Curious incident final night of my 1st princess cruise

[caribill]

Stewards should not touch your clothing unless they need to access or use something. I often leave my suitcase 90% packed with a few things left to put in and have never had anything moved. (Not the case on Royal Caribbean years ago when my steward went through my drawers.)

 

On the cruise I was on last December that you were also on we had a similar problem.

 

On the last evening the cabin steward decided on her own what we wanted to keep in our closet and what should be thrown out.

 

She threw out several items that we wanted to keep (for example, a plastic laundry bag from home). I reported this to the head of housekeeping and on the post-cruise computer survey.

 

In my mind, the cabin steward should not be rearranging closets no matter what night of the cruise it is.

[CATGUY7]

Straightening hangers in an empty closet takes about 20 seconds. 20 seconds of saved time on turnaround day? I guess 20 seconds is 20 seconds...

 

We've never had a steward on Princess that we felt invaded our privacy. I think I would have felt uncomfortable having someone move my things around. We try to keep things neat, so cleaning around us takes as little time as possible. But rearranging the closet seems a tad too invasive.

 

I think I might have been bothered too.

[hockeygal54]

We encountered the same thing last Wednesday nite on the Royal. After returning to the cabin for the evening I discovered the ship hangers were rearranged and divided up as the were upon embarkation. I had also left out specific things to wear home the next day and also had some of my own hangars. Things that were on ship wooden hangars were now on my green plastic ones! I chalked it up to the "lets get a head start on turnaround day" since I also discovered the shower bottles were completely full earlier. He also had an obsession with folding anything left on the bed which I thought kind of strange but have had stewards fold and place bed attire under a pillow in the past. I find that reminiscent of being a kid since my Mom always did that with nightgown etc. I personally can't be bothered with doing that now!

[fishin' musician]

At some point the steward is required to perform their duties, and there is more to do as turnaround approaches. Displaying the DND sign while dining is likely to result in a knock followed by entrance. I don't blame them. These guys work 80 hour weeks for 6-8 months with no days off. Give them a break and tip them well.

[RASHOPPER2]

I have never had a Steward enter the room when the Do Not Disturb signs on. Matter of fact last cruise one evening when we went to dinner we mistakenly left the sign out on the wrong side saying Do Not Disturb, (we leave the Please Make up Room sign out when we leave for breakfast and dinner as we know the Steward appreciates that)., of course the same wet towels were on the bathroom floor and, gasp, no pillow chocolates. Our bad! Our Steward asked us the next morning if we were ok, which I thought was nice.

 

You are 100% correct, the Steward should not have entered your room.

 

We have had the same experience...do not disturb sign...room not made up. And a very concerned question about our well being the next morning. I am not obsessive compulsive, but I certainly would not like the steward handling my clothing and personal things. And in 25 Princess cruises I have not had that happen once.

 

As for the person suggesting Xanax, I think that you are way out of line.

[KruzPrincess]

First, the cabin steward should not come into the room if you have the DND sign out. That said, I suspect she knocked several times and thought maybe you made a mistake by turning over the card by accident. Sometimes kids mess with the DND signs. It's usually pretty easy to find your cabin steward in the area during the dinner hour. If I don't want the cabin steward to come in I make a point to tell them that they can skip the room that night.

 

Second, I have had stewards touch my clothes, but not too much. It's usually something that I've left on the couch and they move it to the chair. It's apparently in their list of things to do to straighten pillows on the couch. I have a small fleece blanket that I travel with to cover my legs when I'm chilly. They always fold it and move it. I'm pretty certain she was trying to get a head start on organizing before turnover day. Sometimes, I've had them take the robes completely. I guess, if it were me, I'd tell the steward not to touch my clothes, but understand they have some duties that require cleaning up the cabin.

 

Once, on another cruise line, I had a steward go into the drawers to find my nightclothes to make an animal out of them!! This was years ago when they would take your nightgown and spread it out on the bed in shapes. I hated that and would "hide" my nightgown. This steward clearly searched it out. That was annoying!

[Montrealais]

Stewards should not touch your clothing unless they need to access or use something. I often leave my suitcase 90% packed with a few things left to put in and have never had anything moved. (Not the case on Royal Caribbean years ago when my steward went through my drawers.)

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary and others…

 

drawers : underwear for the lower part of the body

 

 

Tsk! Tsk! :D

[rdsqrl]

I think I'm missing the part where the steward touched your clothes. All she seemed to have done was rearrange the hangers, moving the hangers on which your things were to a different part of the closet rod. Hardly intrusive interference with your stuff. Did it ever occur to you that (a) perhaps she needed to move your things to vaccuum/dust in that corner space and (b) she was moving them into the center of the closet to ensure you wouldn't leave anything behind?

[newcruzer2]

Once, on another cruise line, I had a steward go into the drawers to find my nightclothes to make an animal out of them!! This was years ago when they would take your nightgown and spread it out on the bed in shapes. I hated that and would "hide" my nightgown. This steward clearly searched it out. That was annoying!

 

Truly a reminder that, things could always be worse :)

Thank you sharing :)

[paluni]

I always bring a lot of wire hangers from home because it's convenient and sometimes there are not enough ship hangers. On the last night, while we were out, all my personal wire hangers disappeared, which I actually wanted to pack with me. So now I pack up all my wire hangers on the second-to-last night. Maybe this even happened twice.

I personally also would *really* not want somebody touching my clothes. That would bother me and I understand where you are coming from. I don't think it's OCD either.

[Napagirl]

There are rude people in every crowd - glad to see you can breeze past those responses. lol

 

I have never had my clothing moved around on any cruise. I also would not like anyone going through my things and touching my undergarments. I make no apology for that.

 

Interesting to hear your and some other stories in this thread, though! I guess you just never know.

[pennst8r]

[quote name=KruzPrincess

 

Once, on another cruise line, I had a steward go into the drawers to find my nightclothes to make an animal out of them!! This was years ago when they would take your nightgown and spread it out on the bed in shapes. I hated that and would "hide" my nightgown. This steward clearly searched it out. That was annoying![/quote]

 

I laughed when I read this. Was it on Costa Line? (I sailed on several of their cruises in the early 1980s.) I was so embarrassed when I returned to my cabin and found my nightgown "displayed" on the bed, with the waist area narrowed and the bottom part fanned out. I hid my nightgown after that. LOL. You brought back a memory of my early days of cruising.

[pennst8r]

 

Once, on another cruise line, I had a steward go into the drawers to find my nightclothes to make an animal out of them!! This was years ago when they would take your nightgown and spread it out on the bed in shapes. I hated that and would "hide" my nightgown. This steward clearly searched it out. That was annoying!

 

I laughed when I read this! Was it on Costa Line? (In the early 1980s, I sailed with them several times.) I returned to my cabin after dinner and found my nightgown, which had been hung on the bathroom door hook, "displayed" on my bed with the waist area narrowed and the bottom of the nightgown fanned out fully. I was so embarrassed, I hid my nightgown after that! LOL You brought back a memory from my early days of cruising.

[pennst8r]

 

 

 

Once, on another cruise line, I had a steward go into the drawers to find my nightclothes to make an animal out of them!! This was years ago when they would take your nightgown and spread it out on the bed in shapes. I hated that and would "hide" my nightgown. This steward clearly searched it out. That was annoying!

 

I laughed out loud when I read this! Was it on Costa Line? (I sailed several times with them in the early 1980s.) I returned to my cabin after dinner and found my nightgown, which had been hanging on the bathroom door hook, "displayed" on my bed with the waist area narrowed in and the bottom fanned-out fully. I was so embarrassed I hid my nightgown after that! LOL Brought back a memory from my early days of cruising.

[Cruisin' Chick]

 

Once, on another cruise line, I had a steward go into the drawers to find my nightclothes to make an animal out of them!! This was years ago when they would take your nightgown and spread it out on the bed in shapes. I hated that and would "hide" my nightgown. This steward clearly searched it out. That was annoying!

 

I laughed when I read this. Was it on Costa Line? (I sailed on several of their cruises in the early 1980s.) I was so embarrassed when I returned to my cabin and found my nightgown "displayed" on the bed, with the waist area narrowed and the bottom part fanned out. I hid my nightgown after that. LOL. You brought back a memory of my early days of cruising.

 

My first six cruises were on Carnival and that's a standard thing for the steward to take towels and personal items such as sunglasses to make towel animals. I don't recall any of my unmentionables being used.

 

We haven't had what the OP has described happen to us, but we always pack up much of our stuff the last afternoon of the cruise with a change of clothing, jamas, and toiletries put aside so we don't pack those in our suitcase. Sometimes passengers are told to put out the suitcases before going to dinner. Usually when we look into the hallway, we find all the space taken up by others' luggage (maybe passengers should be advised to stack their items so they don't take up their neighbors space?). So right after dinner, we'll check to see if the crew has removed enough items so we can place ours out. But it comes down to we're about ready for the next morning. I think the only times we've had something removed it would be the robes.

 

I do know that once or twice we've left the cabin and didn't turn over the card from the DND side and the steward will ask us to make sure not to do this as it keeps him from doing his job. But we also keep a fairly tidy cabin (my hubby is a Felix to my Oscar).

[Nightowl11]

When I first read the OP's situation, I thought she meant that the steward packed her suitcase 90% and left out things for her to wear. But after reading everyone's posts, it was just that the steward rearranged the closet to put the hangers in order?

 

I would be okay with that as long as the steward didn't go through the closed drawers. We also have had things that we left out on the tables or desk straightened up or blankets and jackets folded or moved to a chair. I'm also okay with the stewards using left out visible items like sunglasses to add to the towels animals. But I would not be okay if they opened drawers to find stuff.

[StLouisCruisers]

I always bring a lot of wire hangers from home because it's convenient and sometimes there are not enough ship hangers. On the last night, while we were out, all my personal wire hangers disappeared, which I actually wanted to pack with me. So now I pack up all my wire hangers on the second-to-last night. Maybe this even happened twice.

I personally also would *really* not want somebody touching my clothes. That would bother me and I understand where you are coming from. I don't think it's OCD either.

 

 

No wonder your steward took your wire hangers - he thought they were ship hangers!

 

There's no need for anyone to pack extra hangers to take on a cruise. All you have to do is ask your steward the first day for more hangers and he will bring you some wire hangers. When people get their clothes back from the ship's laundry, the wire hangers that the clothes came back on are collected at the end of the cruise and reused by the next passengers who board. We always ask for a couple dozen wire hangers as I like most of my clothes hanging in the closet.

[mmckm]

Just a thought, the steward may have saw you leaving and walking down the hall to dinner and new you weren't in the room. Wanted to get the room cleaned and figured you put the sign the wrong way. If you would have been in the room and the dead bolt turned he would not enter. Thats what we do. I have never put out the do not disturb sign when not in the cabin. Don't know why someone would do that. They get to know your habits and what time you usually leave for dinner and plan on cleaning your cabin at that time.

[aquilegia]

I have never put out the do not disturb sign when not in the cabin. Don't know why someone would do that.

 

Me neither. The stewards work very hard servicing a lot of cabins and have to do so when the occupants are out of the room. I don 't know why anyone would make their life more difficult by putting out a DND sign when they go out.

[Homosassa]

I agree with mmckm; you put the Do Not Disturb sign out as you and your husband left for dinner. By the second night of the cruise, your steward knows your schedule, probably saw you leave for dinner and knew the room was empty(and the night latch was not engaged), and came in to do the evening turn down and get a jump start on the turn around duties.

 

And yes, I frequently have come back on the last night of my Princess cruise and have found the closet hangers reorganized , new pool towels in the room, life vests more neatly stowed than I had left them from the muster drill or when I had moved them to arrange the closet to my liking, and other room prep things for turn around day.

 

And yes, conscientious stewards on the last night has pulled out items left in the drawer and tucked away in the closet or gathered together all clothes left in the closet to make sure nothing is forgotten in the packing. If I see my steward on my way out to dinner, I now tell them I know there are items in the drawer, on the shelves, in the closet, etc; that I still need to pack and not worry about pulling them out for packing.

 

LOL - in the good "ole" days of cruising when I first started, a cabin steward would find your night clothes and leave them neatly pleated and fanned across the bed at turn down. It didn't matter where you try to hide the night wear, the steward found it and arranged it on the bed.

 

After my first cruise, I started making sure I packed my better night gowns.:D

[PescadoAmarillo]

I have never put out the do not disturb sign when not in the cabin. Don't know why someone would do that.

We do that all the time. If we run to get a quick breakfast but want to come back and quickly pack up for our day on land, we don't want the cabin steward in our cabin when we return. It's our way of saying "Please don't make up our room until we're done in there this morning and off the ship."

 

As for the cabin steward doing things on the last night, this is common. In fact, it just happened to us last Friday night with things in our closet. All the empty wooden hangars had been reshuffled and the empty wire hangars removed; which was a bit of an issue since DH was wearing something he had brought from home in two wire hangars. No big deal though...he opened the door and got two hangars back from our steward who was still in the hallway. And if he hadn't been, it still wouldn't have been a major issue.

Edited March 8, 2016 by PescadoAmarillo

[Northender]

Like others, we have never had our clothes rearranged or disturbed.

 

On our last cruise we did forget to turn the sign around when heading out for the day. We had an excursion and got back around 2ish. Hubby left first to grab some breakfast and I was to meet him at the IC. Needless to say, I was the one that forgot to turn the sign.

 

As we were heading to open our cabin door on our return we heard Ed (our wonderful cabin Steward) calling our name. He was running down towards us and was very upset. He thought that perhaps I was not well. Ed said he saw Mr. X leaving but did not see me leave and was very worried. Mentioned that he knocked on the door several times. Ed was about to call his supervisor to see if he should open the cabin when we appeared.:)

 

By the way, the room was not made up. But that was our fault. :D

 

I would suggest on your next cruise to talk with your Cabin Attendant and advise him/her of what you would or would not want done especially on the last night. :) It is very hard for them to get everything ready for the next set of cruisers.

[Cruise Raider]

I would say, anytime during the cruise, it is ok to put out your Do Not Disturb sign but just not on the last evening of the cruise. It is really not fair to them. They just have too much work to do before the next load of passengers boards and they do need to get some sleep at some point in time.

Before I had realized this, I put out my Do Not Disturb sign once (early in my cruising days) and felt so bad as we finally just got out of our room at 9:30 PM. We saw the room steward, visibly mad and he said he was just about ready to go to bed. Our bad!! We apologized profusely and now always pop our heads out to tell the steward that we are ok for the evening and his work is done in our room as far as we are concerned if we plan on staying in our room until late in the evening. We learned something from this experience....so are now much more conscientious about such things.

 

One time, though, I was going on another cruise after this one and always pack on wire hangers we bring from home. Our steward had moved our clothes that still weren't packed from our wire hangers to their wooden hangers and threw all of our wire hangers away. That was a bit annoying but again, I will know better for next time that I just have to discuss our wishes with them before leaving the room for dinner, especially on the last night.

 

Now, does anyone remember when they actually used to go into your drawers and pull out your pajamas and make a towel animal out of them. I remember feeling weird about them doing that as I also keep all my underwear in the drawer with my PJ's when I travel. Their jobs are difficult to say the least. We keep our room very tidy but have peered into other rooms and looks like a bomb exploded. What are they supposed to do with that????

[OCruisers]

What an odd and unusual thing to have happened!

We've had several room stewards who were compulsive about polishing my husbands shoes ... but that was not a bad thing.

[jeanandjim]

We have always believed that the dnd signs should be regarded by the crew and other family members.

We were in rough seas on the CB this January and Jean not feeling very well, had put out an order for breakfast in bed to be delivered between 9 & 9:30. I went to IC early in the morning and told her I would be back by 8:45 to handle the room service. I kept my bargain and at 8:40 entered a room with a slightly upset, not feeling well, love of my life, telling me that room service came half an hour early, disregarded the sign, and started banging on the door. I sort of chuckled and asked how much she tipped him. (I guess my compassion ends when there is a punchline to be had, oh well.)

I think your Ed handled the situation in a more appropriate manner. The signs are there for a reason, please have some respect.

Edited March 8, 2016 by jeanandjim