Stewards Entering Rooms While Occupied

[goofytoo]

Hi I posted this section on my Ecstasy review. I thought I would post a portion of it here just to warn other people who are not interested in the Ecstasy review.

 

Steward – This is where my complaining begins. So if you don't like to read complaints you should know that the room was clean and comfortable and skip on to the next section.

When we got on the ship at 10:30 a.m. our rooms were ready and we met our room steward right away. I was still tired from my drive down and subsequent day at Disney World so after we ate lunch and explored the ship my daughter and I decided to take a nap before muster drill. I was awoken from my sleep to find someone standing in my doorway yelling something about a safety drill. Our steward had opened my door and was telling me that I should go to the drill. I know that the stewards are required to check the rooms for people trying to hide from the drill so, I apologized and quickly went to my daughter's room and found out that she had been woken up the same way. While I was trying to hurry her along I noticed that people were still walking in the halls with dinks in their hands and did not seem to be in any hurry to get to the drill. We checked our watches and the drill did not start for another 40 minutes. We were pretty upset that he had come into our rooms especially since we could have slept another 45 minutes.

The next day we were not scheduled to dock in Key West until noon. I woke up at 8:30 a.m. because someone had been pounding on my door. I asked who was there and it was the steward saying he wanted to clean my room. I told him I was not ready. He then moved on and I could hear him knocking on all of the doors down the hall. I was a bit upset because I wanted to sleep in and could not believe he was knocking. I went to get my daughter and she told me that he had actually came into her room to wake her up and tell her he wanted to clean her room. I was quite upset about this. After I settled down, I told her that it could have been a mistake since we did not put our Snoozin sign on the door the night before. That night I put the Snoozin sign on my door and locked the deadbolt.

The next morning was a sea day. At 8:30 in the morning I woke up because my phone was ringing. As soon as I answered the phone the caller hung up. I knew it was our steward because I could hear the phone ring in other rooms as I walked to my daughter's room. Now I was really angry. I had come on the cruise to relax. It was a sea day, no one was going anywhere. My daughter was so upset that she said she was going to leave her Snoozin sign on the door when we were gone because she did not want him in her room. When we went back to our rooms later in the day her Snoozin sign had been turned to "Cruisin" and her room was clean. Now she was really mad and wanted to complain to guest services. I told her, that there was a slight possibility that someone else may have turned the sign around as a joke. Later on that night we ran into our steward and he saw us and started laughing. He asked us if we were enjoying our 24 hours of sleep on our cruise. I told him that we are usually up until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and then sleep in the next day, while we are on vacation. He said that he knows there are children on the ship and sometimes they change the "Cruisin" sign to "Snoozin" so he calls his rooms to see if people are in there. If they are not in there then he goes in and cleans the room. The next two days were port days and my daughter and I were awake before 8:30 so we did not have any issues.

The last night of the cruise we ran into our steward and I told him that we had early debarkation and we would be out of the room by 7:15 a.m.. He kept asking us if we would leave at 8:30? (why does that time sound so familiar?) I told him, no that we would be gone at 7:00. At 6:45 a.m. my daughter and I were finishing the packing in my room. We heard some noise and turned around to see our steward walk in the room. He did not even knock first. He saw us apologized and left.

Moral of the story ? – Keep your deadbolt on at all times you are in the room and take your phone off of the hook if you want to sleep in.

[Colorado Kat]

That sounds really strange. I'm sorry he acted that way. I think I would have spoken to Guest Services about him.

[Jeafl]

A couple of years ago my husband and I were on the Freedom. I was changing out of my swimsuit when we heard a quick knock on the door. Before we could even answer, the cabin steward used his key and came in. Fortunately I had a towel nearby that I could use to cover myself up. It was unsettling to say the least.

[okgirl]

I would have told him after he woke me up the 1st morning that you are a late sleeper and to not disturb you in any way until your cruising sign was displayed.

 

And I would have reported him to GS and the Hotel Director if he continued to disturb you.

[bibbysnow]

We had a room steward a few years ago that would just do two quick knocks and open the door. I don't like it at all.

[OCruisers]

Not our cabin steward ... but Security.

 

On Carnival Fascination we were sitting on our balcony having a drink while awaiting the signal to go to Muster Drill. Security enters and bangs on our balcony door that it's time to leave for muster.

DH told them we were ready but waiting for the signal as we had been instructed to do to allow for an orderly process and to NOT leave for our muster stations early.

Security told harshly us we needed to leave now so, of course, we did.

It was another 20 minutes before the signal to go to muster was sounded. We were there over 30 minutes before it actually began. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

[vols_159]

moral of the story if you are in your room use the dead bolt.. Theres not alot of time in between the first knock and the door opening .. I think they should knock at least 2x than when they open the door it should be slowly saying "is there anybody in here"

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Yea we are late sleepers. That would bother me big time. I would complain.

[RuthlessBoss]

I didn't have a steward walk into my cabin while on Ecstasy, he knocked each time. But, the knock wasn't loud, I think it was a tap with a key or card as it was barely audible. If I heard it, I'd yell out "just a minute". One time, it was to tidy up the cabin.

I can't even imagine doing that job trying to second guess if anyone was in the cabin. I know dead bolting should be done, but it wasn't at the top of my list to do except when showering.

[goofytoo]

I didn't have a steward walk into my cabin while on Ecstasy, he knocked each time. But, the knock wasn't loud, I think it was a tap with a key or card as it was barely audible. If I heard it, I'd yell out "just a minute". One time, it was to tidy up the cabin.

I can't even imagine doing that job trying to second guess if anyone was in the cabin. I know dead bolting should be done, but it wasn't at the top of my list to do except when showering.

 

Although I agree with you in principle, I have been on at least 15 cruises and never ran into a steward who could not determine when the rooms were empty. I actually gave him the benefit of the doubt until he called me when my "Snoozin" card was on the door and the door was dead-bolted.

 

If he wasn't sure the rooms were empty he should have cleaned the rooms he knew were empty first, before knocking on every door. He woke a lot of people up that first morning. He systematically knocked on every door. The second morning he called every room. Apparently it was his belief that everybody should be awake at 8:30 a.m.

[golfadj]

I would have told him after he woke me up the 1st morning that you are a late sleeper and to not disturb you in any way until your cruising sign was displayed.

 

And I would have reported him to GS and the Hotel Director if he continued to disturb you.

 

agreed

[golfadj]

Not our cabin steward ... but Security.

 

On Carnival Fascination we were sitting on our balcony having a drink while awaiting the signal to go to Muster Drill. Security enters and bangs on our balcony door that it's time to leave for muster.

DH told them we were ready but waiting for the signal as we had been instructed to do to allow for an orderly process and to NOT leave for our muster stations early.

Security told harshly us we needed to leave now so, of course, we did.

It was another 20 minutes before the signal to go to muster was sounded. We were there over 30 minutes before it actually began. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

 

Very strange for security to be doing this. 25 or so cruises and we have learned not to be the first there but nobody has ever asked us to leave for briefing so early.

[Aplmac]

He woke a lot of people up that first morning. He systematically knocked on every door.

The second morning he called every room.

Apparently it was his belief that everybody should be awake at 8:30 a.m.

Hate to break it to ya, buddy, but.. most people are up and around by 8!

 

By 8:30 there are hundreds of us lined up to disembark the ship to go ashore and explore.

 

I'm assuming you hit the cabin to crash sometime well after midnight?

 

.

[asalligo]

I always sleep in past 8:30. I like to stay up late and sleep late. I would not get too upset the first day this happened, but I would make it clear to him immediately that I am a late sleeper and I do not want to be disturbed.

 

I also always bolt my door though. I stay in hotel rooms often and unless you want to step out of the bathroom and be face to face with the cleaning staff, it is a habit you need to get into.

[elliair]

Bring a door stop with you, no one can enter with it shoved under the door. I read where the steward can override the dead bolt to get into your room. I can see that for safety reasons. The very first day that we board, we tell the steward not to make up our room in the evenings. At least we know we're not going to be bothered when we have wine on our balcony.

[OCruisers]

Very strange for security to be doing this. 25 or so cruises and we have learned not to be the first there but nobody has ever asked us to leave for briefing so early.

 

It was a first for us too on Carnival or any other cruises lines and we've been on over 80 cruises. That's why we were somewhat shocked.

 

Security on that ship was sort of strange. They woke us up at about 3 AM to question us about an older woman falling in the shower and badly cutting her head in the cabin next to us the morning before. Had we heard them arguing?

Surely, they could have waited until the morning to question us. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

~~~~

[goofytoo]

Hate to break it to ya, buddy, but.. most people are up and around by 8!

 

By 8:30 there are hundreds of us lined up to disembark the ship to go ashore and explore.

 

I'm assuming you hit the cabin to crash sometime well after midnight?

 

.

 

This particular time the first day we were not scheduled to be in port until 12:00 p.m. The second day was a sea day. No one was going anywhere at 8:30 a.m. either day. This particular cruise we actually did not dock in Key West until 2:00 p.m. Strong currents.

 

Yes if it was an early port day most people would be awake, including myself and yes I was up until well after mid-night.

[Phlybice]

Hi I posted this section on my Ecstasy review. I thought I would post a portion of it here just to warn other people who are not interested in the Ecstasy review.

 

Steward – This is where my complaining begins. So if you don't like to read complaints you should know that the room was clean and comfortable and skip on to the next section.

When we got on the ship at 10:30 a.m. our rooms were ready and we met our room steward right away. I was still tired from my drive down and subsequent day at Disney World so after we ate lunch and explored the ship my daughter and I decided to take a nap before muster drill. I was awoken from my sleep to find someone standing in my doorway yelling something about a safety drill. Our steward had opened my door and was telling me that I should go to the drill. I know that the stewards are required to check the rooms for people trying to hide from the drill so, I apologized and quickly went to my daughter's room and found out that she had been woken up the same way. While I was trying to hurry her along I noticed that people were still walking in the halls with dinks in their hands and did not seem to be in any hurry to get to the drill. We checked our watches and the drill did not start for another 40 minutes. We were pretty upset that he had come into our rooms especially since we could have slept another 45 minutes.

The next day we were not scheduled to dock in Key West until noon. I woke up at 8:30 a.m. because someone had been pounding on my door. I asked who was there and it was the steward saying he wanted to clean my room. I told him I was not ready. He then moved on and I could hear him knocking on all of the doors down the hall. I was a bit upset because I wanted to sleep in and could not believe he was knocking. I went to get my daughter and she told me that he had actually came into her room to wake her up and tell her he wanted to clean her room. I was quite upset about this. After I settled down, I told her that it could have been a mistake since we did not put our Snoozin sign on the door the night before. That night I put the Snoozin sign on my door and locked the deadbolt.

The next morning was a sea day. At 8:30 in the morning I woke up because my phone was ringing. As soon as I answered the phone the caller hung up. I knew it was our steward because I could hear the phone ring in other rooms as I walked to my daughter's room. Now I was really angry. I had come on the cruise to relax. It was a sea day, no one was going anywhere. My daughter was so upset that she said she was going to leave her Snoozin sign on the door when we were gone because she did not want him in her room. When we went back to our rooms later in the day her Snoozin sign had been turned to "Cruisin" and her room was clean. Now she was really mad and wanted to complain to guest services. I told her, that there was a slight possibility that someone else may have turned the sign around as a joke. Later on that night we ran into our steward and he saw us and started laughing. He asked us if we were enjoying our 24 hours of sleep on our cruise. I told him that we are usually up until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and then sleep in the next day, while we are on vacation. He said that he knows there are children on the ship and sometimes they change the "Cruisin" sign to "Snoozin" so he calls his rooms to see if people are in there. If they are not in there then he goes in and cleans the room. The next two days were port days and my daughter and I were awake before 8:30 so we did not have any issues.

The last night of the cruise we ran into our steward and I told him that we had early debarkation and we would be out of the room by 7:15 a.m.. He kept asking us if we would leave at 8:30? (why does that time sound so familiar?) I told him, no that we would be gone at 7:00. At 6:45 a.m. my daughter and I were finishing the packing in my room. We heard some noise and turned around to see our steward walk in the room. He did not even knock first. He saw us apologized and left.

Moral of the story ? – Keep your deadbolt on at all times you are in the room and take your phone off of the hook if you want to sleep in.

 

I would have rewarded that service with a zero tip.

[RumpyPumpy101]

Learn to use the Do Not Disturb sign and deadbolt.

[MsTabbyKats]

I am, not by choice, an earlier riser...even on vacation. But, occasionally I'll sleep a little late. However, it doesn't mean that "I'm up and about".

 

I would be very upset about this...and I'd speak to the steward. If it continued...I'd probably remove the tip.

[goofytoo]

Learn to use the Do Not Disturb sign and deadbolt.

 

I did that and was rewarded with a phone call.

[golfadj]

They do have a habit of knocking softly and not giving much time before they enter.

 

We almost got very embarrased on our last cruise. At least DW would have been, I would have thought it was kind of funny.

[Out to sea!]

We checked our watches and the drill did not start for another 40 minutes. We were pretty upset that he had come into our rooms especially since we could have slept another 45 minutes.

 

This is the part I love. I guess it's okay to keep other people waiting because a mandatory event that begins in 40 minutes gives you the time to sleep 45 minutes, not including travel time from you cabin to your muster station. :rolleyes:

[goofytoo]

This is the part I love. I guess it's okay to keep other people waiting because a mandatory event that begins in 40 minutes gives you the time to sleep 45 minutes, not including travel time from you cabin to your muster station. :rolleyes:

 

I did not say he woke us up 40 minutes prior to the muster drill. It took me awhile to figure out that we were not late. He actually woke me up 50 minutes early. Yes I can make it to a muster station in 5 minutes.:D

[Cushing985]

Hate to break it to ya, buddy, but.. most people are up and around by 8!

 

By 8:30 there are hundreds of us lined up to disembark the ship to go ashore and explore.

 

I'm assuming you hit the cabin to crash sometime well after midnight?

 

.

 

Good GAWD...if she wants to sleep in she can sleep in. Are you paying for her cruise?