Cabin Cleaning - Is it still only once a day?

[Markmom18]

We had morning service in September, and I chose morning for my Halloween cruise. Both cruises my Room Attendant asked if we needed more towels or ice in the evening to let him know.  So,  I requested fresh ice each evening, and it was always there. I don’t need a room cleaned twice, towels are good,  so once a day service has been just fine. 🙂🙂

 

🛳🛳

Bobbi 

[icft]

12 hours ago, LHARTWICK said:

On our December cruise, our steward never asked which service we preferred as they have in the past.  However, he serviced our room in the PM, which is our preference, so it worked out.  This was one of the few cruises where we rarely saw our steward, which was disappointing.  We enjoy visiting with them and getting to know them.

 

12 hours ago, groundloop said:

 

That was the case with our September, November, and December cruises, but on Valor two weeks ago our steward simply told us approximately what time he'd be doing the cabin each day.  

 

 

 

12 hours ago, firedisney97 said:

On the Horizon a couple of weeks ago I tried to request evening cleaning as we had a 15yo with us and he likes to sleep in the mornings and our steward said he only works there till 1:30 and so he would put us last on the rotation.  So I had to make sure our son was up and out of the cabin by around 1130 so that we could get it picked up (and I wanted my towel animals)

I'm a night owl. I'm not particularly concerned with service only once a day. But I will be very unhappy if they start TELLING me when my room will be serviced and I have to sleep around their schedule. 

[audcc77]

I prefer the twice per day cleaning simply because I don’t like having dirty towels laying around, like having a newly cleaned sink, ice, etc.  

 

Another thing I was thinking about is some of these older ships have pretty dirty and worn cabins. I have to wonder what they’ll be like if Carnival moves to once per day cleaning permanently. 
 

Having a second cleaning doesn’t necessarily need to involve vacuuming  etc, but a quick once-over would be nice.   
 

I will leave my tips in place as always, and I will tip extra as always, but I’m not going to tip as much extra as I normally do if it’s only once per day. 
 

Some might say that this is not the fault of the steward.  My response is that the stewards need address that with Carnival that their extra tips are lower because they’re providing less service.  
 

If the consumer does nothing but rolls with it, then Carnival will just keep cutting back. 

[debnjoe1438]

12 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

I prefer the twice per day cleaning simply because I don’t like having dirty towels laying around, like having a newly cleaned sink, ice, etc.  

 

Another thing I was thinking about is some of these older ships have pretty dirty and worn cabins. I have to wonder what they’ll be like if Carnival moves to once per day cleaning permanently. 
 

Having a second cleaning doesn’t necessarily need to involve vacuuming  etc, but a quick once-over would be nice.   
 

I will leave my tips in place as always, and I will tip extra as always, but I’m not going to tip as much extra as I normally do if it’s only once per day. 
 

Some might say that this is not the fault of the steward.  My response is that the stewards need address that with Carnival that their extra tips are lower because they’re providing less service.  
 

If the consumer does nothing but rolls with it, then Carnival will just keep cutting back. 

So if they clean early in the day, is there no turndown at night? 

[famof4togo]

2 hours ago, debnjoe1438 said:

So if they clean early in the day, is there no turndown at night? 

Correct 

[Drazil65]

I'm a night owl. I'm not particularly concerned with service only once a day. But I will be very unhappy if they start TELLING me when my room will be serviced and I have to sleep around their schedule. 

 

So just put your do not disturb sign on door before you go to sleep and they will not come in.  They will come back later in the day to clean, although you may be at the end of their cleaning schedule by then. 

 

Your cabin will get cleaned eventually but please dont think that they will work around every single passengers schedule (you are not the only one with a "want") with thousands aboard and more cabins added to each housekeeping team.  Someone has to go first on the schedule and someone will go last obviously but using your door sign should allow you to sleep in when you want to.  

[Lee Cruiser]

To be honest, we haven't missed the twice a day service (other than the mint on the pillow 🙂) .  We don't need someone to turn our bed down at night and we aren't that messy to need the room cleaned twice. In all honesty, we probably prefer they just come once a day because we do like to hang out on our balcony.  When they were doing the cards before Covid, we would always choose the morning service and would ask for extra towels. It's never really been a problem for us.

[Cushing985]

I couldn't care less about towel animals or getting our bed turned down in the evening.  What I do want is cleaning service in the morning and fresh towels in the evening.

[TNcruising02]

29 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

To be honest, we haven't missed the twice a day service (other than the mint on the pillow 🙂) .  We don't need someone to turn our bed down at night and we aren't that messy to need the room cleaned twice. In all honesty, we probably prefer they just come once a day because we do like to hang out on our balcony.  When they were doing the cards before Covid, we would always choose the morning service and would ask for extra towels. It's never really been a problem for us.

Same here.  Once a day in the morning has always worked well for us.  We aren't messy, so our cabin is never in need of a second cleaning.  When we stay at hotels for multiple days, we usually just get extra towels and let them know they can skip the cleaning altogether.  I can see how a large family might have a messy cabin though and can use the extra service.  

We always leave the automatic gratuities alone and tip extra at the end of our cruise.  If we required two cleanings, we would tip even more.  These people work very hard with very little time off and we like to show our appreciation. 

[Jareds_mommytoo]

We have booked a room with a couch, that turns into the bed will it be just left as a bed or during the day will they turn it back to a couch?

[famof4togo]

25 minutes ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

We have booked a room with a couch, that turns into the bed will it be just left as a bed or during the day will they turn it back to a couch?

I think that depends on if you have AM or PM....AM I believe they would turn back into a couch, PM I believe they would leave set up as a bed.

[Markmom18]

15 hours ago, debnjoe1438 said:

So if they clean early in the day, is there no turndown at night? 

 
 I can only base my experiences on the 2 cruises we’ve taken since September. Yes, we received turndown each night. IDK why.

 

I did not request it, but as I stated, I did request a refresh on the ice bucket. So ‘maybe’ the Room Attendant went a bit extra and made our beds comfy. 🤷🏻‍♀️  

 

It was a nice surprise 💛.

 

🛳🛳

Bobbi

[B&P!!!]

I've always enjoyed twice a day service so am a bit disappointed  by this change, but honestly the prices have been so low lately I can understand the change.

So if you have morning service, do you still get a towel animal?

 

I love having my bed made and fresh towels provided while I'm out in the am, and then my bed turned down and a towel animals and guide for the next day after dinner. Tradition, I guess.

I hope they return to a quick turndown service in the evening, with fresh towels and a mint on the pillow.

[2wheelin]

16 minutes ago, B&P!!! said:

I've always enjoyed twice a day service so am a bit disappointed  by this change, but honestly the prices have been so low lately I can understand the change.

So if you have morning service, do you still get a towel animal?

 

I love having my bed made and fresh towels provided while I'm out in the am, and then my bed turned down and a towel animals and guide for the next day after dinner. Tradition, I guess.

I hope they return to a quick turndown service in the evening, with fresh towels and a mint on the pillow.

You will still get a towel animal for those who think that is important. You also get fresh towels after your morning shower and plenty extra for evening. I never understood the appeal of turndown service. When I am ready for bed, I simply reach under the pillow and “turndown” the sheet and slip under it. There are no longer printed guides for the next day delivered to the cabin no matter when you request service.

[ilovesparky13]

Twice a day is excessive. Once a day should be the industry standard. 

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

Never understood this obsession people have with twice daily service. Once is enough the room stewards have more and more rooms added to them. If you need extra towels then just ask it isn’t a big deal nor should it be turned into one. 

[icft]

13 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Never understood this obsession people have with twice daily service. Once is enough the room stewards have more and more rooms added to them. If you need extra towels then just ask it isn’t a big deal nor should it be turned into one. 

And this is where the divide in thoughts shows. Those of us who traveled by sea since the 70s and 80s remember when there was no service time. A steward was always around. They noticed your patterns and would tidy your room when you were gone. And yes, they would do it at least twice a day with one being evening to make sure your bath was supplied and your bed was neat and ready. They were not just maids but were good sources of information about what was happening when on the ship and how to get places on the ship. They saw their jobs as taking care of your needs. The primary need of course is cleaning and the like, but they would also note things like your blanket was always in a strange position and ask if you wanted a lighter blanket.

 

Stewards were one of the luxuries of sea travel and are being done away with in favor of just meeting basic needs. Will they meet my basic needs? I would think so, but I would be happier with luxury.

 

So we end up with some folks saying, "no problem, they meet my needs" and other folks regretting the loss of a luxury.

 

 

 

[Rudyard]

15 hours ago, B&P!!! said:

So if you have morning service, do you still get a towel animal?

 

We had morning service in October and had a towel animal every day. We saw no decline in service from what we were used to. YMMV.

[Guest BasicSailor]

My last cruise steward didn't even ask morning or evening. Just showed up around 11ish. Its becomig the less we can do for you the better they like it. Tip accordingly to your preference.

[CruisinTrkrs3]

On 2/24/2022 at 5:06 PM, AtSeaWithChris said:

We sailed on the Harmony of the Seas in January and it wasn’t even a question. Our room was serviced twice a day. We also never had a bacon shortage. 

I could swear it says "Carnival Cruise Line" up top🤔... I'm certain it does NOT say "C'mon y'all let's compare and wax poetically over any other line that I deem to be better"😂 

It's like Twit or FB a lot nowadays. No Bueno. Oh well, I've still got my Carnival Sunshine 🌞 post-Cruise glow to toughen my feels up! 😆 

[Maedie1]

Yes, but thankfully we're clean enough that even once a day is more than enough. Those men and women work hard enough as it is.

[Maedie1]

On 2/26/2022 at 3:08 PM, icft said:

And this is where the divide in thoughts shows. Those of us who traveled by sea since the 70s and 80s remember when there was no service time. A steward was always around. They noticed your patterns and would tidy your room when you were gone. And yes, they would do it at least twice a day with one being evening to make sure your bath was supplied and your bed was neat and ready. They were not just maids but were good sources of information about what was happening when on the ship and how to get places on the ship. They saw their jobs as taking care of your needs. The primary need of course is cleaning and the like, but they would also note things like your blanket was always in a strange position and ask if you wanted a lighter blanket.

 

Stewards were one of the luxuries of sea travel and are being done away with in favor of just meeting basic needs. Will they meet my basic needs? I would think so, but I would be happier with luxury.

 

So we end up with some folks saying, "no problem, they meet my needs" and other folks regretting the loss of a luxury.

 

 

 

For that you might want to sail on one of those $1k a night cruises, or better yet, just don't cruise at all. Those people are overworked and underpaid and then there's people who expect their blanket paid attention to. Wow what a joke right? You want information? Get with the times and use the funHub app. These are the same people in guest services disrespecting the crew member trying to make your vacation the best it can be 🙄 "I want you to clean my room twice a day and I want you to notice that my blanket is in a funny position because you're supposed to know I was hot last night." the sense of entitlement is no joke.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Maedie1

[mjayp]

Can anyone who has recent experience with the lower couch/bed share how this was addressed?  Do you just turn it back into a couch yourself in the AM and the steward makes it into a bed in the evening?  Or is the idea now that you are just supposed to leave it as a bed? 

[Indiansbaseball]

Our last two cruises (Freedom OCT21 and Horizon NOV 21) we requested evening service and saw no decline in service provided. Our room steward was around morning and evening and by phone if necessary. On Freedom our remote stopped working and we called and he brought one right away. 

Edited March 26, 2022 by Indiansbaseball

[Purvis1231]

Cleaning once a day is fine with us but we did enjoy the evening turn down service.