Cabin service only once a day??

[KatieCharlotte]

Can I ask a stupid question?

 

What are the benefits to having the room serviced twice a day? I'm used to once a day service, in the AM, like when staying at a hotel; they come along, and change the sheets, and remake the bed, and restock any towels or shampoos, and soaps.

 

Am I missing something here?

 

It's the size of the room + the number of times cruises typically return to their room during the day. We have five people in one tiny room and tinier bathroom, all of us paying full tips plus usually extra. We have five bath towels, five pool towels, and various hand towels. They can't possibly all be hung up, along with five swimsuits and cover-ups. The kids often bring snacks back to the room to eat and have empty dishes. We go to the beach and wash sand off in the shower. The trash cans are tiny. We have two upper beds that only the steward can fold away at night and bring down in the morning. My husband loves to have ice for a cold can of Coke on ships w/o fridges.

 

On our first family cruise, I knew that this was a vacation for me too when I came back from dinner to a clean room with clean towels and the beds turned down.

[Micahs Grandad]

I'm not sure what the last part of your statement has to do with anything. No one said anything about bad choices or where people are born. But we all have a choice on where we work. Don't like it then you have the choice to work elsewhere correct?

 

It doesn't matter if you believe jh knows anything. He is the brand spokesperson and he says there are no ships with only once a day service. Until that changes everyone has the option to have either once or twice a day room service. Doesn't matter what the steward wants or thinks is acceptable. It isn't their decision to make. And using the options that the company says you have is not "taking it out" on the crew.

 

excellent post

[KatieCharlotte]

I'm thinking that if he is getting more cabins then he is getting more in gratuities right. a percentage of every cabins tips go to the Steward, so he will be making more for covering more rooms.

 

I'm very curious about this point. We have heard multiple reports of stewards saying they have more cabins to service. Yet, I have a hard time believing that stewards are making more money than ever before. I have to wonder whether an increasing number of guests are removing or cutting their tips. On our last cruise, DH insists that our head steward had a list of guest names showing who prepaid tips and ours was one of the only cabins that had. I overheard a surprising number of people talking about removing their tips and others asking what the charge was on their bill. :eek: I would not be surprised if, as Carnival continues to attract newbie cruisers, they're running into a tip problem. I would much rather Carnival make it harder to remove tips than reduce services.

[Hog Rider]

Probably the stupidest comment I've read on Cruise Critic.

 

Not even close

[Linda the Book Lover]

LMaxwell - We shower more often on vacation as well due to the activities while cruising. The towels are always damp so a fresh one is nice. I so agree with you on this point.

 

I will not reduce the automatic gratuity as it is for more than the room steward. I do tip our room steward based on his performance that is in his hands not the company's. I am hoping Carnival does allow the twice a day or if not i will call and request clean towels brought to me in addition to any thing else as I would do in a hotel.

 

I do not feel it is correct for an employee to "suggest" the customer is making his job harder by doing what is in the scope of his job duties. By the way I do not feel someone in the service industry is beneath me; I do feel those of in the hospitality profession should be hospitable.

 

This is going to be interesting and I look forward to seeing the form in a few weeks.

[rok233]

I can't speak for others, but for myself and my family; I often shower more often on vacation than I do at home. Having fresh towels in the morning and evening is essential. There is simply not enough time for towels to dry adequately between usage. I may shower 3X daily on vacation.

 

It is also nice to have fresh ice always ready and not just an ice dish of cold water.

 

We're generally pretty neat and don't eat in the room, so no "heavy cleaning" is required. But a key point of cruising is that seemingly magical service that whenever you leave your room, you return and it is "reset".

 

If I wanted a hotel experience I'd stay in a hotel where I pay one room rate regardless of the number of people, have a much bigger room, and generally go off property for dining and entertainment. It's just two different experiences that aren't really comparable.

 

Chalk up my vote firmly in the "I like how it has been done, and I am paying for that. If I don't get it, I won't pay the full price." And believe me, I'd prefer to pay the full price and get the service. Withholding a few dollars a day from Carnival's Accounting Department is of small consolation when I get out of a shower to an already wet towel...

 

100% AGREE! Carnival is going down a slippery slope with all of these cutbacks. My money is going somewhere else (possibly not even cruising) if it keeps up. I just don't see the value in cruising anymore. :mad:

[Warm Breezes]

Well I would never remove half of the tips for half of the service received from the room steward. However my husband and I both like to shower after going to the gymn, which means we could shower late morning before lunch, but then need to shower again before dinner in the evening. If we didn't receive service twice a day with clean towels replenished we wouldn't have clean, dry towels. I hope for our 2 cruises this year, we won't be asked to choose between the two services. We always leave an extra cash tip at the end of the week for the room steward anywhere between ($30-$50) for really good service, but if I am asked to cut back on the service I will have to adjust the extra tip accordingly.

 

We take extra showers as well but I am only planning on asking for PM service with extra towels, robes, and ice. We will have 3 sea days on our Dream cruise and we plan on staying on board in Belize. I'd rather just sleep in and stay up later so as far as I'm concerned PM only service is just fine with the extra's that you can ask for.

 

Having said that we are sailing 2 in a room in 2 rooms. If we were still sailing with 4 to a room like we used to, I would ask for both services so the beds would be taken care of and we wouldn't be overwhelmed with towels.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Warm Breezes

[n6uqqq]

In a few short months John will be saying " due to the overwhelming number of passengers choosing once a day service, Carnival is going to make this the new standard " .

[Micahs Grandad]

In a few short months John will be saying " due to the overwhelming number of passengers choosing once a day service, Carnival is going to make this the new standard " .

 

Unfortunately that is how they do business these days.

 

Remember the farewell party. Set up to fail.

[path145]

I second this!!!

 

I can't speak for others, but for myself and my family; I often shower more often on vacation than I do at home. Having fresh towels in the morning and evening is essential. There is simply not enough time for towels to dry adequately between usage. I may shower 3X daily on vacation.

 

It is also nice to have fresh ice always ready and not just an ice dish of cold water.

 

We're generally pretty neat and don't eat in the room, so no "heavy cleaning" is required. But a key point of cruising is that seemingly magical service that whenever you leave your room, you return and it is "reset".

 

If I wanted a hotel experience I'd stay in a hotel where I pay one room rate regardless of the number of people, have a much bigger room, and generally go off property for dining and entertainment. It's just two different experiences that aren't really comparable.

 

Chalk up my vote firmly in the "I like how it has been done, and I am paying for that. If I don't get it, I won't pay the full price." And believe me, I'd prefer to pay the full price and get the service. Withholding a few dollars a day from Carnival's Accounting Department is of small consolation when I get out of a shower to an already wet towel...

[angiem0217]

I would be fine with once a day service. But on our last cruise a few years ago we had the bunk beds that came down from the wall and the steward asked us not to let it down or put it up. He said he would do it. So my question is how would that work for once daily service? If he only comes in the morning he can put the bed up, but he would have to come back at night to put it down. There was no room to move when the bed was let down so I do not want to leave it down all day. We leave on the Dream in 4 days so not sure what to do.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[S.S.Oceanlover]

It's the size of the room + the number of times cruises typically return to their room during the day. We have five people in one tiny room and tinier bathroom, all of us paying full tips plus usually extra. We have five bath towels, five pool towels, and various hand towels. They can't possibly all be hung up, along with five swimsuits and cover-ups. The kids often bring snacks back to the room to eat and have empty dishes. We go to the beach and wash sand off in the shower. The trash cans are tiny. We have two upper beds that only the steward can fold away at night and bring down in the morning. My husband loves to have ice for a cold can of Coke on ships w/o fridges.

 

On our first family cruise, I knew that this was a vacation for me too when I came back from dinner to a clean room with clean towels and the beds turned down.

 

I wouldn't want to be the ones sleeping in the uppers in your cabin.:p

 

Bill

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Cut backs on live entertainment, show bands gone, chocolate candy gone, fewer shows in the big theater, and it looks like once a day room service. I doubt the cabin stewards will work any less, just fewer of 'em. Nothing by itself but the cuts are adding up.

[Micahs Grandad]

So Carnival increases number of cabins room stewards are assigned since many people will agree to one time daily service. Overall sounds like probably a wash to me.

 

In addition I believe that it has been said on here that the room steward actually pays his assistant out of his own pocket and recoups the costs from the tips the assistant generates and therefore earns a profit from his small business.

 

Based on this why are we feeling sorry for the room stewards?

[KatieCharlotte]

I wouldn't want to be the ones sleeping in the uppers in your cabin.:p

 

Bill

 

This is what happens when I post when I should be going to sleep. :D

[MCFTJCH2V]

Not sure how some are OK with Carnival cutting back the staff the WE pay. If as some are stating that the amount of cabins they service has been increased to 35, that mean some staff has been eliminated.

 

And not sure how some are equating staterooms with hotels rooms. These rooms need to be converted due to the size of them. I know of no hotels that are that small where sleep arrangements needs to be moved. I also wonder how many actually tip the maids at the hotel/motels. And I'm certain those that do do not tip $16 a day for a family of 4.

 

But one thing is certain. The day I'm told there is only once a day service, the tip gets cut in half.

 

The evidence is certainly there, regardless of the wool being pulled over some eyes. The clincher for me was the new form verbiage, clearly missing the promised word BOTH, as well as "picking the best time".

[MCFTJCH2V]

Found the new form and thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2319880

[quickrate]

I feel bad for the cabin stewards. I'm sure there will be fewer "extra" tips at the end of the cruise since they won't be doing as much for each cabin and won't be as visible as previously. They will probably also have to take on additional cabins. They are the most overworked people on the ship. I hope this doesn't happen but I'd bet it will.

I agree that they work very hard but the point no one is making here is if they have gone from 24 to 35 cabins they are getting tips from 9 more cabins than they got before. So, yes, working harder but making more money and wanting to do half the work. And, yes, we always tip our stewards extra. Obviously, the losers here are the passengers!

Pat

[quickrate]

So Carnival increases number of cabins room stewards are assigned since many people will agree to one time daily service. Overall sounds like probably a wash to me.

 

In addition I believe that it has been said on here that the room steward actually pays his assistant out of his own pocket and recoups the costs from the tips the assistant generates and therefore earns a profit from his small business.

 

Based on this why are we feeling sorry for the room stewards?

I don't think this is true, but someone in the know please chime in here. I think it is just like dining room staff, tip is split between them in some way.

Pat

[KatieCharlotte]

I agree that they work very hard but the point no one is making here is if they have gone from 24 to 35 cabins they are getting tips from 9 more cabins than they got before. So, yes, working harder but making more money and wanting to do half the work. And, yes, we always tip our stewards extra. Obviously, the losers here are the passengers!

Pat

 

Unless more passengers are cutting or removing their tips. Or the cruiseline is diverting tips from the staff. I have read articles claiming that all the mass market cruiselines divert tip money as profit, but I hate to think they're that dishonest.

 

If stewards are servicing many more cabins than before, providing the service we are used to may not be physically possible. They are human beings who need rest and food. And providing once-a-day service does not literally equal half the work.

[Savlamara]

I agree that they work very hard but the point no one is making here is if they have gone from 24 to 35 cabins they are getting tips from 9 more cabins than they got before. So, yes, working harder but making more money and wanting to do half the work. And, yes, we always tip our stewards extra. Obviously, the losers here are the passengers!

Pat

 

They are not doing half the work if they have more cabins and area to cover in the SAME amount of time. How hard is that to figure out? Plus every single crewmember on board has MULTIPLE jobs. So the stewards do have other things they are assigned to do elsewhere on board.

 

I feel sorry for the cabin stewards for having to be the messenger in this bulls#!t specifically for people with this type of mentality. I wonder who, if any, in this entire thread has ever cleaned 24 of ANYTHING much less rooms in one day. Probably none, myself included. I've been walking down the halls and seen some REALLY jacked up rooms, so every is not clean. We already know they all work 12-16 hours per day and have little rest/time off. It was not their decision to cut staff/service to once a day, it was Carnival's! People really need to stop shooting the messenger for cripes sake! :mad:

[Micahs Grandad]

They are not doing half the work if they have more cabins and area to cover in the SAME amount of time. How hard is that to figure out? Plus every single crewmember on board has MULTIPLE jobs. So the stewards do have other things they are assigned to do elsewhere on board.

 

I feel sorry for the cabin stewards for having to be the messenger in this bulls#!t specifically for people with this type of mentality. I wonder who, if any, in this entire thread has ever cleaned 24 of ANYTHING much less rooms in one day. Probably none, myself included. I've been walking down the halls and seen some REALLY jacked up rooms, so every is not clean. We already know they all work 12-16 hours per day and have little rest/time off. It was not their decision to cut staff/service to once a day, it was Carnival's! People really need to stop shooting the messenger for cripes sake! :mad:

 

I hear you but we the passengers are the ones who are being asked to agree to less service. They do have the right to find other employment if they do not think this is worth it for them.

[lynnde]

We had this last month on triumph, heres my thoughts.We were traveling with family(first time cruisers) they choose morning service, no towel animals until 4th morning of cruise. We had evening,it was ok, had to call room service every day for ice. Missed the chocolates on pillow at night. For some reason our room was very dusty, you could write you name in the dust.It needed cleaning morning and evening.Sorry to say, but I like both morning and evening. And yes asked for robes and extra pillows

[angela12345]

We just got off a cruise this past week. Our ship did not have the new forms yet, so our service was just as wonderful as it has always been.

 

We were with a huge group, so during the course of the week, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with three different room stewards from different areas and decks on the ship, in addition to our room steward. Our room steward did not give me much information as she was about to move to servicing suites and I asked early in the week before I thought to ask about once the new forms came out. But when I asked, she did say on my cruise she was servicing 26 cabins but next week she would be servicing 22 because she was moving to suites.

 

However, the other three stewards independently all said they currently service 25-27 cabins, depending on the week, but when the change is made they will be servicing 35-38 cabins.

 

Interestingly, I had a lengthy conversation with one of the stewards (not for my cabin) about that and they gave even more info about the tips they receive. They told me that from the auto-gratuity we give, they only receive $1.50 and their assistant receives $0.75 per day. They said they think Carnival keeps the rest. I was sure that I had read here on CC a breakdown of the gratuity that $3.90 per day goes to the room stewards ?? They said the same thing happens with the dining staff, they dont get it all and they think that Carnival keeps $2 of that. This was eye opening and disturbing to me.

 

I asked if many people give them extra and they said no, not many people do. If I recall correctly, I think they said usually about 3 cabins will give extra. But also they said other cabins will remove tips so it evens out. They said they can tell which ones will be the ones removing tips ... they're the ones who won't look them in the eye or speak to them. They said the ones who are friendly, pleasant, and the easiest rooms to service are the ones they will most often get additional tips from.

 

They were very concerned about the move to 35-38 cabins. Not as much worried about the daily servicing which would certainly be more work, but very worried about turnaround day where they would have to get more cabins ready for new guests in the same amount of time and didn't know how it would be possible.

 

So, the question that has been posed here many times on CC is with this cutback being made for once per day service vs twice per day, would Carnival use this opportunity to cutback on the number of stewards, having each steward service more cabins ? Based on the answers I received, the answer is yes. And it will be an immediate change once the forms come to that ship.

[fair-winds39]

They are not doing half the work if they have more cabins and area to cover in the SAME amount of time. How hard is that to figure out? Plus every single crewmember on board has MULTIPLE jobs. So the stewards do have other things they are assigned to do elsewhere on board.

 

I feel sorry for the cabin stewards for having to be the messenger in this bulls#!t specifically for people with this type of mentality. I wonder who, if any, in this entire thread has ever cleaned 24 of ANYTHING much less rooms in one day. Probably none, myself included. I've been walking down the halls and seen some REALLY jacked up rooms, so every is not clean. We already know they all work 12-16 hours per day and have little rest/time off. It was not their decision to cut staff/service to once a day, it was Carnival's! People really need to stop shooting the messenger for cripes sake! :mad:

I agree 100%. We just came from a week on the Pride. We had a great cruise, our cabin steward did a great job. We had service twice a day, except for one day. DH chose twice a day, I could certainly get by with once a day and new towels. We're only two people, and we keep the cabin neat. On our recent cruises, we've had occasion to get a glimpse into some of the cabins the stewards are servicing, it's not a pretty sight. Stuff all over the floor, clothes on the floor, some food plates, a mess in some cabins. I always wonder how these folks live at home. I wouldn't want the steward's job, that's for sure.