Mini-Cutback-Ice in Room

[disfan]

Just off the Monarch, yesterday and the daily bucket of ice is no longer a given, There was a card in the room that indicated that a special request had to be made, for ice.

 

The room steward said that this was a new requirement.

 

Not a big deal but FYI.

[PeterPan]

Seems to vary from ship to ship. We just returned from 10 days on the Navigator and got ice twice each day.

[cruisegirl1]

I don’t consider it a “cut back” but rather a good way to conserve resources. Many restaurants will only serve water “upon request.” I’ve never consider that a cutback.

 

M

[negc]

Since we received twice daily deliveries of ice in our stateroom just last week on Explorer of the Seas, this appears to be isolated to just one, or a few, of the ships in the fleet. Requiring passengers to request ice wouldn't seem to be a great burden, however, so if it eventually becomes a fleet wide practice I suspect we will adjust.:)

[CodyC815]

Could be a test in a change of policy or maybe special circumstances, like an ice machine broke and they had to conserve what they had. Whenever I see a policy change that's reported on here I usually attribute them to just special circumstances requiring a temporary change, ex. girl freaking out about no more washcloths

[Emeripsni]

We experienced something similar a few months back. There was an increased health concern so ice was not being left in the rooms.

[Camlott]

Could be a test in a change of policy or maybe special circumstances, like an ice machine broke and they had to conserve what they had. Whenever I see a policy change that's reported on here I usually attribute them to just special circumstances requiring a temporary change, ex. girl freaking out about no more washcloths

 

 

BINGO!!!!!!!!

 

There are various reasons for all types of expected things on a cruise being changed. Most of the time, these aren't fleetwide changes or permanent changes.

 

Ice Maker's and other mechanical items break all the time. If they have to order parts to fix something, it could easily affect several cruises before the situation is fixed.

 

While there have been and will continue to be plenty of cutbacks, not every change we notice is necessarily one of them (Ex. wash cloths, towel animals, ice, splenda, lounge chairs on balconies, cloth napkins in MDR etc.).

[time4u2go]

Ice - soon to be an extra charge! :D;)

[Camlott]

Ice - soon to be an extra charge! :D;)

 

That must have been what the unexpected charge was for after we got home last time!

[Cruising89143]

I don't see it as a cut back. There are those that don't use the ice so why take the time to fill the buckets? Sounds like it's simple to get ice if you so desire.

[endymion6942]

One of the first things I do when I first meet my cabin steward is to slip him/her a few dollars as an advance tip. One thing I impress is that I want plenty of ice in the cabin.

To date I have had no problem. I will find out on my 12 nighter next month.

[kyriecat]

I like having ice twice a day and drink the water from the melted ice. I first heard about the "ice cut-backs" on my May 2008 Legend of the Seas cruise. The cabin steward then said she would not leave ice unless I left her a note each time specifying that I wanted ice. I asked if she could just leave ice twice a day as normal but she wouldn't budge from the "must leave a note" concept. I'm not used to having to leave a note so when I forgot, we didn't get any ice.

 

When I sailed on Serenade of the Seas in January 2010, the cabin steward asked if we wanted ice. I let her know that we did and she mostly remembered and didn't ask me to leave her a note.

 

I was pleasantly surprised on my April cruise that was not with RC. Our cabin steward noticed that the ice bucket was completely empty each time. He actually asked if we would like TWO buckets of ice. Of course I would. :D

[Camlott]

The cabin steward then said she would not leave ice unless I left her a note each time specifying that I wanted ice. I asked if she could just leave ice twice a day as normal but she wouldn't budge from the "must leave a note" concept. I'm not used to having to leave a note so when I forgot, we didn't get any ice.

 

I am not one to advocate not tipping... but I think I would have politely informed this cabin steward that her tip depended on receiving ice. I suspect no further notes would have been required in order to receive the ice.

 

Were you required to leave her a note that you wanted towels, toilet paper, sheets on the bed, room vacuumed?

 

I can understand a cabin steward wanting a reminder if you are asking for something that is not typically done, but not ice or any of the above mentioned things!

[saraet4464]

I was on the Oasis last week and we had ice everyday in our cabin. It was a never a problem.

[Buccaneergirl]

Just got off Navigator yesterday and when we first got to our cabin there was no ice bucket and a note that said if you wanted ice, just ask your cabin steward, which I did when I met him. He delivered ice that night and kept it full the entire cruise. No big deal. Maybe some people never use the ice in their room and don't care if they have it?

[Puffinater]

Sounds like a good move. Ask if you want it and go from there. I am sure it will save some time for the cabin cleaner uppers.

[kyriecat]

Camlott,

 

I would have reduced her tip if I could have. I had stupidly prepaid my tips even though we didn't have MTD expecting the usual quality of service. The steward's tip DIDN'T depend on her performance, and it showed. BTW, there were several times that she forgot to leave towels or empty the trash. That was the only time I have ever been upset enough about the service to complain. I was told that the prepaid tip amount was non-refundable even if service is poor. I left a comment about the service on the card at the end of the cruise and got a phone call from RC HQ. They were apologetic that I was unhappy with the service but had no plans to change their policy about pre-paid tips. I had fixed seating and didn't prepay my tips for my RC cruise last year.

[publicpersona]

I'm not sure this is radically new. I've had many a room attendant say, "If you want me to leave ice, just ask now."