Cabin Neatniks/Cabin Slobs

[Ships R Great]

We are on the neatnik end of this spectrum (due to hubby's neat gene). But I have passed cabins that look like a tornado hit. How do cabin attendants handle this? I don't see how they can do their jobs with clothes scattered all over. And I imagine the bathrooms look the same or worse. Any ideas?

 

I would certainly hope they are tipped VERY well but, if passengers are that sloppy, that is probably not the case.

[KevinNYC]

We are on the neatnik end of this spectrum (due to hubby's neat gene). But I have passed cabins that look like a tornado hit. How do cabin attendants handle this? I don't see how they can do their jobs with clothes scattered all over. And I imagine the bathrooms look the same or worse. Any ideas?

 

I would certainly hope they are tipped VERY well but, if passengers are that sloppy, that is probably not the case.

 

I have a bit of a "Felix Unger gene" myself. As a matter of fact, Edy, my last cabin attendant on the Century TA last April, must have loved me. Before leaving for breakfast each morning, I'd make the bed (albeit not as well as they do), wipe off the sink basin, faucets and mirror of water spots and just straighten up the stateroom in general. Then again, since I don't leave clothes and other crap laying around the floor at home, why on earth would I do it on vacation in a more cramped living space? A bit over the top? Perhaps -- but it took me all of 1 or 2 minutes and the room attendants work hard enough as it is with very long hours -- why make them clean up someone else's pig sty? Not to mention that he and his assistant were terrific and always available if I needed anything. And I did tip more than the suggested $4 per day suggested for CC cabins simply because I felt he earned it with his availability and pleasant disposition.:D

 

-Kevin

[mii]

By no means am I a neat freak but we do pick up here and there. We do not leaves clothes on the floor, we put our personal stuff in drawers, etc. I have walked by staterooms where the doors are open and sometimes I have seen stuff all over the beds, couches, floor, just everywhere. I do feel for the room stewards to have to clean up that mess. You just wonder how those people's houses are. Those room steward work very very hard and we truly try to clean up after ourselves. It just takes a minute or two.

 

Marilyn

[kehlx2]

Well parts of my home may have things laying around (lack of closet space etc & too many clothes)..:eek: I keep our cabin nice & tidy including the bathroom..now if I leave paper work scattered a bit on the desk--I always find it neatly stacked....yes those room stewards sure know how to clean a room FAST & good..they are in/out almost before you can come back for something you forgot..

[Lois R]

I am not a neat freak but I don't consider myself a slob either.

No, I don't make the bed~if they makes me a horrible person so be it.

I don't leave my clothes on the floor either.

 

Hmmm.....yes, we all have our quirks. I leave the towels on top of the

toilet seat~they know to give me new ones that way.

When I am in a hotel, the towels go into the tub when I am finished.

(So they know I need new ones)...well, instead of throwing them in

the shower I leave them on top of the toilet.

 

As for the Felix comment;) well, I am not Oscar:D

I don't consider myself living in a pig sty but I don't wipe the

faucets down either.

 

And I tip over the max every cruise too:)

[grandsix]

I have a bit of a "Felix Unger gene" myself. As a matter of fact, Edy, my last cabin attendant on the Century TA last April, must have loved me. Before leaving for breakfast each morning, I'd make the bed (albeit not as well as they do), wipe off the sink basin, faucets and mirror of water spots and just straighten up the stateroom in general. Then again, since I don't leave clothes and other crap laying around the floor at home, why on earth would I do it on vacation in a more cramped living space? A bit over the top? Perhaps -- but it took me all of 1 or 2 minutes and the room attendants work hard enough as it is with very long hours -- why make them clean up someone else's pig sty? Not to mention that he and his assistant were terrific and always available if I needed anything. And I did tip more than the suggested $4 per day suggested for CC cabins simply because I felt he earned it with his availability and pleasant disposition.:D

 

 

We believe that's a great way to be................

[Desertbelle]

I am not a neat freak, but I can't exist in such a small space with clutter everywhere. I don't make the bed, but I do keep things orderly, picked up and put away. I leave a few items out on the bathroom counter and the desk, curling iron, ipod charging, etc., but never clothes on the floor or drawers left open.

[Druke I]

Well, my wife and I are not messy by any means, but we do leave a little for the steward to do.

[Longboysfan]

Wife makes sure all is in order before we go out for the day and dinner.

Soiled towels in a pile in the bathroom.

But the bed can't be messy after the early morning make up.

Unless she decides it's OK to nap.

 

And everything else must be stacked in a neat pile of out of sight under the bed or in a closet.

 

Cruise treasures can be left out on the small table ot the extra chair.

[TeaBag]

I bet the slobs with the clothes all over the floor leave the minimum tip or none at all and the neat people leave more than average! I feel for the room stewards and yes, the maids in hotels too and I leave the room as neat as I can. However, I have never cleaned the mirror or taps.

[bobbyleduck]

This is insane! People get paid to clean staterooms, and yet there are people cruising who clean the room/bathroom first and then tip the stateroom attendants extra for not having to do half their job.

 

I refuse to explain myself, except to say I would never be embarassed if my stateroom door was left open before the attendant began his/her job. Make the bed, never!

 

I read these threads and wonder if I'm not cruising with people who have a lot more money than sense. At the very least, you must have way more money than I.

 

I bet you tip the people cleaning your motel/hotel rooms more than $5.00 a day, as well. If not, why not?

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[Parrot Mom]

First, as suggested years ago we started using an old fashioned shoe bag for putting in all sorts of extras thanks to9 Calgon, clothes pins, flashlights, shampoos, tanning lotions, beach shoes, etc. Parrot pop just picked up a unique over the closet bag that has a bag hanging from the bottom(Xmas Tree-if you have any near you).. for his shoes, caps, toiletries.. If we have a third bed, a bunk bed he puts his clothes up there.. suitcases are usually put if they can under the beds.or in the closet.. In the bathroom I commander a glass and put in our toothpaste, tooth brushs, etc. In another glass on the try I put down a face cloth and have all my makeup on the tray. Used towels I toss in the shower.. Dirty clothes I carry two mesh bags.. and hang them up.. one is for darks and the others for dirties.. If I haven't folded my clothes I pile them up on a chair..and we ALWAYS tip the room steward extra, only had one instance we did not.. I just love somebody picking up after me for a change..lol

[critterchick]

We spent 12 nights on the Jewel of the Seas and every morning walked by an Owners' Suite where the occupants would throw their laundry in a pile on the floor next to the dining room table. The pile grew larger & larger up until the last day of the cruise when I guess it was all stuffed into suitcases. It really was pretty gross. We never looked all the way inside so couldn't tell if it was a single pile or all over the cabin, but I did feel sorry for their cabin steward - I can only imagine what the bathroom looked like!:eek:

 

We put our dirty clothes in the closet. We try to keep clutter on the surfaces to a minimum because it makes me nuts. We let the cabin steward do the actual cleaning of the cabin, though. Unless we spill, in which case we clean that up right away. I think our mothers raised us right...:)

[tbelian]

Not directly on topic, but, I guess I dont find myself peeping into other people's rooms that much, so I dont know if I have slobby neighbors or if Felix lives next door. NOMB in my mind.

 

I tried to catch a glimpse inside the PH once or twice, but only to see what that room was like, not who the occupants were or how they lived.

[Lois R]

Oh...the dirty clothes go into the luggage. I sail solo and the large

suitcase usually goes against the wall next to the bed and I throw

my worn clothing into it.

[leoandhugh]

I believe that people who are slobs at home are slobs where they go also. A slob is a slob is a slob. And the same for neatniks. People do not change those habits just because they are away from home on a cruise. And the room stewards will tell you they have some of each on every cruise, so they just roll with the punches.

[eh2zed]

We are not slobs at home nor on the ship. But we certainly don't preclean the cabin before the Cabin Steward gets there. Are you not on vacation??? Isn't that what you have paid for??? Might he not feel his worth is being undervalued???

[Karynanne]

We're tidy people, so we do put laundry in draw-string plastic bags, that we bring. I also straighten the bed covers. It doesn't take much for a cabin to become messy, so we're good at keeping everything orderly.

 

Karyn

[Nonna and Papa]

I hate clutter of any kind - that's just me. I feel that everything has it's place and that it takes as much energy to put things in the wrong place as to put it away correctly.

 

Now my husband is another matter! He tends to "get to things eventually". But when traveling anywhere, we both adopt the neat mode. I feel that if we leave things lying around, it provides "temptation" for those coming in to clean up. By putting things out of sight, we also know that if we leave something in our room or cabin, it's more likely to be where we left it than not.

 

I too, pull the sheets up on the bed, and fold the used bath towels to lay over the tub or on the toilet seat to go the laundry. I don't clean the bathroom faucets, (that's too much like being at home), but I do wipe up water from the sink area.

 

Vacuuming and dusting, emptying the trash and removing used dishes are one thng, but I don't feel that housekeeping personnel should have to sift through other people's messes.

 

Mary

[songanddance]

Absolutely amazing the response this fairly benign thread has evoked. I love reading the entire CC boards as nothing more than a sampling of society. Must be great if you are a student or teacher or researcher into societal norms.

 

No sooner does someone post a thought and people rush to defend what they themselves do or preceive is the way things should be as if the original poster had their names and home addresses and was making a personal statement.

 

All they did was make an observation about how sloppy some staterooms appear. I did not see any particular room numbers nor cruise dates mentioned so all can relax.

[Ships R Great]

Glad to see that so many people have chimed in on this one. And from so many perspectives!

 

I do want to clarify a couple of things---we do not look nosily into other cabins, but we can't help seeing into cabins that have their doors open. (I do not walk "face front" in the corridors.) And we do not "pre-clean" our cabin---we just make sure all of our personal belongings are put away before we leave.

 

The cabin attendants work so hard and for such long hours. I feel for them when the "guests" take advantage of them. but as someone said, those who are slobs at home don't change just because they are on a cruise. In fact, themy may feel "entitled" because they are "paying for my cruise" and have the "I can do what I want" attitude.

[amagar]

I'm somewhat amazed, too, that people make their own beds. There are many, many pegs between felix and oscar and I think we fall in between.

 

We keep all of our clothes in closets and drawers, mostly so they don't get mixed up with linens. Dirties are in a pile in bottom of closet.

 

All towels go on floors so they can be replaced. And I tend to gather them and put them on the bathroom floor so they're in a central location.

 

Our greatest mess, I suppose, is having room service trays in the room. But everything is confined to the trays.

 

I don't know how people can be soooo sloppy. After all, these are fairly tiny spaces with little room to maneuver...and we're not there but a week-and-a-half...

[ldparker]

A few years ago we were on a Mexican Riveria sailing on Mercury. We were down the hall from a Mom, Dad, and two teenage daughters. The Mon and Dad were in a Sky Suite, and the daughters were in an inside cabin, across the hall. I happened to glance into the daughters cabin while our room steward had the door open. It look like a bomb had gone off in there. There were clothed everywhere.

 

I later was talking to our room steward and he told me that the daughters literally try on everything they brought, before deciding what to wear. This happened two to three times a day. He would pick up the clothes, fold them and leave them on the bed, every morning, afternoon, and evening. The Mom told him it was OK the handle the cloths and why should their daughters have to pick up after themselves, after all, they were on vacation. This guy spent at least an hour per day, just servicing that cabin.

[KevinNYC]

Glad to see that so many people have chimed in on this one. And from so many perspectives!

 

I do want to clarify a couple of things---we do not look nosily into other cabins, but we can't help seeing into cabins that have their doors open. (I do not walk "face front" in the corridors.) And we do not "pre-clean" our cabin---we just make sure all of our personal belongings are put away before we leave.

 

The cabin attendants work so hard and for such long hours. I feel for them when the "guests" take advantage of them. but as someone said, those who are slobs at home don't change just because they are on a cruise. In fact, themy may feel "entitled" because they are "paying for my cruise" and have the "I can do what I want" attitude.

 

Hey, you don't have to clarify anything. I, for one, like your perspective! Jeeeeez, I was actually poking fun at myself with the "Felix Unger" crack and some on here carry on like I just shot their dog. LOL!!!!!!! Why they would care so strongly one way or the other what I do is what confuses me.:p

 

However, I think the most interesting thing to note is it never takes long for the "hey, that's their job" or "I'm paying a lot of money" or, my particular favorite, the "you tip too much" crowd to chime in (thankfully, they're largely the minority). My suspicion is that type of attitude trickles down to their treatment of all service staff on the ship. I know, I've seen it dozens of times and I just cringe. I don't care how much money I have (read: I'm just a normal working stiff like most people) or how much I've spent on any particular cruise -- that is nobody's business and it certainly does not give me license to treat people like I'm better than they are. They work so hard for such long hours, usually for months on end without seeing family or loved ones. And yes, I do go to guest relations and get extra envelopes toward the end of the cruise to give extra tips to various bartenders, lounge waitstaff, pool attendants and anyone else who I think went above and beyond.

 

(Uh-oh.......maybe I should've left that part out............I've now ticked off the slobs AND the cheapskates. LOL!!!!!!!!!:p)

[bobbyleduck]

Absolutely amazing the response this fairly benign thread has evoked. I love reading the entire CC boards as nothing more than a sampling of society. Must be great if you are a student or teacher or researcher into societal norms.

 

No sooner does someone post a thought and people rush to defend what they themselves do or preceive is the way things should be as if the original poster had their names and home addresses and was making a personal statement.

 

All they did was make an observation about how sloppy some staterooms appear. I did not see any particular room numbers nor cruise dates mentioned so all can relax.

 

I suppose you think the OP didn't want any ideas, when they asked, "Any ideas?" Just an observation.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob