Bum’s rush last full day of cruise

[MicCanberra]

We got ours on day 2 of a 14-night cruise on our latest cruise! It bothered me at the time but, I realised later, it was better to get them done with and forgotten early than as an early reminder of the end of the cruise. Perhaps we should complete the documentation for the end of the cruise when we check-in. That way we get no early reminders.

 

I think I would prefer them on the evening of the second last full day. Sometimes our disembarkation plans change and having the form too early may end up being wrong.:D

[Baron Barracuda]

On our Eclipse sailing last March we experienced much of what op did. DW was particularly unhappy that healthy flowers in cc cabin disappeared 2 days early. What really steamed us though was the final morning. We had piled all our personal items on the bed before leaving for breakfast. When we returned around 7:30 everything had been moved to the sofa and all our sheets and pillowcases were gone. Never experienced anything like that before. Looked for cabin steward but couldn't find him so just wrote it up in the survey. Left a real bad taste in our mouths.

[Suzy Smith]

I have noticed a few of these things, but never so early in the day. Normally it has been when we have returned to the room after dinner and they have done their turn down service but also readied the room somewhat for the next day.:D

 

That has also been our experience on recent cruises and it doesn't cause us any inconvenience. The stewards have so much to do on change over day, and very little time before the next batch of passengers arrive - all anxious to be on board as early as possible - you can't blame them for trying to get ahead of the game. It makes sense to put items like binoculars, notepad, etc. in their usual place, to save time looking for them the next morning and to put new robes and bedding in a cupboard at a time when the majority of passengers have already packed (but early afternoon is way to soon!). Removing the toiletries (if it is obvious that you have been using what Celebrity provides) does seem to be taking it a step too far and was probably a mistake in the OP's case, which housekeeping would have rectified if they had been made aware of it.

 

We have sometimes received our end-of-cruise documents early in a two-week cruise and have never really given it a second thought. We all know the cruise is going to come to an end at some point, and Celebrity need time co-ordinate getting thousands of passengers off the ship in manageable groups, making sure that those who have an early flight connection get off in good time. It just takes a minute or two to fill in, and then you can forget about it. Some folks may not wish to think about going home until the last minute, others may be anxious to make sure their requirements for an early departure are in the system. Whichever way they do it, Celebrity really can't win on this one.

[parallax]

I think there is a level of hypersensitivity on the last day of the cruise. Most people are unhappy their trip is coming to the end and don't like these little reminders. I always joke about the "suckers' who are leaving the cruise ship while we are getting ready to board. My wife always points out that will be us in a few days when we are the ones departing.

 

I don't mind the prep work but obvious a cruise line needs to be careful to not overstep.

[Iamthesea]

On our last cruise I picked up a robe and there were sweat stains under the arm pits. Didn't want to use that one so I put on the other one and found a facial tissue in the pocket. Neither my wife or I wore a robe prior to that. I found the tissue as I was putting my smart phone in the pocket to take on the balcony along with a drink to read. Not a warm feeling.

 

Happy cruising

 

I have had that happen, also. I cannot remember what it was that I found in my pocket, but the robe had definitely been worn before. The first thing I do, now, is to check the pockets before putting the robe on. I have not found that $100 bill, yet! :D

 

Many cruises ago, we also had our personal belongings and luggage removed from the bed the last evening, or morning. After that, we realized that the bed was not a good place to leave things. We now put everything on the sofa before leaving the stateroom.

 

We have sometimes received our end-of-cruise documents early in a two-week cruise and have never really given it a second thought. We all know the cruise is going to come to an end at some point, and Celebrity need time co-ordinate getting thousands of passengers off the ship in manageable groups, making sure that those who have an early flight connection get off in good time. It just takes a minute or two to fill in, and then you can forget about it. Some folks may not wish to think about going home until the last minute, others may be anxious to make sure their requirements for an early departure are in the system. Whichever way they do it, Celebrity really can't win on this one.

 

I think that some passengers like to have/know all of the end of cruise things ahead of time. We certainly do not mind. I believe we received our customs form on Day 2 of our recent 11 night cruise. We just set it aside with our other papers. The disembarkation questionnaire also arrived that evening. We filled it out and took it to the Purser as soon as possible and then received our luggage tags 2 days before the cruise ended. Not a big deal.

[CathyCruises]

We just put out the Do Not Disturb sign when going to breakfast on the last day. We have never had an issue of anything being moved, but honestly, it wouldn't bother me at all. I know the crew has so much to do to get ready for the next passengers, that short of kicking me out of my bed I am happy to accommodate them in these very minor ways.

 

Some very picky folks here. . .

[BosoxI]

 

 

No, you're certainly not the only one. My DW's flight attendant friend warned her years ago of this very situation and since then, a pointed piece of toilet paper in a hotel or on a cruise ship will never be tolerated:eek:

 

We were on the Reflection last week and while our experience was not that of the OP's, I did notice that several items I had left out for easy availability on departure day were missing. I never have had that happen on any other ship.

[phoenix_dream]

We have never experienced quite that level of 'don't let the door hit you in the **** on the way out', but depending on the room steward we have had some of that. I understand some of it ....to a point. But sometimes it can get out of hand and I do not like that. I have noticed - on a few cruises but not most - that the service takes a serious dip on the last day. Within reason, everything should be the same on the last day as it has been on the full cruise. As to the fridge - they usually do that the last night - we have asked them to leave it open (prior to having the alcohol packages) so DH can keep his Diet Coke cool and they have obliged.

 

But overall, it really is a customer service consideration to keep as much as possible the same, including the service level. If we ever had this level of push-out we would raise it as an issue. Some minor stuff - we just deal with it.

[chamima]

We just did a B2B on the Equinox and then the Eclipse.

Our room steward on the Equinox was brand new (he told us) and so many people seemed to service our room while he went to his training. For the first time ever our frig was locked when we came back from dinner on the last night.

Our steward on the Eclipse was obviously very experienced (could just tell from lots of little things) (BTW - both were really nice!)

On both cruises there were sheets in the cabinet above the bed and new robes in the closet on the last evening - neither of which bothered us.

My comment on all of this is that we also cruise Princess a lot. Princess has the cabins ready when we board (usually around noon) so the Celebrity stewards have a couple of extra hours in the morning. We have NEVER found new robes, sheets, frig locked , etc. on Princess on the last evening. So how do they do it?

All I can figure is that the room stewards on Celebrity must have some extra duties on turn around day.

:confused: ... :confused: ... :confused:

[Wj420]

Some of this "last day" stuff reminded me of how crazy the mdr is the first night and the last morning. we now avoid the mdr on the first night as the crew act like its their first night instead of ours! Same with last morning; we avoid the Mdr to avoid feeling dismissed.

[nicelypub@aol.com]

The weird thing is that our cabin steward totally disappeared from view that day. The rest of the week he had been very much of a presence, perhaps too much so. Had we still wanted to augment his tip we would not have been able to do so. We found that odd.

[Patrick IL.]

I don't think we have experienced this on our cruises, but possibly we did not check. With those 5 hour turnarounds they may be trying to get ahead of the game. I always think about how hard they work on the first and last nights while we sleep, eat or go out for one more drink, not only servicing the rooms but also humping all the luggage upstairs and down on the last night.

[LabGuy64]

I would think they would be MORE considerate on the last day as we are all thinking about extra tipping for the really good staff members.....try leaving some empty tip envelopes out as a reminder to them that you are still thinking about extra tips

 

We were in a Concierge class cabin, and I don't think that has ever happened to us before.

[Algebralovr]

We were on Reflection the weeks of Feb 14 and 21. We did see a little bit of this. It was actually worse the first week, and we were staying in the same room! Our stateroom attendant had not been present all week due to a health issue, and the assistant had never been lead before. There were a number of things he just didn't know to do, and he was extra anxious on turnaround day - entering the room when I was still in bed! We had asked for, but never received, a do not disturb sign.

 

I attributed part of it to his inexperience.

 

We pretty much always see new robes in the very back of the closet the last night after turndown. The refrigerator is always locked as well. Next year, when we do another B2B, I plan to leave him a note reminding him we are B2B cruisers, and to please leave the refrigerator unlocked and leave our room for last in the morning.

[kborth]

Actually when we were on our first Celebrity cruise last summer on Silouhette we were impressed by the way we were treated on the last day especially in the buffet where the staff came around with coffee and spoke with us and in our cabin I was expecting to be rushed out but the attendant came by and chatted with us. There was an incident in the ladies where someone was sick and had left a mess and the staff worked so hard to freshen up the area and then apologized to us for our having to wait while she cleaned. Very impressed with this and never was treated better on last day in 9 previous cruises on RCI, Princess( where we always felt rushed and not only on last day) HAL and others. Decided then and there I loved Celebrity and went home to book another cruise, just my experience.

[luv2trvlnow]

This is my first time on Celebrity. I have a couple of questions.

 

1. Are you saying that you have to fill the customs forms early in the cruise and take it to Guest Services? Seems very strange, since you don't know what you will have purchased and need to declare until you actually purchase it.

 

2. What other documentation are you talking about? It sounds like it has something to do with your plans after getting off the ship. Haven't most of us provided this on the online check in?

 

Finally this question. Why are people trying to blame the passengers for some of this? I thought you are to be out of your cabin pretty early on the last morning and then the cabins are not ready until 1pm or later. Why should it matter if passengers are waiting somewhere else to get off the ship a little later? And why should it matter if people get there at 11 and wait somewhere else until there cabin is ready? The cabin steward would have those hours to prepare the cabins. I'm not saying they have lots of time, but the passengers are not in the cabins during those hours.

[mferranti]

I've experienced most of the things mentioned. The only I got mad at it was when we came back from the last dinner to find the attendant had taken the coat hanger that I needed to pack the sport jacket I was wearing into my garment bag. My coat hanger that I had brought from home. :confused:

[MicCanberra]

Actually when we were on our first Celebrity cruise last summer on Silouhette we were impressed by the way we were treated on the last day especially in the buffet where the staff came around with coffee and spoke with us and in our cabin I was expecting to be rushed out but the attendant came by and chatted with us. There was an incident in the ladies where someone was sick and had left a mess and the staff worked so hard to freshen up the area and then apologized to us for our having to wait while she cleaned. Very impressed with this and never was treated better on last day in 9 previous cruises on RCI, Princess( where we always felt rushed and not only on last day) HAL and others. Decided then and there I loved Celebrity and went home to book another cruise, just my experience.

That has been my experience of the ship on the last morning. It is service as usual despite some people rushing to get off, it is sometimes even a bit sad saying good bye to the staff that have looked after us so well for the whole cruise.:D

[bEwAbG]

This is my first time on Celebrity. I have a couple of questions.

 

1. Are you saying that you have to fill the customs forms early in the cruise and take it to Guest Services? Seems very strange, since you don't know what you will have purchased and need to declare until you actually purchase it.

 

2. What other documentation are you talking about? It sounds like it has something to do with your plans after getting off the ship. Haven't most of us provided this on the online check in?

 

I just got off the Constellation last week. The customs form was left in my cabin on the second-to-last night along with a copy of my charges to that point, a disembarkation info sheet, and the luggage tags. I would guess they did it that night since you have to pack on your final day if you want to have them handle your bags (put outside your stateroom by a certain time on your final night). I appreciated that they provided everything I needed. You complete the customs form when you’re ready and carry it with you off the boat and through customs. Guest Services was not involved.

 

I think that poster was referencing a disembarkation questionnaire that had to be completed. As you say, I believe you only have to do those if you haven’t already given Celebrity your post-cruise plans via another means (so they can determine by when you need to be off the boat).

[dodger1964]

We pretty much always see new robes in the very back of the closet the last night after turndown. .

 

You mean the packaged complimentary take away robes!

[bEwAbG]

I understand the OP’s sentiment (feeling that they’re prepping your room for the next guest while you’re still in it) but I’m a little confused about the surprise expressed at the particulars of OP and others in this thread.

 

The stewards should have only picked up and thrown out the toiletries that are provided by the cruise line. If they took your bottle of Garnier Fructis and sailboat-shaped soap-on-a-rope, then I agree that’s a legitimate concern that should have been reported. But for them to take the half-empty shampoo and used soap that they give to every guest out of the shower is a very common practice in any hotel I’ve ever stayed in, so I’m not sure why the expectation would be different on a boat. There was undoubtedly fresh product for you to open up and use, right?

 

The refrigerator being locked on the last night was something I read at the beginning of my trip. It was either part of the stuff I had to read before getting onboard or was on the daily they gave me when I checked in (I’ll look) but it certainly wasn’t a surprise to me that it would be happening. I’m glad to read on here that you can request to keep using it.

 

Putting room items back where they belong is something that happened to us on the day they changed the sheets. They didn’t remove the items altogether—just moved them. Same thing with items that were left on the bed. They were moved so they could clean the room (or in one person’s case-strip the bed).

 

I put the “Do Not Disturb” sign up when I left for breakfast on the final day and no one came in the room while I was gone (someone was in the cabin as well). I would think that stewards would be more likely to start cleaning rooms that they think are empty, which is what would happen if they knocked and no one answered.

 

All of these things seem to not amount to much for anyone who has spent more than a day or two away from home. Obviously, if they take something that belongs to you, that’s something that should be able to be rectified with a phone call to the steward or his boss. I was very pleased at how friendly and efficient the cleaning staff was—certainly far above anything I’ve seen at hotels, and I’ve stayed in quite a few ritzy ones all over the world. I don't mean that as a humblebrag: what I observed matched or exceeded my experiences elsewhere.

 

I'll reserve expressing too much judgment about the folded TP because I have certain things that also skeeze me out that I intellectually know really don't make sense. It is a standard practice, though. My cleaning service does it in my home bathroom, even! Always fun to see a little triangle on a roll that has maybe four sheets left on it. :D

[dodger1964]

I

The stewards should have only picked up and thrown out the toiletries that are provided by the cruise line. :D

 

I have nothing but good things to say about the staff on the ships...we have never had a bad or lazy (or even grumpy) room steward!

 

But (if the OP is correct), the room attendant should NOT be removing or disposing of ANY bathroom items the night BEFORE you get off the ship. I always take a shower before I leave the ship on disembarkation day.

[bEwAbG]

But (if the OP is correct), the room attendant should NOT be removing or disposing of ANY bathroom items the night BEFORE you get off the ship. I always take a shower before I leave the ship on disembarkation day.

 

What if the shampoo bottle were almost empty? I think the distinction that's not being made is that during the course of their cleaning duties, they throw out these toiletries all the time, regardless of whether it's the last night or not. If this were a 2 week cruise, you don't think they wouldn't throw out the "barely there" bar of soap in the course of their routine duties? I used the same stuff every day, but there was also always a backup set waiting for me to open should I run out. I find it hard to believe that this steward left the OP with no means to clean himself.

Edited March 6, 2015 by bEwAbG

[luv2trvlnow]

Thank you bEwAbG for answering my questions.

[dodger1964]

What if the shampoo bottle were almost empty? I think the distinction that's not being made is that during the course of their cleaning duties, they throw out these toiletries all the time, regardless of whether it's the last night or not. If this were a 2 week cruise, you don't think they wouldn't throw out the "barely there" bar of soap in the course of their routine duties? I used the same stuff every day, but there was also always a backup set waiting for me to open should I run out. I find it hard to believe that this steward left the OP with no means to clean himself.

 

I would think, especially on the last night they wouldn't throw out an almost empty bottle of shampoo. As long as there is another bottle on the counter, why would they? Same as for the bar of soap.

 

I would try to squeeze out last drop of shampoo before opening a new bottle, again especially on the last night or last morning of the cruise.