Cleaning question

Like many have stated, I don't want to make more work for the very busy crew. But....I like my bed made in the morning, and clean towels ready. And I also look forward to getting a towel animal at the end of each day. So, I'm going to repress my guilt, and ask for twice-daily service. I wish there was a way to request limited evening service, like just the towel animal. I don't need them to turn down my bed or refresh my towels or empty my trash. Just the towel animal, and the funtimes.

You aren't making more work for the steward. That has always been their job to do twice a day.

Do you think the steward feels guilty taking the full gratuity for only cleaning your cabin once a day instead of the usual 2 times?

I've never seen a post on here yet that said the cabin steward felt bad and returned half the gratuity when they only cleaned the cabin once a day.

Bill

You aren't making more work for the steward. That has always been their job to do twice a day.

 

Do you think the steward feels guilty taking the full gratuity for only cleaning your cabin once a day instead of the usual 2 times?

 

I've never seen a post on here yet that said the cabin steward felt bad and returned half the gratuity when they only cleaned the cabin once a day.

 

Bill

So very true. Steward auto tips have always been based on 2x servicing of our cabin each day. When the day comes when they reduce tips for 1x service than we will live with that but until than we will always request 2x service like we have come to expect during our 25 or so years of cruising.

hmmm...I don't mind once a day service but how are the top bunks turned down or put away if you only have once a day??? We will have a family cabin in July on the Magic and it has two upper bunk beds, I don't want them open all the time.

From what I've seen on pictures posted on here, once they are down, they stay down. We've never had them so I'm only going by what I've seen in pictures.

Only some ships have this for now but this is the wave of the future at Carnival.

 

For now you can get 2x service if you ask for it but down the road probably not.

I may be naive (OK...probably) but I think this whole thing started with Carnival's attempt to give passengers a customized cabin servicing routine. Some like to sleep in and don't want morning service and some don't want the cabin steward hovering around while they're getting ready for dinner and ask for morning only. Unfortunately, Carnival's "card" that the stewards use to notate the desires of the cruisers initially failed to mention you could have both servicings. This has since been fixed but now we have to contend with stewards on some ships going rogue and telling people it's an either/or proposition. On the Sunshine our steward tried this. I thought it was kind of sleazy on his part and was prepared to go to GS to lodge a complaint.

If Carnival does go down the road to provide once a day servicing then I would no longer cruise with them or, if the fare was too little to ignore, I certainly wouldn't give them the extra tip we normally give in addition to the auto-tip. We aren't slobs...we want to morning service and then in the evening we want them back to empty the trash and provide fresh towels. I don't care about the towel animals and turning down the bed so the evening visit should take no more than 5 minutes.

I have guilt about choosing just one service and also about requesting two, maybe y'all can talk me through it. :)

 

There are inherent issues with only morning or evening service as mentioned previously, namely towels. I am notorious for mid day or evening showers in addition to morning shower on dry land, on a cruise I sometimes kick it up to both an afternoon shower and an evening shower, and I am also the proud bearer of nearly waist length hair so towels are always at a premium. And of course the decision between clean room early and towel animal/turn down service is one no one should have to make. But requesting two services seems "greedy" and feels like twice the work for the steward/housekeeping staff.

 

But as I know that this is a fairly new question/choice still...what if they are testing the waters for customer reaction and satisfaction with just one service per day and as soon as everyone is acclimated to only getting one, they could cut staff (and associated costs) which would still basically double the work for the steward/housekeeping staff while also causing job loss to the percentage of staff they felt superfluous.

 

I don't want to cause anyone more work, but I really don't want to (potentially) cause any job losses either. I am prepared to request both services and also double my usual weekly tip amount. But I do still feel a little guilty about it. I like luxury as much as the next person but have never been a "wait on me, pamper me" type of person.

Why should anyone feel guilty asking for services the company offers?

Why should anyone feel guilty asking for services the company offers?

I really think it's meant to be done that way. They ask if you want service once or twice. So in essence we have to request they work harder. With all the tales of woe about working on cruise ships we are bound to feel guilty requesting the most service. They are cutting down service without cutting tips, which is ridiculous. The cabin stewards are likely getting more rooms to service so if we request two services they are probably struggling to keep up. Great for their tips but not for their time.

For me I'd be fine with 1 cleaning and maybe a towel exchange place where you can always get fresh towels.

I'd probably be fine with 1 service but the problem is getting towels and new beach towels. If I get morning and we shower after a shore excursion there will be no towels for the morning and no replacing the used beach towel. If we get evening service we won't have towels to shower in the morning. Should I just request both or ask for 1 but check towels?

There is usually a beach towel exchange on deck 0 when you return from the ship. If not, you can take them to the towel hut up on Lido and exchange your dirty ones for clean ones.

So in essence we have to request they work harder.

My perspective is they are asking if I am okay accepting less for the same price. They are offering me no discount in exchange for this. If there is no guilt felt on their end for asking me to accept lower service levels there will certainly be none on my end for taking them up on their offers for the higher level of service at the same rate.

I frankly do not care if they service my cabin once a day or multiple times a day, so long as it meets my expectations (always have ice, always have fresh towels). The frequency does not concern me; the end result does. But past experience tells me to achieve that result requires two visits daily. If they find a way to meet my expectations with less visits, that's fine.

There is usually a beach towel exchange on deck 0 when you return from the ship. If not, you can take them to the towel hut up on Lido and exchange your dirty ones for clean ones.

Thanks, good to know.

From what I've seen on pictures posted on here, once they are down, they stay down. We've never had them so I'm only going by what I've seen in pictures.

If you have more than 2 in a cabin and are using the bunk beds or the couch, the steward will prepare them for sleeping during evening turn down service. Then during morning service the steward will return the bunks to the ceiling. That has been our experience in the past without a conversation with the steward.

That being said, I also have seen photos of the bunks left down. I think it probably needs to be addressed on the first day that you will need the bunks put back up each day. It's unfortunate that you need to tell the steward, but it's better than dealing with them down for the entire cruise. I do think the more people you have in your room, the better the tip needs to be. But then tips should always be based upon the service received. We have only had 1 steward in all of our cruises that I felt was not up to par. We are not difficult demanding travelers and always keep our room neat and orderly. I don't expect a steward to pick up after me, but I do expect a clean room, clean towels, and a filled ice bucket 2 x day. I'm another one that doesn't care if I receive a towel animal.

If you have more than 2 in a cabin and are using the bunk beds or the couch, the steward will prepare them for sleeping during evening turn down service. Then during morning service the steward will return the bunks to the ceiling. That has been our experience in the past without a conversation with the steward.

 

That being said, I also have seen photos of the bunks left down. I think it probably needs to be addressed on the first day that you will need the bunks put back up each day. It's unfortunate that you need to tell the steward, but it's better than dealing with them down for the entire cruise. I do think the more people you have in your room, the better the tip needs to be. But then tips should always be based upon the service received. We have only had 1 steward in all of our cruises that I felt was not up to par. We are not difficult demanding travelers and always keep our room neat and orderly. I don't expect a steward to pick up after me, but I do expect a clean room, clean towels, and a filled ice bucket 2 x day. I'm another one that doesn't care if I receive a towel animal.

Some people may want the bunks left down. While it's not my style and we always had them put up, my sister had them leave it down because my niece liked to be able to take a nap in her bed if she wanted. But I agree that if it's not the way you want it (either up or down) be sure to let your steward know.

My perspective is they are asking if I am okay accepting less for the same price. They are offering me no discount in exchange for this. If there is no guilt felt on their end for asking me to accept lower service levels there will certainly be none on my end for taking them up on their offers for the higher level of service at the same rate.

 

They are banking that most people are new cruisers who have no idea that traditionally stewards provided 2x service so they will pick once and not realize they are giving the same tip for half the service.

Well my husband also likes his 2 showers a day and needs extra clean towels. We usually go to the gym early morning and come back to shower before breakfast, therefore using the clean towels left from night before. So after servicing room during the morning, those towels will be used before evening mealtime. Don't necessarily need room actually cleaned, just towels changed out. However if we were to request only that, I feel like we wouldn't get the service we wanted. So we will continue to request 2x a day just to make sure we get those clean towels. And yes at home we recycle towels, however on a ship there is not anywhere to hang the towels and allow them to properly dry in such a short period of time. We went on a behind the fun tour, those washing machines and dryers are huge and can handle the extra work. :p

On my December Dream cruise, even with twice a day service requested (mainly for the towel problem mentioned by other posters), our towel animal was left after the morning service. After five cruises of night time towel animal surprises, it felt a bit weird. Didn't ruin our cruise by any means, but it was an adjustment.

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This is probably a silly question, but why would you need your ice bucket filled twice a day? I can see why you would want some ice at night for a drink but aren't you away from your room most of the day?

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This is probably a silly question, but why would you need your ice bucket filled twice a day? I can see why you would want some ice at night for a drink but aren't you away from your room most of the day?

 

 

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on the sunshine, most cabins do not have a mini fridge to keep drinks cool. to keep the drinks cold, it is best to use a cooler and put the ice and drinks in there to keep everything cool. Ice melts after so many hours, so its nice to fill it back up with ice every so often

on the sunshine, most cabins do not have a mini fridge to keep drinks cool. to keep the drinks cold, it is best to use a cooler and put the ice and drinks in there to keep everything cool. Ice melts after so many hours, so its nice to fill it back up with ice every so often

That makes sense. Thanks.

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This is probably a silly question, but why would you need your ice bucket filled twice a day? I can see why you would want some ice at night for a drink but aren't you away from your room most of the day?

 

 

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Well...I like ice water and ice in my room-made adult beverages. I like a little vodka in my room service orange and tomato juice. That's the best reason for the ice and the other reason is I use the ice to fill my ice pack for my bad back. I use a re-freezable ice pack at home, but on a cruise you have to improvise. All of the room stewards have been real champs about making sure I always have ice.:halo: And I'm glad to tip them for their wonderful service.

If you have more than 2 in a cabin and are using the bunk beds or the couch, the steward will prepare them for sleeping during evening turn down service. Then during morning service the steward will return the bunks to the ceiling. That has been our experience in the past without a conversation with the steward.

 

That being said, I also have seen photos of the bunks left down. I think it probably needs to be addressed on the first day that you will need the bunks put back up each day. It's unfortunate that you need to tell the steward, but it's better than dealing with them down for the entire cruise. I do think the more people you have in your room, the better the tip needs to be. But then tips should always be based upon the service received. We have only had 1 steward in all of our cruises that I felt was not up to par. We are not difficult demanding travelers and always keep our room neat and orderly. I don't expect a steward to pick up after me, but I do expect a clean room, clean towels, and a filled ice bucket 2 x day. I'm another one that doesn't care if I receive a towel animal.

Ours was left in the sleeping position for our entire trip. Not a huge deal because our kids are little and don't take up much space, but I could see that being an issue when they are a little bigger.

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Where do you submit your request for when you want service?

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This is probably a silly question, but why would you need your ice bucket filled twice a day? I can see why you would want some ice at night for a drink but aren't you away from your room most of the day?

 

 

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I like to drink ice water when I'm in the room. I may be in the room prior to going to lunch and I'm certainly there prior to going to dinner...hence the need to have the ice filled in the morning and again at night. That ice bucket only keeps the ice frozen for so long.

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Where do you submit your request for when you want service?

 

 

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When you meet your room steward. Just let them know what you want and any particular requests that you might have. The first day the stewards are very busy with the turn over of the rooms, but they will make note of your request. I often make a note on a post it note it and give it to them or if I don't see them the first day I will leave it where they can find it.