room stewards

[moki'smommy]

After reading through the posts following my earlier post I realized that we do ask for one other thing which is the top sheet. We don't like sleeping under the duvet. Really though, other than the top sheet and ice, we don't ask for anything other than the regular service provided.

 

If I had a steward who said, "No" to my request for a top sheet I would escalate the issue. That is really something they are supposed to supply upon request.

 

I'd read a lot of Cruise Critic before our first Princess cruise, but obviously didn't think about or remember everything. Yes, I should have escalated our requests....but then, I shouldn't have needed to! They weren't big requests! However, we also didn't tip over the "standard"to our steward. Our feeling was that he did his job and nothing more....so he got the standard grat and nothing more. That is actually rare for me; I typically tip over the "suggested" or "automatic." But then, we typically feel that the steward/host is wonderful, not "adequate."

Edited May 30, 2016 by moki'smommy

[iceleven]

We had the worst steward ever after tipping him ahead of time for what we thought was requesting something out of the ordinary on our first day. It was never to be implied as a bribe for extra service but his snarly attitude the entire week left him with no extra tip at the end of the cruise.

 

We always enjoy tipping our hard-working stewards even if they haven't "gone out of their way" during the cruise. Sometimes I feel that when we tell them ahead of time that our needs are minimal I wonder if they are now concerned they will not receive a tip at the end of the cruise. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread that they seem to make special efforts, nonetheless.

[satxdiver]

The laundry service seems to be a bit rough on buttons. While I have not lost buttons I did have a zipper pull removed which makes it difficult to close the zipper. It was on a pair of shorts. We have always had good steward service. We are fairly neat so that there is not a lot of cleaning required and we make our own bed. The main effort by our steward is empty the trash cans (mostly full of the many fliers we get from onboard sales), fill the ice bucket and clean the bathroom. We hang up the towels so that they don't have to be cleaned every day. Usually our only request is for wine glasses as we bring on our own wine for use in the stateroom (actually balcony). The gratuity is noting more than an itemized service charge IMO and part of the cost of the cruise similar to the itemized port and government fees.

[KensingtonMoon]

We are pretty self sufficient and were delighted with the service the room steward provided on our first Princess cruise.

 

The only thing I did ask him for was if he could surprise us just once on the cruise with a towel animal for my daughter. She was secretly hoping so much to get a towel animal as she had never cruised before.

 

Low and behold, everyday, sometimes twice a day, we returned to find new towel animals. Elephants, ducks, dogs, cats, monkeys, pig etc.

 

My daughter couldn't bear to pull them apart, and so we ended up with a menagerie of animals like a zoo all over the cabin and sofa. It was such a treat and I loved our cabin Steward for it as it made our daughter so happy. Such a kind man.

[Greyhound3]

As for the unusual requests: Sharps needle disposal from injectable medicine.

 

That's about all the extras I request. :D

 

When your steward comes to introduce himself/herself, just ask for a sharps container. It will be in your room before you know it.

 

 

Grey

[moki'smommy]

Were you on the Royal? We had our worst steward ever last Aug/Sept. on the Royal. There was almost no request that wasn't answered with no, not available, or can't do it. When he told us that there were no blankets on the ship anywhere I told him not to worry about it, and that I'd check with Passenger Services instead. Interestingly enough, two brand new blankets appeared very quickly.

 

He was also overbearing and talked over us promising things that never happened probably because he wasn't listening.

No, we were on the Caribbean Princess. I don't remember the guy's name. He just wasn't memorable.

 

We don't ask for much beyond the ordinary--like others, the room is fairly neat. The trash needs to be emptied, occasional dishes removed from room service or pizza, towels refreshed maybe twice during the cruise (other times are hung up.) Beyond that, it was just a matter of getting the room set up the way we preferred it at the beginning.

 

It was rather funny actually. Our dining assistant told us he'd been an assistant on Princess for 8 years. When he left, we commented that he hadn't been promoted because he couldn't get our beverage orders right. He brought our tablemate hot tea with no teabag or loose tea, repeatedly mixed up beverages so that we fixed them when he left, etc. The server had his act together though.

[takeadip]

so i know room stewards will clean and put ice in your fridge. what else will they do or have you gotten them to do for you. just kinda of curious. thanks

 

Whimbly...I once called on my room steward on a "sea day" around 1:30am in the morning requesting a haystack be brought to our "inside" cabin...He said it may take about 15 mins to obtain such a rare request..but said it would be his pleasure...15 minutes went by and he announced his arrival by a gentle knock on our door. I opened the door and sure enough he had found us a haystack...i asked him to please spread the hay on the carpeted floor in a small pile. I thanked him for his service and handed him a $5 tip.

 

About 20 mins later I rang him again and this time requested a sewing needle. Surprisingly he arrived at our "inside" stateroom within 5 minutes. He entered our "inside" stateroom and proceeded to hand me the requested sewing needle...but being so late at night I accidentally dropped it in the pile of hay on our "inside" stateroom floor. Our room steward got on his hands and knees and proceeded to try to find a needle in a haystack.

 

So in closing i would say the room stewards go above and beyond on a daily basis.

 

Best,

Mark

[Ron the Rev]

Whimbly...I once called on my room steward on a "sea day" around 1:30am in the morning requesting a haystack be brought to our "inside" cabin...He said it may take about 15 mins to obtain such a rare request..but said it would be his pleasure...15 minutes went by and he announced his arrival by a gentle knock on our door. I opened the door and sure enough he had found us a haystack...i asked him to please spread the hay on the carpeted floor in a small pile. I thanked him for his service and handed him a $5 tip.

 

About 20 mins later I rang him again and this time requested a sewing needle. Surprisingly he arrived at our "inside" stateroom within 5 minutes. He entered our "inside" stateroom and proceeded to hand me the requested sewing needle...but being so late at night I accidentally dropped it in the pile of hay on our "inside" stateroom floor. Our room steward got on his hands and knees and proceeded to try to find a needle in a haystack.

 

So in closing i would say the room stewards go above and beyond on a daily basis.

 

Best,

Mark

 

Chuckle chuckle:)

[wishfulone]

Whimbly...I once called on my room steward on a "sea day" around 1:30am in the morning requesting a haystack be brought to our "inside" cabin...He said it may take about 15 mins to obtain such a rare request..but said it would be his pleasure...15 minutes went by and he announced his arrival by a gentle knock on our door. I opened the door and sure enough he had found us a haystack...i asked him to please spread the hay on the carpeted floor in a small pile. I thanked him for his service and handed him a $5 tip.

 

About 20 mins later I rang him again and this time requested a sewing needle. Surprisingly he arrived at our "inside" stateroom within 5 minutes. He entered our "inside" stateroom and proceeded to hand me the requested sewing needle...but being so late at night I accidentally dropped it in the pile of hay on our "inside" stateroom floor. Our room steward got on his hands and knees and proceeded to try to find a needle in a haystack.

 

So in closing i would say the room stewards go above and beyond on a daily basis.

 

Best,

Mark

What an excellent response to a totally inappropriate post. Most, if not all room stewards go way beyond what is required of them and are happy to accommodate all reasonable requests. Smile, ask about their home town, their family, skype experiences with their loved ones, when their contract is due to end and they can go home. Above all your requests, appreciate your Stateroom Steward.

Edited June 2, 2016 by wishfulone

[ccruisequeen]

On the Ruby, our electric outlets were across from the bed, and my cord wouldn't reach to the bed for my kindle. Our steward brought an industrial length extension cord that stretched across the room behind the bed and to the bedside table. We were able to plug in the clock, battery charger, and kindle with his help.

 

I hope he's still on the Ruby in October, because we booked our cabin in the same area.

 

 

 

I no longer see carnival from my condo front porch :(

Edited June 5, 2016 by ccruisequeen

[Arizona-Cruising]

We have always had very attentive stewards, we go to gym in morning and shower before and after, even though we do not ask there was always fresh towels.

Last year on the Golden my B-inlaw had a face issue he had a small sliver of metal from welding in his face and at night it would bleed profusely so there steward brought extra rags and pillow cases on there bed each day to help them out and not embarrass the situation it took 3 days and the sliver came out and stopped bleeding.

 

Room steward just did it without asking he brought a special laundry bag for the wash clothes and pillow cases to be cleaned or disposed of not sure.

 

This was there first cruise so what a great experience the steward made their trip.

[clr315]

We always ask them to leave ice in the room every day and make sure I have two wine glasses for my two bottles of wine. Other than that I really just expect them to clean and freshen up our space.