I thought I wouldn't miss 2x a day room cleaning... I was wrong.

[CruiseMelissa]

When RC announced going to once a day room servicing I kind of shrugged it off and bought into the whole "well, that's what hotels do".  

 

I just got off my first cruise since the change and now I want 2x a day back as much as the original protestors.  

 

A few main reasons:

1. It was one of the things that made cruising more special than land-based vacations.  

2. I didn't realize how much I loved the interactions with my cabin attendant twice a day when they were in the halls around my cabin.  Some knew our names, all greeted us and wished us a great day, etc.  Now that they're spread out over many cabins, these interactions aren't as frequent.

3. Cruise cabins are MUCH smaller than hotel rooms and feel dirtier so much quicker.  Yes, we don't spend much time in there, but the time we DID spend felt more claustrophobic with the beds unmade, towels on the bathroom floor etc.

4. "You can always call and ask for more towels, etc." - tried it, asked for bath towels, they never came.

5. The garbage cans are teeny tiny in the cabins and I didn't realize how quickly we accumulated trash and had it overflowing.

 

We had an interesting experience with having two cabin attendants on a 7 day cruise as our first one left mid-way through to head back home.  He was excellent, asked when I wanted my room clean, was easy to find during both of his "shifts" if we needed something extra, etc.  The second seemed to clean all of her rooms in the morning and was never seen in the evening at all.  I don't know how normal this is, but it wasn't something I had heard of before.  More power to her, if you can get your work done in half a day and relax the other, why not?  It just meant that people that preferred evening cleans and/or needed to find her in the evening, couldn't if that's important to you.

 

I know this is a divisive issue and "Royal needs to make up for the money they lost in the pandemic", I just thought I'd share some insight on my flip-flop.  It won't stop me from cruising Royal which is what they know and why they did it, I'm sure.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by CruiseMelissa

[shipgeeks]

When we got to our cabin on Vision and met our cabin steward, he asked us whether we'd prefer AM or PM.  We chose morning.  Perhaps your neighbors all chose morning?

We were fine with our once-a-day visit.  We still had a cruise planner delivered in the evening, and our steward was always around, if we needed to ask for anything, or just exchange conversation.

[ShillyShally]

Thanks for sharing, I'm hoping I won't care since I've gotten used to no service in hotels unless you stay longer or request it, but I also did love the twice daily service.  I've had to hunt down additional towels at hotels too, and it's a PITA, so I'll know to stay on it if needed!

 

I think I'd be fine with once a day if I have a findable steward, and we are not needy, but do have some requests we appreciate and tip well for.

[gumshoe958]

18 minutes ago, CruiseMelissa said:

We had an interesting experience with having two cabin attendants on a 7 day cruise as our first one left mid-way through to head back home.  He was excellent, asked when I wanted my room clean, was easy to find during both of his "shifts" if we needed something extra, etc.  The second seemed to clean all of her rooms in the morning and was never seen in the evening at all.  I don't know how normal this is, but it wasn't something I had heard of before.  More power to her, if you can get your work done in half a day and relax the other, why not?  It just meant that people that preferred evening cleans and/or needed to find her in the evening, couldn't if that's important to you.

I doubt very much that your second attendant spent her evenings relaxing.

 

Knowing Royal they hadn’t yet replaced your first attendant so when he left the second had to service his cabins in the morning, then hers on another deck in the evening. 

[firefly333]

I often told my steward once a day please. I dont like the intrusion. 

 

I am solo I admit, but not once have my trash cans overflowed lol. As far as visiting my steward in the halls I can still do that, dont see the difference.  I must be super neat.  

[CruiseMelissa]

1 minute ago, gumshoe958 said:

I doubt very much that your second attendant spent her evenings relaxing.

 

Knowing Royal they hadn’t yet replaced your first attendant so when he left the second had to service his cabins in the morning, then hers on another deck in the evening. 

I honestly hope she did have time to relax, that they all do.  I didn't mean that in a snarky way... in any job, if you find a more efficient way to do what you're asked, and you get it done early, you should be able to have extra time to yourself.  We were fine with switching to a morning clean, I'm just sharing caveats others that are "team 1x a day cleaning" may not have thought of. 

 

And our new one started the day he left and was a direct replacement for him.  She flew in that day and had to jump right into his routine which seemed like a big ask.  He gave her great notes and it was a pretty seamless transition for the most part.

[CruiseMelissa]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I often told my steward once a day please. I dont like the intrusion. 

 

I am solo I admit, but not once have my trash cans overflowed lol. As far as visiting my steward in the halls I can still do that, dont see the difference.  I must be super neat.  

I didn't realize how much trash we accumulated either before with two cleanings but this time it was noticeable.  We have kids, and kids can be big trash producers, so that could be a cause?  Again, nothing that had me running to cancel our future cruises, just an observation.

[mac_tlc]

Just got off Jewel last week and I agree. It’s a real lessening of the experience. We asked for extra towels and got some. Quite a pile in the bathroom by the time the attendant arrived. And the garbage can situation is ridiculous. 
 

mac_tlc

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Good post.

 

[smokeybandit]

How messy do you have to be to feel your cabin get dirtier throughout the day?

[Twolittleboys]

I completely agree. I was on an NCL cruise but the same applies as they also went to once a day cleaning.

 

As I was traveling solo, I did not have an issue with the room getting dirty or the trash overflowing but it just wasn't the same. Once a day is fine but it isn't the same feeling of luxury/pampering.

 

Before, it always felt like you had your very own attendant - they were always around and knew your name etc. Now it is the same as at any hotel - someone cleans your room. Perfectly adequate but nothing special.

 

I don't have a lot of extra wishes/demands but if something is wrong it used to be so easy. There was a problem with my TV and on previous cruises I would have mentioned it to the room attendant when passing in the hallway. But I never saw mine (and wasn't quite sure who it was) so I just dealt with it. I know I could have found the room attendant but it just seemed too much bother.

[Baron Barracuda]

It was also nice having the ice bucket refilled twice a day.

 

Even when they cleaned 2x dw would leave a note asking for extra towels.   On days we had a surplus she hid them in the closet in case we later run out.

[ShillyShally]

2 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

It was also nice having the ice bucket refilled twice a day.

 

Even when they cleaned 2x dw would leave a note asking for extra towels.   On days we had a surplus she hid them in the closet in case we later run out.

It's the ice bucket I'm most worried about, but I'll deal if needed!  Love that she hid a stash for you!

[BND]

Most people aren't even in their cabin most of the day so  I'm trying to figure out how anyone can have that much trash per day.  We stay in JS so we still get twice a day, but honestly, I'd be fine with once in the evening.  Too many times we've come back to the cabin for one reason or another before noon and have timed it perfectly to get there when the steward is there. We don't ask for ice as have no need for it.  Towels get replaced in the evening as we normally shower before dinner, after a day in the sun. 

[cruiselvr04]

8 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Just got off Jewel last week and I agree. It’s a real lessening of the experience. We asked for extra towels and got some. Quite a pile in the bathroom by the time the attendant arrived. And the garbage can situation is ridiculous. 
 

mac_tlc

I agree that it lessens the “luxury” of cruising although in reality that’s been gone a long time. 
I ask at the first meeting with steward for 4 daily towels, washcloths and hand towels so I don’t run out. If they restock every day, I don’t have to bother them the rest of the trip.  I put the dishes in the hall even though I hate that, because I’m not leaving them sit in the room all day.  There’s simply no room unless we’re in a Jr suite or above and then we get twice a day service. I take a couple of small trash bags along in case of overflow trash but rarely need them.
We can all adapt but that doesn’t mean we like it and we can still comment on our survey about it.  

[molly361]

Just the opposite for me.  Just off a 4 day cruise and I only had service one time on day 2.  My choice.  I am solo and certainly never needed twice a day and just found out that I don't really need it every day.  I was going to ask for new towels but never did.  I did see my cabin steward quite a bit and chatted in the hall but I don't need to be his/her bestie.  If I don't see them that's ok with me  I think I might do this from now on.  I like it

Edited July 3, 2023 by molly361

[Mikamarii]

We used to be Disney Vacation club owners. Their cleaning policy was on day 4 trash and towels only and day 7 full clean. 

 

We actually loved it. It was nice not having someone come in every day and felt We could settle in more. That experience changed our preference so we actually like this new change on cruises. 

 

One of the things that always bothered us is returning to our room only to find they are still cleaning and have to kill 20 minutes or so before going back in or having to leave the room so they could clean. I know we don't have to leave but kinda get that social anxiety about hindering someone from doing their job. On our last TP we couldn't get the timing right with our attendant. Some days we'd be up early and out of the room, others we'd sleep in or hang out on the balcony. When we'd leave he'd be busy cleaning other rooms and not gotten to ours yet so we felt obligated to stay away. On 2 days over the 20 nights we completely missed a cleaning and felt we let him down haha. 

 

Everyone has their likes and wants but this change moves the needle a little more to where we prefer. It will always be a mixed bag of reactions. 

 

[RFerrington]

I'm sure I'm an outlier on this, but I have no real interest in getting to know my stateroom attendant or engage in extended small talk.  I feel the same way about my wait staff in the restaurants.  Pleasant ?  Of course...but I don't want to have to banter about what exciting (or boring) things I did that day or find out about their children back home.  Just come and make the bed, empty the trash, leave clean towels and pick up the laundry (however frequently that happens to be, these days) and then be on your way.  Once a day is fine.   

[laura85]

I’m not super chatty with room attendants, and honestly rarely even run in to them after the first day. Our next cruise will have my husband and I plus 5 year old daughter in one balcony room. My main concern is just that the sofa will be stuck as a bed all week? 

[GJustice]

1 hour ago, ShillyShally said:

It's the ice bucket I'm most worried about, but I'll deal if needed!  Love that she hid a stash for you!

Pretty sure you can ask for, and get, Ice twice a day. They're cutting back on the 2X FULL service visits, NOT abandoning us entirely. You'll never get anything you want without asking 🙂 

 

We chose evening, since we're always out from a bit before dinner, through dinner, and usually something after dinner, so there's plenty of time for them to do their thing while we're out. Breakfast doesn't (usually) take long enough since we usually come back to the room to take morning meds, etc and they seem to always want to come while we're there.

 

Roll with it. It's a VACATION 🙂

 

Do you get 2X Daily "maid" service at home? I sure don't.

Edited July 3, 2023 by GJustice

[lovesthebeach2]

I don’t mind the once a day in hotels, and in fact during Covid we had no service at all in hotel rooms. We liked it. We belong to Disney Vacation Club and no one comes in our room the whole times we stay there. We like that too….. but as the OP said, hotel rooms and places like Disney resorts are much larger than most cabins and I can’t see how a family of 4 can function without twice a day service.  Even if it’s just to pull out the sofa bed each night for the children, empty the garbage can and take away the wet towels. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people just start to put the cans and wet towels in the hall to make room in the cabins. 
 

the past few cruises since the change our attendant asked if we preferred morning or evening.  I liked that we could choose.

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, GJustice said:

Pretty sure you can ask for, and get, Ice twice a day.

 

You definitely can. Aside from asking in advance, you can scan a QR code in the room and a page will come up to make common requests like more ice, more towels, more soap, etc. Someone should fulfill your request within an hour or so but it may not be your actual stateroom attendant.

[schlimazel_traveler]

I agree that the twice-daily cabin service was one of the luxuries I loved about cruising. The room always felt neat and uncluttered, the bed magically made while we were at breakfast, dishes spirited away, wastebasket emptied. Knowing the steward was coming in also inspired us to keep all of our stuff neatly out of sight. Getting away from my clutter is the best part of vacation sometimes!

Edited July 3, 2023 by schlimazel_traveler

[mac_tlc]

As someone who was maneuvering a wheelchair down the hallway to the aft cabin ( it was Norway so it had to be aft😜), I can tell you trays and cups and glasses are not my friend. If there was one tray in the hallway we had to stop, my wife had to get out of the chair, I would fold it up, go 8 feet, unfold it, and she would get back in. 
 

We did request ice twice a day and got it — almost every day. 
 

As for the garbage can. If we happened to stop for a coffee and bring it back to the room, those two cups would almost fill the garbage can. Better not have a coke can or a bottle of water too. 
 

As I stated in my review, the comparisons to home are ridiculous. I paid to be not at home. I clean the toilets at home, so should I be OK if they asked me to do that to enhance my cruise experience? 

mac_tlc

[Cherful59]

20 minutes ago, laura85 said:

I’m not super chatty with room attendants, and honestly rarely even run in to them after the first day. Our next cruise will have my husband and I plus 5 year old daughter in one balcony room. My main concern is just that the sofa will be stuck as a bed all week? 

My understanding is you can get the sofa bed put up each morning and it will be turned down again at night.  I would request this when you 1st see your cabin steward, or write a note.