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

[sowhat]

On Explorer of the the Seas  in May this year, we used the app to request  ice and additional  towels 4 tines, not delivered.
Asked for  morning  cabin cleaning,  not done just a quick  wipe  over  in the afternoon. Not vacuumed  all week,  same marks  on work surfaces  and mirrors.
Bathroom  cleaned but not cleaned  to a good standard.
Only spoke  to  cabin steward  only once on the second day. He informed  us that Explorer  did have 74 cabin stewards cleaning 16 cabin twice a day, now only 54 cabin steward cleaning 25 cabins once  a day.
Therefore  doing less work as the tips have increased.

[Mikew0805]

I have been doing once a day service since long before they decided to change it. Does not matter the room I am in.. Suite or non suite, I only want morning service.

 

Sorry for those that do not like it.

[karena1]

2 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

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.

 

 

We are fine with it, hotels/resorts are the same.  We do morning service.  Just leave me towels and I am good.  I make sure my room is clean every morning, I don't leave stuff all  over the place.  I pick up and make sure our cabin is pretty clean before we leave in the morning.  So totally okay with morning service and done.

[Twolittleboys]

For me, it really isn't about not being able to keep my room clean. Traveling as a solo, there is hardly any mess/trash. I am also fine when traveling in hotels.

 

BUT having the bed made up after having a short nap in the afternoon or having someone easily available if questions pop up (how does the laundry bag work etc.) was that little bit extra luxury I loved about cruising.

 

Will this make me stop going on cruises? Of course not, but it is one less point in the plus column when deciding what to do on my next vacation...

[uncwmark]

24 minutes ago, sowhat said:

On Explorer of the the Seas  in May this year, we used the app to request  ice and additional  towels 4 tines, not delivered.
Asked for  morning  cabin cleaning,  not done just a quick  wipe  over  in the afternoon. Not vacuumed  all week,  same marks  on work surfaces  and mirrors.
Bathroom  cleaned but not cleaned  to a good standard.
Only spoke  to  cabin steward  only once on the second day. He informed  us that Explorer  did have 74 cabin stewards cleaning 16 cabin twice a day, now only 54 cabin steward cleaning 25 cabins once  a day.
Therefore  doing less work as the tips have increased.

Math doesn't quite add up there...

 

74 cabin stewards responsible for 16 cabins each equals 1,184 cabins

54 cabin stewards responsible for 25 cabins each equals 1,350 cabins. 

 

Did Explorer gain 166 cabins when the change was made? 😉  

[mikefromny]

We had no problem with the once-a-day cleaning. On day one, our attendant asked if we wanted early or late, we chose early and I was amazed that he had the cabin done within 1 hour of us leaving the cabin (often 30 minutes). Mario was also around most of the day and was super friendly.

 

I did find the trash cans too small, but I started crushing our water bottles, and that took care of most of the issue. I agree this was one thing that set cruising apart, but not something that I really miss. Just keep the escargot and French onion soup and I'll be happy!

[uncwmark]

Just now, uncwmark said:

Math doesn't quite add up there...

 

74 cabin stewards responsible for 16 cabins each equals 1,184 cabins

54 cabin stewards responsible for 25 cabins each equals 1,350 cabins. 

 

Did Explorer gain 166 cabins when the change was made? 😉  

Further, according to Google, Explorer actually has 1,641 cabins... 

 

Math isn't adding up anywhere here... even if you don't include suite cabins (of which there are 115, again, according to Google)... there are ~1,525 cabins to service once daily. 

[neverbeenhere]

Please don't confuse things with math.

[Mikew0805]

26 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

BUT having the bed made up after having a short nap in the afternoon or having someone easily available if questions pop up (how does the laundry bag work etc.) was that little bit extra luxury I loved about cruising.

 

LOL this is the exact reason I went to only once a day. When I take a nap, I get my pillows (All 7 of them 🙄 ) in the right place, and don't want to have to do that again at bed time. I had started by asking them not to make the bed, then I realized just easer to tell em at the beginning of the cruise just once a day. 

[RoperDK]

We cruise in suites and still get twice a day servicing.  We request morning cleaning and an evening spruce up.  On our last cruise we found that we really didn't need evening service for most nights after all.  However, there were a couple of days that we had afternoon room service and needed room service trays removed or took a shower after being in port and needed fresh towels. I do feel that the cabins aren't as clean as they used to be.  No proof, but it just doesn't seem the same.  Not sure I have a point to this post except to say that we aren't cruising as much as we used to because frankly cruising isn't as enjoyable as it used to be for us. 

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

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.

 

 

I don’t think this is a very divisive issue. I haven’t heard too many people complain about it. If you really miss/need your cabin cleaned twice a day, book a suite. 

[FPP777]

My kids rooms are a disaster 24/7 at home, so once a day will be welcome in their cabin. 🤪

Edited July 3, 2023 by FPP777

[deliver42]

I've been on 2 cruises since the change, and it doesn't matter to me.

[GetToLivin]

#1, 3 and 5 are exactly it. I'm glad you shared your thoughts. We went through so many towels when we brought DS with us, it is a different game with kids in tow. DH and I work out every day as well, so there's shower 1, and if it's a port day there's shower 2 before dinner - so easy to go through items. Additionally, we're people who DO spend ample time in the cabin, we don't always want to be around the masses. I definitely see the draw of 2x service considering cabin space can shrink up quickly, let alone with a family in tow. 

[silentbob007]

I missed the twice-a-day with 3 in a standard balcony with regards to the pull-out sofa and the trash situation with a toddler still in diapers.  I asked the attendant a few times to empty the trash or provide some other extra service though I did just throw the bed back into the couch each morning on my own.

[Sunshine3601]

We like once a day.  We have asked for evening.   We ask for 530ish if they could and enjoyed having everything done along with our nightly towel animal and paper compass being in the cabin when we returned from dinner for bathrooms.

For the last couple of years we usually ask for once a day anyway.

[ONECRUISER]

12 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

 

For the last couple of years we usually ask for once a day anyway.

Same here. Last yr on 9 Cruises might have had Cabin cleaned 5 times twice a day at most. I get up at 6, run 3 miles, shower, eat Breakfast and by time Attendant would be cleaning I'm back sitting on my Balcony Reading or online in the Cabin talking to Grand Daughters. Been making own bed on Cruises last 5+ yrs anyway

[Wineaux007]

Our next 4 Royal cruises are booked in JS, so we will get twice-a-day service.  Good for you if you like once a day.  For those of you who use the "hotel" as an analogy, cruising is not the same as a hotel.  Last time we stayed in a hotel, we checked in at 4pm and departed at 8am the next morning.  

 

I'm guess the "Tip Tip Hoooray" envelopes will remain empty?

[Wineaux007]

7 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Same here. Last yr on 9 Cruises might have had Cabin cleaned 5 times twice a day at most. I get up at 6, run 3 miles, shower, eat Breakfast and by time Attendant would be cleaning I'm back sitting on my Balcony Reading or online in the Cabin talking to Grand Daughters. Been making own bed on Cruises last 5+ yrs anyway

To each his own.  You may be the exception rather than the rule, I suppose?  Good for you, but I hope the cruise line doesn't push your personal preferences on others. 

[Cruise5life]

7 hours ago, molly361 said:

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

I’m with you.  I travel solo and don’t need to be waited on by my steward.    I only ask for things as I need them.     
never get my room made up by them.  As im up early and like to make my own bed.   I hang my towels so the dry.   And mid cruise I’ll ask for new clean towels.   I don’t need a new towel every day and rotation is key Lolol. 
 

my big ask is for ice daily. And that’s it.  
man’s I put that ice in the cooler so it lasts all day so I don’t need it 2x a day.    
man’s I use a Yeti so I’ll refill my yeti with ice every time I’m near a dispenser in the buffet.    
 

[OCSC Mike]

44 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

Last time we stayed in a hotel, we checked in at 4pm and departed at 8am the next morning. 

Poor comparison. If you were using a hotel for a 7-night vacation (like many people do) you would be there for nearly a week, like on a 7-night cruise. That was the analogy.

[neverbeenhere]

I said this before when this issue first came up. I told the wife that I like it twice a day, she said once a day is plenty. 

[JamesEM]

The cabin cleaning reduction is just a part of the lessening of the cruise experience, which I don't like.

[Billy Baltic]

11 hours ago, sowhat said:

On Explorer of the the Seas  in May this year, we used the app to request  ice and additional  towels 4 tines, not delivered.
Asked for  morning  cabin cleaning,  not done just a quick  wipe  over  in the afternoon. Not vacuumed  all week,  same marks  on work surfaces  and mirrors.
Bathroom  cleaned but not cleaned  to a good standard.
Only spoke  to  cabin steward  only once on the second day. He informed  us that Explorer  did have 74 cabin stewards cleaning 16 cabin twice a day, now only 54 cabin steward cleaning 25 cabins once  a day.
Therefore  doing less work as the tips have increased.

Why would anyone tip for such an abysmal experience? Rather than tip, I’d be speaking to their supervisor. RC may have switched to once per day but that service should be performed to a correct standard. 

[Pandamonia]

The reason why you need your cabin made up twice is because a cabin is TINY!

 

Any mess or chaos in your cabin is 100x worse than a larger hotel room and can quickly make living in that cabin a miserable experience. Even with a balcony i really hate spending time in the cabin and im only in there when i need to be. Its even worse if you have to get ready to go out and then come back to a mess created by getting ready. 

 

Now imagine having a kid or 2 in that same balcony cabin and not having it cleaned and tidied from 11am onwards. 

 

This does NOT make for an enjoyable experience. 

 

Always having the cabin tidy and clean when you needed it was THE way they made living in those shoe boxes tolerable.