Your Cabin Attendant

[Lovincruisin1321]

It just seems to me that since the automatic gratuity was implemented the cabin attendant is not as attentive as 10+ years ago.

 

I work very hard to be extra friendly and talkative with my attendant but on some cruises his or her whereabouts are very scarce.

 

Also, let's talk about the ice bucket. On our last cruise on the Constellation, the ice bucket was never filled for the first couple of days. Even when I requested. I had to finally go to the front desk and then it was filled immediately and daily. Has something changed?

 

So how do you get to be bffs with your cabin attendant?

[El Crucero]

Fortunately, we have never had a problem with an inattentive stateroom steward. But certainly it could happen due to lack of training, cultural background, or just plain not very good at his job. If that should happen to us in the future, I would do the same as you, register a complaint at guest relations.

 

Even though we have had prepaid gratuities, we will tip an additional amount for service above and beyond. Often we will tip the steward a few bucks at the begnning of the cruise to "prime the pump."

[cindy1957]

We are not as experienced as some cruisers on this forum but have been on about a dozen between us. I don't try to be bffs with the attendant because they seem very busy and do work hard. I do think being friendly is a nice but respectful even more important. There are certain things I like to have done including ice bucket refreshed every day and empty the mini fridge when we arrive. An extra tip is in order if those extra services are provided promptly and with courtesy.

 

The reduction in service may be more reflective of the fact that the number of cabins attendants care for has increased.

[andymattmom]

We just had a fantastic attendant on the Equinox. I honestly never saw an ice bucket in our cabin, even if we did we wouldn't have used. I tipped he and his assistant extra the last day. By day 2, he knew the extra blanket went on half the bed and which side, took the shoes to be shined, etc. I left sticky notes on mirror with please and thanks. He was always calling us by name in hall saying have a good night/day asking about day in port etc. I told my family if we won Powerball I'd give him some money.of course we didn't win

 

I miss hearing have a nice nice Mr. Dave, Mr Andrew, etc.

 

Kadek was who we had....

Edited January 15, 2016 by andymattmom

[tangerinebunny]

Like all of us, some do a better job than others. But I doubt if any worker really wants to be BFF with their clients.

 

I suggest asking once for what you want (ice bucket, towels, etc.), then if that fails, place a pleasant call to housekeeping. "I know that our cabin attendant is very busy, but we need a daily refill on our ice bucket....).

 

In all honesty, we have found that the more we've paid for our cabin, the better chance we have of great cabin service. And no, that's not in the brochure.

Edited January 15, 2016 by tangerinebunny

[chemmo]

Generally we have been lucky but we did have one iffy time on our very first Celebrity cruise ...They had just had a massive crew change and our room was not fully cleaned on arrival. We pointed out the cut fingernails on the floor by the veranda (ughh) and the attendant told me he would vacuum them up the next day! We were very polite but firm and clear. We returned a short time later and the vac had been used. Service to the room was spotty all cruise. We never escalated any issues, it just wasn't worth the hassle, and other issues were minor like having to regularly ask for room to be made up early (bed settee being used). When we talked to fellow cruisers it was fairly ship wide problem that cruise, customer services had apologised to other cruisers explaining about the staff changes (lots of chocolate strawberries must have been sent out that cruise!). Looking back I would be more vocal now....not aggressive but certainly more assertive. Perhaps as well other aspect of the cruise were good or we may never have cruised X again!!

 

We now tend to try to make it really clear first day to attendants (and butlers) if we have any problems or things missing. i often wonder with so many rooms to see to and so many of us wanting different things how they generally cope!

 

I do know all staff prefer to be told of any issues asap so that they do have an opportunity to sort before things are escalated to a complaint. I think this applies to all staff.

[Mr. Click]

Our cabin attendants have always been terrific. On our May/June Baltic cruise DW had hurt her knee shortly before we left and needed a lot of ice each day. One simple request to the cabin steward and we were getting ice 2-3 times a day every day. Other cruises I always mention that I like ice and it is always there each afternoon. They always have a smile and often have some great port advice too.

[dkjretired]

We've also had good ones too but have heard many complaints on this board. I don't think its as much the automatic tip as cost cutting, having more cabins than they used to.

[wwcruisers]

We haven't had an ice bucket in our room, in over a year. It is something that you can request, along with daily ice service. Not a problem, except that you have to know to ask for it now.

[hcat]

No service issues for us in AQ...we always get our ice, savories, champagne chilled for chic nite.. ....we have pre paid grat, but tip a bit extra on arrival and more at departure..if good service..they also work hard for good reviews on the survey...

Edited January 15, 2016 by hcat

[koolforkatz]

I agree with what dkjretired said. I don't think it's the auto tips - I think they've just had more cabins or responsibilities thrown at them. I remember when they had more time to chit-chat and they were much more visible.

 

I think they're just overworked just like the rest of the crew.

[Jane2357]

We've also never had a poor cabin attendant but some are better than others. The last cruise on Connie was fantastic - Lourdes was her name - everything was spotless in the cabin and any request was met with a smile and results.

 

Upon my request of a full ice bucket at all times - she promptly returned with the filled bucket and I gave her a small tip right then, I think she knows who has already paid the grats up front and this let her know that we would reward good service and big gasp - they are working for money - so our ice bucket was always freshly filled.

 

Now - before everyone gets their dander up - I am not saying that you have to tip extra for better service - that is an individual choice - but for us it always has gotten us excellent service.

 

Oh except for the wonderful butler (our only butler to date) that decided to surprise us by having all our laundry done for free WITHOUT asking us. Taking along an entire storage cube of my expensive ladies things - that were then ruined - although I never told him - I didn't have the heart to hurt his feelings. We had been tipping him very well (perhaps too well) and he was trying extra hard to please us --- whoops. :o

[gopro63]

The first thing I remember when boarding to my room was the Fresh smell of a Clean Bathroom, nothing else mattered after that.

 

I Agree/disagree

 

My Steward, great job. if I seen him or not, I will tell you it is where you are roomed at, and the right time of day, hit-n-miss. Really it is.

[Maligator]

I treat them like human beings, am polite when requesting things and call them by name. It hasn't failed me yet. We've had awesome attendants.

[Beanb41]

We make a point of getting on board with our room attendant as soon as possible. We request from the start that the fridge is emptied, the pay as you go snacks are also taken away. We request ice twice a day and that there are always an extra set of towels and toiletries in the bathroom. We are pretty informal people so request that the room attendants call us by our Christian names. If there is any issues we need resolved we arrange that I will leave a post it note on the mirror with our request.

 

Setting the ground rules of expectations I feel is important and most importantly treat the staff as you would like them to treat you. Whilst there may be one or two hickups at the start generally the trip goes very smoothly.

 

We always prepay gratuities and coming from a non tipping culture I would never consider paying extra upfront. Any additional gratuities is dependant upon service during the cruise and is paid just before departure

[gopro63]

Today you get exactly that no snacks

 

Yes Victor was a blast he ran all the way down the hall to open our doors. and Agree treat them wit hrespect

[JobbesL]

Pardon the "noob" question, but what is the going rate for pre-tipping and post-tipping your assigned steward on top of the standard daily gratuity? Do room stewards work alone? If not, do you slide a few bucks to his subordinate as well? Thank you in advance for clearing this up for me. :)

[dodger1964]

We have had mostly great attendants. We sailed twice in a suite and I thought the regular room attendants did a better job (or at least just as good).

 

I wish X would have a "make up room" door hanger like I have read some other lines have. It really would be nice to be able to go to breakfast and come back to a made up room each time. On our most recent cruise, we wouldn't always see our attendant when leaving for breakfast, and it was hit and miss as to room being done during the time we happened to be at breakfast.

[dkjretired]

Pardon the "noob" question, but what is the going rate for pre-tipping and post-tipping your assigned steward on top of the standard daily gratuity? Do room stewards work alone? If not, do you slide a few bucks to his subordinate as well? Thank you in advance for clearing this up for me. :)

 

There is no going rate, tipping is an individual thing. My opinion is I tip extra at the end if I've received good service. I never tip initially as I have spoken to a number of personnel, both waiters and room personnel. Many of them consider a pre=tip as a bribe or an insult like they're not going to do a good job if you pre=tip.

[davekathy]

So far we haven't experienced any decline in service for our sailings. We have prepaid gratuities. I don't tip extra before, during or prior to departure. Since we always receive excellent service our post Cruise survey reflects our satisfaction. The crew does love that number 10.

[cindy1957]

On a seven day where I ask the fridge to be emptied and ice every day I leave an extra $20 in an envelope with a thank you note. That being said I am a retired school teacher and consider that a reasonable amount. If I was a big drinker would do the same for attentive bar service.

 

Just answering the how much question...

[north29]

On X, I have found them better overall than RC, note the word OVERALL, in that I have little experience on X only 44 days on X as to 275 on RC.

I really appreciated on X the Cabin Stewards leaned my timing for most time periods of the day and my cabin was made up when I returned. Really never saw him except in the corridor. On RC, they seemed to do in order of cabins, if your cabin was last cabin on list your were, YES last, this happened more than once. RC has make up my room cards for the door but never knew if they really worked.

I should note, that my cabin is EASY, no messes.

Noted in the above post, unless your own a Boutique cruise leaving a make up room card on door,

[Scrappytraveller]

I treat them like human beings, am polite when requesting things and call them by name. It hasn't failed me yet. We've had awesome attendants.

 

 

Same here but my attendant on the constellation was the worst of all my cruises. Everyday was another little thing that was irritating, it shouldn't be like that. Did another cruise on NCL right after and that attendant was just fine. Both got prepaid tips, so I think it's a supervision/training issue more than a tipping issue.

[Beanb41]

Today you get exactly that no snacks

 

Yes Victor was a blast he ran all the way down the hall to open our doors. and Agree treat them wit hrespect

 

The snacks I am referring to are the nuts, chippies etc that one has to pay for and are in ones cabin on embarcation

[Beanb41]

Same here but my attendant on the constellation was the worst of all my cruises. Everyday was another little thing that was irritating, it shouldn't be like that. Did another cruise on NCL right after and that attendant was just fine. Both got prepaid tips, so I think it's a supervision/training issue more than a tipping issue.

 

A negative report on the "How are we doing?" questionnaire one gets a couple of days into the cruise seems to perk up attitudes. If I am not happy I fill out the report and leave it for my room attendant to see and hold it a day or two to see if there is any significant improvement. Amazing what can happen. Its these reports and the end of cruise report which have a significant input into future contracts and employment