Cabins not ready until 4:30- is this a thing now?!

[GORDONCHICK]

12 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

Oh my. You're one of those people that hauls all your luggage around until you get into your room?

 

Nevermind.

 

 

For having been here less than a hot minute, you sure like to stir up a lot of crap.

Edited July 10, 2023 by GORDONCHICK

[ColeThornton]

If people are just going to argue I'm leaving and going to my cabin.  Wait, it's not ready yet.  😉

[Topdog52]

20 hours ago, JinxyB said:

Embarked the Joy today in NYC and cabins were not ready until 4:30 - they made repeated announcements about this. I find this concerning. Yes, I know the stewards are stretched thin, but 4:30?? This just seems really late to me- worse than a hotel check in. If this a new industry standard, then it would be nice to know. BTW, my cabin was pretty grubby- smears of stuff on doors and gray hairs in bathroom and balcony (my hair is dark brown). 

If I am paying good money for that cabin on the day we depart, Then I want in the room as soon as I board!!! Lets get the Captain and Officers to help out on day 1. NCL needs to have extra local staff to help out getting the rooms ready on Embarkation day.

[mdjohn5]

11 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

If people are just going to argue I'm leaving and going to my cabin.  Wait, it's not ready yet.  😉

 

I see what you did there..... 🙂

[wolft927]

8 minutes ago, Topdog52 said:

If I am paying good money for that cabin on the day we depart, Then I want in the room as soon as I board!!! Lets get the Captain and Officers to help out on day 1. NCL needs to have extra local staff to help out getting the rooms ready on Embarkation day.

What time is your hotel available when you stay the night before a cruise? Check out 11am check in 4pm. 5 hour window. Last guest of say 10:00am rooom available say 3:30? 

[nadeki]

20 hours ago, JinxyB said:

Embarked the Joy today in NYC and cabins were not ready until 4:30 - they made repeated announcements about this. I find this concerning. Yes, I know the stewards are stretched thin, but 4:30?? This just seems really late to me- worse than a hotel check in. If this a new industry standard, then it would be nice to know. BTW, my cabin was pretty grubby- smears of stuff on doors and gray hairs in bathroom and balcony (my hair is dark brown). 

I am sorry this topic has turned so heated. I agree with your post and sorry this happened to you. This is definitely the new trend and disappointing.

 

I have noticed it on our last couple cruises. 

 

Yes, it is unfair on the staff and the guests. 

 

I am not a big complainer and figure out how to work around things, but it is a bummer.

 

I am shocked at the debate on this thread. 

[tony s]

16 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Do you work for the company, or are you a paying guest? 

 

They have more people sailing than ever before, at higher per diem than ever before. 

 

What we don't need is a forum full of quasi-employees or apologists who will be happy for 6pm room entry and $30 a day service charges.  Keep giving them free passes to give you less and charge you more and it will happen

 

I’m paying for service not to be understanding. To wait until after 4 for a semi clean room, no! If enough folks have conversations with management and pull the first day DSC, then will come with a solution fast including hiring more or make “ management “ assist.

[wolft927]

5 minutes ago, tony s said:

I’m paying for service not to be understanding. To wait until after 4 for a semi clean room, no! If enough folks have conversations with management and pull the first day DSC, then will come with a solution fast including hiring more or make “ management “ assist.

Dear lord! Pulling service charges! Pretty sure you should just stop cruising 

[RB9643]

14 minutes ago, tony s said:

If enough folks have conversations with management and pull the first day DSC, then will come with a solution fast including hiring more or make “ management “ assist.

 

 

Why on Earth would you think management cares whether or not you pull your DSC?

 

 

[omahabob]

2 hours ago, RB9643 said:

 

Do it. All of you, do it please. Switch to Royal. Less crowds on my ship.

 

And hopefully in this forum.

[omahabob]

2 hours ago, Travelicious said:

I wasn’t faulting you at all.  Sorry if it came off that way.

 

It didn't.

[RB9643]

52 minutes ago, GORDONCHICK said:

For having been here less than a hot minute, you sure like to stir up a lot of crap.

 

 

If sign up date and post counts are indications of ... well, I'm just going to let this one pass, for my own good.

 

 

[Twolittleboys]

3 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

True, but in my experience, here is how each of those ways of conveying a complaint is likely to be responded to, in descending order of likelihood:

 

1. On the ship in person

2. In an onboard survey

3. In a post-cruise survey

4. In a letter

5. On the internet

 

I don't know whether you typically use any or all of these, and what your experience has been, but I'd say complaining on Cruise Critic is the least likely to result in a change you want to see. It's probably the easiest and least confrontational, but also the least effective.

 

Well, it depends. If I have a major issue that I need resolved or for which I expect compensation, I will talk to someone on the ship. Internet sucked on my cruise (not just for me - it was the number one complaint on board) and I went to the internet manager. But if it is something more general I do think a thread on the internet (and Cruise Critic isn't some small website unknown to cruise lines) with many people chiming in will have at least as much (or more) weight than me writing a letter.

 

3 hours ago, Sixtytwo said:

You make some good points Twolittleboys, I guess I just don't see the need to go on Cruise Critic or any other site and rant about something. We all find deficiencies on cruise ships from time to time, normally nothing that was life threatening or so gross it requires us to want to take their issue to a public forum to air our grievance. Life and cruises are what we make them. For me, I prefer to take the high road. 😉

 

 

 

And again, I do believe in sharing information. I did not like having to wait so long for my cabin but it wasn't a deal breaker. But it may be for others and they deserve to know if this is an ongoing issue. Another reason I like to post about it - it shows if it is just an isolated incident or more pervasive when others share their experiences as well. 

 

Honestly, if I go on a ship and know that my cabin won't be ready until 5 I can deal with it. But if I thought I could get in at 2 and I am not prepared it can be more difficult. Maybe I would check in a bit later. Maybe I will pack my carry-on differently. 

 

This was my fourth cruise since the pandemic (first ever on Norwegian) and the other three had the room ready from the moment I boarded. Granted a couple of those cruises were with much emptier ships but still - I did not expect the delay. 

[omahabob]

1 hour ago, bkrickles1 said:

I sincerely mean no disrespect with regards to your needs and valuables, but a couple of things come to mind. 

Can't you just use a tote bag or something similar to hold your meds/valuables and leave your suitcase with a porter?

And if you must carry on your suitcase, for whatever reason, can't you roll your case with you into the bathroom? I believe every bathroom on board has a handicap stall which would easily accommodate you and the largest suitcase in the world.

 

I'm guessing you never had lost luggage. Many folks, myself included, have a small carry on suitcase with things they would need to get along short term if their primary luggage gets lost. That includes more than just medicine. It becomes far more important with airlines, since that's where most bags are lost. And since a lot of people travel to the port on airline flights, that same bag goes with them onboard ship. If you have medical conditions, that bag necessarily becomes more important, and possibly larger. A CPAP machine can be lifesaving, and most won't fit in a tote bag. Admittedly, there are tons of people don't worry too much about this stuff, and they've never had a problem. But for those who have had it happen, as I have, or maybe seen or heard of it happening to others, having that bag is completely justified. So I don't think a debate over bag size is really the point here. Some need them larger than others, and they're more critical to some than others.

 

I never saw a porter on my cruise ship, though they did allow us to tag and store our bags in the casino temporarily when we sailed on the Getaway in May.

[LMaxwell]

8 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

I hope they read mine: Dear NCL, you're doing a great job, we've never had a problem with a cabin being dirty, take the negatives with a grain of salt because most passengers are happy. Our rooms have never taken until 4:30 to be ready which means the OP is an outlier. Carry on!

 

Would you volunteer to have your room ready at 430PM in that case? 

 

There is a lot of extreme hyperbole going on in this thread. I don't know how anyone thinks this would be OK in anything but a one off situation 

[hallux]

4 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

This was my fourth cruise since the pandemic (first ever on Norwegian) and the other three had the room ready from the moment I boarded. Granted a couple of those cruises were with much emptier ships but still - I did not expect the delay.

ah, but how many were this year?  Most cruise lines made staffing reductions earlier this year, that's when the later room availability started.  I sailed in March - rooms were not ready until after 3 PM, but we were told this in the terminal.

 

I ask the group - has NCL (or any mainstream cruise line) guaranteed room readiness at a particular time?  I don't recall seeing anything.  Sure - past experience has set an expectation of early room readiness, but the reality of current situations is that it's simply not possible due to reduced staffing.  I'm not being an NCL apologist, I'm being realistic when you consider the staffing cuts (which have happened on ALL lines)

 

This may not be helpful to all but when I board I don't carry on anything I'm not comfortable carrying for a couple hours.

[omahabob]

55 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

This topic is getting heated! 

 

This is the onboard entertainment here. You don't need reservations, you don't have to stand in line, and it doesn't cost anything.

[david_sobe]

NCL's Golden Ticket program:  $49.99 per cabin

 

Ensures your cabin to be ready by 2:00pm on embarkation day.  Allows special access to the breakfast buffet for special hours until 10:15.  A special table area will be roped off and available with key swipe.

Guests will also receive a special pair of NCL toenail clippers and tweezers for picking up those extras that fell on to the rug.  

A gratuity will be added to your account for your convenience. 

[david_sobe]

NO TOENAIL CLIPPINGS EVER

[karl_nj]

15 hours ago, CruiserJ03 said:

Average land hotel check in is 200pm to 400pm. 

 

Well, average land hotel check out is 11am...

[tony s]

33 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

Why on Earth would you think management cares whether or not you pull your DSC?

 

 

Actually they do. Per conversation with a senior staff, corporate monitors the DSC and reasons given. It then falls back on on board senior staff

[Twolittleboys]

11 minutes ago, hallux said:

ah, but how many were this year?  Most cruise lines made staffing reductions earlier this year, that's when the later room availability started.  I sailed in March - rooms were not ready until after 3 PM, but we were told this in the terminal.

 

I ask the group - has NCL (or any mainstream cruise line) guaranteed room readiness at a particular time?  I don't recall seeing anything.  Sure - past experience has set an expectation of early room readiness, but the reality of current situations is that it's simply not possible due to reduced staffing.  I'm not being an NCL apologist, I'm being realistic when you consider the staffing cuts (which have happened on ALL lines)

 

This may not be helpful to all but when I board I don't carry on anything I'm not comfortable carrying for a couple hours.

 

Oh, I am aware and of course you are right - I was just explaining why I was surprised. Yes, I had heard about the cuts but based on prior experience didn't expect the long wait. And again, that for me is the whole point of such a thread:

 

- Make people aware of the current way of things so they have realistic expectations/can adjust

- Give cruise lines an idea of which cuts are more or less important to customer satisfaction

 

 

[omahabob]

4 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

Well, average land hotel check out is 11am...

 

But the land hotel isn't considerate enough to take your bags the night before and have them waiting for you in the parking lot. 😄

[karl_nj]

1 hour ago, electro said:

Did a HAL cruise in June. Room was ready when I got on at noon. No need to go to a luxury line.

 

On Celebrity last week room weren't ready until 1pm, but was encouraged to stop by the room to drop off stuff/put passports in the safe/etc. once I boarded at 11:30am.

 

RCL still has the rooms ready at 1:30pm usually, from my recent cruises on that line.

[JinxyB]

5 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

While I'd much prefer cabins to be ready soon after we board the ship, theya re ready when they are ready and I'll enjoy myself having a good time whereever I hang out and whoever I am hanging out with.  I'd rather they take their tmie and do the job right than rush through it and do a half ass job.

Well in this circumstance, 75% (approx) of the cabins were not ready until after 4:30, and mine was not cleaned to my satisfaction. Certainly a half ass job on my particular cabin.  What would be an appropriate time in this instance to wait for a clean cabin? 5? 6? 7? If I had little kids with me I’d be furious