NCL Star - towel animals - the rest of the story

[kochleffel]

Signing out of this thread. Too much anger about everything.

[luv2kroooz]

8 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

 

I think the problem is the word spewing which suggests sea pollution which I don't think you meant.

 

I live a 30 minute drive from Southampton, this is an interesting article about the size of the pollution caused once out of port:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/21/the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-and-its-supersized-pollution-problem

Ok, fair. I did see a recent post of heavy carbon residue on the spice h20 area of Bliss. I think it was Bliss. The back deck was littered with a carbon-like residue. I also saw a recent post on the Carnival boards as I have found myself learning more about their product offering as an alternative to NCL. I think it was from Magic in Cozumel. The residue from Magic's engines ended up on the deck of whatever ship was docked alongside. Nasty.

 

My simple point is if NCL is concerned about environmental pollution, then eliminating towel animals is a start and then it should cut down on printing constant advertisements for art auctions, gift shops, spa treatments, etc. It could make a significant, meaningful monetary investment in LNG technology. To me, NCL raises environmental concerns when it conveniently fits it's business model. Most fair thinking people see right through that kind of behavior.

[BostonGal35]

i LOVE towel animals.  we save them all week, usually on the back of the sofa, although in our forward suite on GA, we had that lovely counter in the bedroom.  

thumbnail.jfif

[slugg]

This is purely a cost saving measure. The don’t care about the environment. Let’s be real, here. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by slugg

[Mid43]

"For environmental reasons" yet for the soda package they are no longer offering the reusable thermal cups, instead using the (smaller) plastic cups each time you order a drink, which I am sure are more environmentally friendly than reusable cups. "sure"

 

I am scheduled on an NCL cruise in the coming months, and suspect this may be my last; the whole industry in changing in a direction I am not fond of.

[luv2kroooz]

Sorry if I offended anyone by using the word spewing in my prior posts. Here was the way in which I intended to use it... As in exhaust oils spewing from a ships smokestack. I did not mean to imply NCL is discharging oil into the sea. I have no knowledge if they are or aren't doing that. Thank you.

spew

/spyo͞o/

Learn to pronounce

verb

gerund or present participle: spewing

1. expel large quantities of (something) rapidly and forcibly.

   "buses were spewing out black clouds of exhaust"

   synonyms:

   emit, discharge, eject, expel, belch out, pour out, spout, disgorge "factories and chemical plants were spewing out clouds of yellow smoke"

[JesseB]

7 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Sorry if I offended anyone by using the word spewing in my prior posts. Here was the way in which I intended to use it... As in exhaust oils spewing from a ships smokestack. I did not mean to imply NCL is discharging oil into the sea. I have no knowledge if they are or aren't doing that. Thank you.

spew

/spyo͞o/

Learn to pronounce

verb

gerund or present participle: spewing

1. expel large quantities of (something) rapidly and forcibly.

   "buses were spewing out black clouds of exhaust"

   synonyms:

   emit, discharge, eject, expel, belch out, pour out, spout, disgorge "factories and chemical plants were spewing out clouds of yellow smoke"

Unless something goes pretty wrong they aren’t putting any oil in the water, that’s the type of thing that leads to the Cheng losing his license...

[allyfrizzle]

They're becoming the Spirit of cruise lines.

[DZcreature]

5 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Signing out of this thread. Too much anger about everything.

 

It is more disappointment than anger. If you don't want towel animals on your next trip just leave a note for your steward. I have been on enough cruises that I no longer need them, but I think they are really fun for new cruisers. I do not think this cruise tradition should be stopped. Frank Del FeeO could take home a little less money, and let us mass market cruisers feel a little special for a week. Come to think of it, I am angry 😒 

[firstimer2009]

7 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I remember when Del Rio stopped the fireworks off Getaway and Breakaway due to "Safety" concerns.  Then NCL stopped people from taking food to their cabin due to "safety" concerns.  Now towel animals are an environmental concern LOL.  All of this is rubbish. Its ways to save money plain and simple.

Hold it.  You cannot take food to the cabin anymore?  As in from the buffet??  My husband always does a morning run of muffins and juice for me and brings to the room.  I'm not a morning person.  We only cruised once on NCL in 2009 and going on another one in Sept 2019.  I still haven't made final payment.  Honestly this could be a deal breaker.

[Greenpea2]

1 minute ago, firstimer2009 said:

Hold it.  You cannot take food to the cabin anymore?  As in from the buffet??  My husband always does a morning run of muffins and juice for me and brings to the room.  I'm not a morning person.  We only cruised once on NCL in 2009 and going on another one in Sept 2019.  I still haven't made final payment.  Honestly this could be a deal breaker.

You can bring food from the buffet. That was a short-lived rule a number of years back.

 

[AdoraBelle]

3 minutes ago, firstimer2009 said:

Hold it.  You cannot take food to the cabin anymore?  As in from the buffet??  My husband always does a morning run of muffins and juice for me and brings to the room.  I'm not a morning person.  We only cruised once on NCL in 2009 and going on another one in Sept 2019.  I still haven't made final payment.  Honestly this could be a deal breaker.

 

They tried to do this in ... 2015, or 2016, it didn't last long. It was around the same time that room service stopped being complimentary. Coincidentally enough. 

 

At the time, their excuse was that people were leaving plates in the hallways. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by AdoraBelle

[firstimer2009]

I do get the plates in hallways because I did see that on our cruise.  Also kids/teens were taking French fries from the buffet to have food fights in the halls and elevators.  This was when the Pearl was a new ship and it was such a shame to see.  

 

I'm following this thread since we are on the Star in September.  Guess I will cross Cagney's off the list.  It was my fave restaurant from the prior cruise.

[JamieLogical]

12 minutes ago, firstimer2009 said:

Hold it.  You cannot take food to the cabin anymore?  As in from the buffet??  My husband always does a morning run of muffins and juice for me and brings to the room.  I'm not a morning person.  We only cruised once on NCL in 2009 and going on another one in Sept 2019.  I still haven't made final payment.  Honestly this could be a deal breaker.

 

 

You know they will deliver juice and pastries to your room for free in the mornings, right? No need to send the husband unless you just want him out of your hair.

[firstimer2009]

10 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

You know they will deliver juice and pastries to your room for free in the mornings, right? No need to send the husband unless you just want him out of your hair.

One our last cruise we were right below the buffet so it was really easy for him to run a flight up and get breakfast.  He also helped himself to bacon.  The one in Sept. we will probably try the delivery.

[david_sobe]

2 hours ago, firstimer2009 said:

Hold it.  You cannot take food to the cabin anymore?  As in from the buffet??  My husband always does a morning run of muffins and juice for me and brings to the room.  I'm not a morning person.  We only cruised once on NCL in 2009 and going on another one in Sept 2019.  I still haven't made final payment.  Honestly this could be a deal breaker.

This was one of the few decisions like the recent Grey Goose exclusion from the UBP that NCL retracted on due to backlash.

[luv2kroooz]

7 hours ago, allyfrizzle said:

They're becoming the Spirit of cruise lines.

Oh, I submit NCL is far worse. Spirit doesn't abuse it's passengers with industry leading 20% service charges like NCL.

[AKR2011]

This makes me so sad. My husband and I work incredibly hard, and once every two years or so we can afford to cruise. It takes a lot of budgeting and working to find the right itinerary that will work for our time off, budget, and goal of exploring new places. We fell in love with cruising, because we work in the service industry ourselves and enjoy that we can be guests once in awhile. We only book an inside room to save money. We spend plenty elsewhere doing unique shore excursions, having a few specialty meals, drinking (we used to budget per day and now get the package instead) and budgeting for a round of Deal or No Deal or Bingo here and there. We fell in love with NCL from the get-go because their service has always been great, and no one every cared that we stayed in an Inside rather than The Haven. The bartenders give great service no matter what, and the Cruise Directors and staff have always made our vacations special.

 

When I get home each night, I can't wait to plan my next day, but first, there's the towel animal. We only had mints on our pillow one cruise back in 2016 when we had issues with the toilet flooding our bathroom. They were trying to be nice. It as a nice touch, but I can't say it made a big difference. However, towel animals remind me that I am on vacation, and it's a special vacation. My husband always makes a point to talk to our steward on the first day and let them know how much I love the towel animals. He slips them a tip right off the bat as he explains this. Then I always leave an extra tip at the end. I know this all may sound silly, but Towel Animals are a very special part of our NCL experience. My husband has said that he loves seeing me smile when I walk in each night, even though I've seen all of the animals in the past. Like I said, we work in the service industry. We know how hard the staff work and are happy to tip them as a thank you.

 

If anyone from NCL is reading this, I really hope you understand that a towel animal is more than just dirty laundry. It is that true feeling of being on vacation and knowing that you are cared for. This is what started us with NCL. The staff work so hard, and we've remained loyal over the years. We hope to continue being loyal, but all of these cut-backs lately are not making that an easy decision.

[Homosassa]

For all of you who think of towel animals as a cruise tradition: Nope!

 

 I have been cruising long enough to remember the days before towel animals and their introduction (about twenty years ago) when a towel animal might make its appearance  on Formal night. Actually, I think the towel animals started to appear about the time the stewards stopped pleating or folding and displaying your night wear on the bed after turn down. (No use trying to hide the nighties or PJs, they were always found).

 

The novelty of the towel animals quickly wore off and I usually disassemble any that are made to make room.

 

I can see the point about environmental impact. It was one thing to make a towel animal once or twice a cruise on  7 night trip on ships that carried 1500 people or less.

 

Fast forward to today's sardine cans (or Beehives of the Seas for one line) with 3-6,000 passengers and towel animals every night and the impact on laundry adds up.

[Greenpea2]

That's exactly why a lot of us are saying reuse the towels. It doesn't really matter if they have been around since the dawn of cruising--they have been around a long time and many people cherish them. As silly as that might sound to those who don't!

 

[ziggyuk]

52 minutes ago, Greenpea2 said:

That's exactly why a lot of us are saying reuse the towels. It doesn't really matter if they have been around since the dawn of cruising--they have been around a long time and many people cherish them. As silly as that might sound to those who don't!

 

 

100% there is zero environmental impact if no extra towels are used, it's not rocket science to make the animals from the new towels left in the bathroom.

[Gershep]

Very disappointed to hear they are stopping the towel animals. As old as I am it is something I enjoy seeing in my cabin. It's part of my cruise vacation.

[rhblake]

I can see why they stopped the towel animals.

There are a minimum of 1000+ cabins on each NCL ship (6 ships have 2000+). It takes a minimum of 2 towels (various sizes) to make a towel animal.The result requires the use of 2000 extra towels per night, which eventually must be washed, dried and folded. On the larger ships it is an extra 4000 towels per night.

[ziggyuk]

1 hour ago, rhblake said:

I can see why they stopped the towel animals.

There are a minimum of 1000+ cabins on each NCL ship (6 ships have 2000+). It takes a minimum of 2 towels (various sizes) to make a towel animal.The result requires the use of 2000 extra towels per night, which eventually must be washed, dried and folded. On the larger ships it is an extra 4000 towels per night.

 

 

Zero extra towels if they use the fresh ones from the bathroom, just like land hotels do.

Edited March 29, 2019 by ziggyuk

[rhblake]

5 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Zero extra towels if they use the fresh bathroom ones like land hotels do.

I don't know what the hotels in your area of the UK are like but in my travels I have never had a towel animal in any hotel I have stayed in (US, UK or anywhere else in Europe). Maybe I am just staying in the wrong hotels.