How do I make sure...

[Amerikaner83]

How do I make sure i see the stateroom steward at embarkation so I can make sure to get ice bucket always full and stuff like that? I don't want to call the number specifically for that (i know it probably sound weird) but I'd like to make sure I meet him/her face to face. And not to turn into a huge tipping debate/whatever, but how much cash would be sufficient for an extra tip at the beginning of a 7 day cruise, to make sure I get ice in the bucket all the time? We're on the Dream at the end of May.

 

Thanks

[travelntreats]

How do I make sure i see the stateroom steward at embarkation so I can make sure to get ice bucket always full and stuff like that? I don't want to call the number specifically for that (i know it probably sound weird) but I'd like to make sure I meet him/her face to face. And not to turn into a huge tipping debate/whatever, but how much cash would be sufficient for an extra tip at the beginning of a 7 day cruise, to make sure I get ice in the bucket all the time? We're on the Dream at the end of May.

 

Thanks

Your stateroom attendant will USUALLY come and meet you when you arrive or sometime during that first day.... and there is NO NEED to provide an extra gratuity to him/her for them to provide ice to you on a daily basis... it's there job ! But if you think that them doing their basic job requirements i.e. towels, cleaning, ice provided all on a daily basis warrants additional tip above the auto tips they already have coming to you... go ahead, but you may be surprised that you will get no better service by giving them extra gratuity up front. Just my 2 cents on that topic !

[Cattie]

I've always given a 20 and had them empty my fridge and ask them to make sure we always have ice. As hard as they work all week, the extra $20 out of my pocket doesn't make a huge difference. Although DH and I both work for tips so we tend to over tip.

[firefly333]

I dont know that you can make sure to see him when you get on the ship. Iv had some that I didnt see until the next day. We waited hours to get some ice for one cabin for medication.

 

I needed a extra pillow and hangers (we had 4 hangers total and one pillow on the bed when he made it up) .. and never got the pillow that first day or the hangers.

 

I think its overoptimistic to assume your cabin steward will do things the first day from my experience. Some cabin stewards are very busy that first night, and just cant get to all the requests.

[Ashpalo]

I've never tipped extra up front, or even requested that my ice bucket be filled all the time,...yet, on all of my cruises it has always been full. I always give extra at the end, based on the level of service I received (but always at least $10-20).

 

Ashley :)

[Traveler353]

Most of the time they will find you sometime after you show up in your cabin. I have never seen a reason or the felt the need to pre-bribe a Carnival employee. Ice bucket or my little cooler is always kept full of ice.

[habby]

How do I make sure i see the stateroom steward at embarkation so I can make sure to get ice bucket always full and stuff like that? I don't want to call the number specifically for that (i know it probably sound weird) but I'd like to make sure I meet him/her face to face. And not to turn into a huge tipping debate/whatever, but how much cash would be sufficient for an extra tip at the beginning of a 7 day cruise, to make sure I get ice in the bucket all the time? We're on the Dream at the end of May.

 

Thanks

 

Your stateroom attendant will USUALLY come and meet you when you arrive or sometime during that first day.... and there is NO NEED to provide an extra gratuity to him/her for them to provide ice to you on a daily basis... it's there job ! But if you think that them doing their basic job requirements i.e. towels, cleaning, ice provided all on a daily basis warrants additional tip above the auto tips they already have coming to you... go ahead, but you may be surprised that you will get no better service by giving them extra gratuity up front. Just my 2 cents on that topic !

We've always met our cabin steward shortly after arriving at our cabin. They have had a form for us to sign which lets them know what time we're scheduled for dinner and if we have any special requests. I agree with travelntreats regarding tipping. We've never given cash up front and our cabin has always been taken care of in all aspects.

[Tapi]

Keep in mind that although many times your cabin steward will be near your cabin when you first arrive, there will be times when you won't see him for a while. There are times when I've had the "mystery" cabin steward. You know he's there because you're cabin is impecably cleaned every time you return to your cabin, but I never get to meet him in person.

[jks336]

We didn't even need to ask. when we checked in, there was ice in their ice bucket. we has a small 6-pack collapsible cooler i transfered that ice into and every day and night she had it filled with ice. and it was great we got to meet her the first day and saw her throughout our cruise. never thought to ask, and at least we didnt need to have to ask. we ended up tipping her extra at the end of the cruise because she was such a nice woman and did a great job!

 

as to that sign in sheet one poster just said.. i've read this only a couple times on these forums and we never had that with our steward. maybe its just some ships? or maybe new stewards? i dont know. oh well lol..

[cruiserNC]

We have never even asked the room steward to get any ice. If you order a glass of ice from room service they will bring you this huge bucket of ice. We tip a few bucks and we have a bucket of ice on request.

[MrsZee]

From my ONE cruise I have been on, the Steward introduced himself and had us sign something saying we met him. He was also rather easy to find, right outside our room in the hallway. They will be where they are supposed to be (hopefully).

 

Funny thing: When we walked out of our room to look for him, he was in the hallway. So, we walked up to him to introduce ourselves and ask for ice. He apparently has a "welcome aboard" speech memorized because we completely threw him when we introduced ourselves first. I think he may have been new.

 

And we had ice twice a day without a bribe upfront to do so. He did get an extra tip at the end of the cruise, though.

[soccerATAmom]

The first evening our room steward introduced himself, asked about any special needs and told us his hours. He then asked me to sign a form. We always had ice in the room. He was quick and sneaky as we would barely be gone and our room would be perfect in no time. My son (he's 11) tipped him and extra $20 from his spending money - for the over abundance of towel animals that arrived in our room during the week. The last evening we came back from dinner and the bed was covered...even a towel person sticking out from under the bed.

[DocF]

More than one room steward has told me that they do not get their tips if they do not get you to sign the form on the first day. That is a pretty heavy hammer, but I know I have always met him/her/it and signed within a couple of hours of boarding. We have never had any need go unfilled.

 

Doc

[NavarreCruiser]

We almost always see the cabin steward after the muster drill. They work all morning turning over the room so they're normally on break in the afternoon. And yes we have had to sign the sheet on almost every cruise. Thanks, Lynda

[deepnite10]

we ve never miss d a cabin steward..they ll usually come by to introduce themselves and verify your dining time so they ll know when to pull down your bedding..

[conchead]

More than one room steward has told me that they do not get their tips if they do not get you to sign the form on the first day. That is a pretty heavy hammer, but I know I have always met him/her/it and signed within a couple of hours of boarding. We have never had any need go unfilled.

 

Doc

 

Then I guess the steward on our Fantasy cruise did not get his ..or her tip.

 

We may have seen this mystery steward in the hall, but never "met"

him/her..never signed anything .

On our Triumph cruise, we met him the first afternoon and signed something.