Once a Day Cabin Service

[doghog]

On 10/29/2023 at 4:45 PM, gerig said:

princess is 16.00 per day

For now. 

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Well, our experiences were different.  I strongly prefer twice a day service, especially as we're now paying more for once a day.  

- We're not going to ask the cabin steward to change his schedule once he's set up for the week; doesn't seem "nice".  And we didn't dine at the same time each evening. 

- Having extra towels doesn't make the dirty ones disappear.  

- We didn't leave a mess either -- are not high maintenance -- but we missed the straightening up and the towels being change, the trash being emptied.  

 

You are paying thousands of dollars and are paying for a service.  If the timing is not working for me, I am going to ask for it to be changed.  Whether that is being "nice" to the cabin steward or not is irrelevant.

[pilot]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

You do not need to change your schedule for the cabin steward, you should have told them what your dining schedule was and when you would be out of your cabin.  If evening service was such an issue for you, ask to change to morning.  Towels is another easy fix, ask for two sets of towels.  We asked day one and had two sets all week long.  We easily pile our dishes in a corner of the vanity and trash was only full on one day.  We had no issue at all with service once a day and actually preferred it.  We don't need our cabin straightened up, we don't leave it a mess.  We saw our steward in the corridor and he would ask if we were all set.  We aren't high maintenance and found it was not a big deal for us to have once a day service.

Sounds to me that you are now doing what the steward use to do and soon paying more. 

[reallyitsmema]

5 minutes ago, pilot said:

Sounds to me that you are now doing what the steward use to do and soon paying more. 

 

What am I doing that the steward used to do?

[parrotfeathers]

Maybe RC could invest in larger trash cans for the cabins.  They are indeed tiny.

[pilot]

1 hour ago, pilot said:

Sounds to me that you are now doing what the steward use to do and soon paying more. 

 

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

What am I doing that the steward used to do?

Stacking your dirty dishes. Having 2 wet towels until next service. 
 

I agree you don’t need twice a day service, but it was something that was previously provided. 
 

After reading the Increase Gratuity thread, it seems some of us are not happy about paying more for less. 

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

You are paying thousands of dollars and are paying for a service.  If the timing is not working for me, I am going to ask for it to be changed.  Whether that is being "nice" to the cabin steward or not is irrelevant.

Exactly! The steward is working FOR me, not the other way around

[reallyitsmema]

40 minutes ago, pilot said:

 

Stacking your dirty dishes. Having 2 wet towels until next service. 
 

I agree you don’t need twice a day service, but it was something that was previously provided. 
 

After reading the Increase Gratuity thread, it seems some of us are not happy about paying more for less. 

We have always stacked our dishes on the vanity. The cabins have limited counters as it is, no need to leave things strewn about. Two wet towels in a corner or hanging where they were to begin with don’t bother me. 
 

To each their own….

[RedIguana]

On 10/28/2023 at 12:36 PM, not-enough-cruising said:

Find me a cruise ship that considers double occupancy to be full occupancy.

The assessment of passengers on board is incorrect and irrelevant

 

On 10/29/2023 at 9:01 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

It is irrelevant because a ship NEVER sails at double occupancy, never ever ever. 
Regardless of how many people are onboard the number of rooms to clean remains the same. 

I am sorry, but your insinuation that the amount of passengers on board has an affect on the housekeeping is just silly. The number of crew members cleaning has not changed dramatically. They may be assigned to other areas than staterooms, but the staff is there 

All the cruise lines consider double occupancy to be full, with a minor correction for the ones with solo cabins. Double occupancy = 100%. Triples, quads, and the assorted others can bring the ship to maximum capacity, expressed as a percent over 100, such as 115%. I have been on sailings over !00% occupancy, a few close to 100% occupancy, and some well under 100% occupancy, both pre and post pandemic. It is not unusual for off season Florida cruises to be under 100%. I expect my December sailing to be less than 100%.

The amount of passengers clearly has an affect on housekeeping. Pullmans and sofa-beds do not set up and change themselves. Trash generated by 4 is usually greater than 2. 4 people use more towels than 2, and in my family, the young ladies use more towels than I.  Empty cabins do not have to be serviced twice a day.

[loman]

We never  had any dishes in the cabin as all food is consumed elsewhere .

Garbage can is rarely full . Only thing in there is a few sheets of paper and a couple of water bottles.

If we have wet towels we hang them on the hooks on the door to dry until we get cabin service.

Then we put them on the floor. 

We seemed to be fine with once a day .

Twice a day was overkill for us. 

[cruiseboy89130]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

We have always stacked our dishes on the vanity.

Just put them in the hallway! Out and done!

[Mum2Mercury]

7 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

You are paying thousands of dollars and are paying for a service.  If the timing is not working for me, I am going to ask for it to be changed.  Whether that is being "nice" to the cabin steward or not is irrelevant.

Well, actually we're paying hundreds of dollars for a service; our last week cruise was $364/person.  Our upcoming cruise is similarly priced.  Cruise before last was $99/person.  Being retired, it's easier for us to grab these bargains!  Low prices are also why we cruise exclusively in the fall.  

Didn't you describe yourself as low-maintenance?  

6 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

Maybe RC could invest in larger trash cans for the cabins.  They are indeed tiny.

Sensible idea, but they must remain small enough to fit under the chair (for most cabins).  

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

To each their own….

But, no.  For most cabins, the option of two service visits is gone.  

3 hours ago, RedIguana said:

The amount of passengers clearly has an affect on housekeeping. Pullmans and sofa-beds do not set up and change themselves. Trash generated by 4 is usually greater than 2. 4 people use more towels than 2, and in my family, the young ladies use more towels than I.

Oh, absolutely!  

[reallyitsmema]

5 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Well, actually we're paying hundreds of dollars for a service; our last week cruise was $364/person.  Our upcoming cruise is similarly priced.  Cruise before last was $99/person.  Being retired, it's easier for us to grab these bargains!  Low prices are also why we cruise exclusively in the fall.  

Didn't you describe yourself as low-maintenance?  

 

What does being low maintenance have anything to do with what you are saying about cost?  Interesting you say you are retired on this post, yet you talk about going to work on others.  When was the supposed $99 cruise and what ship?

 

5 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

But, no.  For most cabins, the option of two service visits is gone.  

 

Find a cruise line that will give you twice a day service or book a cabin that includes it if it is that important to you.  

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

What does being low maintenance have anything to do with what you are saying about cost?  Interesting you say you are retired on this post, yet you talk about going to work on others.  When was the supposed $99 cruise and what ship?

 

 

Find a cruise line that will give you twice a day service or book a cabin that includes it if it is that important to you.  

Low maintenance = not making extra requests such as having the cabin steward change his schedule once he's set it for the week.  Nothing to do with cost.  

 

We "supposedly" sailed December '22 on Independence of the Seas for $99 -- we even got a small room upgrade!  It was a last-minute special.  

 

I DO talk about working AND being retired.  The whole story:  I'm a retired teacher, but I substitute -- not a "real job", as I can pick and choose when I want to go.  I've promised to work 5 days a week January through April, and I think I'm already sorry -- February and March are the dregs for teachers -- but it's for a good friend's maternity leave.  

[cruise20233]

If they keep raising gratuitous I think they should clean the room twice a day

[reallyitsmema]

7 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Low maintenance = not making extra requests such as having the cabin steward change his schedule once he's set it for the week.  Nothing to do with cost.  

 

That is not an extra request.  There is no way we would stick to a schedule that doesn't work for us.  The cabin steward is being paid to do a job and deals with changes all week long.  They know how to adjust.

[CeleBrat]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:45 AM, reallyitsmema said:

 

You do not need to change your schedule for the cabin steward, you should have told them what your dining schedule was and when you would be out of your cabin.  If evening service was such an issue for you, ask to change to morning.  

Easier said than done. We got “stuck” in the evening service, since the Steward said all of the morning slots were full. And he is not budging on changing our time.

On 11/4/2023 at 11:08 AM, reallyitsmema said:

 

You are paying thousands of dollars and are paying for a service.  If the timing is not working for me, I am going to ask for it to be changed.  Whether that is being "nice" to the cabin steward or not is irrelevant.

We’ve asked both the Steward and Guest Relations to switch our time (from evening to morning), and got a resounding “Sorry, no.”

[travelberlin]

5 hours ago, CeleBrat said:

Easier said than done. We got “stuck” in the evening service, since the Steward said all of the morning slots were full. And he is not budging on changing our time.

We’ve asked both the Steward and Guest Relations to switch our time (from evening to morning), and got a resounding “Sorry, no.”

Did you talk to the supervisor? I do not care about twice a day service but if it is only once a day, I will need it to be in the morning. I hate to have a not made room the whole day.

[doghog]

3 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Did you talk to the supervisor? I do not care about twice a day service but if it is only once a day, I will need it to be in the morning. I hate to have a not made room the whole day.

Agree. Morning for us with extra towels. We wouldn't be stuck with a service we didn't want! 

Edited November 8, 2023 by doghog

[doghog]

9 hours ago, CeleBrat said:

Easier said than done. We got “stuck” in the evening service, since the Steward said all of the morning slots were full. And he is not budging on changing our time.

We’ve asked both the Steward and Guest Relations to switch our time (from evening to morning), and got a resounding “Sorry, no.”

They would have heard a resounding, "no way" from me. I would have requested to speak with the Head of Housekeeping or the HD. We wouldn't be stuck with a service time we didn't want! 

 

RC needs to add what time you want your cabin serviced pre cruise. Like requesting a dining time pre cruise. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by doghog

[time4u2go]

Sounds like in addition to early and late cleaning, they need to introduce "My Time Cleaning" (MTC). 😉 😁

[Billy Baltic]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

They would have heard a resounding, "no way" from me. I would have requested to speak with the Head of Housekeeping or the HD. We wouldn't be stuck with a service time we didn't want! 

This is part of the downside of the change for me. You’re on vacation. You shouldn’t need to be speaking with anyone or escalating anything. You should just be getting your room taken care of as you want, while you’re relaxing.

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, Billy Baltic said:

This is part of the downside of the change for me. You’re on vacation. You shouldn’t need to be speaking with anyone or escalating anything. You should just be getting your room taken care of as you want, while you’re relaxing.

Bingo

I have spent too much Vacation time over my past few cruises getting dining errors fixed . You should be able to expect what you agreed to and not have to waste precious time dealing with the BS

 

I realize I changed the subject from cleaning to dining but same concept . 

 

Cheers

 

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by LobsterStalker

[pilot]

I find it interesting that so many have commented that they are ok with a reduction of service, but are going ballistic on another thread about the increase in gratuities. 

[time4u2go]

7 minutes ago, pilot said:

I find it interesting that so many have commented that they are ok with a reduction of service, but are going ballistic on another thread about the increase in gratuities. 

Is it the same people?