Looks Like they are still trying to fool us

[RuthlessBoss]

I may be too invested in these issues because of my real life challenges. I don't want to share details in a public forum, but cruises are my family's main escape from the stress of those challenges. Certain members of my family would be extremely stressed by a messy cabin, and they have enough to deal with in real life. :)

 

What do you mean by a messy cabin?

[Pops, Esq.]

Doesn't the thumbnail in post one say "check what applies?" It doesn't say check just one.

 

"Mom always did like you best." --Tommy Smothers

 

 

Kinda loses its humor when that could mean she liked them BOTH best.

 

Just sayin'. "Best" generally means one.

[LaCal]

"Mom always did like you best." --Tommy Smothers

 

 

Kinda loses its humor when that could mean she liked them BOTH best.

 

Just sayin'. "Best" generally means one.

 

What does Check ALL that apply mean to you?

[Pops, Esq.]

What does Check ALL that apply mean to you?

 

It means I am going to check them both.

 

But, you are kidding yourself if you think that the use of the term "best" does not create ambiguity in the form.

 

And you are right, Mother Smothers probably liked them BOTH best.

Edited February 24, 2016 by kbanowsky

[KatieCharlotte]

What do you mean by a messy cabin?

 

We have five people living in one small room with one bathroom. Wet towels on the bathroom floor because there's not enough room to hang them. Breakfast or evening snack dishes on the desk or sitting outside. Sand in the shower and near the doorway. Unmade beds. Full trash cans. The youngest child's toothpaste on the sink. Etc. Twice daily cleaning keeps up with the mess and lets us start and end the day with a clean cabin. And everyone gets a break from chores and chore enforcement. :D

 

If it was just me in a cabin alone, daily cleaning would be fine.

Edited February 24, 2016 by KatieCharlotte

[tkportersat]

That made me laugh :)

 

Maybe they will start charging extra for both morning and night service and call it FTTC (Faster to the Clean) :D

[elliair]

We have five people living in one small room with one bathroom. Wet towels on the bathroom floor because there's not enough room to hang them. Breakfast or evening snack dishes on the desk or sitting outside. Sand in the shower and near the doorway. Unmade beds. Full trash cans. The youngest child's toothpaste on the sink. Etc. Twice daily cleaning keeps up with the mess and lets us start and end the day with a clean cabin. And everyone gets a break from chores and chore enforcement. :D

 

If it was just me in a cabin alone, daily cleaning would be fine.

 

During Spring break on a ship, I walk by cabins with the door open and it looks like a tornado hit it. These are college age kids. If they haven't learned to pick up after themselves, they never will. It's just me and DH, there's no clothing laying around, no shoes here and there, no dishes strung on every empty spot with half eaten food. I can only imagine what their home or apartment looks like, and I feel bad for the cabin stewards who have to wade through all the crap left on the cabin floor. Some may think that just because they're paying the tip, gives them license to be slobs.

Edited February 24, 2016 by elliair

[17andacruiseaddict]

Sooo, I'm still not seeing the big deal as to why so many are complaining.

If you want both, check both boxes. It DOES say CHECK ALL THAT APPLY.

If you want once a day, check that box. If there is no card left in your room, then assume it's going to be cleaned twice a day. If it isn't cleaned twice a day, let your steward know that's what you want.

 

If this is a cost cutting scheme, so be it. Sometimes companies must do things to cut costs. Hey sometimes you do it at home. Everybody in the world is trying to make more and spend less.

If it bothers you sooooo much move to another line.

If you don't like the product CCL puts out, maybe you would like what another cruise line is doing.

 

Besides it seems like Carnival is saying, "hey, either we cut cost or we raise the price of cruising". And a main reason a lot of people choose Carnival is for the slightly cheaper prices.

 

Out of everything people say has been done on Carnival to cut cost, not one of these things affects me enough to complain in anyway. Either I don't miss it, or it doesn't ruin or change my view of the cruise I am on at the time. I kind of just go with the flow. Of course if there was something drastic like CCL making me pay to eat in the MDR, that might make a difference to me.

Point is, I do feel like some of you just moan and groan about everything.

We are all on here becuase we love to talk about cruises, but jeez....

[LMaxwell]

Sooo, I'm still not seeing the big deal as to why so many are complaining.

If you want both, check both boxes. It DOES say CHECK ALL THAT APPLY.

If you want once a day, check that box. If there is no card left in your room, then assume it's going to be cleaned twice a day. If it isn't cleaned twice a day, let your steward know that's what you want.

 

If this is a cost cutting scheme, so be it. Sometimes companies must do things to cut costs. Hey sometimes you do it at home. Everybody in the world is trying to make more and spend less.

If it bothers you sooooo much move to another line.

If you don't like the product CCL puts out, maybe you would like what another cruise line is doing.

 

Besides it seems like Carnival is saying, "hey, either we cut cost or we raise the price of cruising". And a main reason a lot of people choose Carnival is for the slightly cheaper prices.

 

Out of everything people say has been done on Carnival to cut cost, not one of these things affects me enough to complain in anyway. Either I don't miss it, or it doesn't ruin or change my view of the cruise I am on at the time. I kind of just go with the flow. Of course if there was something drastic like CCL making me pay to eat in the MDR, that might make a difference to me.

Point is, I do feel like some of you just moan and groan about everything.

We are all on here becuase we love to talk about cruises, but jeez....

 

Some stewards seem very accommodating.

 

Some stewards seem very inflexible.

 

The inconsistency of messaging is an issue, as is normalizing lower service standards but at the same cost of other companies. If you haven't encountered this and / or it is really not an issue for you, I think that's great.

Edited February 24, 2016 by LMaxwell

[17andacruiseaddict]

Some stewards seem very accommodating.

 

Some stewards seem very inflexible.

 

The inconsistency of messaging is an issue, as is normalizing lower service standards but at the same cost of other companies. If you haven't encountered this and / or it is really not an issue for you, I think that's great.

 

 

It is great, because I couldn't imagine going on my cruise worrying about something like this lol. I do hear inconsistencies in reports on this specific issue but when I get the card, I'll just check once a day or twice a day. If there is no card, then I won't worry about it. My main concern when I get onboard is where I'm going to be sitting with my 1st drink of the cruise and if I should eat now or hold myself off until dinner lol

My cruise will always be too short to worry about this stuff (even If I was on a back to back):D

[bigcraig]

[LMaxwell]

lol, yup. well played

 

 

Actually, I don't think an "MDR Package" is all that far off.

 

basic = buffet

mid-level = MDR package

high end = specialty restaurants as a package

[KPfromCT]

Couple of things here.....

 

1. We like the room serviced 2x per day. We like to come back to the cabin throughout the day to just "chill". Maybe stretch out on the bed and watch some TV. Play some cards. Order room service. Sit on the balcony. Whatever the reason, I want to come back to the beds being made.

 

2. We like the turndown at night, mostly for the towel animals. I am a 46 year old woman and LOVE the anticipation of seeing my new "friend" :D:D

 

3. We always give the steward $20 on the first day and ask him for two things: Keep the ice bucket full, and to ensure we get a towel animal each evening. That usually works.

 

Seems like, from all of the comments on here, the Dream is the ship that is really pushing back on this change. Telling people it has to be one or the other.

 

That wouldn't go over well with me. I wouldn't pull the tips, but I would have a nice little chat with the housekeeping Manager.

 

P.S. We are not SLOBS, but we are also not the NEATEST of families. We really do appreciate all the stewards do. And while I don't expect them to pick up our clothes, etc, we appreciate it. I wouldn't even care if they didn't do it. I just want the beds made.

 

We can live with towels once a day. I mean you are clean when you dry off.:D

[jocko4279]

I think a key point that's being missed as to why 2x service is always been the standard on cruises is that cabins are typically much smaller than hotel rooms. Those they can get cluttered up more quickly and need the extra attention! So 2x service should remain, it was implemented in my mind out of necessity.

[tkportersat]

Personally I had commented to my husband on a couple of occasions that I thought it was a bit much. Guess Carnival thought so too. I'm sorry that some are upset about this, I am not.

 

I think a key point that's being missed as to why 2x service is always been the standard on cruises is that cabins are typically much smaller than hotel rooms. Those they can get cluttered up more quickly and need the extra attention! So 2x service should remain, it was implemented in my mind out of necessity.

[Pesh]

Personally I had commented to my husband on a couple of occasions that I thought it was a bit much. Guess Carnival thought so too. I'm sorry that some are upset about this, I am not.

 

 

But you've always had to ability to tell your steward "no need to come clean us twice, once in the morning is fine." if that's your preference.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Pesh

[jimbo5544]

lol, yup. well played

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, I don't think an "MDR Package" is all that far off.

 

 

 

basic = buffet

 

mid-level = MDR package

 

high end = specialty restaurants as a package

 

 

That would be anthem of the seas theme

[missholly24]

I take Carnival for what it is. It is by far the best bargain for what I feel is a great "Mom" vacation. The kids love the waterslides, we have no problem with the food (is it gourmet? no, do I have to cook and clean up? no), activities. It's a great vacation. But part of it for me is the break for mom.

 

Yes we can drive to a beach very easily from where we live but I am still cleaning, unloading the dishwasher, cooking, entertaining my children, etc. A cruise totally takes care of that for me.

 

We have 4 people in a tiny cabin. We order room service, we have 3 unmade beds, we need clean towels. I want the cabin serviced twice a day. In the AM to make beds and tidy up. In the evening to deal with beach towels, sand, showers for dinner/restock bath towels, and YES the towel animal. Sorry, that is a MUST for me.

 

Carnival is welcome to feel out the cruise passenger. And yes, the new cruiser would never know the difference. But seriously, when I start cruise research, I check the fares every day. They can go up and down by $200-$500 total for my family of 4. If they raise the fare by $50-100 per person, I will not notice. For heavens sake Carnival, do the math. They could keep so many of these services without anyone noticing.

 

I completely agree with this entire post. Really whole heartedly exactly how I feel. If Carnival keeps cutting cutting cutting, I will cruise RCI or Princess. It's always been the Walmart of cruising and I have always loooooved it because it was enjoyable and affordable. Im not a food snob, I don't care that the paint is chipped off in places or the pool water was greenish on my last cruise (really) However, each year we go back I think oh wow another little thing gone, thats annoying....Once everything adds up, RCI will eventually be the better deal. ;)

Holly :)

[Kevin308]

No they're not. Don't think the savings from a decrease in service will be passed on to customers. They're looking to increase their profit margin by spending less and increasing the work load on their cabin stewards.

 

 

If the cabin stewards have more rooms they have less cabin stewards right? So doesn't that mean all those cabin stewards got a raise because they are sharing tips with less people?

[idlenote]

Some stewards seem very accommodating.

 

Some stewards seem very inflexible.

 

The inconsistency of messaging is an issue, as is normalizing lower service standards but at the same cost of other companies. If you haven't encountered this and / or it is really not an issue for you, I think that's great.

 

This is what we are finding the issue is. Of the last three cruises two were business as usual but the last one on the Triumph was bad, we had one of these hard headed stewards who wasn't going to back down from the start. We checked both boxes on the form and he went out of his way to show us that it was going to be his way, end of discussion.

 

Ended up with us complaining to Guest Services about his behavior and he really got ticked off about that. Wanted to have an argument in the hallway. We did talk to the head of housekeeping about this and she emphatically told us that the staff had been told that guests had three options, am, pm or both.

 

End of the cruise, I did not take the tips off, but then he didn't get the extra $70 I would have given him. That is only the second time in 31 cruises I have done that (previous one took the power strip out of the room). Next time I get one of these then the regular tips will come off as well, and we've never done that before.

 

Why Carnival wants to open this can of worms is totally beyond me, it's not like the prices are going down, in fact out of Galveston they are up about 30% over just a couple of years ago.

[n6uqqq]

[attach]377875[/attach]

 

You probably are not too far off. John asked on the page that shall not be mentioned if Carnival has too many formal nights. Now, I imagine it would mean cutting more than what one needs to wear if they were to drop the second formal night on a 7 day cruise.

 

This questionnaire is a precursor to getting once a day service. Some time in the future John will come out and say " due to overwhelming numbers of guests preferring once a day service, we have decided to make this the new standard. "

[rebelcruiser]

I hear you! I travel a lot for my work and for leisure. I've seen how hard hotel maids work and cruise folks as well. I'm with you I leave my room tidy and try to minimize things...Used towels in one spot, trash in one place as much as possible. ( I agree about the small trash cans on ships an hotels!) I prepay my tips on a cruise and always try to create a good rapport with my cabin steward. If I ask for extra things like and towels I tip extra.

 

I want my cabin serviced twice a day. Sorry Carnival but that's one of the little things I like about cruises. I think the loser here with unhappy customers is going to be the point man...the cabin steward who's just being told by Carnival what the deal is and is going to suffer loss of tips (by angry passengers) who aren't on board with this new policy. Seems petty for Carnival to even try this scheme to me....

[LMaxwell]

That would be anthem of the seas theme

No. Not even remotely close. No cruiseline sailing from America currently offers what I think will happen. I'd say by 2020 it is a reality.

[Mikew0805]

Yeah... Nope!

 

If I cannot get the same service, twice per day... then the only option I see is to reduce the gratuity by 1/2 for the cabin service team. I am not going to pay the same amount for half the service. We are clean.. we really only need the bed made and turned down, and the towels/washcloths changed each time, and ice provided. I couldn't care less about towel animals, and the only time the place needs vacuumed is the evening after a port visit.

 

I do not care if it is $3 or $300.. I am not paying for something that I am not getting.

 

Oh and whoever believes that 50 and 35 cabin crap... Well I have some oceanfront property in Arizona, that I am willing to unload real cheap!

[sjn911]

(1) This is a program being tested on certain ships. The plan is to expand it to all ships. Therefore, it does not matter whether you received the form on your last cruise.

 

(2) People continue to report that some stewards on the ships with the forms are insisting that "both" is not an option. It is not surprising that some stewards try to keep their workload from increasing while others try to maximize their tips.

 

(3) JH promised in the fall that a "both" option would be added. A new version of the forms has been printed, according to OP's link. The version does not state "both." Instead, it adds language instructing guests to choose "the best time" for service. If the people writing and approving the forms are competent professionals, they know that using singular language will lead many people to believe they must choose one.

 

(4) Carnival saves by employing/housing/feeding fewer stewards + doing less laundry + reducing other cleaning expenses.

 

(5) Twice-a-day service is very important to some guests, especially families.

 

 

Agree..this really does matter to me. I don't want the service people to suffer because they are doing a lot more with 35 twice a day. I do not mind tipping a little more but to not want to have to bribe or cause unfair work, but this is too much...I sometimes just sleep a day..rest in room with pain issues sometimes and would probably be less work and all a day or so for me on a cruise and just ask for clean towels and ice then.

 

To me..fresh sheets at least every other day and...... fresh towels and paper and soap checked and ice 2 times a day and vacume when needed is just important. making bed up 2 times with sheets only every other or as needed not that bad..... Every day vacume sure helps with many issues I would think in tropics.

 

Cruise cabins are much smaller...and those made beds and freshen ups with a little something special..even a cheap mint..mean alot to me..I can live without candy and animal towels to keep 2 times a day and ice..do not like this. This is not basic clean service on a cruise to me. We should not have to worry about over worked stewards..but we do when this is the deal..they should keep original miniumum,,,very sad switch and are they not saving a fortune with oil and gas now??

Edited February 25, 2016 by sjn911