Housekeeping moving to once a day?

[not-enough-cruising]

On 2/18/2023 at 9:33 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

@davekathy indicated that the like their bed made, fresh towels and ice twice a day. But if you take the whole sentence in some reasonable context, I concluded that having a bed made twice a day is unusual. Who needs a bed made twice a day?  Same with towels?  Ice, however is definitely something many people need twice a day. Anyway, that’s how I read it. Not that it really matters…sounds like as far as RCL is concerned, the change is a done deal. 

I only use a bath towel once at home and it goes to the laundry, I expect the same on vacation 

[Mum2Mercury]

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

No way around the fact that half the service does not equal the same amount of gratuity; basic economics. 

Agree ... but they're not offering half the service for the same gratuity.  No, they're offering half the service for a recently-increased gratuity!  

Edited February 20, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[S.A.M.J.R.]

4 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Do people have to fold out sofa beds themselves in hotels?  I can't say I remember doing that.  

We've had to do it every time.  And we spent a lot of time on the road with the kids at sports tournaments.

4 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'm also not aware of hotels cutting out daily service -- except Disney, where they offer a gift card for in exchange for foregoing daily service.

It started during the pandemic.  I've stayed in about a half dozen hotels in the last three and a half months.  Every one has a note on the bathroom mirror saying they'll only clean every 4th or 5th day unless specially requested.

[Ocean Boy]

40 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

 

 

Maybe it would be better if Royal doubled the gratuities, and just built them into the cruise fare.   Staff gets more money, and the cheapskates can't stiff em anymore.  Win, win.

 

Double the gratuities while cutting service. That probably makes sense to someone but not to me.😏

[Ocean Boy]

21 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

We've had to do it every time.  And we spent a lot of time on the road with the kids at sports tournaments.

It started during the pandemic.  I've stayed in about a half dozen hotels in the last three and a half months.  Every one has a note on the bathroom mirror saying they'll only clean every 4th or 5th day unless specially requested.

The same virus that almost did in the travel industry now seems to be their golden lifeline for what ever cut backs they care to make.Reduce staff, reduce service, reduce food choices, reduce food amounts, etc. Just blame covid for [insert cutback of your choice here] and people just back down.

[nelblu]

25 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Agree.  Stiffing the little guy is not the answer.  

Do we know that the little guy gets stiffed.  IMO, it's Royal that makes up for the difference int the overall pool, if any.  Maybe someone with better understanding of the cruise line grats procedures and allocation can chime in.

 

Ps.  Talking about the normal grats and not the extra that a Pax will give based on performance.

[John&LaLa]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:19 AM, nelblu said:

I'm assuming they'll make it up with more cabins.  I'm solo and usually tip $5 per day.  With this reduced service I'll have to reconsider.  

 

Always tip extra as a solo since I feel they are being shortchanged by not having that 2nd gratuity. Really not much difference in work between 1 or 2 in a room, but less money

[Ocean Boy]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Always tip extra as a solo since I feel they are being shortchanged by not having that 2nd gratuity. Really not much difference in work between 1 or 2 in a room, but less money

The number of people in the room may not change the work load much but the "type" of people certainly does.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

8 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The same virus that almost did in the travel industry now seems to be their golden lifeline for what ever cut backs they care to make.Reduce staff, reduce service, reduce food choices, reduce food amounts, etc. Just blame covid for [insert cutback of your choice here] and people just back down.

Or people just accept they were business decisions made during covid, and since people didn't stop booking, they didn't need to go back to the previous levels.   Maybe if people stop booking, hotels and cruises will start bringing back the "perks". 

[John&LaLa]

On 2/19/2023 at 12:40 PM, davekathy said:

We are old but we don't take, siestas on our trips or at home.  🤣

 

That's just sad 😉

 

[davekathy]

14 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

That's just sad 😉

I didn't say we are dead. Now if were talking afternoon delight...😇

Edited February 20, 2023 by davekathy

[nelblu]

44 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

This isn't really any different than staying at a hotel in the US while on vacation.  In fact, many hotels have gone away from once a day cleaning and is now every 4-5 days unless you request otherwise.

Is that in the description before making reservations.  So, what you are saying that in a week's stay, your room is cleaned, and towels replaced only once.  Must be a flea bag.😊

 

I would stay as far away from them as far as possible.

[John&LaLa]

20 hours ago, resetjet said:

Your numbers are correct.  The only thing is the steward gets 25% of the tips so your 70,200 becomes $17550 or about $1755 per month.  Plus his 1360 salary as reported on shiplife.org.  But with extra tips and more then 2 in a room its more like $3500 a month.

 

Depending on where they're from, $3500 could be a years wages.

 

And I still don't understand this 25% calculation 

Edited February 20, 2023 by John&LaLa

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Is that in the description before making reservations.  So, what you are saying that in a week's stay, your room is cleaned, and towels replaced only once.  Must be a flea bag.😊

 

I would stay as far away from them as far as possible.

Marriott, Hilton, and Disney (this article is from a year ago)...

 

Marriott's policies vary by property, but housekeeping is usually offered only upon request, with all rooms cleaned automatically every sixth night. Hilton's default is no more daily cleanings at most properties unless requested. Walt Disney World reduced service to light housekeeping every other day. That entails towel replacement and trash removal but doesn't necessarily include services you might expect, like getting your bed made.

Other hotels have schedules, like the Hotel Solares in Santa Cruz, California: Three-night stays or fewer, no service, while six-night stays or fewer are cleaned once. The hotel recommends you leave trash outside your door.

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hotels-end-basic-amenities-no-more-housekeeping-skimpflation/

 

[sgmn]

4 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

just came off of 29 days at sea.   3 cruise lines.  No service.  

Just because it works for you doesn't mean it OK for others. You're happy to pay a lot of money for a cruise and pay for gratuities but don't want or need any service. OK that's you, but I would expect to have a different experience on an expensive cruise  than I would in a self catering cottage 

[sgmn]

1 hour ago, HicksRA said:

The next move will be leaving a large stack of towels, an extra set of sheets, a dustbuster and a bottle of windex in your room 

And an ice machine on every floor

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, Pellaz said:

Hmm, interesting, and I wonder if Royal differs on this from Carnival.  

On Carnival, the preferred practice is to place your room-service dishware out in the corridor by your door, close to the wall (per John Heald, CCL's spokesman).  The reason is that food-service handling is out of the normal purview of stateroom attendants, and there are food-service personnel assigned to removing dishes from the corridors.   (In my experience, the timeliness has varied between ships but I HAVE seen crew picking up the dishes.)  

 

I saw the dishes guy all the time on Serenade deck 8 last week

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Do you have a chef at home or do you cook your own meals? If no chef at home then there is no need for one on holiday.

 

Chef Boy R Dee😉

[Donsyb]

22 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Is that in the description before making reservations.  So, what you are saying that in a week's stay, your room is cleaned, and towels replaced only once.  Must be a flea bag.😊

 

I would stay as far away from them as far as possible.

Actually this is increasingly common even in some mid-high end hotels. Some offer additional loyalty points if you opt out, others just inform you that’s what they’re doing. It’s a hangover from covid.

[John&LaLa]

4 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Be prepared for a $25 charge for each towel that blows away.

 

Steal them from the gym😉

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, resetjet said:

This is taken from princess site on a quick google.  All of these jobs are tipped with the room steward money.

 

The Housekeeping department is responsible for maintaining the highest level of cleanliness and service in guest staterooms, public areas, and open decks as well as providing laundry services to both guests and crew members. This department is also responsible for the movement of baggage on and off the ship and making sure the ship is ready for new guests each and every cruise. Entry-level positions within this department include Utility Cleaner, Accommodations Attendant, and Laundry Steward.

 

Nice, but these other folks are considered 'other hotel' on Royal

 

Royal did a press release on that several years ago

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, HicksRA said:

The next move will be leaving a large stack of towels, an extra set of sheets, a dustbuster and a bottle of windex in your room 

 

Extra sheets are under your bed now

[CruiseKeeper]

On 2/18/2023 at 9:04 PM, RoyalC said:

They get paid for one of the flights, not both. Confirmed with many workers

That used to be the case.  Talked with bartender last week on the Anthem. They now get paid flights both ways…YMMV. 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I only use a bath towel once at home and it goes to the laundry, I expect the same on vacation 

 

I keep mine up a week. Pretty sure I exit shower relatively clean, just wet

[Donsyb]

4 hours ago, resetjet said:

Every crewmember that in someway works for us and also gets tips not food related or room related.  Ie the guy who cleans the pool deck,  vacuums the halls….

 

there are 3 levels of “crew”

officers - self explanatory 

 

staff-  such as guest services,  photo,  gift shop,  entertainment,  engineering,  those that are salary only. Or salary plus commission.

 

crew-  housekeeping,  food and beverage,  casino etc.  those that get tips.  Quite a big number.

Surely casino is a salaried job?

 

Other than laundry, I can’t see who else the room attendant would b splitting tips with - certainly not 75% of tips.