Tell us about your BEST and/or WORST cabin steward.

[halos]

One of the best cabin stewards we ever had was on Celebrity. We were in a conseirge category cabin, so that needs to be taken into consideration as the stweards had only a few cabins to take care of. His name was Anil. That cruise was in 2006 and I remember his name so that goes to show you how good he was. The next (and very close next) couple...sterward and assistant were on the Dawn in 2009. They were Rommel & Daisy. They were fabulous. I left them a note with a request the first night and they responded with a note...and what happened was we wound up being virtual pen pals during the 14 day repo cruise leaving notes back and forth. They were awesome and bent over backwards to make us feel pampered. I will not ever forget them. The whole entire crew on that sailings was the best we ever had in general. All of them that we spoke to, said they felt like one big family working under Hugo. I credit him for that memorable cruise.

[shepherdqueen]

On all three of our cruises our stewards have been WONDERFUL! :)

[Medtech2]

Have you ever had a falling out with your cabin attendant on a cruise? It’s an unusual event, as cabin stewards usually are the smiling, front-line points of contact passengers have with crew. But anybody can have an off day.

 

From the sounds of the discussion on the Cruise Critic forums, member Cardqb and partner seem recently to have had a breakdown of communication with their cabin steward on Carnival Splendor, whom they describe as “horrible.” Member Tapi also tells of a tale about a steward so bad, he asked for a different steward, and was subsequently “stalked” by the original one.

 

We should stress these are very unusual events, and most people enjoy the banter that develops with their cabin steward (and many of our own members have expressed the view that Cardqb is expecting a butler’s level of service from a cabin steward).

 

It’s something that’s unique to cruising; you rarely see this rapport with the cleaning staff in a hotel. And yes, you can argue that the cabin stewards are paid to look after you — so why make an effort to make their lives easier? — but somehow, most of us believe the relationship is two-way street.

 

So here are our top tips for getting the best out of your cabin steward:

 

1. Seems obvious, but leave the cabin tidy. A quick sideways glance into open doors of other cabins being cleaned (and I’m sure we all peek) can be a real eye-opener when you see the mess. Do you really want some stranger picking up your underwear?
   
2. Take time to exchange greetings. Some cabin stewards like a quick hello and a smile, or a chat about their families back home. You can develop a great natural rapport with the cabin stewards just by chatting and being friendly. It can even result in extra chocolates on the pillow.
   
3. Address your cabin steward by name. Sounds simple, and it is. It’s also common courtesy.
   
4. Discuss any special requests you have at the beginning of the cruise. For example, if you don’t want your ice bucket filled in the mornings, tell him, and shave a minute or two off his work time.
   
5. If you leave a written note, make sure it’s clear and legible. English is often the lingua franca onboard, but it might not be the first language of your steward.
   
6. This is a controversial one, but some cruisers set things off on the right foot with a pre-cruise sweetener of $20 or so to their room stewards. Whether this is saying, “I’m going to be extra demanding” or “There will be bigger rewards at the end for good service,” you’ll probably get the steward’s attention.
   

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/27/6-simple-tips-for-keeping-your-cabin-steward-friendly/

The best was Marlon on the Epic, who swooped in to tidy up every time we turned around, several times a day.

 

The worst was on the CCL Fantasy, who not only would not give us pool towels but took the ones I managed to get from Guest Services and got into a shouting match with a man on our hall about not giving them pool towels!

[wasiii]

.....never had a bad steward. The worst I had was the steward not addressing me by my name.

 

Oh the agony!

 

:rolleyes:

 

wasiii

[mommyto2girls]

My room stewards are usually my "Vacation Hero's " those are the best cards to fill out. We have never had a bad room steward. I do love Gigi in particular.

[marelind]

Every steward but one has been good, if not very good. DH is a late riser and we ask the steward to put us at the end of his/her schedule. Each one has been gracious to accommodate us, and we tip extra at the end of the cruise.

 

The one "bad steward" worked as a pair with another steward. The good steward did all the work, was polite, smiling and helpful. The bad steward stood around telling us how he would make sure no one came into our cabin to steal something while he was cleaning the cabin and we were out. He told us about all the passengers who were so appreciative of his hard work and how they came back on repeat cruises and hugged him and brought him gifts. It just was very strange! We left a good tip for the good steward and a very small tip for the "talker".

 

Our first steward was a reserved, very professional woman. Her smile and greeting by name really made us feel special. She really stuck out in my mind as a great ambassador to Norwegian.

[hladygirl]

We have only had one steward who was not good. It was on the spirit in 2010. Most of the time he was seasick and had others filling in for him which meant our room was done last which was a pain since we are early risers and early sleepers. Rarely saw him.

[azappraiser]

We had "Owen" as our steward on the Pearl. He always seemed to be working... taking great care of all of his charges & greeting each one by name every time he saw us. Upon returning home from the cruise, I sent a letter to NCL corporate on his behalf.

 

"Romel" was our steward on the Gem; he also did a great job. Although Owen set the bar quite high, Romel did touch it a few times. ;)

[dragonswordkata]

 

What did we say or do? Nothing. We both firmly believe that you NEVER do anything to antagonize anyone who has direct access to your toothbrush and your toilet!!!

Words of wisdom.

[Tricialy]

We've only cruised four times and all of our stewards have been great. I can't believe they can remember our names, considering they get a new group of passengers every week. I have to say Ferddie on the Star was the best. Funny - the Star was our least favorite boat of the three we've sailed on. We really enjoyed talking to him. I hope we have him again when we get back on the Star next summer.

[MsTabbyKats]

We have only had one steward who was not good. It was on the spirit in 2010. Most of the time he was seasick and had others filling in for him which meant our room was done last which was a pain since we are early risers and early sleepers. Rarely saw him.

 

Unlike land based jobs, when you work on a cruise ship you can't call in sick.

He was probably new and didn't know he was prone to seasickness.

[halos]

He was probably new and didn't know he was prone to seasickness.

 

Could very well be...Our only 'bad' crew member was on RCI Explorer OTS. He was the assistant waiter and he was new. He HATED the job (not waiting, but being on a ship) and was miserable and whiny. I imagine the poor kid quit before his 7 (8,9??) months were up. He was not a happy camper.

Ironically our only 'bad' cabin steward was on this very ship/sailing. He wasn't bad in any way...we just never met him; never saw his face. This was unusual. It was the only time I didn't tip extra to a steward.

[Barb Nahoumi]

I never had a bad steward either. Everyone did their jobs adequately, left us with cute towel animals, and stopped to chat on ocassion.

 

The very best one was on the Carnival Triumph, my first cruising experience. My friend's suitcase got damaged, and the steward had it expertly repaired for her.

[lovetrauma]

My Best by far was Abdul on the Gem. He went out of his way to greet us every time he saw us. Whenever we needed anything we left him a little note and no questions asked it was there / done by the time we returned to the cabin. He also always had a smile and would laugh and joke with my daughters. It was impressive that he knew our names with all the guests that come and go.

[Denlin]

I always like to meet the room stewards and find out where they are from and about their family. I have met some incredibly genuine and hard working individuals. And being greeted with pleasant hellos Ms L and Mr. D every time we see them - just always makes us feel special.

 

By the end of the cruise we always seem to take a picture with our steward(s) - one year we had two and when they posed for a picture with my husband, they said "ok, for the next picture, we are going to look like his bodyguards" - we all had a good chuckle.

 

We tip on top of the DSC at the end of the cruise, but sometimes bring a little gift with us for the start (generally an international phone card, treats, something from our home town), have slipped them a few dollars when we know they have a little time off to go ashore and tell them a drink is on us...just as a token of our appreciation :)

[gra2172]

We've never had less than wonderful cabin stewards. Every single one of them! I can almost still name them all. We see some again when we cruise the same ship and it's like seeing a good friend every time.

 

Same here! My most memorable was on the Star. Ive never had any issues with cabin stewards. Always friendly and helpful.

[HokiePoq]

We had a miserable cabin steward on our Gem cruise in 2009. We left the day after Christmas and got back the day after New Year's, so I don't know if she was missing her family or what. I do however tip a good steward at the end of the cruise.

 

Interesting. All of our NCL stewards have been excellent, save one, and it was a lady who was going home at the end of our Dawn cruise. Nothing horrible at all, just would miss emptying trash cans, filling ice bucket,etc. Had never had one to do that before. We tip at the end and this is the only one who did not get an extra tip. Carlos on the Jade was one of the best we've had as well as one we had on RCCL in April.

Agree about leaving the cabin reasonably tidy for the steward and reward for service well done at the end, or if some unusual favor is done along the way.

[Wendy-Europe]

We had nice stewards on all of our cruises - and they did everything to make our cruise as comfortable as possible.

 

I have very few demands (leave my cabin tidy and stay solo in my cabin - so not too much to do), but we like to have connecting doors opened (and balcony dividers....), if not available I ask for a bathrobe or so.

 

When the steward recognize that we collect the dailies in two languages they try to bring us both...

 

I like towel animals and collect them on the sofa bed - mostly I get a new one every day. At the last day of the cruise I have a zoo....

 

At one cruise my earring opened during the night and I didn´t realize it. The stewardess found it when making the room and put it visible on a save place. She feared that I missed the second one too and she found just one - I was sooooo happy to get the earring back!

 

No - I cannot say anything against one of our stewards. We always felt pampered.

 

Wendy

[yj_eugene]

I've had one really horrible one, on Celebrity. He was the most "can't do" person I've met in a long time. His answer to anything we asked him was "No", no matter how minor the request. In fact, except for our head waiter and the barista at the coffee shop, the entire crew on that cruise was neither friendly nor helpful, so much so that we subsequently cancelled a Panama Canal cruise we had booked on Celebrity and booked the same trip on a competing line. In fact, I still can't get DW to try Celebrity again because of that experience.