each passenger is still responsible without having to do all the card swiping which can really slow things down or running up to the pool when you're headed in a different direction.

 

 

If they're not going to just allow unlimited use of towels like they do on Celebrity for whatever reason, then I agree with the "in cabin" method. Carnival does it that way, wouldn't be surprised if other lines do as well, and it works just fine. It's definitely more convenient than the (hopefully) old RCI policy of having to affirmatively go and check them out and then in again at the end of the week. Does it make or break my cruise or my decision to sail RCI? Of course not... but I thought it was a bad policy in the face of better alternatives.

[Shekim]

I'm a fan of the "in cabin" method of distributing towels. You can either swap them out at a towel station, or let your cabin steward swap them out when your room is serviced. That way nobody hogs towels, and each passenger is still responsible without having to do all the card swiping which can really slow things down or running up to the pool when you're headed in a different direction.

 

As far as people just leaving them on a beach, :(:(:(.

I agree; my first 2 cruises were like this. Our steward would replace with clean towels and we never bothered. Now it's not that big of a deal. I go in the a.m. and exchange our towels if needed. I'm not terribly inconvenienced.

[Morecruisesplz]

I just sailed the Adventure and there were no signing out of towels.

The queston keeps being raised why anyone would want to steal an RCI towel? Well, the vast majority would not - but let me tell you, when you have spent the day at the beach and your towel is soaking wet and heavy......would you think twice about bringing it back if you knew that it didn't matter? Believe me, I saw many a towel being left behind in St. Maarten :eek:

 

I am not the least bit surprised the charges are back.

 

I agree completely! After two b2b's in Jan & Feb my wife and said to each other "this will never last." All ports of call where we went on shore had the nice blue towels left on chairs, lounges, picnic tables and even on the sand! Compute the cost. Add to that the used towels left all over the ship. They had to add extra staff to the "find towels" detail because they couldn't keep up with clean ones. (One person would drop their towel on a table or a bench and before you knew it there were 30 towels in the pile.) And when you paid $25 deposit in the past you might have taken it back to your cabin after a day of simply laying on it -- now, do they not only not pick it up off of the lounge or chair when they leave but they also stop for a clean one to dry off/wipe sunscreen on and drop it on any open chair as they head inside.

 

Royal tried to make it easier for you. Just too many lazy people cruising.

[TandK0826]

Ok, Im confused about something.....sorry! OP said that you have to check out towels. When we were on Allure we had to scan our seapass card and was able to get towels. No problem, no big deal. But, she said something about $25.00. So, am I getting this right.....when you check towels in and out they charge $25.00 one time then you get it back? I don't remember being charged at all to be honest when we were on the Allure but it was two years ago so who knows. Or do they charge everytime you check out/check in towels. I remember my hubby and I checking out and checking in towels ALOT.....that would be expensive after awhile. Sorry if I sound stupid...just curious if it is a one time charge?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Wait until you get hit with an erroneous 25.00 towel charge that you KNOW is not correct and I bet you will feel differently :) It happened to me on my last cruise. They told me I had two checked out when I only checked out one.

 

Sure, they eventually corrected the charge but it was a hassle and I definitely felt guitly until proven innocent.

 

If I need towels I will just go to the spa from now on.

 

I check out/in towels 2 at a time, sometimes multiple times per day. I always confirm with the attendant, politely and with a smile, that I am returning 2 towels. I have never had any issues.

[seaofwonder]

I'm on navigator and no mention of charges on the compass. I'll have to pop upstairs sometime and check it out (we don't ordinarily get towels during a cruise).

 

I did see random ones laying near an elevator....if they are charging, I'm guessing that person will be ticked off.

 

 

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[AtlantaCruiser72]

Ok, Im confused about something.....sorry! OP said that you have to check out towels. When we were on Allure we had to scan our seapass card and was able to get towels. No problem, no big deal. But, she said something about $25.00. So, am I getting this right.....when you check towels in and out they charge $25.00 one time then you get it back? I don't remember being charged at all to be honest when we were on the Allure but it was two years ago so who knows. Or do they charge everytime you check out/check in towels. I remember my hubby and I checking out and checking in towels ALOT.....that would be expensive after awhile. Sorry if I sound stupid...just curious if it is a one time charge?

 

I believe they only charge if towels are not returned by a certain time on the last evening of the cruise.

[jacksmycat]

So this $25 fee is only if you don't return your towels? Can you get towels one day to be used the next day or do you have to return them the same day? It will be my first time sailing with RC. On Carnival they had them in the room and when you used them, they took the used ones and replaced them with new ones.

 

 

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[fletch1027]

On every Royal cruise I've been on recently there have been towels available near the gangway for check out on port days. Is that not the case on all their ships? Maybe it's just been offered on the smaller ships? I only cruise Vision/Radiance class as a general rule.

 

Freedom had that also...

 

 

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[chadbeck]

I agree.

 

We just returned from Grandeur on Saturday and as mentioned there seemed to be a lot of towels left on chairs for staff to pick up. I don't know about stealing of the towels, but having worked with the public for many years, let's face it---there are quite a few folks who would steal anything that is not nailed down. I don't want to pay a higher cruise fare for others to steal or discard beach towels.

 

I'm sure there maybe other reasons that they would bring back checking in/out but I'm sure this is up on the list. Some people don't care if its quality or not. Its no different than hotels putting prices on pillows, sheets, irons, and everything else. They do it because people take them. Personally it doesn't matter to me if they bring back the check in/out I never had a issue on any cruise because of it. I know that some did have issues but that was a small percentage of people cruising so I can see them bringing it back.

[cruiselvr04]

I do not like checking towels in and out. Makes me feel like I am staying somewhere cheap. However we always returned our towels to our cabin in the old days and never took any home.

 

If Royal does decide to go back to checking them in and out can we at least have a station right inside security so I don't have to carry my sandy, wet towel to my cabin and then up to the pool deck to exchange? When we did not check them in and out they had a bin right inside the ship where you could leave your wet sandy towels. Now my cabin floor gets sandy and it is a pain to carry wet towels up to the pool deck if you have already changed into dry clothes. It would also be nice if they had a clean exchange right before you leave the ship since in the evening I go to my cabin wet, the towel sits there wet all night or I have to make an extra trip up before dinner.

 

If they do those two things to make it easier I do not mind checking out towels.

 

Royal are you listening?

[KeywestK]

OP mentioned there was a new Hotel Director on the sailing in question and thus, the signing in and out of towels was implemented. We cannot assume this is going to go fleet-wide so I hope everyone will remain calm and carry on. :D We are just off Serenade B2B and the towels were freely available to use and return as needed.

.

 

So glad to hear this. We sail on Serenade this weekend, and I wondered if it was fleet-wide or at the discretion of each ship's hotel director. Thanks for posting.

Edited March 10, 2014 by KeywestK

[bouhunter]

If it truly comes back fleetwide, my suspicion is that the main negative hit to the budget that resulted in the return was REVENUE, .

 

I highly doubt that...............:rolleyes:

[LetsGetWet!]

I highly doubt that...............:rolleyes:

The post was facetious, except to point out that there's no way those towels are worth anywhere near $25... :)

[S.A.M.J.R.]

If Royal does decide to go back to checking them in and out can we at least have a station right inside security so I don't have to carry my sandy, wet towel to my cabin and then up to the pool deck to exchange? When we did not check them in and out they had a bin right inside the ship where you could leave your wet sandy towels. Now my cabin floor gets sandy and it is a pain to carry wet towels up to the pool deck if you have already changed into dry clothes.

On our Oasis cruise last year, they had a check in location on the ship, right after they scanned your seapass card.

 

It would also be nice if they had a clean exchange right before you leave the ship since in the evening I go to my cabin wet, the towel sits there wet all night or I have to make an extra trip up before dinner.

 

If they do those two things to make it easier I do not mind checking out towels.

 

Royal are you listening?

Then you're carrying a wet, dirty towel from your room to where you get off the ship. I don't know if that's any better. :p

[lawgirl]

Celebrity way is definitely better...always a nice fresh towel near the pool ... Sometimes warm! It is kind of a pain to keep track of them. And surely no one steals them...I guess it prevents leaving them at the beach?

 

Thanks however for the heads up! We may bring our own beach towels to save the lines or hassle.

[bouhunter]

The post was facetious, except to point out that there's no way those towels are worth anywhere near $25... :)

 

OK I didn't catch that;)

 

I agree RCCL probably get's them pretty cheap. Probably for them the issues are primarily picking them up all over the place, increased chair hogging (which they occasionally actually care about.....), and the simple logistics of bringing 500 (or whatever number) new towels on for every sailing.

 

Between lazy jerks who leave them at ports and morons who steal them, I bet 500 wouldn't be unusual for a ship with 4000 passengers......:(

[cruzin lady]

On the second week of a B2B on the Freedom. Last week, no signing out of towels and no charges. This week- new Hotel Director- you must sign out your towels with your sea pass and the $25.00 charge is back.

 

who the new HD is? I ask because one of those HD's is a friend.

 

Cruzin Lady

[Langley Cruisers]

So glad to hear this. We sail on Serenade this weekend, and I wondered if it was fleet-wide or at the discretion of each ship's hotel director. Thanks for posting.

 

You are most welcome. The towels are available on deck each day, and also as you exit to go ashore if it's a beach day. The Hotel Director on Serenade is Adriana Tibaudo, and she is phenomenal. Runs a first-class operation. We also had her on our Jewel Hurricane Sandy repo cruise and chatted with her about that. She is just a sweetheart. :)

 

Like I said earlier, I think this thread is getting/will continue to get a little out of hand and "panic-y". This seems to be an isolated incident on one ship due to staff change. ;)

.

[deedeetoo]

Like I said earlier, I think this thread is getting/will continue to get a little out of hand and "panic-y". This seems to be an isolated incident on one ship due to staff change. ;)

.

 

But if that happens to be the one ship that you are sailing on, then it matters.

 

I was very happy when I had read that they stopped checking towels in and out and charging. I am now very disappointed to hear we may have to put up with this inconvenience again this summer.

[LetsGetWet!]

OK I didn't catch that;)

 

I agree RCCL probably get's them pretty cheap. Probably for them the issues are primarily picking them up all over the place, increased chair hogging (which they occasionally actually care about.....), and the simple logistics of bringing 500 (or whatever number) new towels on for every sailing.

 

Between lazy jerks who leave them at ports and morons who steal them, I bet 500 wouldn't be unusual for a ship with 4000 passengers......:(

I agree with you. I think Cindy has the improved solution for RCCL though...

I'm a fan of the "in cabin" method of distributing towels. You can either swap them out at a towel station, or let your cabin steward swap them out when your room is serviced. That way nobody hogs towels, and each passenger is still responsible without having to do all the card swiping which can really slow things down or running up to the pool when you're headed in a different direction.

 

As far as people just leaving them on a beach, :(:(:(.

[DrD]

I didn't worry about the towels so much last year. It seems that every morning around 7 or 8 someone kindly left nice, clean towels on otherwise unattended deck chairs. I just helped myself to those and never had to sign one out.