With COVID are the room stewards wearing gloves and changing them to clean each room

[Joseph2017China]

On 11/5/2021 at 12:35 AM, goldengirl said:

Hello what are the new standards in effect for the rooms to be cleaned do roomstewards wear masks and gloves, do they was. The bed comforters after each sailing, what about mattress and pillow how are they cleaning

If you are concerned, you should not cruise yet.

[Jimbo]

18 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

If you are concerned, you should not cruise yet.

or the people that are not concerned, maybe they shouldn't cruise yet!

[TennisCruiser62]

On 11/4/2021 at 9:35 PM, goldengirl said:

Hello what are the new standards in effect for the rooms to be cleaned do roomstewards wear masks and gloves, do they was. The bed comforters after each sailing, what about mattress and pillow how are they cleaning

If you are worried about dining at all, we noticed in the MDR on formal night the waiter uses your fork and knife to take the lobster out of its shell and cut it. He was not wearing gloves and I did not see him wash his hands between cutting lobsters for his other passengers. 

[miraflores]

On 11/5/2021 at 7:38 PM, not-enough-cruising said:

Yet there is a long waiting list of people that can’t wait to get back under contract 

It's called desperation. They're poor people who live in 3rd world countries, who haven't been working since COVID started...and have families to feed. They don't have many choices right now and the cruise lines are fully taking advantage of that.

[miraflores]

On 11/5/2021 at 2:31 PM, BND said:

Funny I've seen a lot of videos of cruises since restart and not a single steward or other crew member was walking around in a hazmat suit.  And, no one on here has said a word about it.

I was speaking more to being confined to your cabin when not working. They're essentially prisoners right now.

[Jerseygirl1416]

8 minutes ago, miraflores said:

It's called desperation. They're poor people who live in 3rd world countries, who haven't been working since COVID started...and have families to feed. They don't have many choices right now and the cruise lines are fully taking advantage of that.

This is such a generalization and just not true. I spoke with a server in Play Makers on Oasis who was from the Philippines and she said she worked on the phone as a customer service rep for a college testing company in the US during the shutdown.  She was very happy to be back working on the ship and said when they were in the crew area they were able to socialize with each other and we’re able to get off the ship in some ports.

[BND]

17 minutes ago, miraflores said:

I was speaking more to being confined to your cabin when not working. They're essentially prisoners right now.

And your post was as clear as mud.  That is not what you said at all.

Edited November 9, 2021 by BND

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, miraflores said:

It's called desperation. They're poor people who live in 3rd world countries, who haven't been working since COVID started...and have families to feed. They don't have many choices right now and the cruise lines are fully taking advantage of that.

Taking advantage? 
Are they paying less than pre Covid? (NO, that is regulated by international standards)

 

Are the requiring more hours worked (NO, that is regulated by international standards)

 

Are the contracts longer? (NO) 

 

No one is being taken advantage of, LOTS of people around the world have been out of work, most are returning to what they did before, most are seeing some

changes in how things work, but that does not mean any of them are being taken advantage of.  

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by not-enough-cruising

[miraflores]

15 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Taking advantage? 
Are they paying less than pre Covid? (NO, that is regulated by international standards)

 

Are the requiring more hours worked (NO, that is regulated by international standards)

 

Are the contracts longer? (NO) 

 

No one is being taken advantage of, LOTS of people around the world have been out of work, most are returning to what they did before, most are seeing some

changes in how things work, but that does not mean any of them are being taken advantage of.  

 

Yes, some positions are paid less (up to 20% for some companies). Yes, some positions now require more work (unpaid side jobs/extra duties). Yes, contracts (especially bridge crew) contracts are now longer.

[not-enough-cruising]

6 minutes ago, miraflores said:

Yes, some positions are paid less (up to 20% for some companies). Yes, some positions now require more work (unpaid side jobs/extra duties). Yes, contracts (especially bridge crew) contracts are now longer.

I don’t believe a word of this. Some of this is illegal and just simply is not happening (unpaid side jobs)

 

Bridge crew contract length is a FAR cry from the doom and gloom you have been spewing up thread. 
 

farewell

[Tree_skier]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:36 AM, LXA350 said:

On a recent cruise the only ones not walking around with masks were from the US

You never fail to disappoint with with your anti-American trope.  Doesn't being hateful get tiring?

[miraflores]

3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I don’t believe a word of this. Some of this is illegal and just simply is not happening (unpaid side jobs)

 

Bridge crew contract length is a FAR cry from the doom and gloom you have been spewing up thread. 
 

farewell

When you're used to 10-week-on, 10-week-off contracts...being extended to 16-weeks-on is a big difference.  There have been stories of crew being stuck on ships longer than a year right now.  Sure, it's illegal, but do you think ANYONE is checking right now? Ship crews are getting screwed right now.  You think cruise ships are bad? Cargo ships are insane right now.

[bucfan2]

57 minutes ago, miraflores said:

When you're used to 10-week-on, 10-week-off contracts...being extended to 16-weeks-on is a big difference.  There have been stories of crew being stuck on ships longer than a year right now.  Sure, it's illegal, but do you think ANYONE is checking right now? Ship crews are getting screwed right now.  You think cruise ships are bad? Cargo ships are insane right now.

Not a rocket scientist, but you choosing to address this on cc won’t help your cause (if there is one).

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, miraflores said:

Cargo ships are insane right now.

Perhaps @chengkp75can comment on this. 

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, bucfan2 said:

Not a rocket scientist, but you choosing to address this on cc won’t help your cause (if there is one).

She has no cause, other than spreading mis information

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Perhaps @chengkp75can comment on this. 

While things are still backed up for the 1.8 million merchant mariners around the world (cruise ships account for about 180,000 of those), the problem has gotten much better since 2010.  The majority of countries either consider mariners to be "essential workers" and not subject to travel restrictions, or allow crew changes with monitoring requirements.  

 

And, a 50% increase in contract length for deck officers is really nothing to get worked up over.  During the first Gulf War, our reliefs were used to crew up Ready Reserve vessels needed for the military, so there were no people who could even relieve us.  I spent 16 out of 18 months in a war zone, as a civilian (normal rotation was 4 weeks).  Did I complain, nope.  It's part of the job.

 

As for "checking" on whether labor practices are legal or not, every mariner (even a brand new dishwasher on a cruise ship) is informed that it is their right to notify port state officials if their rights are being violated.  I remember a few years back, when Brazil, a nation not known for caring much about labor conditions, held up a couple of cruise ships because the crew complained about violations.  The crew have cell phones, and they all know Jim Walker's number, and he can point them to the USCG for reporting.

[chengkp75]

Getting back to OP's question.  Pre-Covid, the cabin stewards were trained to be able to clean 3-4 cabins utilizing a minimum amount of gloves, by doing all the same tasks in the several cabins at the same time (i.e. clean all bathrooms before going to bed linen in any cabin), and then change their gloves, or remove them for tasks that did not require gloves.  I haven't seen the Covid protocols, but I'm assuming that the CDC, who set up the pre-Covid protocols, would require similar.  And, as noted, with the very small chance of transmission of Covid by surfaces, I would suspect that the pre-Covid gloving procedures would continue.

 

Someone mentioned a "red bag".  This indicates that the cabin occupants were positive for Covid.  The linens are placed in the bag, and the bag is placed in the washing machine.  It dissolves in the wash, so no one other than the steward who stripped the bed has to touch the linens.

[Vibe]

I am currently on the Indy, my cabin steward is not wearing gloves. I noticed that some of them are wearing gloves when I was walking down the hallway.

[AmazedByCruising]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

And, a 50% increase in contract length for deck officers is really nothing to get worked up over.  During the first Gulf War, our reliefs were used to crew up Ready Reserve vessels needed for the military, so there were no people who could even relieve us.  I spent 16 out of 18 months in a war zone, as a civilian (normal rotation was 4 weeks).  Did I complain, nope.  It's part of the job.

 

I hope you were compensated really well for that time, because I feel it shouldn't be part of the job.

 

Elsewhere I read that you put the oar on your shoulder.  I'm not sure if it was you who brought my new laptop, or the gasoline for my car, or made sure the AC worked on our cruise, so I could be saying thanks to the wrong person, but life would certainly have been quite miserable if there were no Chief Engineers to keep the ships sailing.

 

Of the thousands of Chiefs on the world however, there's only one Chief using all the knowledge and experience he has to answer normal and rather weird questions (sorry) over here. I wish you a long and happy retirement. With a steady internet connection 🙂 

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

I hope you were compensated really well for that time, because I feel it shouldn't be part of the job.

Nope, just part of the job.  Just as the US merchant marine had the highest casualty rate of any branch of service during WW2 (and again, they were all civilians), mariners are the unsung heroes.

 

9 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

Elsewhere I read that you put the oar on your shoulder.  I'm not sure if it was you who brought my new laptop, or the gasoline for my car, or made sure the AC worked on our cruise, so I could be saying thanks to the wrong person, but life would certainly have been quite miserable if there were no Chief Engineers to keep the ships sailing.

Thank you for your wishes.  Going to enjoy life at the lake, and visiting the grandkids.  What most people haven't thought about pre-Covid, but are starting to hear about, is that over 80% of the entire world's economy moves by sea, so not only would life be miserable without mariners, it would be cold and dark.

[shipgeeks]

Cheng, I hope you won't be retiring from contributing to CC.  We really appreciate your expertise.

[Iamcruzin]

17 hours ago, miraflores said:

When you're used to 10-week-on, 10-week-off contracts...being extended to 16-weeks-on is a big difference.  There have been stories of crew being stuck on ships longer than a year right now.  Sure, it's illegal, but do you think ANYONE is checking right now? Ship crews are getting screwed right now.  You think cruise ships are bad? Cargo ships are insane right now.

So has any of this stopped you from booking cruises or are you supporting the act buy contributing to the profits of the cruise line?

Edited November 11, 2021 by Iamcruzin

[jerseygirl3]

On 11/5/2021 at 4:46 PM, uncleboo said:

Thank you for taking the time to give me an intelligent reply instead of insulting my question , I appreciate that. That should be a concern to you all. I do not appreciate  being told that I should not travel. I have Ben cooped up with the COVID for almost two years and I need a break. Lways I portent on a cruise especially when people are close together.

 

I don’t think your question was wrong. People can be real jerks sometimes with their responses. Although I can’t answer your question as we won’t be sailing until January, I would think gloves would be appropriate for the cabin attendants more so than the occupant if the cabin, although it wouldn’t hurt to ensure both party’s health. I’m a nurse and whenever I care for a patient with possible Covid symptoms I am required to add gloves and gown, in addition to the normal mask and goggles. 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

So has any of this stopped you from booking cruises or are you supporting the act buy contributing to the profits of the cruise line?

I'm pretty sure that poster works on a ship.

[Vibe]

Getting back to the original question, I am currently on the Indy, have not seen my cabin steward wearing gloves. I was on the Allure last month, my cabin steward was always wearing  gloves. When walking through the hallways on both cruises, noticed some wearing gloves,

 I brought Clorox wipes on both cruises, rooms were not as clean as expected, found dirt, hair etc