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P&O trialling once a day room service.


grapau27
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From our point of view I have to respectfully disagree with Onelung's observation. Presumably the once a day cleaning would be during "the day" meaning there would be no service at night after one leaves the cabin for dinner etc.

To come back later in the evening to a freshly cleaned cabin, including the bathroom, is one of the delights of cruising and to change this would be unacceptable, in my opinion.

Clearly it would be (dare I say, yet another) cost cutting exercise as they could obviously  drastically reduce the number of cabin stewards.

For us, paying a lot of money for cruising (OK, not as much in real terms as when we started cruising in 1984) has certain lines that must not be crossed - cabin service twice a day is one of them!

Others may disagree which I fully respect - the above is our view though.

Kind regards Peter

Edited by PrincessPete
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4 minutes ago, PrincessPete said:

From our point of view I have to respectfully disagree with Onelung's observation. Presumably the once a day cleaning would be during "the day" meaning there would be no service at night after one leaves the cabin for dinner etc.

To come back later in the evening to a freshly cleaned cabin, including the bathroom, is one of the delights of cruising and to change this would be unacceptable, in my opinion.

Clearly it would be (dare I say, yet another) cost cutting exercise as they could obviously  drastically reduce the number of cabin stewards.

For us, paying a lot of money for cruising (OK, not as much in real terms as when we started cruising in 1984) has certain lines that must not be crossed - cabin service twice a day is one of them!

Others may disagree which I fully respect - the above is our view though.

Kind regards Peter

I am definitely with you on this, making the room ready for the day and then again ready for the night, including clearing up the bathroom after our evening showers require 2 steward visits. So this will certainly not make me happy.

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Can the site Administrator perhaps sort out the threads please? This topic is also covered on the Brexit thread currently just above this. 

I am sure the question of once a day room cleaning will be of interest to many cruisers - not sure how threads are amalgamated but thought I would highlight the matter. 

IF, repeat IF, this is introduced for our 28 night cruise in February I will think about whether to remove the auto gratuities. I would then tip the steward less than the regular amount but would ensure our table waiters get the correct amount.

Seems to me this is all about P&O recovering monies ahead of the service charge bring removed.

Other views awaited with interest.

Kind regards Peter 

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41 minutes ago, PrincessPete said:

From our point of view I have to respectfully disagree with Onelung's observation. Presumably the once a day cleaning would be during "the day" meaning there would be no service at night after one leaves the cabin for dinner etc.

To come back later in the evening to a freshly cleaned cabin, including the bathroom, is one of the delights of cruising and to change this would be unacceptable, in my opinion.

Clearly it would be (dare I say, yet another) cost cutting exercise as they could obviously  drastically reduce the number of cabin stewards.

For us, paying a lot of money for cruising (OK, not as much in real terms as when we started cruising in 1984) has certain lines that must not be crossed - cabin service twice a day is one of them!

Others may disagree which I fully respect - the above is our view though.

Kind regards Peter

This was our 49th cruise and we always have had 2 cabin services per day until this one.

Cabin steward said she started at 7am and finished at 7pm and it was the night time visit that would be missed.

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3 minutes ago, PrincessPete said:

Can the site Administrator perhaps sort out the threads please? This topic is also covered on the Brexit thread currently just above this. 

I am sure the question of once a day room cleaning will be of interest to many cruisers - not sure how threads are amalgamated but thought I would highlight the matter. 

IF, repeat IF, this is introduced for our 28 night cruise in February I will think about whether to remove the auto gratuities. I would then tip the steward less than the regular amount but would ensure our table waiters get the correct amount.

Seems to me this is all about P&O recovering monies ahead of the service charge bring removed.

Other views awaited with interest.

Kind regards Peter 

I mentioned this on the brexit thread and was asked by a regular poster to possibly start a thread on this subject to make more people aware of this trial as it is an important change.

I hope it helps some posters.

Regards Graham.

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1 minute ago, PrincessPete said:

Thanks Graham. I am totally gobsmacked at this. If the cabin stewards now work 0700-1900 then not only is there no evening service but some cabins will not be serviced until 1830 hours!!

This must be a joke!!

The Cabin stewards have to tell you about this when they first meet you and it is up to you to tell them how many towels you need for the day

On our second day she left double the towels.

P&O guest services rang us today about another matter but confirmed the 1 day service was being trialled fleetwide.

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I've just returned from a P&O cruise, which was my first one in more than 10 years and my first ever P&O.

 

The cabin service was nothing like how it has been on my previous four cruises (Royal Caribbean and Fred Olsen)  I love the cabin service on my other cruises. The room was always spotless, we had towel animals, PJs laid out, chocs on pillows, newspaper on bed, etc etc  It was always so lovely.

 

Now I dont know if it is normal on P&O or if its cost cutting but the service was nothing like that on this last cruise.

 

Quite often our cabin was not touched until lunchtime. When it was done in a morning it consisted of the bed being made, the bed decoratation thing being put back on, the towels replaced and tea coffee things replenished in a haphazard fashion (sometimes we had one new coffee, sometimes 2. Sometimes we got a new teabag, other times we didnt get any). Oh and bin emptying.

 

On an evening, we would return to curtains closed, the bed decoration thing removed and chocs placed on the bottom of the bed.  Newspaper was in the letterholder outside the door.

 

Many times we returned to see plates not removed.

Carpets were not cleaned every day

It wasn't always dusted until you could see the dust

 

Once the steward left a "Dont forget to put your clock back" card on the bed, which we then did, only to find the following day clocks HADN'T gone back and we missed an activity.

 

This is just what happened, it's not a complaint. Although it is strange why the steward wouldn't remove a plate that had one piece of curled up cheese on it  LOL

 

Would once a day service affect me?  Hmmm....probably not, in the grande scheme of things but it is nice to have the two.

 

 

Edited by FiftyOnePlus
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I'm trying to remember what I read on cc when Carnival Cruise line wanted to start this...I seem to remember that passengers were given the option of one or two visits at the beginning.

I might be wrong...

Stewards usually go off duty for lunch at 1 or 1.30pm, and return with a clinking of trollies at around 5 or 5.30pm... often pass them when we're going for early dinner.

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3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I mentioned this on the brexit thread and was asked by a regular poster to possibly start a thread on this subject to make more people aware of this trial as it is an important change.

I hope it helps some posters.

Regards Graham.

 

Thanks for doing that Graham. To be honest I would have been sceptical about this if it was not coming from a known source.

 

Did anyone on your cruise comment on the changes on your cruise? Do you know how long the trial if for? I can’t find anything about this on the P& O website nor can I find any information about cabin steward duties anymore, I’m sure there used to be something about it.

 

I have to say I have my concerns about all of this if it moves from a trial to become a permanent change.

 

1. It dumbs down the P &O product yet again. I am not a messy person but I do like coming back from dinner to a tidy bathroom with fresh towels, clean glasses etc. It’s a nice part of cruising.

 

2. What happens about Pullman and sofa beds, are they permanently down. That would make the cabin feel smaller for families.

 

3. When is the cleaning done, not happy about my cabin potentially not being done until Pm.

 

4. What impact will this have on hygiene. Constant cleaning controls bugs eg noro

 

5. Yet again it is a potential change (though only a trial) made after people have booked and paid for their cruise and with no notification. Becoming a P&O habit.

 

6. PM Ice and lemon - enough said.😀

 

I always paid the autotips but many did not (nor paid in cash) apparently. It appears that this trial, which Graham has highlighted, is perhaps a direct result of them going: there always had to be some way for the company to claw back the money and this could be it.

 

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If true, and this becomes policy, it would be yet another retrograde step by P&O. 

 

Whilst cruising is much cheaper, in real terms, than it was in years gone by, I had rather hoped that this could be achieved through the economies of scale that the larger ships provide (where cost per passenger is much less than the smaller ships) rather than erosion of the quality of product offered. 

 

I often read comments, particularly from those who book inside cabins, that it is just somewhere to sleep. That’s not the case for us, hence why we always book a balcony cabin. We spend a lot of time in our cabin. Nine out of ten times we return to our cabin after breakfast to find that it has been serviced. During periods of the day when none of the entertainment appeals (all too often, sadly) we return to our cabin and will often read on the sofa whilst watching the world go by outside. Same with the balcony if the weather allows. We keep our cabin tidy, but a spruce up (particularly towel changes) before we retire for the evening is a welcome aspect of cruising which we would miss. 

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6 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

Thanks for doing that Graham. To be honest I would have been sceptical about this if it was not coming from a known source.

 

Did anyone on your cruise comment on the changes on your cruise? Do you know how long the trial if for? I can’t find anything about this on the P& O website nor can I find any information about cabin steward duties anymore, I’m sure there used to be something about it.

 

I have to say I have my concerns about all of this if it moves from a trial to become a permanent change.

 

1. It dumbs down the P &O product yet again. I am not a messy person but I do like coming back from dinner to a tidy bathroom with fresh towels, clean glasses etc. It’s a nice part of cruising.

 

2. What happens about Pullman and sofa beds, are they permanently down. That would make the cabin feel smaller for families.

 

3. When is the cleaning done, not happy about my cabin potentially not being done until Pm.

 

4. What impact will this have on hygiene. Constant cleaning controls bugs eg noro

 

5. Yet again it is a potential change (though only a trial) made after people have booked and paid for their cruise and with no notification. Becoming a P&O habit.

 

6. PM Ice and lemon - enough said.😀

 

I always paid the autotips but many did not (nor paid in cash) apparently. It appears that this trial, which Graham has highlighted, is perhaps a direct result of them going: there always had to be some way for the company to claw back the money and this could be it.

 

As our cruise was a 2 night we thought maybe the cabin steward was trying it on as our Butler who had only been on the ship a couple of weeks was unaware when we mentioned this to him.

It was P&O head office guest services who rang us yesterday about another question who confirmed the fleetwide trial of the once a day cabin service.

 

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11 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

If true, and this becomes policy, it would be yet another retrograde step by P&O. 

 

Whilst cruising is much cheaper, in real terms, than it was in years gone by, I had rather hoped that this could be achieved through the economies of scale that the larger ships provide (where cost per passenger is much less than the smaller ships) rather than erosion of the quality of product offered. 

 

I often read comments, particularly from those who book inside cabins, that it is just somewhere to sleep. That’s not the case for us, hence why we always book a balcony cabin. We spend a lot of time in our cabin. Nine out of ten times we return to our cabin after breakfast to find that it has been serviced. During periods of the day when none of the entertainment appeals (all too often, sadly) we return to our cabin and will often read on the sofa whilst watching the world go by outside. Same with the balcony if the weather allows. We keep our cabin tidy, but a spruce up (particularly towel changes) before we retire for the evening is a welcome aspect of cruising which we would miss. 

I agree with you.

We like to sit on our balcony eating room service breakfast and during the day with a coffee,hot chocolate and biscuits after coming back from a port tour.

We were told you have to ask for extra towels and the second day we had double the towels left in our cabin 

Edited by grapau27
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Ive got a superior deluxe balcony booked on azura next year, Booked this for the extra space as there is 3 of us travelling.

will not be a happy bunny if the sofa bed is made up 24/7 and restricts access to balcony and the loss of the sofa in the day.

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5 minutes ago, MickD said:

Ive got a superior deluxe balcony booked on azura next year, Booked this for the extra space as there is 3 of us travelling.

will not be a happy bunny if the sofa bed is made up 24/7 and restricts access to balcony and the loss of the sofa in the day.

That is a very valid point.  I take the point too about having towels changed and the en-suite spruced up after showering and that could be after morning or evening showers - or both. 

However having the runner put over the bed after the morning visit and removed again with the turn-down service really doesn't make any difference to me. I don't need my nightwear laying out (and have read some posters who positively avoid this happening by putting their nightclothes away) nor am I bothered about chocolates or towel animals.  Lovely touches but not at all necessary to me enjoying my holiday. And conscious of the need to make economies and seek efficiencies I can see that P&O are on the look out for ways to cut costs if for no other reason than the loss of gratuity income.

I could cope with one clean per day with tea/coffee stocks replenished but I would want it early in the day.  As others have said, if you choose to spend some time in their room during the day that wouldn't be appealing if the room hadn't been serviced.  That would be impossible - stewards aren't going to work mornings only, so some cabins will have to be done later in the day.   I wouldn't be happy about that at all.

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Does this mean the Strewards will get double the amount of cabins, therefore your cabin might not be made up until late afternoon? Or does it mean the Stewards will be required to do other jobs for the rest of the day after finishing their cabin duties? Poor them.

 

What about the cabins with families that require the pullman bunks or sofabeds made up in the evening and put down in the morning? 

 

Most good UK hotels do a turn down service at night with chocolates on pillows ( will these now go) so perhaps they might just do that without a full service. That would be fine by me as long as the family cabins still have extra beds sorted.  We try and reuse our towels so not a problem there, it is such a waste to chuck them in the wash after every use. I mean how many people change their towels at home twice a day? 

 

Unfortunately  this is what happens when the majority of people remove the gratuities forcing the company to stop them altogether and then make cutbacks. 

 

Editing as noticed the runners mentioned above. We take it off and the scatter cushions as soon as we get in the cabin and put at the top of the wardrobe and ask Steward not to bother to put them  back on. 1) to save the Steward time and 2) because I don’t think they are washed after every occupant

Edited by amajaa
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23 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

I noticed that the first post was from a suite, I for one would prefer twice daily cleaning and turndown, than a butler,  but for price of suite I'd want both

Exactly what we said.

Our Butler was very helpful and friendly.

The trial must have just started on the December 1st two nights cruise because our butler hadn't heard about this but the trial was confirmed to us by phone yesterday by P&O head office guest services.

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There are two comments on P&Os Facebook page where both returned from Arcadia and Ventura in the last few days and both have confirmed that on both ships their cabins were serviced twice daily. So it is either another P&O rumour or only being trialled on certain ships.

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Totally agree with Selbourne who's views mirror ours. If implemented will be a bad move on behalf of P&O - we always paid the auto gratuities which was an issue for many Brits I know BUT - as the saying goes BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!!

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16 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

There are two comments on P&Os Facebook page where both returned from Arcadia and Ventura in the last few days and both have confirmed that on both ships their cabins were serviced twice daily. So it is either another P&O rumour or only being trialled on certain ships.

It is fact unfortunately.

The trial happened on Oceana December 1-3 2018 and confirmed by phone yesterday by P&O head office guest services.They said it was trailing fleetwide.

IMG_20181213_112931.jpg

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