Do you think cruise lines are trying to phase out older cruisers?

[ilikeanswers]

Most people cruising aren't regulars. It may feel like everyone is taking multiple cruises a year when on CC forums but for the average passengers what a CC cruiser does in a year will be the amount of cruises most people will take in their life😂. So they are less likely to notice the cut backs because they won't know how it was before. And maybe they are a little less jaded or critical because they don't have a routine yet, everything would still feel like a new cruise. I don't think any demographic is being phased out but regular cruisers were never the majority demographic, so the companies know what to cut that won't effect the bottom line and unfortunately the regular cruisers are people they can afford to lose. 

[Heidi13]

42 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

If there are less cabin stewards doesn't that mean you have to work longer to get all the cabins cleaned in one day? Or do they reach the maximum hours of work and just leave the rest of the cabins not done? 

 

They are only cleaning the cabins once per day, so less hours per cabin. Since the scope of work is reduced they require less cabin stewards to service all cabins aboard the ship, within the same hours.

[ilikeanswers]

26 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

They are only cleaning the cabins once per day, so less hours per cabin. Since the scope of work is reduced they require less cabin stewards to service all cabins aboard the ship, within the same hours.

 

I understand they have less shifts but if you half the staff surely it would take longer to do that one shift🤔? 

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:51 PM, CruiserBruce said:

If they are phasing out us old folks, why do we get 2 or 3 ads a week from cruise lines?

 

Because they figure they had better get us reserved now while we are still able to cruise.

[DarrenM]

I am still confused. Are you suggesting on this thread that having your cabin cleaned a paltry once a day is a problem?

 

Apologies I have misunderstood this.

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I understand they have less shifts but if you half the staff surely it would take longer to do that one shift🤔? 

Not if they also reduce what is expected of each cleaning. For example, in the before days they cleaned to a checklist containing 90 items and rooms were serviced twice a day (and note the second "cleaning" was really just a freshening of the cabin, making the bed, replacing towels, etc.). Now they're checklist has been reduced to 50 items so they can clean each cabin in less time, allowing them to clean all of their assigned cabins within the allowed time. The problem with this paradigm is that if someone gets sick they can't get a new staff member by calling Kelly Services, they have to make do with what they have and if enough people are ill it can really mess with the schedule. (As for the checklist containing 90 items, that's a made up number but I did see such a list once that listed the items a steward was expecting to pay attention to on every cabin and it might not have equaled 90 but it was an extensive list.)

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, DarrenM said:

I am still confused. Are you suggesting on this thread that having your cabin cleaned a paltry once a day is a problem?

 

Apologies I have misunderstood this.

There are a good number of people who are bothered by this, mostly because they are receiving less service for the same amount of money because the daily gratuity amount hasn't been lowered (and has been raised on some lines). For many it does reflect a change that impacts the "pampered" feeling one used to get as a cruiser. Cruising has been becoming much more basic since we first started in 2009 and I imagine those who have cruised longer have seen greater changes.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

There are a good number of people who are bothered by this, mostly because they are receiving less service for the same amount of money because the daily gratuity amount hasn't been lowered (and has been raised on some lines). For many it does reflect a change that impacts the "pampered" feeling one used to get as a cruiser. Cruising has been becoming much more basic since we first started in 2009 and I imagine those who have cruised longer have seen greater changes.  

I think you can see that change in emphasis in the tv ads for the various cruise lines. Instead of being pushed as a pampered, luxury item, it is being pushed as fun with waterslides, etc.

[sparks1093]

11 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I think you can see that change in emphasis in the tv ads for the various cruise lines. Instead of being pushed as a pampered, luxury item, it is being pushed as fun with waterslides, etc.

Exactly. When we started (and we came to the game late) the cruise lines still met you with a glass of champagne when you boarded (well, the cruise line we sailed with did), there were still chocolates on the pillows, crumb sweepers in the MDR, etc. etc. I remember reading an article back then that postulated that some cruise lines might adopt a more "a la carte" model, where your fare includes the basics and you pay for the extras and to some extent that has happened (but not as bad as the article supposed, they said that the buffet would be included and you would have to pay for the MDR). As society changes the cruise lines (and all businesses, really) have to change.

[DarrenM]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

There are a good number of people who are bothered by this, mostly because they are receiving less service for the same amount of money because the daily gratuity amount hasn't been lowered (and has been raised on some lines). For many it does reflect a change that impacts the "pampered" feeling one used to get as a cruiser. Cruising has been becoming much more basic since we first started in 2009 and I imagine those who have cruised longer have seen greater changes.  

I must be odd then because I dont like anyone coming in my room during my time on board. I would rather make my own bed and re-use towels etc. I dont stop them cleaning etc because its disrespectful to do that, and I tip generously, on top of what I pay upfront as part of the cruise cost.

 

But I would rather know that when we  leave the room nobody has been in.

 

I am like that in hotels too.

[DarrenM]

And I see my room being cleaned daily, and someone else making my bed as being ridiculously pampered.

 

To the point of being uncomfortable about it.

[ilikeanswers]

48 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I must be odd then because I dont like anyone coming in my room during my time on board. I would rather make my own bed and re-use towels etc. I dont stop them cleaning etc because its disrespectful to do that, and I tip generously, on top of what I pay upfront as part of the cruise cost.

 

But I would rather know that when we  leave the room nobody has been in.

 

I am like that in hotels too.

 

I would actually agree with you on this. I've never liked having my rooms cleaned daily. Unlike you I have put up the Do Not Disturb signs just to stop the cleaning😂. I like to know the space I reserved is just for me and not open to anyone and everyone. I would much prefer it if room cleaning was done by request than on a daily schedule. 

[DarrenM]

I actually forgot about the do not disturb sign.

 

I suppose I feel that the room attendant might feel offended if I left that on every day.

 

Going soft as a get older

[ilikeanswers]

4 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I actually forgot about the do not disturb sign.

 

I suppose I feel that the room attendant might feel offended if I left that on every day.

 

Going soft as a get older

 

I figure I am doing them a favour one less room to clean🤷‍♀️. My mum always refuses to use the Do Not Disturb sign even though she too dislikes daily room cleaning but the way she sees it, it's included in the room price so she wants to use. I have said the Do Not Disturb sign is also included in the room price so why not give that some use🤪.

[Heidi13]

49 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I figure I am doing them a favour one less room to clean🤷‍♀️. My mum always refuses to use the Do Not Disturb sign even though she too dislikes daily room cleaning but the way she sees it, it's included in the room price so she wants to use. I have said the Do Not Disturb sign is also included in the room price so why not give that some use🤪.

 

Unfortunately, you are causing them additional work, as it takes longer for them to clean, once they finally get access to the cabin. If they don't get access until turnaround day, expect to see your photo on the crew dart board, as having a backlog of cleaning to do is something they don't need on the already busy turnaround day.

 

Lack of regular cleaning, especially dusting, increases the risk of fire, a fact that is hammered into us when we were new cadets.

 

BTW - the do not disturb sign doesn't prevent access to your cabin, as the Master, or designate can search/inspect any space at any time. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, you are causing them additional work, as it takes longer for them to clean, once they finally get access to the cabin. If they don't get access until turnaround day, expect to see your photo on the crew dart board, as having a backlog of cleaning to do is something they don't need on the already busy turnaround day.

 

Lack of regular cleaning, especially dusting, increases the risk of fire, a fact that is hammered into us when we were new cadets.

 

BTW - the do not disturb sign doesn't prevent access to your cabin, as the Master, or designate can search/inspect any space at any time. 

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Often there are issues like these that those of us who are the passengers do not think of.

[ilikeanswers]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, you are causing them additional work, as it takes longer for them to clean, once they finally get access to the cabin. If they don't get access until turnaround day, expect to see your photo on the crew dart board, as having a backlog of cleaning to do is something they don't need on the already busy turnaround day.

 

Lack of regular cleaning, especially dusting, increases the risk of fire, a fact that is hammered into us when we were new cadets.

 

BTW - the do not disturb sign doesn't prevent access to your cabin, as the Master, or designate can search/inspect any space at any time. 

 

I'd like to think I'm not that particularly messy that, it would make such a difference on turn around day😳. Though thanks for reminding of another concern. IMO when a cruise finishes all passenger data, should be deleted. With all these increasing data breaches you got to wonder why companies keep your ID data for so long even when you stopped utilising a company a decade ago🙄. 

 

But I am wondering if dust is so hazardous why have Do Not Disturb signs at all? Why not tell passengers it is mandatory to have your cabins cleaned due to fire hazard? 

Edited March 28, 2023 by ilikeanswers

[SPacificbound]

No I do not think cruise lines are trying to "phase out old cruisers". Why would anyone need two cleanings a day, we are capable of picking up after ourselves.

 

A lot of hotels are only cleaning once a day, and upon request.

 

It's not about trying to get rid of a certain segment of the population. It's reality in today's world.

[winemama]

I think we can all agree that 1 time a day for cleaning is fine, it is when your room is cleaned at 3-4 o'clock, that is a time a lot of people change for dinner, nap.  We just got off the GEM and we had NO idea when our room was going to be cleaned and fresh towels given

When we were boarding, highly valued guests were in the same long line as us.  No one was around asking do you have early boarding, staff came around when we were almost at the door. 1.5 hours later

 

[DarrenM]

The towel issue bothers me hugely.

 

Surely we should all be trying to re-use towels as much as possible.

 

I refuse to believe we need towels in the rooms changing daily. Especially when there are thousands available on deck to use too.

 

And I fully accept that cruising is bad for the environment generally, so I am something of a hypocrite.

 

 

[Markanddonna]

In November, I saw two security guards questioning a lady who kept her "do not disturb" sign on for a few days. They were right. She was hiding that she had COVID and didn't want to be quarantined. I asked my cabin attendant if it was true that they would report us if they saw evidence of real illness and he said it was true. 

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, DarrenM said:

The towel issue bothers me hugely.

 

Surely we should all be trying to re-use towels as much as possible.

 

I refuse to believe we need towels in the rooms changing daily. Especially when there are thousands available on deck to use too.

 

And I fully accept that cruising is bad for the environment generally, so I am something of a hypocrite.

 

 

Some people shower multiple times per day and the towels might not dry between uses. We always do try to re-use, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Just like everything else involving humans what works for one may not work for another.

[sparks1093]

13 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'd like to think I'm not that particularly messy that, it would make such a difference on turn around day😳. Though thanks for reminding of another concern. IMO when a cruise finishes all passenger data, should be deleted. With all these increasing data breaches you got to wonder why companies keep your ID data for so long even when you stopped utilising a company a decade ago🙄. 

 

But I am wondering if dust is so hazardous why have Do Not Disturb signs at all? Why not tell passengers it is mandatory to have your cabins cleaned due to fire hazard? 

I'm sure that the cruise ship does delete data regularly, but corporate will hold on to it for marketing purposes. Dust is only hazardous if it is allowed to accumulate over a long period of time. I'm not sure what the actual danger point is, but I doubt that one week's accumulation would be that hazardous.

 

As for not being messy enough to make much difference even an extra 10 to 15 minutes of extra cleaning on turn around day can interfere with things. One cabin maybe not so much but multiple cabins most assuredly (they have to clean all of their cabins in a few hours as opposed to having all day available and this includes a complete change out of linens, etc.).

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

In November, I saw two security guards questioning a lady who kept her "do not disturb" sign on for a few days. They were right. She was hiding that she had COVID and didn't want to be quarantined. I asked my cabin attendant if it was true that they would report us if they saw evidence of real illness and he said it was true. 

Thanks for sharing.  This seems both necessary and wrong at the same time by all parties involved.  I hope sometime soon we get past such behavior.  That's all I'll say.

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

As for not being messy enough to make much difference even an extra 10 to 15 minutes of extra cleaning on turn around day can interfere with things. One cabin maybe not so much but multiple cabins most assuredly (they have to clean all of their cabins in a few hours as opposed to having all day available and this includes a complete change out of linens, etc.).

 

That would make sense but if CC is any indication it would seem most people see room cleaning as pampering and I'm part of a tiny minority so hopefully I am not causing to much hassle. To be fair I don't usually put the Do Not Disturb sign through the whole cruise I just don't want cleaning every day. Though perhaps in future I'll let them clean the day before the end so they don't have the extra 15 minutes on turn around day.