The change in cleaning means 24 cabins per steward vs. 12

[goldentrio]

My friend is on a Royal Caribbean ship right now and she talked to her room steward and he said he has 24 rooms to clean every day now, once a day. She said that he said before the once a day cleaning rule was put in place he only had 12 rooms to take care of, and he cleaned those twice a day. Obviously, it's easier to take care of 12 rooms twice a day, since they're already clean and just minor things have to be done on the second visit. 

 

No wonder they seemed so frantic and harried on my recent cruise. I barely had a chance to talk to my own room steward and only saw them a few times, unlike in the past when I was able to get to know them a little better. 

[firefly333]

Odd my last cabin steward said she was going from 16 to 18 to 25. Ask and get 100 different answers. Sure they can do more cabins a day. Not exactly a surprise. 

[goldentrio]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Odd my last cabin steward said she was going from 16 to 18 to 25. Ask and get 100 different answers. Sure they can do more cabins a day. Not exactly a surprise. 

That's true - probably lots of answers and might be ship dependent, too. My friend is on Brilliance at the moment. I was on Harmony when I had the frantic steward who was never around. 

[mets123]

30 minutes ago, goldentrio said:

That's true - probably lots of answers and might be ship dependent, too. My friend is on Brilliance at the moment. I was on Harmony when I had the frantic steward who was never around. 

I usually sail on the Anthem. They've always had more than 12 rooms to do , probably closer to 20.

[GTO-Girl]

On our last cruise when the steward asked if I wanted morning or evening.  I asked him which would be easier for him.  He was hesitant at first because he wanted me to choose but he did say morning would be a little better for him.  
 

So I told him morning would be perfect 😎😎

[fpcruiser]

On Enchantment last month, our room attendant said she was doing 19 cabins a day, twice a day(I saw her list of cabins). In a few weeks they will switch to once a day and she will have to do 23 cabins..

 

[firefly333]

10 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

On our last cruise when the steward asked if I wanted morning or evening.  I asked him which would be easier for him.  He was hesitant at first because he wanted me to choose but he did say morning would be a little better for him.  
 

So I told him morning would be perfect 😎😎

My mostly absent steward on oasis never asked and knew I didnt like the time. Never even introduced himself. Next time I'll push back more and choose. This was bella1 where my steward stunk. 

[Mum2Mercury]

57 minutes ago, goldentrio said:

That's true - probably lots of answers and might be ship dependent, too. My friend is on Brilliance at the moment. I was on Harmony when I had the frantic steward who was never around. 

The number of cabins could vary, too, depending upon whether the steward is assigned smaller cabins or suites.  

[pilot]

If the service is not what you expect from your cruise experience, I hope you let your concerns be known. 

[cinnam0n]

Don't know if it's because of the smaller ship size, but on our Grandeur cruise earlier this month, we had twice a day service, just like always previously.  No change at all.

[BND]

We just got off EN two days ago and we were in a JS so we had the twice a day.  But, we had friends in an ocean view and they said they had twice per day.

[goldfish65]

They'll make more, won't they? I am curious. Maybe some of them are ok with busting their butts for more money. 

[BND]

13 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

They'll make more, won't they? I am curious. Maybe some of them are ok with busting their butts for more money. 

People have already said they'll pay less in tips/gratuities if it goes to once a day, so not necessarily.  

[island lady]

Our cabin attendant on Jewel went from 18 to 25.   None of the cabin attendants are happy with this change.  They work much later since most select morning service, giving them less time to go ashore when they are allowed.  

 

Yes, does not affect JS cabins and above...still twice a day.  

 

To those who think the attendants will make more money?  What about the pax who now decide to pay less for "half service" of just once a day?  

[cinnam0n]

1 hour ago, BND said:

We just got off EN two days ago and we were in a JS so we had the twice a day.  But, we had friends in an ocean view and they said they had twice per day.

We only had an inside - (ship was full so no Royal Ups awarded 😒) Serviced twice a day like clockwork.  Our cabin attendant was awesome.

[fsjosh]

41 minutes ago, island lady said:

Our cabin attendant on Jewel went from 18 to 25.   None of the cabin attendants are happy with this change.  They work much later since most select morning service, giving them less time to go ashore when they are allowed.  

 

Yes, does not affect JS cabins and above...still twice a day.  

 

To those who think the attendants will make more money?  What about the pax who now decide to pay less for "half service" of just once a day?  

 

I'd bet the vast majority are just paying the standard gratuities and never consider changing them. I'd even say most don't even know this is a recent change and they are getting less. 

[fpcruiser]

2 hours ago, BND said:

We just got off EN two days ago and we were in a JS so we had the twice a day.  But, we had friends in an ocean view and they said they had twice per day.

Our attendant said they are changing to once a day when they go to Europe.

 

[island lady]

3 minutes ago, fsjosh said:

 

I'd bet the vast majority are just paying the standard gratuities and never consider changing them. I'd even say most don't even know this is a recent change and they are getting less. 

 

Do you have any idea how many pax go to GS have the grats taken off?   There is a way the attendants know who does it.  One showed me one day.  

 

Many of us tip in cash above the scheduled grats, that are either prepaid or taken out daily on your sea pass account.  How many of those will now not tip as much for "half service"?  

[island lady]

6 minutes ago, fpcruiser said:

Our attendant said they are changing to once a day when they go to Europe.

 

 

On which ship?  

[fsjosh]

23 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Do you have any idea how many pax go to GS have the grats taken off?   There is a way the attendants know who does it.  One showed me one day.  

 

Many of us tip in cash above the scheduled grats, that are either prepaid or taken out daily on your sea pass account.  How many of those will now not tip as much for "half service"?  

Will some people tip less? Yes.

 

I'm betting 90%+ just pay the prepaid/standard gratuities and never think anything else about it. Most cruisers don't cruise multiple times a year. I'd say most don't even cruise every year. While the D+ crowd may be up in arms at once a day cleanings, many many more are not going to notice. 

[Tree_skier]

55 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Do you have any idea how many pax go to GS have the grats taken off?   There is a way the attendants know who does it.  One showed me one day.  

 

Many of us tip in cash above the scheduled grats, that are either prepaid or taken out daily on your sea pass account.  How many of those will now not tip as much for "half service"?  

I think this is the likely outcome.  I always leave autograts on and have typically tipped extra cash because almost every attendant I have had has been worth it.  My suspicion is that with the once a day service, the extra that my cabin attendant would do for me is likely to be diminished making me less inclined to tip extra or at least not as much.

[blueslily]

26 minutes ago, fsjosh said:

Will some people tip less? Yes.

 

I'm betting 90%+ just pay the prepaid/standard gratuities and never think anything else about it. Most cruisers don't cruise multiple times a year. I'd say most don't even cruise every year. While the D+ crowd may be up in arms at once a day cleanings, many many more are not going to notice. 

 

Yes, many first time cruisers are sailing in 2023. Fewer loyalists are bookings  much as they used to right now due to various changes.  They  know so much more history than the new cruisers sailing and booking right now. Plus goodness, prices are indeed up for some itineraries. So, many folks sailing now and this year don't really know the impact of the change. They dont have much to compare it to. I'm not going to not cruise because of reduction in cabin cleaning,  but I will pass due to more expensive pricing. 

[Ocean Boy]

How many cabins a steward has is none of my business. How much money a steward makes is none of my business. How my cabin is serviced and how well my needs are met are very much my business. How much I decided to tip will be based on those factors alone. So it is pretty impossible for me to know what I might do at some future time with this matter. I certainly won't speculate based on past experience.

[The Fun Researcher]

8 hours ago, mets123 said:

I usually sail on the Anthem. They've always had more than 12 rooms to do , probably closer to 20.

...and as of last month they were still doing twice a day service.

[barbeyg]

8 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

On our last cruise when the steward asked if I wanted morning or evening.  I asked him which would be easier for him.  He was hesitant at first because he wanted me to choose but he did say morning would be a little better for him.  
 

So I told him morning would be perfect 😎😎

Thanks for that idea. We will do the same in 3 weeks. Doesn’t matter to us.