Has this become common practice for stewards?

[bchalker]

Good grief.

 

 

"good grief" sums it up alright! sheesh

[nanwel]

I find some things are not what we got used to. But, there are more people cruising now, and the cruise lines have been forced to pay a better standard of pay. Something had to give.

I do not miss the animals - found it annoying that they would use my personal stuff to help make them.

Stewards are not as in your face as they used to be - open the door and they were always right there - now you see a lot less of them. I try to leave my room tidy so they do not have to do that choir - Sure I am not the only one that sees other rooms as I walk down the corridor, and think omg - they must have a time to make up that room!!

Does not bother me, find they try hard to please and will do what you want, if you just ask. Better than being home, and having to do it all myself!!!

no different that hotels - do not get the personal service in them - cruising is much better!

Just try to ask for what you need, and I am sure they will try to accomodate - if you just steam every day, and never tell them of your problems, how are they to know???

[bchalker]

We have experienced the OP's problem on our last two sailings. One day

the room was never cleaned. I would hope this was being assigned too

many cabins, rather than a lack of service trend.

 

We have yet to cruise under the new prepaid tips program but if this happened to us I will be down at guest services making an adjustment to out tip amount. They will not receive the full tip for less than outstanding service. On the other hand for outstanding service we always tip extra.

[sky0000547]

I have never had any real issues with the steward delaying in servicing my room. I tend to return to my room soon after breakfast and the room is either been serviced or just about finished. But whether or not it has been serviced on my return, it doesn't really bother me.

[KansasK]

We had one of the best cabin attendants we have ever had on our November Independence of the Seas cruise. I asked for ice and got it twice a day. We asked for 4 towels for our cabin and we got them every day. We don't always use them, but we always had a total of 4. On past cruises, this did not happen every day. We did not get robes and are diamond and asked for them the second day and they were there when we came back later in the day. Whatever we asked for, we got. He did a great job in the room and was friendly when we saw him in the hall.

 

In general we got good service on this ship. We had luggage waiting for us when we got to our cabin just after 1:30 on the day we boarded. This has never happened to us. The rest came about 15 minutes later. Usually our luggage arrives while we are at the muster drill or later.

 

Our waiters were also excellent. One of our tablemates at dinner wanted peach cobbler and they made it special for the whole table the next night.

 

I think we just got lucky, and never let the not as good cabin attendants impact our cruise much, but good service adds to our cruise experience and we appreciated it, mentioned them by name on the review and tipped accordingly.

[styxfire]

I wish we could do away with the "room steward" altogether. The reason I cruise is to be free of obligations... I don't enjoy feeling like I must vacate the cabin in the morning and in the evening so the steward can "do his thing". I don't want to be on a "set" schedule...

...I wish that instead of a room steward, we could just have a "service window" at the end of each hall. So if I need 2 towels or another roll of toilet paper, I could just go get it myself.....

Wow, you obviously have some serious anger management issues.....

Oh, I didn't feel any anger when I wrote that. Sorry if I gave that impression. The OP wanted to know if anyone felt obligated to accommodate the steward, and I was trying to explain that YES, I do feel obligated. Got a little long-winded.

 

(I am one of those people that don't like having my hotel room "made up" daily, either.)

 

To the person who asked why bother answering the door if I don't want disturbed, it's because on my first cruise (RCCL), I DIDN'T respond to a knock, so the steward came in because he thought it was empty. So yes, they do come in when they want. I would be mortified if they came in while I was in bed, so on my last cruise (CCL) I quickly jumped up and put my robe on and answered the door. Perhaps the repercussions of them accidentally skipping a room are worse than the repercussions for entering while "do not disturb" is shown, so they take a gamble & enter anyway.

 

I agree that a steward's job--housekeeping for a myriad of people--would NOT be easy, and they aren't mind-readers. Also I've never had one that I thought performed poorly.

 

But like the original poster, I DO feel obliged to conform to their schedule. Which is why I don't really want to have a steward... I feel a need to meet their need (to do something for me that I don't feel I have a need for). lol

[Sherlock43031]

you do realize there is a deadbolt lock on your door which the electronic key does not open.

[aubreyc1988]

I do too. I missed them on Princess because they didn't have them.

 

 

That's it. Can't cruise on princess...jk, I do want to try them sometime lol

 

 

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[Desertbelle]

I realize I am a little late to the discussion but I wanted to say that we have also seen a lapse in steward attention. On our last two cruises they stewards were kind and sweet but we would leave at 9 am and return around lunchtime and sometimes the room hadn't been touched yet and also him coming back hours later with ice or towels or something that wasn't completed.

 

This doesn't anger us but it is a little disappointing and there were days when we told him to forget making up the room, just bring fresh towels and ice.

 

I understand the stewards are busier than before but we do miss that "magically up cabin" we used to experience.

[mistshar]

you do realize there is a deadbolt lock on your door which the electronic key does not open.

 

That is not what was stated on another thread. People said they came in on them even with the deadbolt locked. So I would be weary about it. I hope that is the case but quite a few people were walked in on that thread that had locked the deadbolt.

 

That's it. Can't cruise on princess...jk, I do want to try them sometime lol

 

We like to go out of Galveston or New Orleans and since there are not many options as far as itinerary, we go on different ships. It keeps it interesting. Next year we are going on Princess again because we want to go out of the new Houston port.

 

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[aubreyc1988]

That is not what was stated on another thread. People said they came in on them even with the deadbolt locked. So I would be weary about it. I hope that is the case but quite a few people were walked in on that thread that had locked the deadbolt.

 

In response to your princess bit, we are probably doing carnival valor to go to st kitts,Barbados, st Martin, st. Thomas next year, but I will have to check princess itineraries to see if they do a good itinerary like this. It's getting to the point where we have done a lot of Caribbean itineraries so finding a port we haven't been on out of a port we like or a ship we like is getting a bit harder

 

 

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[brigittetom]

I see the problem the Stewards are like a dog in a round house.. 1/2 of you are complaining not enough service and not at the time you find convenient. the other folks are complaining too much attention they don't need bothered their room doesn't get dirty don't want to be bothered, etc. so generally the steward is damned if he does or damned if he doesn't.. unless you pull him aside early in your trip and explain to him what you want and how and when you want it don't complain. these folks aren't mind readers.

 

if you have the do not disturb tag out and they knock why do you feel obligated to jump and answer the door?

 

when we get back to the room we just throw jewelry etc into the safe it saves clutter on the counter anyway. we have left out lots of stuff and nothing has ever come up missing or seemed to have been played with.

 

does anyone over 12 really care about how often they get towel animals??

 

 

YES, YES, YES, and NO. :)

Edited January 4, 2014 by brigittetom

[bchalker]

That is not what was stated on another thread. People said they came in on them even with the deadbolt locked. So I would be weary about it. I hope that is the case but quite a few people were walked in on that thread that had locked the deadbolt.

 

incorrect. you can not open it with a card if the deadbolt is locked. hence the purpose of a deadbolt.

[bchalker]

Oh, I didn't feel any anger when I wrote that. Sorry if I gave that impression. The OP wanted to know if anyone felt obligated to accommodate the steward, and I was trying to explain that YES, I do feel obligated. Got a little long-winded.

 

(I am one of those people that don't like having my hotel room "made up" daily, either.)

 

To the person who asked why bother answering the door if I don't want disturbed, it's because on my first cruise (RCCL), I DIDN'T respond to a knock, so the steward came in because he thought it was empty. So yes, they do come in when they want. I would be mortified if they came in while I was in bed, so on my last cruise (CCL) I quickly jumped up and put my robe on and answered the door. Perhaps the repercussions of them accidentally skipping a room are worse than the repercussions for entering while "do not disturb" is shown, so they take a gamble & enter anyway.

 

I agree that a steward's job--housekeeping for a myriad of people--would NOT be easy, and they aren't mind-readers. Also I've never had one that I thought performed poorly.

 

But like the original poster, I DO feel obliged to conform to their schedule. Which is why I don't really want to have a steward... I feel a need to meet their need (to do something for me that I don't feel I have a need for). lol

 

Get rid of the cooks too. Then I can cook my own meals. I also dont like bartenders making my drinks so can we get a self serve bar? hmmm

[foxesden1]

No, it's not common or we would be hearing a lot more about it on these boards. Sorry you got a few stinkers. I might have said something to Housekeeping; a cabin not made up by 8:30 pm is pretty late indeed.

.

 

This has happened to use a few times. I have called down at 10pm on more then one sailing as our cabin was not ready - and we happen to have a child how needed to go to bed.

 

Another time I had asked a steward to make sure our room was done by 11 as we were having a cabin crawl.. the cabin crawl came by 11:30 the room was not done till mid afternoon. :eek: She was at the end of her contract and just did not give a hoot. IMPO.

[impatientlywaiting]

Until the last couple of years, our stewards have always been very quick and efficient - rarely seen. We would leave our cabin and even if we returned 30minutes to an hour later to retrieve something we forgot, the cabin would always be done. We are aware that in recent years there have been significant changes regarding stewards' workload - no assistants and more cabins - which would understandably slow them down.

 

Our last 3 stewards were very frustrating. I'm wondering if we have just gotten a few "stinkers", if training has changed or if we are just expecting too much. These 3 were determined to clean linearly instead of logically - they would start at one end of their block of cabins and proceed consecutively without regard to 'make up room' signs.

 

Our last cruise was the worst. We would leave the cabin by 0730 every morning and return at 11 or 12 to find our cabin had not yet been done even though our sign was out. We would pass the steward on the way to our room (the very last one on the hall and the last in his block of rooms), and he would be knocking on doors without any door card out at all (neither the 'do not disturb' nor the 'make up room') announcing "housekeeping". When he would see us go by toward our cabin, he would get all flustered and act surprised that we were not in our cabin and ask "is your sign out?" to which we would indicate that it, indeed, was. He would even walk to our room to see that it was. He would then ask how long we would be in the cabin! At that point, we were ready to sit and enjoy our balcony and/or nap for awhile, but we would tell him we would leave for 30 minutes to an hour and then be back for the rest of the day. This would happen every single day. The cabin would be done when we came back again, but a few times he came back an hour or two later to deliver the ice he had forgotten to leave earlier(waking us up to do so). The last 3 days of the 9 day cruise, we were no longer willing to accommodate him and just told him to forget it if the cabin had not been cleaned.

 

We would have a repeat of the same thing every evening. We eat dinner at 5:45 every night (MTD) and then go to the show. We would return to our cabin around 8:30, sometimes to change into comfy clothes to roam the ship for an hour or two and sometimes to be in for the night to enjoy our balcony and relax. The room was never done at 8:30 when we returned.

 

Has this become the norm? We were so frustrated, especially since our cabin is likely one of the easiest (and quickest) in the steward's block to clean. We keep everything cleaned up. Other than the Compasses, our alarm clock and a few pairs of sunglasses on the vanity and our pop-up hamper in a corner, our cabin looks exactly the same throughout the cruise as when we embark. We even reuse our towels, so they only have to be changed out every other day.

 

Do y'all feel obligated to accommodate the steward, even if you've been out of the cabin for several hours and it hasn't been done when you return?

 

I've been thinking of creating a little intro letter to leave for the steward the first evening (it also seems to be more and more rare to actually meet the steward upon embarkation) indicating our typical routine (out of the cabin from 0730-11 or 12 and then again from 5:30-8:30) and that we will always put out our 'make up room' sign when we leave the cabin and the 'do not disturb' when we return. Would this be rude? I don't want to offend a really great steward who notices our routine and cleans our cabin accordingly, but I also don't want a repeat of the last 3 cruises - always changing our routine/schedule to accommodate the steward.

 

I've never experienced this problem. As a matter of fact, I just got off the Serenade last week and our cabin steward had our room done up in no time. Plus, I NEVER leave that little card in the door. Our cabin steward came right after we could get into our cabins after embarkation, gave us his card and introduced himself, and asked if we had any particulars (I told him I liked ice every evening - as it turned out he filled it twice a day!!!). He would see me leave every morning and ask if Mr. Jim or Miss Tracy were still in the room. One evening we didn't get the towel animal and we left him a note on our "write on/wipe off board" that we missed our towel animal and he left us a note back that he'd leave us two that night - and he did.

 

The only time I've ever seen a cabin steward have an assistant was when we were in a junior suite.

 

Even though the tips are added to our Seapass card daily, we gave him an extra tip the last day for being so diligent in making sure we had a great experience.

[Ladysilver]

We had an awesome room steward on the Navigator a few weeks ago. On the first day, he knocked on our cabin door to introduce himself and ask us if we needed anything. He gave us his daily schedule and let us know when he would be making up rooms. He made it clear that he was there for our comfort and convenience. Whenever we saw him in the hallway, he ALWAYS said good morning, good afternoon, How was your day?, ect. His name was Robert Thomas and he was the best! :D:D:D

[Tucker in Texas]

I'm one of those that would rather have them skip the make up/turn down than do it if it is going to cause me inconvenience--like my nap, getting ready for bed, etc. I reuse towels at home, I've left the bed unmade after a quick nap before dinner, don't scour the bathroom daily, so it is no big deal. About the only thing I would miss would be ice but I "end run" that by having them fill my six-pack cooler I bring from home which can keep me supplied for 24 hours if necessary. It's nice not to have to make up the bed in the morning but I am perfectly capable of doing it myself.

 

That being said, I think what "irritates" a lot of people is the fact they are paying around $7 a day "tip" and receiving little more for it than they would receive at a hotel. While I always leave something in hotels for housekeeping, it is not $7 a day--$5 max and sometimes only a couple of bucks if it is a motel. Many people don't leave anything.

 

I just figure the gratuities in with the cost of the cruise rather than as a tip. It is either pay the cruise line for his/her service or pay the "tip." One way or another, it is going to be paid. I usually tip "extra" daily for what I would have left at a nice hotel unless the service is really bad--only happened once or twice in 50+ cruises.

 

By the way, I did have a steward walk into our cabin with the dead bolt on and the do not disturb sign out. I think they have a key to turn the dead bolt. It was the last morning. He knocked very lightly and then came through the door before I could answer it. Fortunately, I was dressed. He said he saw my DH leave (he went to get us coffee) and thought we had left for good. I asked him if DH was dragging a suitcase? Was I with him? No reply, his English all the sudden became non-existent. His "extra" end of the cruise tip went right back in my wallet.

 

Tucker in Texas

[gxchan]

On Adventure last Nov/Dec was the first time that I ever complained about any kind of service I have received. Usually, if things go a bit wrong, I just move on or find a work around like with the less than clean bathroom—Clorox wipes. But the first day on Adventure I dropped my carry-on off at the cabin and didn’t return until shortly before muster. My cabin attendant scolded me for not getting there earlier saying he had been waiting for me, which I thought was odd.

 

When I travel I require a medical refrigerator for medications and had requested one for this cruise and the cabin attendant told me there were none on the ship, which I knew to be untrue. He insisted there were no medical refrigerators on the ship at all and he would take my medicines and return them to me as necessary, a completely unacceptable solution. Finally, he agreed to check the linen supply area. When I exited my cabin less than two minutes later he at the next cabin but said he had checked the linen supply area and that there were no medical refrigerators on the ship. After muster I went to Guest Services and asked for the medical refrigerator which was delivered. When I returned after dinner, the cabin attendant told me he setup the med refrig. It was in the middle of the cabin on the glass coffee table with the electric cord stretching across the walk space to the plug, as opposed to putting it under the knee-hole in the vanity, as has been done on every other cruise. Rather than ask him to move it and have yet another unpleasant exchange, I moved it myself.

 

Day two I didn’t need my cabin cleaned or additional supplies and put the do not disturb sign out. I asked the cabin attendant to leave any notes/daily planner in the clip above my cabin number, he agreed. That night there was a note from the ship but no daily planner. The next morning when I asked him about it he told me to check inside my cabin because he was sure I took it in there and “put it down somewhere.” I was shocked and asked him to repeat what he said and he said the same thing. There was cart in the hallway with a stack of daily planners, he could have easily just given me one but instead he was saying he had left one the night before and I should go look for it!

 

Off to Guest Relations I went and by coincidence the Executive Housekeeper walked up at the same time. I explained to her what had been happening and she said, “He is arguing with you!” She was very kind and apologized and had him switch my cabin with another cabin attendant so the other cabin attendant would clean my cabin, who by the way was excellent.

 

I want to make it clear that the crew and officers on Adventure are the best, always helpful, pleasant, fun/funny and professional. It is why I’m booked for my third B2B on Adventure at the end of this year. BTW, last year on Adventure I had the absolute best cabin attendant ever! Big thanks to Hekong John!

 

I wouldn't let one incident taint my cruise or feelings about Adventure or its crew. But others on the cruises also had complaints about their cabin attendants so I wonder about Royal's decision to remove assistant cabin attendants, extend the length of cabin attendant contracts, etc., as it does seem to have a negative impact on both their own employees and their customers. Doesn't sound like good business to me.

[Guest maddycat]

I can definitely relate to a lot of what you mentioned in the original post.

 

We plan on writing a quick note to the cabin steward at the beginning of the cruise. One thing I remember was the one steward said "you have MTD so I never know when you are going to dinner..." That's going to change because I plan on mentioning it in the note that we always go to dinner at 6pm.

 

When the cabin attendant introduces himself/herself on the first day, I give them a list of extras that I would like in the cabin. I also mention what time we go to MTD and what time we will be returning to the cabin for the evening.

Edited January 4, 2014 by maddycat

[Tommyg74]

I see the downfall of the room attendants being when the auto tip started. Prior to that they prided themselves on doing a good job and getting rewarded. Now if they do a great job, they will most likely get the same gratuity as the guy that did a crap job. Most people will not give extra than the auto tip, so the attendants mindset is why kill myself when the guy down the hall doesn't. These guys are there for one reason and one reason only, MONEY!! Do they meet some people they like sure, but do they really care about us, NO. Like any server in a restaurant or even a stripper, they are there to provide a service, put on a show and get paid. So be nice to them, explain that they will get extra cash if they do a good job, and most all, don't piss them off and talk down to them, they are after all in your room with your stuff by themselves, not saying they would steal anything, but just like a restaurant, you might be getting a surprise you don't know about.

[Scotty G]

I wouldn't let one incident taint my cruise or feelings about Adventure or its crew. But others on the cruises also had complaints about their cabin attendants so I wonder about Royal's decision to remove assistant cabin attendants, extend the length of cabin attendant contracts, etc., as it does seem to have a negative impact on both their own employees and their customers. Doesn't sound like good business to me.

Having cruised on RCI for quite some time we have never heard of or met an assistant cabin attendant. On turn around day other Housekeeping staff as well as other ship employees who sign up for the detail do cabin cleaning chores along with the cabin stewards. I have not seen or heard of any cutback in that group.

 

Cabin Steward contracts have been 8 months for as long as I can remember.

 

I have had good luck in dealing with the immediate Supervisor of any steward who needed additional training. Once I did that the problem never reoccurred. Also have given Kudos to the same level supervisor as well as the Hotel Director when outstanding work and demeanor were observed.

[Guest maddycat]

The number of towel animals is not a direct indication of the cabin attendants Service. These days the cruise line / Supervisors determine when and how many towel animals you get. It´s true though on Royal they have reduced the number of them to save work load for cabin attendants, cost and environmental resources.

 

I know that I might be in the minority, but I wouldn't miss the towel animals if they did away with them completely. They were a novelty on our first few cruises, but after 28 cruises the novelty has worn off. I want the cabin attendant to clean my cabin and replace supplies, he doesn't have to entertain me.

[jeannejj]

IMHO, I believe that it is a matter of expectations. First, all attendants are individuals, and their motivations and work ethic, are thus, individual. When I get to meet the steward, usually on the first day, I inform them of my needs, expectations.....For instance, I tell them that I don't do mornings, so if they see the do not disturb sign, I am not dead or sick, just don't require a make up.....I like fresh ice twice a day. Always ask for an extra set of towels. If there is anything else, I carry post it notes, and put a note on the mirror. If I am on the balcony and want them to make up room, I put out make up sign and let them know it's ok to come in and clean.

 

I have had good service, great service and not so good service. Mostly great service. Sometimes, it is just a matter of communication.....:)

[Guest maddycat]

Service on our cruise in December was minimal to say the least. We keep the room tidy but literally all the steward did was the bed, towels and wiped down the bathroom. I could do that in 10 minutes tops. The carpet was not vacuumed all week. The sand bothered me so much I wanted to go get Henry myself. DH left a hanger on the floor, I did not pick it up just to see and it laid there in plain sight, would have had to step over it. Might be the worst steward we ever had. I would not go so far to say service has gone down but we did not tip this last one any extra. I did not complain as I did not want to get him in trouble. Did not make or break my cruise just totally not impressed with his cleaning. Hopefully next cruise will be better.

 

How did you rate him on the end of cruise survey?