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

JinxyB

By JinxyB,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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mugtech

mugtech

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Since going to once a day cleaning, Royal cabins are not ready at 1:30. 

Took cruises in May and June, cabins were ready at 1:15 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time in NJ and Miami.

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UKstages

UKstages

Posted
Posted (edited)

words have meaning.

 

they are not “short staffed.” they made a conscious and deliberate decision to reduce staff and give each cabin attendant additional cabins, resulting in a delay in ship-wide cabin readiness.

Edited by UKstages
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karl_nj

karl_nj

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, JinxyB said:

I’m not sure what ship this is from, but it’s not the Joy 

 

No, it's not from the Joy. NCL "cheerleaders" here claimed that NCL never guaranteed a time when the cabins would be ready, but that is not the case. It used to be in writing.  And the 2pm time was really "worst case scenario", they were generally ready way before then.... the 1pm or 1:30pm mentioned by other posters.

 

 

 

 

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omahabob

omahabob

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, UKstages said:

words have meaning.

 

they are not “short staffed.” they made a conscious and deliberate decision to reduce staff......

 

Due to the staffing shortage. Yes, that's making an assumption, but I think a fair one. I've seen absolutely nothing to indicate NCL just decided to do more with less, and get rid of employees. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But unless they've been living under a rock, everyone knows just about every industry out there is short staffed. Norwegian did announce a 9% staffing cut back in December, but that was for shoreside employees, not shipboard. They also reduced staffing for SOME cabin classes by consolidating steward and junior steward positions. This was a restructuring done as a direct response to staffing shortages, not an elimination of people. It was made possible by eliminating the turndown service and going to once daily cleanings for many staterooms. So, they are not trying to do the same job with less people, as simply saying 'they reduced staff' makes it sound.

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hallux

hallux

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

No, it's not from the Joy. NCL "cheerleaders" here claimed that NCL never guaranteed a time when the cabins would be ready, but that is not the case. It used to be in writing.  And the 2pm time was really "worst case scenario", they were generally ready way before then.... the 1pm or 1:30pm mentioned by other posters.

 

 

 

 

They put it in writing for THAT cruise.  That's from a Freestyle Daily.  It's not a cast-in-stone cruise line policy that cabins would be ready at a particular time.  That time was based on the staffing on the ship and the average 'recovery' time based on that staffing level.  Things have changed.

 

Nice work digging up a FSD from a very old cruise so you could match your narrative.  For what it's worth, the day 1 FSD from my Escape cruise in March had no such notice on it, it was announced in the terminal that rooms wouldn't be ready until 3:00 or so...

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omahabob

omahabob

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

No, it's not from the Joy. NCL "cheerleaders" here claimed that NCL never guaranteed a time when the cabins would be ready, but that is not the case. It used to be in writing.  And the 2pm time was really "worst case scenario", they were generally ready way before then.... the 1pm or 1:30pm mentioned by other posters.

 

 

Okay, I've never SEEN NCL publish a time the rooms should be ready by. And I haven't been around them since 1966, so I can't definitively say they've never done it. But there's quite a few people here with a long history dealing with NCL, and I've yet to see any of them report that is has happened in the past. It wouldn't make a difference even if they have done it in the past. They don't publish that expectation now as far as I can see, and you can't hold them responsible for not meeting an expectation they haven't established. I'm sorry if you think stating a fact that happens to counter unfounded complaints makes someone a 'cheerleader', but facts are facts.

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omahabob

omahabob

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, hallux said:

They put it in writing for THAT cruise....

 

They didn't even do that. There's no guaranteed, or even 'expected by', availability time on that daily.

 

Saying staterooms will be available AFTER a certain time is not the same thing as saying staterooms will be available BY a certain time.

 

Edited by omahabob
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karl_nj

karl_nj

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, omahabob said:

 

They didn't even do that. There's no guaranteed, or even 'expected by', availability time on that daily.

 

Saying staterooms will be available AFTER a certain time is not the same thing as saying staterooms will be available BY a certain time.

 

 

I disagree — most people reading that blurb would expect to be able to visit their room after 2pm. Otherwise what is the point in even publishing it?  It's not a law contract, it's the Freestyle Daily. 

 

I'm just pointing out that in the past NCL did in fact mention a time when you could expect cabins to be available. Lots of people here were posting that this was just an unwritten expectation.

 

They probably removed it because when this deadline was missed (as I'm sure it was over the years for various unforeseen circumstances) guest services probably had a long line of angry customers clutching their freestyle daily and frantically pointing at this blurb when complaining and demanding OBC or whatever.

 

In any case, I'm trying to figure out if I want to book a cruise on Joy next year, so it's good to know that my cabin might not be ready until after sailaway. Another pro/con to weigh when deciding between going on Anthem yet again, or trying something new.

 

 

 

 

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omahabob

omahabob

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

I disagree — most people reading that blurb would expect to be able to visit their room after 2pm....

 

 

True, but that isn't an 'available by' time, so there is no availability guarantee or expectation established. And last I checked, 4:30 comes after 2 PM.

 

And they haven't removed it. My last cruise also said 'should be available after.....'.

 

Seriously, this horse died a long time ago. Could we please stop beating it?

Edited by omahabob
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HowardK

HowardK

Posted
Posted

I would want to be in my cabin by 1:30 no later than 2 as to not deal with cranky passengers in the hallway and elevators tapping away on CruiseCritic complaining.

 

However, it is ridiculous to have to wait until 4:30. NCL chose to cutback on staffing yet wants more money.

It's like they are still using the pandemic as justifiable for cutting everything.

First in 2018 there was no longer lox in the buffet.

Now I hear it is powedered milk.

 

My uncle, the great Earl Lucas cancelled his NCL and is going with RCCL due to all the changes.

 

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mpk

mpk

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, omahabob said:

 

Due to the staffing shortage. Yes, that's making an assumption, but I think a fair one. I've seen absolutely nothing to indicate NCL just decided to do more with less, and get rid of employees. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But unless they've been living under a rock, everyone knows just about every industry out there is short staffed. Norwegian did announce a 9% staffing cut back in December, but that was for shoreside employees, not shipboard. They also reduced staffing for SOME cabin classes by consolidating steward and junior steward positions. This was a restructuring done as a direct response to staffing shortages, not an elimination of people. It was made possible by eliminating the turndown service and going to once daily cleanings for many staterooms. So, they are not trying to do the same job with less people, as simply saying 'they reduced staff' makes it sound.

 

We just sailed a 12-day in May.  We told our steward that we are low maintenance on day 1.  He really started to believe it after a couple of days, as all we wanted were towel swaps once in awhile.  We earned some trust.

 

On disembark day on our way off the ship, he confided to us that they now service more the cabins as before, but only once a day.  It wasn't an even swap, because the second service is usually minimal- minor tidying up, maybe a towel animal (remember those? lol).  A bunch of first service is a lot of work.  Bathroom stuff, linens, etc.

 

So, yeah, they are a bit over worked.  We tip above and beyond, but I really think he valued the low maintenance more than the extra gratuity.

Edited by mpk
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omahabob

omahabob

Posted
Posted

Yes, they're short staffed. That's why they made those changes. I never said they aren't overworked. Being overworked goes hand in hand with being short staffed. My point was that they didn't CUT staff, as was suggested, and they don't try to do the same job with less people after supposedly cutting staff. The staffing was already 'cut' by shortages in the job marketplace. NCL had no choice in that. They simply reduced the workload as best they could under the circumstances, to compensate for those market shortages.

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YVRteacher "Live from...." Rare

YVRteacher

Posted
Posted

We embarked on the Spirit July 5. Full ship. Announcement that all cabins were ready was at 1:08pm.

 

I sailed solo on the Bliss in March shortly after the switch to once a day cabin servicing and the staff cutbacks. Fuller than full ship!  Cabins weren’t ready until 4:30pm.

 

There are inconsistencies with cabin readiness times.

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smillerholmes "Live from...." Rare

smillerholmes

Posted
Posted

I am so glad this thread was not locked!  While the "conversation" did get heated at some points, this is totally in line with why most people come to CC.  EXPECTATIONS.  From newbies to veterans we could all look at the brochures and read the websites, but any adult that has lived in the real world knows what's written/portrayed can vary by ALOT.  The number of posts on CC that end with YMMV is a testament to that.

 

For all those that posted your experiences good or bad - I thank you.  Information is power.  Tainted with personal feelings or not.  It's another data point that can be drawn upon to allow you to make decisions that will enhance YOUR individual experience.

 

 

 

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