Just back... RANT about cabin steward & prepaid gratuities!

[QTPieRye]

Just off the 5 day Victory and I find myself still irritated about our cabin steward and his lack of attentiveness to our cabins..... luckily, we only had him for 2 of our 5 cabins. This will be the last time I prepay gratuities, as had I been able to remove them for him and his assistant I most certainly would. Maybe some of you might think I have high expectations.... but I feel I was being reasonable. I was never once greeted by the steward, even though we made eye contact several times throughout the cruise. It wasn't until I complained to guest services that words were exchanged. Here's what happened:

 

Day 1 ~ Board ship and go to cabin. Use the glass in the cabin and pour a diet Dr. Pepper I brought on board. Drank in cabin (without ice because there was not yet an ice bucket in cabin), and later poured another for which I put the can into the trash. Left a little leftover soda in glass. That night noticed that soda was still sitting in glass in vanity area, as well an empty can.

 

Day 2 ~ hubby called down because drycleaning needed to be turned in before 9am.....steward told hubby he was eating and would be up when he was finished eating and doing some other stuff. no day service given and at the end of day 2, glass was still sitting on vanity, this time with a spoon that husband put into.

 

Day 3~ mentioned to my adult son about our cabin steward and he said that they also had dirty drinking glasses in their cabin that they had stacked up. Before you start flaming.. these were not room service dishes, nor did he have a tray; thus he thought, as did I, that the steward would simply remove them. They also had 2 days worth of towels on bathroom floor. BTW... at the end of day 3, my glass remained along with the spoon and the empty can. Obviously I could have simply thrown away the can, as I did all of the others, but now I was just curious to see how long it would take him to remove or replace the dirty glass!

 

Day 4~ Glass remained all day, along with spoon and can. Son's room did not get cleaned and we were in Grand Cayman all day. No reason whatsoever it didn't get cleaned. Son and his gf brought back onto ship a dairy queen cup and cone... they did not put into trash can as they didn't want to get the ice cream all over the place, thus they put cone in cup and left on vanity with other dirty dishes.... that night still sitting there (I guess next time ice cream will go into trash can regardless of mess it will make)

 

Day 5 ~ got up for breakfast and left cabin around 8:30... came back around 1:00 pm and room was not made and glass remained, along with empty can, which by now, the syrup had hardened onto top... went to guest services to ask about policy regarding cabin glasses and took pictures with me. I was told that was unacceptable and they called the supervisor who was supposed to meet me at the room... well that never happened, but our cabin steward decided to have our first conversation asking why I complained and went to guest services.. seriously??? Not sure if that's customary....but I was very irritated that this guy who had given less than standard service all week was getting full gratuity and not said 2 words to us, then thought it was okay to ask why we went to guest services.. whatever.

 

While these things may seem insignificant..... we are not picky people and never ask for anything extra when cruising. We prepay gratuities in anticipation that they will be earned. Not this time......

 

I would like to mention that we tipped the other steward extra, as he was fabulous and took great care of those cabins. He even asked my son the last night if there was anything they needed (assumed something had been said and that he knew we were not happy). Anyhow, when I handed him the extra tip upon disembarkation.... his smile was so big! He said thank you and that this is exactly why he works so hard throughout the cruise :)

Edited January 19, 2015 by QTPieRye

[Pixelate]

You can request your prepaid gratuities be refunded to you. However, all gratuity disputes must be settled prior to disembarking the vessel. Unfortunately, it is too late for them to be refunded.

[QTPieRye]

You can request your prepaid gratuities be refunded to you. However, all gratuity disputes must be settled prior to disembarking the vessel. Unfortunately, it is too late for them to be refunded.

 

I went to guest services on Day 5 and was told since they were prepaid they could not be refunded to my S&S. If that is the case, I am going to write a letter to CCL.

[In2why]

Sorry you had this experience. You can remove tips at guest services, and I would have removed half of them and explained that I was not happy with the service to my room but still wanted to tip wait staff. If the steward had confronted me I would immediately call guest services for a supervisor and insist that person no longer be admitted in my room.

[In2why]

Unless something has drastically changed, yes you can remove part or all of prepaid tips.

[Pixelate]

I went to guest services on Day 5 and was told since they were prepaid they could not be refunded to my S&S. If that is the case, I am going to write a letter to CCL.

 

Even Royal Caribbean allows them to be refunded when they require you to prepay them at the time of booking with Anytime Dining.

[QTPieRye]

If the steward had confronted me I would immediately call guest services for a supervisor and insist that person no longer be admitted in my room.

 

We put the Snoozin sign up that night on both cabins as we did not want him back in our cabins..... not even to remove the glass!

[QTPieRye]

Unless something has drastically changed, yes you can remove part or all of prepaid tips.

 

I thought the same thing and was told differently by guest services.....who knows?!?! just sitting here it pisses me off that he got those tips that he did not deserve.

[Pixelate]

...

Edited January 19, 2015 by Pixelate

[cruizinisthebest]

You can remove tips no matter how or when you paid for them. As pissed as you are, I'm surprised you let guest services get away with that false information. Not sure what was up with the room steward. Sounds like he was a hot lazy mess.

[labsnabys]

I don't think your complaints are at all unreasonable. I guess this is one reason to not pre-pay gratuities. Unfortunately, not everyone is good at their job.

[bradboy]

I don't blame you! I'd be p'd off! Write that letter and document it all.

Good luck. If you have a TA or PVP is get them involved too

 

 

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[SunshineCruiser24]

I've found that if I leave any part of a drink in a glass the steward doesn't touch it, I guess they think you may not be done? Once there was a spoon in it, though, he should have realized you weren't drinking anymore.

[nofishforme]

I just would have put the can in the trash and the glasses and towles in the hallway and been done with it

[tphitman]

The stewards never touch any food or drink items left in your room. If you want them gone, set them in the hallway. I learned this after they left the chocolate covered strawberries sitting on the desk until they turned furry...

 

 

 

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[CruisingwithAutism]

This sounds similar to when you have a large group at a restaurant and they automatically tack on gratuity. Not all do it, but some will slack knowing they have their tip in the bag.Very frustrating. Who knows if your steward was just having a bad week (maybe they missed some major family event at home or they could have received upsetting news) or if this is their usual work ethic. I will go out of my way to talk to and introduce myself and let them know if our cabin needs attention. More often than not, nice gets nice!:rolleyes:

[Cruisin'Doc]

Although frustrating, the steward was doing his job as he was trained to do.

 

Stewards, in most cases, will NOT touch any food/drink item. If you have even a miniscule amount of liquid left, and it is obviously no longer good (ie. a frozen cocktail, for example), they will NOT touch it or remove the glass. Otherwise, had you NOT been finished - they would get into trouble and have to pay to buy you another drink. If you empty the glass in the sink, they will remove it.

 

Likewise, they will not remove any cans/bottles (or almost anything else) unless they are in the trash. Some people might refill a bottle with water (which I did on my last cruise, because Bon Voyage lost my order for water), and then... you guessed it, the steward might get a complaint for throwing away something a guest wanted or was saving for some reason.

 

So as frustrating as it is, I have found that most stewards are far more cautious about what they will/will not touch/remove than are hotel cleaning staff. If it needs to be thrown away or removed, throw it in the trash or empty it. Otherwise, it might stay there as long as you do!

 

As far as the towels? No excuse for that one.

[Pixelate]

If you empty the glass in the sink' date=' they will remove it[/quote']

 

If you honestly believe that, please purchase a GoPro for your next hotel stay. In the hospitality industry (which includes the cruise industry), more often than not, the housekeeping staff will simply wash the glasses in the sink and put it back without replacing it.

[Elaine5715]

Although frustrating' date=' the steward was doing his job as he was trained to do.

 

Stewards, in most cases, will NOT touch any food/drink item. If you have even a miniscule amount of liquid left, and it is obviously no longer good (ie. a frozen cocktail, for example), they will NOT touch it or remove the glass. Otherwise, had you NOT been finished - they would get into trouble and have to pay to buy you another drink. If you empty the glass in the sink, they will remove it.

 

Likewise, they will not remove any cans/bottles (or almost anything else) unless they are in the trash. Some people might refill a bottle with water (which I did on my last cruise, because Bon Voyage lost my order for water), and then... you guessed it, the steward might get a complaint for throwing away something a guest wanted or was saving for some reason.

 

So as frustrating as it is, I have found that most stewards are far more cautious about what they will/will not touch/remove than are hotel cleaning staff. If it needs to be thrown away or removed, throw it in the trash or empty it. Otherwise, it might stay there as long as you do!

 

As far as the towels? No excuse for that one.[/quote']

 

I agree. Stewards are not to touch cans or bottles unless placed in the trash. The towels may be the result of the Snoozing sign left on the door.

[bradboy]

I just got off the Breeze - I had a tiny amount of water for my meds. It remained there. My RS never touched it

But this case being gone all day in port and not having the room cleaned isn't right.

 

 

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[Mom2sml]

 

Likewise' date=' they will not remove any cans/bottles (or almost anything else) unless they are in the trash. Some people might refill a bottle with water (which I did on my last cruise, because Bon Voyage lost my order for water), and then... you guessed it, the steward might get a complaint for throwing away something a guest wanted or was saving for some reason.

 

So as frustrating as it is, I have found that most stewards are far more cautious about what they will/will not touch/remove than are hotel cleaning staff. If it needs to be thrown away or removed, throw it in the trash or empty it. Otherwise, it might stay there as long as you do![/quote']

 

While this may normally be true, our cabin steward took the cans I had placed on the countertop on our last cruise. I had intended to take them home for recycling and they were gone everyday. I also bring plastic cups for our cabin since I won't touch the glasses in the room. I don't trust that they are cleaned properly.

[MCFTJCH2V]

Just off the 5 day Victory and I find myself still irritated about our cabin steward and his lack of attentiveness to our cabins..... luckily, we only had him for 2 of our 5 cabins. This will be the last time I prepay gratuities, as had I been able to remove them for him and his assistant I most certainly would. Maybe some of you might think I have high expectations.... but I feel I was being reasonable. I was never once greeted by the steward, even though we made eye contact several times throughout the cruise. It wasn't until I complained to guest services that words were exchanged. Here's what happened:

 

Day 1 an. Obviously

 

I would like to mention that we tipped the other steward extra, as he was fabulous and took great care of those cabins. He even asked my son the last night if there was anything they needed (assumed something had been said and that he knew we were not happy). Anyhow, when I handed him the extra tip upon disembarkation.... his smile was so big! He said thank you and that this is exactly why he works so hard throughout the cruise :)

 

I'm unsure why you thought you couldn't adjust or removed your tips just because you prepaid. The customer is never held hostage as to what they can do with their tips money.

 

I would have had that portion of the tip removed, or if told they couldn't remove only a portion, removed them all and tipped those I wished in cash.

 

A credit would have appeared on your Sail and Sign account.

 

Bad help should not be rewarded with tips, so that they leave their job sooner than later. I certainly don't wish to get that person right after you.

Edited January 19, 2015 by MCFTJCH2V

[Drazil65]

It is true, we just recently were on the Liberty out of PC for NYE cruise. Used one of the wine glasses in room for our own wine, drank it all but a very little at bottom. We knew about the stewards not being able to touch those items if you leave them on desk or table, we put it on the room service tray out in the hall next morning after coffee. It was promptly replaced that day with a clean one.

[us2swingu]

I know some people don't like this, but I always have the gratuities removed except for 2 or 3 days and then instruct them to go to behind the scenes people. I then pass out my own tips accordingly and most of the time are more then what they would have gotten anyway. I prefer to tip those who go above and beyond and take care of me while on the cruise...:cool:

[RWolver672]

You can remove tips no matter how or when you paid for them. As pissed as you are, I'm surprised you let guest services get away with that false information. Not sure what was up with the room steward. Sounds like he was a hot lazy mess.

 

I guess you've never dealt with Guest Services or the Excursion desk. It's their word against yours and they win. If they were told that you couldn't remove the tips how was the OP suppose to challenge it?