Bad service from Room Stewart

[Shogun]

Hi Caber,

 

I thought it was normal for the supervisor to drop in.

 

yours Shogun

[caber]

Hi Caber,

 

I thought it was normal for the supervisor to drop in.

 

yours Shogun

 

Afraid not. We maybe are not as well known as you. ;)

[Megsdad]

Afraid not. We maybe are not as well known as you. ;)

 

Weegie:eek:;)

[ilovhywd]

At least the room stewards on Princess are not required to spend extra time in our cabins making those cute towel animals like they have on HAL!

 

(I actually used photos of the towel animals to indicate "night-time" on my photo slide show after the photos from each day of the cruise.) Some of them were actually quite complicated to set up! We loved them.

[caber]

Weegie:eek:;)

 

How did you guess?

[momtwins]

We just got off the Diamond and never once were given ice. Like I commented before I couldn't understand what the stewards did all day (don't flame me please) but apparently they have a lot to do we just didn't get the service others were getting.

 

Our sheets were never changed, why the bother putting on and taking off the bed spread is beyond me (why not just leave it on and turn it down at night)? I requested an egg crate for the bed, a top sheet, and robes and did not receive any of them.

 

Live and learn.

[angyl]

The best idea someone gave me, was to bring brightly colored post it notes. I wrote a friendly polite note requesting a robe and it was there when I returned. Another day I asked for (via post-it) a couple wine glasses and again, I put the post-it on my bathroom mirror. I also made a point to say please and thank you and take the time to talk to my room steward in person, and a little kindness goes a long way. I asked for ice and received it too.

[Dunelm]

I think Princess may not be the only cruise line that has cut down the number of stewards. We were recently on Holland America Line and, although, our room steward was okay, the service seemed to have slipped. I guess the poor economy is being felt everywhere.

[ibfern]

Earlier this year on the Pacific Princess my steward had 16 rooms to take care of, I felt sorry for him all the time because he worked so hard. I made him take Sundays off from cleaning me, but even then he would sneak in and clean.

 

Several time I handed him an envelope of cash to spend in ports, this made him very happy because it was in addition to the regular tips I always leave on the tab and he could spent it as he wanted. He spoiled me and I spoiled him, a good relationship in my book!

[acruisefan]

We had a room steward from hell once on the Crown Princess. He not only argued about ice - told us to call room service - he did not want to add a top sheet to our bed since everyone else in our group would probably want one, too. Our room was extremely warm and the thermostat did not appear to work properly. We had to argue with him about calling a technician (we did it ourselves). He told us that the room temp was just fine and besides it would cool down in the evening. As soon as he met our DS and his friend (across the hall from us), he gave them a stern lecture about behaving themselves on the ship and how some kids had gotten kicked off the ship the previous week. I thought that was presumptuous since my DS and his friend are extremely respectful and well behaved.

 

The thing that REALLY got me mad though was when we went returned from muster someone had taken their name tag and stuffed it in the lock so they couldn't open the door. The room steward was very angry and accused them of doing this which really freaked them out since they absolutely did not. Then he speculated that it must be friends of theirs (absolutely not!). He warned them that his supervisor was on his way and they would be in trouble.

 

We all left and went to dinner. The boys were concerned all through dinner that they would not be able to get into their room and that they were being accused of something that they did not do. When we came back, the door worked fine, but the steward had left all the little pieces of paper on the floor in front of their door. I called him to come clean it up and told him that they nor their friends had any role in that. Many people passed by their room on the way to muster and anyone could have done that.

 

For the rest of the week the steward was difficult with any request. The boys told me that he regularly told them to clean up their room (pick up the clothes, etc. - their room was definitely messy but I think that is my job to yell at them for that. No one asked him to put away their clothes. Every night the other mom and I would make them clean up, so this was the day's throwing around of various things that we are talking about.

 

I wanted to call and get a different steward assigned to us, but my DH felt that if he did this guy might retaliate in some way. We did end up tipping him since that is his salary, but I wrote a detailed complaint on my evaluation form.

[jagsfan]

I think Princess may not be the only cruise line that has cut down the number of stewards. We were recently on Holland America Line and, although, our room steward was okay, the service seemed to have slipped. I guess the poor economy is being felt everywhere.

 

What funny is that it's the passengers who pay the bulk of the stewards' salaries, so

whatever the downturn did to Princess's bottomline, having to pay stewards shouldn't

have entered into it. So why are there fewer of them doing more work?

[MojitoMadness]

We had a room steward from hell once on the Crown Princess. He not only argued about ice - told us to call room service - he did not want to add a top sheet to our bed since everyone else in our group would probably want one, too. Our room was extremely warm and the thermostat did not appear to work properly. We had to argue with him about calling a technician (we did it ourselves). He told us that the room temp was just fine and besides it would cool down in the evening. As soon as he met our DS and his friend (across the hall from us), he gave them a stern lecture about behaving themselves on the ship and how some kids had gotten kicked off the ship the previous week. I thought that was presumptuous since my DS and his friend are extremely respectful and well behaved.

 

The thing that REALLY got me mad though was when we went returned from muster someone had taken their name tag and stuffed it in the lock so they couldn't open the door. The room steward was very angry and accused them of doing this which really freaked them out since they absolutely did not. Then he speculated that it must be friends of theirs (absolutely not!). He warned them that his supervisor was on his way and they would be in trouble.

 

We all left and went to dinner. The boys were concerned all through dinner that they would not be able to get into their room and that they were being accused of something that they did not do. When we came back, the door worked fine, but the steward had left all the little pieces of paper on the floor in front of their door. I called him to come clean it up and told him that they nor their friends had any role in that. Many people passed by their room on the way to muster and anyone could have done that.

 

For the rest of the week the steward was difficult with any request. The boys told me that he regularly told them to clean up their room (pick up the clothes, etc. - their room was definitely messy but I think that is my job to yell at them for that. No one asked him to put away their clothes. Every night the other mom and I would make them clean up, so this was the day's throwing around of various things that we are talking about.

 

I wanted to call and get a different steward assigned to us, but my DH felt that if he did this guy might retaliate in some way. We did end up tipping him since that is his salary, but I wrote a detailed complaint on my evaluation form.

 

I would have had a VERY hard time not telling him where to get off in person and then giving his supervisor 2 or 3 pieces of my mind as well.

[Katie333]

Also one must remember that "Stewart" is on break between, I think, noon to 5 PM or something like that so for ice one must call room service.

 

This is very true so for people who need ice in the afternoons just call room service. With that said, if you don't receive it with your evening turn down and you'd like it just remind Stewart.

 

And fair point, they work like 14 hour days so an afternoon break is well deserved.

[brfan]

What funny is that it's the passengers who pay the bulk of the stewards' salaries, so

whatever the downturn did to Princess's bottomline, having to pay stewards shouldn't

have entered into it. So why are there fewer of them doing more work?

 

Probably because stewards cost the cruiseline money - they have to feed them, house them, etc. Plus doesn't the cruiseline pay for the airfare, at least one direction, for the tipped crew (I believe some cruiselines pay for both directions, if the contract is fulfilled and others pay for one way, not sure how Princess works in this regard).

[davekathy]

Our last Cruise was on the Grand Princess (14 nighter) and when we returned to the cabin to get ready for diner (early traditional) our ice bucket was always in full and placed in the refrigerator. When we returned in the evening our ice bucket was always full and in the refrigerator.

[owt205]

We spent 19 days on the Coral Princess this Apr/May, and it was our 5th cruise, but by far the best cabin steward.

 

Danny was right there when we boarded, and was unfailing polite,smiling and helpful throughout our cruise. At one point, when we returned to the cabin to get ready for dinner, there was a note on the bed from maintenance, saying that they had fixed the problem with the thermostat.

When we called to say we had not reported any problem (thinking maybe they had gotten the wrong cabin), we were told that Danny had reported that the temperature was not what was set, and he asked for it to be checked out.

 

Also, one day my bathing suit bottom fell from the towel rack, where it was drying, to the pile of used towels on the floor, and got scooped and sent with the laundry. I found Danny in the hall, and within 1/2 hour, he found them, had them cleaned, and pinned on a hanger, returned to our room.

 

Ice was NEVER a problem, we asked the first day for ice 2x/day, and without fail, it was in our fridge regular as clockwork.

 

As to the towels, ours were wonderful, looked new, and were fluffy and absorbent..I was worried, as I had read that some were not up to expectations, but this was not an issue.

 

I have to say, this was our first Princess cruise, but NOT our last! We will always look to them first when choosing our next cruise.:o

[Mom33]

We just got off the Diamond and never once were given ice. Like I commented before I couldn't understand what the stewards did all day (don't flame me please) but apparently they have a lot to do we just didn't get the service others were getting.

 

Our sheets were never changed, why the bother putting on and taking off the bed spread is beyond me (why not just leave it on and turn it down at night)? I requested an egg crate for the bed, a top sheet, and robes and did not receive any of them.

Live and learn.

 

How many times did you ask? With so many cabins to attend to and many requests, not just yours, a reminder in writing left in the cabin might get you what you requested. We have only experienced one forgetful steward in 5 Princess cruises and the reminder note worked just fine.:)

[angyl]

Did any of the people complaining about the ice look in the refrigerator? I never thought to look in there (I was a newbie) and kept thinking it would appear on the tray with the tongs, etc. I felt dumb when I found it in the fridge after asking for it...and it was there all the time.

[Liz54]

We had no ice problems, but towels were a challlenge on our last cruise.

[taxgal]

On the dozen cruises my DH and I have been on we have had a major problem only once. When we were not satisfied with the room steward's response, we called housekeeping. As soon as a supervisor was involved, poof-gone, problem resolved. At the risk of sounding elitist, this is my only vacation, I work hard all year to pay for it and I am not going to permit someone not doing their job to adversely effect my time off.