Issue with stewards leaving cabins open during cleaning

[FritzG]

I've been troubled by seeing cabins propped open while the steward is cleaning, and lately there seem to be more reports of passengers having items stolen. Maybe Princess ought to change the procedures for cabin cleaning. I know it's much easier and quicker to get the job done with the door open, but it makes it too easy for dishonest people.

[CI66774]

I hear you but I think it's a matter of speed. The cleaning cart is in the hallway and it's easier (and faster) for them to leave the door open and go back and forth while cleaning. This happens all the time at hotels, too. I don't think those carts could even fit through the cabin doors.

 

I'm not sure if there is a solution but I always lock everything up before I leave the cabin and never have had anything stolen in many, many cruises and hotel stays.

[more cruises]

Stewards are under a huge time crunch and it's quickest to clean many rooms at once.

 

My issue is with people who leave valuables out, tempting anyone passing by and putting the stewards job at risk

[Aquahound]

That's standard across all the cruise lines and frankly, I'd prefer the attendant leave my door open while he's inside cleaning.

 

I know I would not be comfortable if my wife had to return to the room to get something, causing her to be inside that locked door with the room attendant. A recent HAL event comes to mind.

[san diego sue]

I am thinking that having the cabin opened is to protect the Room Steward from being accused of stealing. A closed cabin door would give more opportunity for theft. I always feel very comfortable with our room Stewards. They value their employment.

[chengkp75]

This is not just something on Princess, it is industry wide standard, so I don't see it changing anytime soon. A lot of it has to do with USPH requirements on worker sanitation when doing various jobs in the cabins. This requires that various jobs be done in a specific order to prevent cross contamination, or glove changes between tasks, so it is more expedient for the steward to do the same task in several cabins, and then the next task in several cabins, etc.

 

What it may drive is to have surveillance cameras installed in the passageways. One camera at each end of the passageway can amazingly provide a good facial recognition (to link to passenger or crew databank) to determine who entered a room while the door is open. I've seen it and used it in the past.

[CI66774]

I am thinking that having the cabin opened is to protect the Room Steward from being accused of stealing. A closed cabin door would give more opportunity for theft. I always feel very comfortable with our room Stewards. They value their employment.

 

I never thought of it that way. I agree - an open door lessens any accusations of theft or improper conduct on the steward's part. I also agree that I've felt comfortable with all of the stewards. The vast majority have way too much at stake to steal a lousy iPad, etc.

[custompcsys]

Stewards are under a huge time crunch and it's quickest to clean many rooms at once.

 

My issue is with people who leave valuables out, tempting anyone passing by and putting the stewards job at risk

 

Exactly. There is a safe right in the room for anything you don't want to take a chance on losing. Other than that, if they really want my clothes, so be it. These guys and gals have a limited amount of time to get their job done and anything reasonable to help speed up the process is ok with me.

[seamanfs]

Exactly. There is a safe right in the room for anything you don't want to take a chance on losing. Other than that, if they really want my clothes, so be it. These guys and gals have a limited amount of time to get their job done and anything reasonable to help speed up the process is ok with me.

 

Agree. Just lock up valuables and that's all you can do!

[srlafleur]

I just returned from a cruise 2 days ago. While it was on Royal Caribbean rather than Princess, I only ever saw rooms that were actively in the process of being cleaned propped open. The stewards are in and out so quickly that someone would have to be pretty darned fast to see and grab something from the room.

Anything that you are worried about having taken should be, at the very least, put away out of sight. It's really only common sense, anyway.

Edited May 28, 2014 by srlafleur

[Loonbeam]

To my knowledge they are not supposed to do that unless they are present in the cabin or working right outside the door. It may just be an issue of reinforcing training if it is happening a lot.

 

I've been troubled by seeing cabins propped open while the steward is cleaning, and lately there seem to be more reports of passengers having items stolen. Maybe Princess ought to change the procedures for cabin cleaning. I know it's much easier and quicker to get the job done with the door open, but it makes it too easy for dishonest people.

[flamomo]

It's a common practice, and, this is JMO, I think stewards are probably instructed to keep the door open while they are working in the cabin to prevent people suspecting them of doing something they should not be doing, such as snooping thru passenger's belongings.

 

I do think that if they leave the cabin for any reason, such as going to get a cleaning supply, during the time they are working on a cabin, the door should be allowed to close and lock. They may only be away for a few moments, but that could be just long enough for a thief to pop in and grab something.

 

But, I also think passengers need to be proactive about their belongings and put certain things, like electronics, out of sight .... in drawers or on a closet shelf, or in the cabin safe if it's something like "good jewelry" or cash.

[chengkp75]

Leaving the door open is not really a factor when theft is involved. The first person who will be questioned and have their cabin searched when a belonging is reported missing will be the cabin steward assigned, whether the door was left open during cleaning or not.

[Kamloops50]

I've been troubled by seeing cabins propped open while the steward is cleaning, and lately there seem to be more reports of passengers having items stolen. Maybe Princess ought to change the procedures for cabin cleaning. I know it's much easier and quicker to get the job done with the door open, but it makes it too easy for dishonest people.

 

Part of the problem is that because of thief from the passengers cabin's . Cruise lines now that cabin doors be left open so that anyone walking by can see what is going on. Security and managers are constantly walking the halls to check on the stewards.

Hotel staff are also required to leave doors open when doing rooms.

[AmberCascades]

I worked part-time as a chambermaid during high school (and if that doesn't make you seriously consider continuing in school......:)).

 

We always had to keep the door open while we were cleaning. We were also not supposed to leave the room unattended (i.e. if we had to run to the supply room). We weren't even allowed to use the bathroom for a quick wee. We had to wait till our breaks and use the staff bathroom.

 

Supervisors came by to do random spot checks and woe betide anyone who couldn't be found or who ended up being found in a room with a door closed. As someone mentioned, guests don't want to happen upon a stranger in their room.

[lady_cruiser]

This happens across different cruise lines. On a previous Royal Caribbean cruise I went back to my cabin to retrieve my E-Reader only to find that my cabin door was open, no cabin attendant in sight (he went to the supply cabinet to get something) and a couple (strangers) walking around our cabin and balcony. When I questioned them they told me they just wanted to see what a Jr. Suite looked like and gave me an attitude when I asked them to leave.

 

Later on I politely ask the cabin attendant that if he needed to leave to please close my door and then I told him why. He apologized and as far as I know he never let it happen again.

[Redwood10D]

I've been troubled by seeing cabins propped open while the steward is cleaning, and lately there seem to be more reports of passengers having items stolen. Maybe Princess ought to change the procedures for cabin cleaning. I know it's much easier and quicker to get the job done with the door open, but it makes it too easy for dishonest people.

 

I see the need to keep the door to the cabin being cleaned propped open. But on a recent Crown Princess cruise (and others I recall), there was more than one cabin in the same area propped open at a time. I know I have seen two and maybe three open at a time while the attendant was only in one of them. Just one cart in the passage-way, so one attendant. This is where I think theft might happen. I don't see the great need for this practice. One at a time? Sure. Beyond that it would encourage a weak link to pilfer.

 

Redwood

[Pia1913]

This happens across different cruise lines. On a previous Royal Caribbean cruise I went back to my cabin to retrieve my E-Reader only to find that my cabin door was open, no cabin attendant in sight (he went to the supply cabinet to get something) and a couple (strangers) walking around our cabin and balcony. When I questioned them they told me they just wanted to see what a Jr. Suite looked like and gave me an attitude when I asked them to leave.

 

Later on I politely ask the cabin attendant that if he needed to leave to please close my door and then I told him why. He apologized and as far as I know he never let it happen again.

 

If I found strangers in my cabin, I would have called security STAT! Attitude, my ***!!!

[Colo Cruiser]

Stewart is not supposed to leave the door open and the room unattended.

[Mom33]

Everything a steward needs should be on the cart outside your cabin door while he or she is inside the room . The steward should keep the door open, but if he or she needs to leave the room to go anywhere, the door should be shut!

 

We leave valuables in the safe, but I don't want anyone other then those I invite, in our cabin.

[RNGALNG]

Stewart is not supposed to leave the door open and the room unattended.

 

Yes, i am sure that is the rule, but when we get up and out to go to breakfast we will always say good morning to our steward - just saying hello in the doorway that is open. Many times there is no one inside as we call in. This does worry me. I would hope that they close the door to my room when they are not inside!

[Shogun]

Hi All

With some folks carrying a number of high value items room safes are just not big enough.

Passengers can always request items be placed in the ships safe.

However locking things in your suite case under your bed works well.

Have left items out only to find room steward has placed them in drawers for me.

 

One thing l was told was not to leave a line of chargers on display as this provides any thief scoping out cabins that yours may be worth a visit.

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Potstech]

The theft problem could be lowered if cruise lines provided bigger safes or lockable storage for cabins. Current safe place to leave valuables is entirely too small for modern travelers.

[FritzG]

Yes, i am sure that is the rule, but when we get up and out to go to breakfast we will always say good morning to our steward - just saying hello in the doorway that is open. Many times there is no one inside as we call in. This does worry me. I would hope that they close the door to my room when they are not inside!

 

I understand that the rule is for the steward's protection. However, like the poster above, there have many times when we called into a cabin to say good morning or evening to our steward, and no one is there or if the water is running he can't hear us. Those are the times that someone could easily sneak in and steal something. We use the safe for all valuables; it's the first thing we do when we board, and we're careful to be sure everything is locked up before we leave the cabin. There have been a couple of posts about thefts in the last couple of weeks so I just wondered if there was something more that could be done. I'm not just concerned about my valuables, I don't want any unauthorized people in my cabin.

Edited May 28, 2014 by FritzG

[CruisinMinnie]

I understand that the rule is for the steward's protection. However, like the poster above, there have many times when we called into a cabin to say good morning or evening to our steward, and no one is there or if the water is running he can't hear us. Those are the times that someone could easily sneak in and steal something. We use the safe for all valuables; it's the first thing we do when we board, and we're careful to be sure everything is locked up before we leave the cabin. There have been a couple of posts about thefts in the last couple of weeks so I just wondered if there was something more that could be done. I'm not just concerned about my valuables, I don't want any unauthorized people in my cabin.

 

I'm with you, the idea of unauthorized people, passengers included, in my cabin when I'm not there is unacceptable. I have seen other passengers go into a cabin, not their cabin, to speak with the steward who is in there cleaning. I'm not sure why anyone would think it is fine to do that.