Pool Towels - Oasis

[reallyitsmema]

you need to get scanned for a towel? It's been ages since I've been on Royal Caribbean, but I don't recall them doing this and that never happened on Disney or Princess. You just picked up towels at the pool area and then deposited in a giant bin on the way out of the pool area or left them in your room to be picked up.

 

The problem is that people take the towels off the ship to beaches and then don't bother to bring them back. We took a cab back from Maho Beach and the driver wanted us to sit on towels because he had a brand new car. He opened the back and he easily had 20 towels, all Royal Caribbean blue. He said he just picks up more off the beach when he runs low because so many people leave them.

 

If people were responsible and kept track of them, we wouldn't be required to check them out.

 

To postman, if you don't think your family can keep track of their towels, bring your own. Just remember, there are no self service laundries on Royal Caribbean ships and those towels are going to be very smelly and sandy after a week of use. You might not feel I posted a "practical suggestion" but there really aren't many alternatives. Check out and return the same number of towels, check your on board account daily for erroneous charges, if you are charged, have it removed. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

[dpostman]

I would be 100% OK with ships getting passengers to "check out" towels when leaving the ship to use in ports but, for onboard useage, plus with all the chair hogs, I wonder if this is one of the reasons they are hesitant to get the staff to pick up the towels on chairs for an extended period. It makes for some very unhappy passengers, not as much for the loss of the chair but maybe because of the towel tax.

 

dp

[Ocean Boy]

I would be 100% OK with ships getting passengers to "check out" towels when leaving the ship to use in ports but, for onboard useage, plus with all the chair hogs, I wonder if this is one of the reasons they are hesitant to get the staff to pick up the towels on chairs for an extended period. It makes for some very unhappy passengers, not as much for the loss of the chair but maybe because of the towel tax.

 

dp

 

We did a cruise on Allure when they had suspended the towel check out procedure. The big issue was when people were done with the chair for the day they would go and just leave the towels on the chairs. So it looked like a chair was in use when in reality the person had no intentions of ever coming back to the chair. That was what got me on board for supporting a check out procedure that I had previously been dead set against.

 

Some people are just inconsiderate and not very good at sharing a ship with 5500 other people.:(

Edited August 17, 2016 by Ocean Boy

[reallyitsmema]

I would be 100% OK with ships getting passengers to "check out" towels when leaving the ship to use in ports but, for onboard useage, plus with all the chair hogs, I wonder if this is one of the reasons they are hesitant to get the staff to pick up the towels on chairs for an extended period. It makes for some very unhappy passengers, not as much for the loss of the chair but maybe because of the towel tax.

 

dp

 

Short of searching everyone's bag as they left the ship, there is no way of regulating if a person is checking a towel out for port use or for on board use. Many people check out towels the night before a port day so they don't have to wait in line to check out a towel and can immediately leave the ship.

[lbjen]

When we encounter the towel check out system, this is what we do. Wear cover-ups from room to pool, check out towels on arrival at pool, dry off and return towels upon leaving pool and return to room in cover-ups. We don't take towels away from the pool with us. The cabins are cramped enough without adding 4 additional wet smelly towels.

[thickerson555]

It was probably my review you read. I had checked out towels in the am for our excursion and we got back to the room and left them there as we got ready for dinner. When we got back from dinner there was a laminated piece of paper on the towels saying you will can keep these towels for for $25. Any towels not returned by 10 pm that day will be charged $25 per towel. My room steward saw me when we got back and said he wanted to make sure I saw the sign because they would charge my account if I didn't. It was almost 10 so I took the towels back. I asked the towel boy if I could just return them before the last day and he said you must return them each night. I'm sure there are ways to get out of paying the $25 but I didn't want to be standing in line to deal with customer service so I just took them back each night. I was in a balcony on the oasis of the seas and got off 8/13/16

 

 

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[tbmrt]

It was probably my review you read. I had checked out towels in the am for our excursion and we got back to the room and left them there as we got ready for dinner. When we got back from dinner there was a laminated piece of paper on the towels saying you will can keep these towels for for $25. Any towels not returned by 10 pm that day will be charged $25 per towel. My room steward saw me when we got back and said he wanted to make sure I saw the sign because they would charge my account if I didn't. It was almost 10 so I took the towels back. I asked the towel boy if I could just return them before the last day and he said you must return them each night. I'm sure there are ways to get out of paying the $25 but I didn't want to be standing in line to deal with customer service so I just took them back each night. I was in a balcony on the oasis of the seas and got off 8/13/16

 

WOW - This is surprising to me. We always exchanged towels at end of day and brought 2 back to our cabin so they'd be ready for us to take off ship in the morning for excursions. Returned 2 towels last day of cruise...that was it....no $25 charges.

 

I had read that towels can be picked up/signed for when one leaves the ship for excursions, but there is a line to do so. How early does the towel station on Oasis open if we wanted to pick towels up there instead for an early excursion?

[Clarea]

... I had read that towels can be picked up/signed for when one leaves the ship for excursions, but there is a line to do so. How early does the towel station on Oasis open if we wanted to pick towels up there instead for an early excursion?

Our experience is that this is open when they start to allow guests off the ship.

[Thetrail]

If you are in a suite, there is no limit to towels, no scanning, etc.

 

If you are in a regular room, yes they charge a fee. I heard it was $5... is it really $25!!! Wow! I think that's actually really terrible. What if someone grabs your towel of your chair while you are swimming? With that type of bounty on them, wouldn't it encourage this behavior?

Anyone can get towels, they scan your seapass card when you take them and scan again when they are returned.....K.O. And actually there is a limit......

[Thetrail]

So what do people with kids do so that they don't get a huge "Towel" bill. My daughter will probably forget so many towels laying around that it will probably cost my entire OBC :eek: Do some bring their own towels?

 

dp

The onus is on you, if your child is not responsible enough to return the towels, maybe you have to return them....K.O.

[Thetrail]

Oh Gee... Thanks for the life lessons on how to raise kids! That'll come in handy :rolleyes:

 

If anybody else has an actual practical suggestion, I'm open to hear it. :)

Ask a DUMB question........well won't go any further here. And as far as bringing your own towels, a huge waste of space and effort....:rolleyes:

[thickerson555]

Tbmrt,

 

At least one of the towel stations on the pool deck were open every time we got off the ship. We would go have breakfast and get towels and then leave. They were also handing out towels on the gangway but one time they had ran out of the big blue towels and we're giving out smaller tan towels. They scanned your card there too. At 6 pm one night I watched a deck hand rearranging chairs. He had about 10 towels he put in a pile. He didn't take them anywhere but left them. I'm guessing so the guests could come get them and return them. Maybe they don't follow their policy and charge people unless it gets out of hand. However like I said I didn't want to find out and have to wait in a long line to try and reverse a charge.

 

 

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[Ourusualbeach]

 

I can confirm I returned an extra towel once and didn't get $25 in credit :)

 

It's Navorski, he's figured out the quarters.:D

 

http://movieweb.com/movie/the-terminal/finding-quarters/

[cruisinfanatic]

It was probably my review you read. I had checked out towels in the am for our excursion and we got back to the room and left them there as we got ready for dinner. When we got back from dinner there was a laminated piece of paper on the towels saying you will can keep these towels for for $25. Any towels not returned by 10 pm that day will be charged $25 per towel. My room steward saw me when we got back and said he wanted to make sure I saw the sign because they would charge my account if I didn't. It was almost 10 so I took the towels back. I asked the towel boy if I could just return them before the last day and he said you must return them each night. I'm sure there are ways to get out of paying the $25 but I didn't want to be standing in line to deal with customer service so I just took them back each night. I was in a balcony on the oasis of the seas and got off 8/13/16

 

 

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you were certainly told wrong info. Suppose you wanted to enjoy the pool late at night.

We've signed out 2 or more towels the first day on every cruise we've ever been on that required it. Exchanged when wet and brought back to our cabin every day. We often go to the hot tub during the night and or early in the morning, so we need them. Never ever been charged for a towel as long as returned by 10pm the last night of the cruise

[camper51]

Just as an FYI, last Feb on the Oasis I left my checked out towel on my chair for no less than a 1/2 hr while I was in the hot tub and it was missing when I returned. I just let the towel attendant know and he scanned it off my seapass card. :)

[Pipo]

[quote name='cruisinfanatic']There has never been any such rule. Maybe you were under the impression that you were going to get charged $25 if not bringing it back and scanning in on same day, but it certainly would not have happened. The towels only needed to be [B]returned by 10PM on the last day[/B] is all.[/QUOTE]

The OP heard something that I saw, so I'm not alone. Rules and policies change on every ship, from one day to the other. I recall, it was $25 every night, three years ago on winter. The following year, same ship, spring, the rule changed, no scans, no fees, no returning times at all. Last June, Harmony, no scans, return on last day, $25 fee. So I've seen three different rules with towels in three years, on the same cruise line, on the same ship class. Edited August 19, 2016 by Pipo

[BillOh]

[quote name='cruisinfanatic']you were certainly told wrong info. Suppose you wanted to enjoy the pool late at night.
We've signed out 2 or more towels the first day on every cruise we've ever been on that required it. Exchanged when wet and brought back to our cabin every day. We often go to the hot tub during the night and or early in the morning, so we need them. Never ever been charged for a towel as long as returned by 10pm the last night of the cruise[/QUOTE]

Because it never happened to you is not justification to say they are wrong. It has happened to people.

[Ocean Boy]

[quote name='BillOh']Because it never happened to you is not justification to say they are wrong. It has happened to people.[/QUOTE]

However, if it did happen it was a pretty stupid way of running the ship. If you start the week with two towels and end the week giving back two towels why the need for all the scanning in between? Not to mention the fact that plenty of people use the pools and hot tubs after the towel stations close as well as before they open in the morning.

[Rala]

[quote name='dpostman']Oh Gee... Thanks for the life lessons on how to raise kids! That'll come in handy :rolleyes:

If anybody else has an actual practical suggestion, I'm open to hear it. :)[/QUOTE]

Practical suggestion?...here ya go...teach your daughter responsibility.That's not a life lesson on how to raise kids, it is a practical solution to the situation. :)

[cruise crazy64]

Just found this thread and have to say, I was on the Brilliance last year and the only time we had to check out towels was when we went off the ship for a beach day. The had a table set up right when you got off by the door and then a tent set up before the gangway to collect them. Anytime we got towels on the ship there was never an attendant there. Just made sure we left the same amount of towels in the room at the end of the cruise that we started with.. Carnival and Princess don't even check out towels for port days.. very strange..
Karen :cool:

[joramonfaur]

Get the towels from the GYM...

[Pipo]

[quote name='joramonfaur']get the towels from the gym...[/quote]

genius

[ColoradoGurl]

[quote name='cruisinfanatic']it's very easy to get fresh towels without scanning. Best times are 6AM to 9AM while there are plenty laid out on lounges with no one around[/QUOTE]


[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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[ColoradoGurl]

[quote name='dpostman']I would be 100% OK with ships getting passengers to "check out" towels when leaving the ship to use in ports but, for onboard useage, plus with all the chair hogs, I wonder if this is one of the reasons they are hesitant to get the staff to pick up the towels on chairs for an extended period. It makes for some very unhappy passengers, not as much for the loss of the chair but maybe because of the towel tax.



dp[/QUOTE]


I think it's the opposite reason; I think they're charging to discourage chair hogging. If you have to pay $25 for a towel, you're less likely to leave it unattended for 2 or 3 hours on a lounger you're saving.

As for kids and towels, there isn't much you can do except stress to the kids that they MUST keep track of their towels, and that if they lose theirs, they won't get another towel for the rest of the trip.

I don't know if you can put a limit on their cards for checking out towels, however, at the risk of sounding like I'm giving parenting advice, I would expect that parents of children who are too young or not yet responsible enough to keep track of their things, will not be leaving their children unattended on the ship, so the parents should be there during check out, and also helping keep an eye on the towels while kids are swimming and playing. If not, then it's a good lesson to the parents and the kids about responsibility, and $25 is probably the cheapest lesson of this sort :)


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[dpostman]

[quote name='ColoradoGurl']I think it's the opposite reason; I think they're charging to discourage chair hogging. If you have to pay $25 for a towel, you're less likely to leave it unattended for 2 or 3 hours on a lounger you're saving.

As for kids and towels, there isn't much you can do except stress to the kids that they MUST keep track of their towels, and that if they lose theirs, they won't get another towel for the rest of the trip.

I don't know if you can put a limit on their cards for checking out towels, however, at the risk of sounding like I'm giving parenting advice, I would expect that parents of children who are too young or not yet responsible enough to keep track of their things, will not be leaving their children unattended on the ship, so the parents should be there during check out, and also helping keep an eye on the towels while kids are swimming and playing. If not, then it's a good lesson to the parents and the kids about responsibility, and $25 is probably the cheapest lesson of this sort :)


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You might be right about a fee for towels for trying to discourage chair hogging, but obviously it doesn't look like it's working ;)

As for my daughter, who will be nearly 13 when we cruise. It is a strange combination of very mature and I have no problems giving her lots of freedom, but she is so forgetful that if her head was not attached, it would be lost somewhere. She gets an A in most of her classes but will have lost her lunch box before the first week of school is through. She has been making her own lunches since she was 8 or 9, but no amount discipline or Lesson teaching has changed this. I know some parent out there think they know better, but for parents who have a kid like this, it is what it is... We just accept that for the time being we have to deal with it and not buy her an expensive ipod or phone no matter how much she begs.

We have already started discussing the towel thing with her, and she is well aware of her special ability to misplace things. But once on board, and with all her friends that are cruising with us, once they decide to move on to another location or activity, there is a good chance that a Towel, or sun glasses, or her souvenir cup, (maybe all of the above) will remain on the bench behind them. :rolleyes:

I might just end up paying a few bucks to one of her friends that is less forgetful to just keep reminding my DD to not forget her stuff.

dp Edited August 26, 2016 by dpostman