What's the current beach towel policy?

[jules815]

Haven't sailed with RC since 2009. Back then, beach towels were left for you in your cabin, and you just had to make sure the same number of towels were in your cabin on the day you got off the ship. There was a towel station poolside, and you could exchange there for a clean towel whenever.

 

Is it still the same?

[PerferWarmWeather]

Haven't sailed with RC since 2009. Back then, beach towels were left for you in your cabin, and you just had to make sure the same number of towels were in your cabin on the day you got off the ship. There was a towel station poolside, and you could exchange there for a clean towel whenever.

 

Is it still the same?

 

It was a couple of months ago.:)

[steveru621]

The current policy is to leave your towel wherever you please.

[Clarea]

Haven't sailed with RC since 2009. Back then, beach towels were left for you in your cabin, and you just had to make sure the same number of towels were in your cabin on the day you got off the ship. There was a towel station poolside, and you could exchange there for a clean towel whenever.

 

Is it still the same?

No towels in the stateroom. There is a towel station poolside, you can get as many towels as you want, turn them in for clean ones, leave them on loungers, and even leave them on the beaches. No one is checking towel count anymore.

[DannyDriscoll]

The current policy is to leave your towel wherever you please.

haha, best to leave them spread out on the loungers all day.

[UCF_Knight]

No towels in the stateroom. There is a towel station poolside, you can get as many towels as you want, turn them in for clean ones, leave them on loungers, and even leave them on the beaches. No one is checking towel count anymore.

 

...except when you leave the ship for a port of call. I just got off Vision a few days ago. In order to have ship's towels with you when disembarking the vessel at a port of call you had to check them out with your Seapass card. When returning to the ship, you had to check the towels back in. There was a notice of a $25 fee for every towel not returned which had been checked out to go ashore.

[LouisvilleDon]

UCF is right.

[Clarea]

...except when you leave the ship for a port of call. I just got off Vision a few days ago. In order to have ship's towels with you when disembarking the vessel at a port of call you had to check them out with your Seapass card. When returning to the ship, you had to check the towels back in. There was a notice of a $25 fee for every towel not returned which had been checked out to go ashore.

Interesting, have not heard of this. Are they checking inside of people's bags as they leave the ship?

[BillOh]

I think the official towel policy is now, Need one? Take 10!

 

My Jewel trip in May was my first with the new policy. They would just pile up towels and no crew member manned the station. They went quick. Apparently one crew member brought up the fresh ones in a bin and left it for another to fold. I ended up getting them from bin many times. (You can spot the clean ones :p Frequently they were still warm they were going through them so fast.)

Edited June 9, 2014 by BillOh
)

[HB Cruiser]

Need one take one, until you get off ship. When you get off and check out a towel, you must give them your sea pass card and return the towel when you return to the ship.

 

NO, they did not check bags to see if you had towels in them.

 

This was the Freedom OTS policy on the May 25th sailing. Other ships may vary.

 

Tim

[UCF_Knight]

Interesting, have not heard of this. Are they checking inside of people's bags as they leave the ship?

 

No, but by the time you actually left the ship you would have already checked out towels to take off. They wouldn't have any way to know if the towels in your bag were or weren't checked out.

 

I didn't pay much attention in Key West because we didn't need towels off the boat. In Grand Cayman, though, we needed towels for a snorkeling excursion. The towel checkout was on deck 5 in the Centrum near the stairs leading down to the tenders. The normal "grab as many as you want" towel distribution by the pool was closed that morning. The only way to get a towel anywhere on the ship that morning was to check them out with your Seapass card at that table. In addition, there were notices the day before each port stop indicating the stateroom attendants would be collecting all beach towels found in the staterooms that night before arriving at the port of call.

 

Towel check-in when getting back to the ship was at the top of the stairs on deck 2 right above the metal detectors.

Edited June 9, 2014 by UCF_Knight

[Starry Eyes]

No, but by the time you actually left the ship you would have already checked out towels to take off. They wouldn't have any way to know if the towels in your bag were or weren't checked out.

 

I didn't pay much attention in Key West because we didn't need towels off the boat. In Grand Cayman, though, we needed towels for a snorkeling excursion. The towel checkout was on deck 5 in the Centrum near the stairs leading down to the tenders. The normal "grab as many as you want" towel distribution by the pool was closed that morning. The only way to get a towel anywhere on the ship that morning was to check them out with your Seapass card at that table. In addition, there were notices the day before each port stop indicating the stateroom attendants would be collecting all beach towels found in the staterooms that night before arriving at the port of call.

 

Towel check-in when getting back to the ship was at the top of the stairs on deck 2 right above the metal detectors.

Interesting. So if I wanted to stay aboard by the pool, I'd have had to either (a) hide a towel from my stateroom attendant or (b) go to the centrum to check out a towel, then later find the towel check in station before it closed? If so, it sounds like I'd have been playing 'hide the towel.'

[UCF_Knight]

Interesting. So if I wanted to stay aboard by the pool, I'd have had to either (a) hide a towel from my stateroom attendant or (b) go to the centrum to check out a towel, then later find the towel check in station before it closed? If so, it sounds like I'd have been playing 'hide the towel.'

 

That was pretty much the way it was. The poolside towel distribution was back open by 3:30 when we got back on the ship. I don't know what time they reopened it, though. It could have been anytime between 9:30 AM (when we saw it closed before leaving the ship) and 3:30 PM.

[mkmom514]

On Navigator three weeks ago, no Seapass needed to check out towels, even when getting off in port. They had bins for dirty ones right where you got off and on so you could drop them in when you returned.

[dmndlil]

Interesting. So if I wanted to stay aboard by the pool, I'd have had to either (a) hide a towel from my stateroom attendant or (b) go to the centrum to check out a towel, then later find the towel check in station before it closed? If so, it sounds like I'd have been playing 'hide the towel.'

 

You only have to check towels out when leaving the ship at ports with them. You must then check then back in upon return or they state your seapass account will be charged. If staying on the ship you do not need to check out towels. You can leave them in your stateroom. Your room attendant will only remove the dirty ones for you if you leave them on the floor in the bathroom.

[BobbyD]

Celebrity has the no checkout policy for towels. It worked great and I am glad that Royal has followed suit!

[Clarea]

No, but by the time you actually left the ship you would have already checked out towels to take off. They wouldn't have any way to know if the towels in your bag were or weren't checked out.

 

I didn't pay much attention in Key West because we didn't need towels off the boat. In Grand Cayman, though, we needed towels for a snorkeling excursion. The towel checkout was on deck 5 in the Centrum near the stairs leading down to the tenders. The normal "grab as many as you want" towel distribution by the pool was closed that morning. The only way to get a towel anywhere on the ship that morning was to check them out with your Seapass card at that table. In addition, there were notices the day before each port stop indicating the stateroom attendants would be collecting all beach towels found in the staterooms that night before arriving at the port of call.

 

Towel check-in when getting back to the ship was at the top of the stairs on deck 2 right above the metal detectors.

Well, I figured something had to change. We were on Adventure earlier this year, and I could not believe the number of blue towels I saw left on the beach in Barbados.

[travel_nuts]

Well, I figured something had to change. We were on Adventure earlier this year, and I could not believe the number of blue towels I saw left on the beach in Barbados.

 

So, I wonder how much the rates will go up to recover the cost of lost towels caused by inconsiderate people.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

[kool_kat]

Did Allure of the Seas May 25th sailing and there was no check-out period. For port day, the normal towel distribution area was open and no check-out required. Coming back on the ship, there was a towel bin to dump your used towels right outside before you entered back on the ship, but no check-in.

[Ourusualbeach]

...except when you leave the ship for a port of call. I just got off Vision a few days ago. In order to have ship's towels with you when disembarking the vessel at a port of call you had to check them out with your Seapass card. When returning to the ship, you had to check the towels back in. There was a notice of a $25 fee for every towel not returned which had been checked out to go ashore.

 

Like all things RCI this must vary by ship as this was not the case on Liberty.

[molsonschooner]

Interesting, have not heard of this. Are they checking inside of people's bags as they leave the ship?

We got off the Nos 2 weeks ago. Did not check out or check in towels anywhere.

[UCF_Knight]

Like all things RCI this must vary by ship as this was not the case on Liberty.

 

Looks like at least Vision (my experience) and Freedom (another poster's experience) are doing this so far. Maybe they're doing it as a test on those ships, or maybe it is part of a rollout of a new policy which will go fleet wide.

[Starry Eyes]

No, but by the time you actually left the ship you would have already checked out towels to take off. They wouldn't have any way to know if the towels in your bag were or weren't checked out.

 

I didn't pay much attention in Key West because we didn't need towels off the boat. In Grand Cayman, though, we needed towels for a snorkeling excursion. The towel checkout was on deck 5 in the Centrum near the stairs leading down to the tenders. The normal "grab as many as you want" towel distribution by the pool was closed that morning. The only way to get a towel anywhere on the ship that morning was to check them out with your Seapass card at that table. In addition, there were notices the day before each port stop indicating the stateroom attendants would be collecting all beach towels found in the staterooms that night before arriving at the port of call.

 

Towel check-in when getting back to the ship was at the top of the stairs on deck 2 right above the metal detectors.

 

You only have to check towels out when leaving the ship at ports with them. You must then check then back in upon return or they state your seapass account will be charged. If staying on the ship you do not need to check out towels. You can leave them in your stateroom. Your room attendant will only remove the dirty ones for you if you leave them on the floor in the bathroom.

There seems to be variation among ships now. I'd rather not have to sign out towels, but I cannot blame the cruise line for taking action to get their towels back on the ship. If towels are left on beaches, the cruiseline not only eats the cost but also has to deal with littering complaints and environmental concerns.

[CruisinCrow]

Another issue with not having a towel policy is that people just leave their used towels on the deck chairs and you can't tell if they are coming back to the chair or if they are gone for the day.

 

I don't like having to check out towels (we even got charged once for a towel we had returned), but it does solve a lot of problems.

[Clarea]

Looks like at least Vision (my experience) and Freedom (another poster's experience) are doing this so far. Maybe they're doing it as a test on those ships, or maybe it is part of a rollout of a new policy which will go fleet wide.

Could be it's up to local ship management. I remember chatting about this policy with a hotel director a few months ago. He was concerned at how fast the towels were being lost and how they only got towels replaced by the company at specific intervals.