No More Washcloths on Navigator

[Jridou]

There are a couple other things we found not up to par since you asked. You may or may not care about them.

 

Bingo- The activity staff is very short handed. There were 3 people running Bingo. Only one person was ringing up the bingo card sales. The lines were very long. The Games always started 20 to 30 minutes later then the advertised time because of this.

 

Darren was becoming visibly frustrated. and kept apologizing for the late starts. He even said at one game after starting it late that he was very short staffed and that if you are interested in a job on a cruise ship come talk to him. He was serious about it to even though most probably took it as a joke.

 

 

And EVERYTHING was short staffed. One day there was ONE person working the climbing wall. Lunch in the MDR the first sea day took two hours; every time we asked for something the waiter would yell "We are under siege!"

 

Our theory was that RCL had moved staff over to the Allure.

 

PS: My daughter & I always had washclothes in our cabin, but my husband & sons did not (nor did it occur to them to ask LOL)

[curley23]

I guess I have no common sense! I have never had a washcloth "jump" into the toilet. I don't see how it could happen, but you with all the common sense can tell me. When you flush the toilet, do you open the lid again? What you are saying makes no sense to me, but again, I must have no common sense or are you the one without it?

 

At home I use a washcloth to wash my cleanser off my face and also to wash my private parts. I also use a pouf for the rest of my body. To the posters who want to remove the hand towels, I again disagree. We use handtowels that are kept near the sink for washing hands after using the toilet. Don't you?

 

Bath towels are used for drying off and for hair drying on my part. We don't reuse towels at home, nor do we plan to change the way we use towels on a cruise.

 

I do believe this is a cost cutting measure on the part of RCCL. But then again, if I had common sense, I might see it differently.

 

What kind of sense do you have?? Seems that you do not know the difference between Fall into and Jump into.

 

One could care less what you use your washcloth for. If I did not have one I would use a towel if I really thought it mattered.

 

You must love doing loads of laundry at home and wasting all the water you can on needless washing of towels. We try and conserve our water here in FL.

 

Since RC will give you washcloths if you ask, then how is it cost cutting??

 

Just because they might want to either cut down on possible losses, or even theft , or keep them out of the toilets and plumbing, this is a bad thing?? Lets call it cost saving.

Maybe you should ask Adam in his blog as to why they are doing what they are doing, then no one here will have to do the usual speculation and guessing game.

[crookedhalo]

Seems to me like that already happened; it was the thinnest, scratchiest toilet paper :p I was wishing I brought my own.

 

 

LOL know what you mean...next trip up is 10 nights:eek: Seriously considering taking a roll of septic system friendly TP with me for personal consumption:cool:

[link99]

And EVERYTHING was short staffed. One day there was ONE person working the climbing wall. Lunch in the MDR the first sea day took two hours; every time we asked for something the waiter would yell "We are under siege!"

 

Our theory was that RCL had moved staff over to the Allure.

 

PS: My daughter & I always had washclothes in our cabin, but my husband & sons did not (nor did it occur to them to ask LOL)

 

100% true. First night it took one hour to receive first glass of wine and appetizer. The wine was ordered at 6pm when we first sat down. A long time employee confirmed later that a lot of new people were in training. My comment card was not very good for the wait staff.

[CruiseLover15]

100% true. First night it took one hour to receive first glass of wine and appetizer. The wine was ordered at 6pm when we first sat down. A long time employee confirmed later that a lot of new people were in training. My comment card was not very good for the wait staff.

 

I am getting a little concerned since I am on the Navigator in less than 2 weeks.

[J & G]

LOL know what you mean...next trip up is 10 nights:eek: Seriously considering taking a roll of septic system friendly TP with me for personal consumption:cool:

 

I'd have to take WAY more than one roll for 10 days! Guess I could put several rolls in the extra suitcase with my pillow....and pillowcases.....and sheets......and......OK, nevermind. I don't use a washcloth anyway! :D:D

[The C]

 

You must love doing loads of laundry at home and wasting all the water you can on needless washing of towels. We try and conserve our water here in FL.

 

Since RC will give you washcloths if you ask, then how is it cost cutting??

 

Just because they might want to either cut down on possible losses, or even theft , or keep them out of the toilets and plumbing, this is a bad thing?? Lets call it cost saving.

 

I think we all try to conserve water. I'm from Cleveland and live here in Miami now, and my mindset on water conservation, along with other utilities hasn't changed.

 

Cost cutting/cost saving is rather the same in my book. At the end of the day your saving money on detergent, purchasing (replacing due to theft/damage), labor if your not doing as many due to not placing them and they aren't requested.

 

By having people request them it does definitely save. I know my hotel we dont place liquid soap, shower caps, or qtips in rooms anymore unless requested. We save money with that. People use what they see even if they dont necessarily need it.

[Moeve]

Unfortunately these washcloths are THE article that is lost the most or the article that is missused the most........ People use them to clean all sorts of things like polishing shoes etc which completely ruins them. In some cases these washcloth only complete one trip to a cabin before it has to be discarded because the stains just cannot be removed.

 

Having worked out there we had the guy from head office come by one year and ask what we did with those washcloths? He ever surmised that we were filling the "wrong" hole in the laundry (the porthole instead of the washing maschine) - he had to retract that comment when remindered there was NO pothole in the laundry :rolleyes:

[Arizona Laura]

Since I hate leaving make-up stains on those face towels (this causes the laundry trouble no end and some water resistant ones just never come out) I bring disposable wash cloths and don't have to worry. Just DO NOT FLUSH them!!!

 

I bring them as well whenever we travel.

Great especially for washing face between showering and reapplying makeup.

 

No washcloths in the cabins is just silly.

Whoever came up with that cost saving measure will probably come up with the idea next of no fresh towels every day.

I like towel animals but those are a real waste of money. How many washcloths can you launder in place of one bath towel?:confused:

 

Laura

[beachbuddy]

Same thing happened to us on the Explorer November 7th cruise. No wash cloths in the bathroom on day 1. We requested them from our stateroom attendant and received them the rest of the cruise.

 

Hahaha.....why in the world would they stop giving washclothes?? That's crazy! I use them especially on my face to get make up off. I don't think taking away washclothes is going to save them big bucks! LOL

 

Patty

[griffy116]

Puh-leeze! If you don't use washcloths, then there's no need for them to replace them every day, thus also avoiding the "jumping into the toilet incidences" mentioned here. However, to just arbitrarily decide to leave them out of the cabins, with no notice posted in cabins that you can obtain them upon request and that they will be replenished is just not a guest friendly policy. This leaves the individual cabin stewards to take the blame and appear to be less efficient. Not everyone reads these boards and is aware of a new "initiative." Since they know the demographics of the people sailing, they know whether the majority of the passengers are Euopean or not. I use the washcloths. I don't want a pouf. Having to hassle the cabin steward every day for a washcloth is an inconvenience. Having to pack my own is also an inconvenience and how does that help avoid the toilet incidences? I think it would have been common sense for some sort of note to be in the cabin if this is a new policy being tested. I cruise because I love the service. Why not just start putting less glasses out on the tables, less silverware??? We can all start bringing our own little disposable wine glasses and silverware. GEEZ..I'm sure they lose some of that and it takes lots of water to wash all the cutlery that must also sometimes "jump" into people's luggage. I miss the chocolates, but fine...no problem. I understand the new beach towel policy...no problem. I get the extra charge for soda at meals. We've all become accustomed to them and accept them. I'm a little concerned that we are now giving tips on how to pack additional items we considered standard and customary. I will ask for the washcloths. If we keep giving up so easily on something we use and finding ways to accomodate the cruise lines instead of them accomodating the passengers, they could decide to next ask if you want the sheets changed after the last guest left the room. That would conserve water, and costs, right???? This is getting ridiculous.

[kyriecat]

I usually bring a pouf for the shower to wash my body. I use one at home and prefer them to a washcloth for cleansing my body. However, I prefer a washcloth (facecloth) for removing my makeup.

 

I missed having washcloths on my first trip to Europe so I packed some cheap, thin ones to take with me on subsequent visits. I threw them away after using them. I didn't want to bring them home with me. I've used the disposable makeup remover cloths but don't care for them. I prefer my own facial soap.

 

To me it seems as wasteful to have to bring my own washcloths and dispose of them onboard as it does for RC to provide washcloths and launder them. I've never had a washcloth fall into the onboard toilet. To be honest, I have always left the lid down on the onboard toilets because they tend to "spray" a lot more than normal toilets when flushed. You have to put the lid down anyway to get to the flush button so it's easy to just leave the lid down.

 

I've stayed at a few hotels that provided the really thin washcloths with a note to please use those for makeup removal and reserve the nicer ones for body washing. If stains are the concern, RC should consider something like that before abandoning washcloths all together.

 

Is it just Navigator or has lack of washcloths started on any other ships?

[TexasR&H]

Same thing happened to us on the Explorer November 7th cruise. No wash cloths in the bathroom on day 1. We requested them from our stateroom attendant and received them the rest of the cruise.

 

We just did the November 7th sailing on the Freedom and had washcloths to spare! Sounds like it might be a test on the Navigator.

[lat1]

We just got off the Allure of the Seas 2 night pre-inaugural cruise and asked the cabin attendant about ice. He told us that due to "cost cutting measures" no ice would be left in any cabins unless requested. I guess I get it but why not put a sign by the empty ice bucket saying "on request only"??

[TenerifeSharon]

I read all the way through to the last posting on this thread to be sure this wasn't answered along the way:

 

When in Europe we have not had wash clothes in the hotels. I guess they don't use them:confused:

 

Having lived in Europe for over 30 years, I can definitely say that WASHCLOTHS are certainly used here. BUT, they are considered a very "personal" item and, other than the large U.S. chain hotels that have locations here, smaller hotels do not provide the cloths, as most people take their own with them when they travel. Hope this clears up at least one of the viewpoints on this very important topic:D.

[link99]

We just got off the Allure of the Seas 2 night pre-inaugural cruise and asked the cabin attendant about ice. He told us that due to "cost cutting measures" no ice would be left in any cabins unless requested. I guess I get it but why not put a sign by the empty ice bucket saying "on request only"??

 

Thanks for the Tip I will remember that in March

 

Having lived in Europe for over 30 years, I can definitely say that WASHCLOTHS are certainly used here. BUT, they are considered a very "personal" item and, other than the large U.S. chain hotels that have locations here, smaller hotels do not provide the cloths, as most people take their own with them when they travel. Hope this clears up at least one of the viewpoints on this very important topic.

 

You answered the question spot on. Going to Europe = bring washcloths.

[twirlgirl]

We have a group going on the Navigator in March. Just got off the phone with RCCL and rumor not true regarding wash cloths. They still should be in your cabin as usual. They wanted to know where we heard this false rumor. Bev

[Ocean Boy]

We have a group going on the Navigator in March. Just got off the phone with RCCL and rumor not true regarding wash cloths. They still should be in your cabin as usual. They wanted to know where we heard this false rumor. Bev

 

The same place we heard the "false" rumor about Johnny Rocket's having a charge instituted.

[Ocean Boy]

I read all the way through to the last posting on this thread to be sure this wasn't answered along the way:

 

 

 

Having lived in Europe for over 30 years, I can definitely say that WASHCLOTHS are certainly used here. BUT, they are considered a very "personal" item and, other than the large U.S. chain hotels that have locations here, smaller hotels do not provide the cloths, as most people take their own with them when they travel. Hope this clears up at least one of the viewpoints on this very important topic:D.

 

So, why is the cloth that you wash up with so personal and the one that you dry off with not?:confused:

[TenerifeSharon]

So, why is the cloth that you wash up with so personal and the one that you dry off with not?:confused:

 

Got me by the sneakers!!:D Can't answer that one, but I can say that that's my experience in Germany and other european countries! (Of course, we are not discussing using a wash cloth as a "face cloth" here -- we are talking about the other end:D:D.)

 

Thinking logically and picturing the situation -- what you are drying with the towel is, at that point, CLEAN!;)

[Ocean Boy]

Got me by the sneakers!!:D Can't answer that one, but I can say that that's my experience in Germany and other european countries! (Of course, we are not discussing using a wash cloth as a "face cloth" here -- we are talking about the other end:D:D.)

 

Thinking logically and picturing the situation -- what you are drying with the towel is, at that point, CLEAN!;)

 

Hopefully!:D

[windjamming]

I was on this cruise as well. Outside of the washcloths only-by-request, we noticed that we only got one set of towels per person. So, if towels were used for a towel animal, one set of towels would be missing from the bathroom. In the past they were much more lenient about extra towels.

 

It was hard to put a finger on it exactly, but there was an overall feeling of cost-cutting. While there was certainly no lack of food, at times it felt like "just enough" of certain things - like smoked salmon - were put out in the Windjammer. There were also very few activities offered, and a large majority of those which were offered seemed to be geared towards profit (unveiling of the 'fine jewelry display', spa seminars..etc.).

[silvercrikhix]

:eek: Just my opinion, but, that's ridiculous for an American based cruise ship. If they bring their own washcloths in Europe, good for them, that is not the norm in the USA (whom they are mostly serving). We, also, bring our own shower poufs, but.....What about a quick wash-up between showers? PTA's? Kids dirty faces? Wiping up melted ice off counters/desktops? We've used them under ice buckets that get water sweat on the outside to protect surfaces from water. And many other uses too! Yikes, craziness!

 

The hand towels we use after washing our hands (FREQUENTLY!) or for some of the above uses, also. Find it strange people would want them gone!

 

RCCL: Leave the bathroom towels/washcloths alone! What the hell could you be thinking? :confused: Geeeee Whizzzz..........

[kyriecat]

We just got off the Allure of the Seas 2 night pre-inaugural cruise and asked the cabin attendant about ice. He told us that due to "cost cutting measures" no ice would be left in any cabins unless requested. I guess I get it but why not put a sign by the empty ice bucket saying "on request only"??

I was told ice was only available upon request starting on Legend in May 2008. The cabin steward told me up front that she would only leave ice when asked. I told her that I wanted it twice a day like usual, but she said that wasn't good enough. I might not use the ice so it would be wasted. :rolleyes: She would only leave ice if I left a note EVERY time that I wanted it. Good thing I brought sticky notes! I had to leave her notes twice a day requesting ice, even then I didn't always get it.

 

On Serenade in Jan 2009 we didn't get any ice at first because we didn't meet our cabin steward until the third day. After I told her that we wanted ice, she brought it twice a day like normal. She didn't ask for a note each time. That cruise was the first time that I had a cabin steward who didn't introduce him/herself on the first day.

[Seraphine]

We just did the November 7th sailing on the Freedom and had washcloths to spare! Sounds like it might be a test on the Navigator.

 

We were there too - we had lots of washcloths! Kewlguy, I don't know what happened to yours?

 

I think it's just a sign of the times. I felt that a lot of things on that cruise smacked of cheapness compared to other cruises we'd been on (things like the lackluster tv service, no toiletries in the bathrooms - Carnival always gives me the most amazing ladies' razor - no turn down chocolates, food quality, stuff like that) Yet over and over, we're told that RCI is so much better. Whatever. We had a good time, but we did notice a lot of the differences.

 

This is just one of those things. Personally I would miss the washcloths (I travel with two small children), and while I go through a lot of baby wipes on a cruise, washcloths are part of my routine. I'd bring my own if there were none to be offered.