NCL Star - towel animals - the rest of the story

[ziggyuk]

14 minutes ago, rhblake said:

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.

 

Clearly.

I have often had them, towel animals, rose petals, chocolates and more, very common especially in the far east.

Nearly all 5 star hotels in my experience.

 

https://metro.co.uk/2015/02/11/20-examples-of-exceptional-hotel-towel-art-5057425/

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by ziggyuk

[cloud_nine]

17 hours ago, Homosassa said:

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.

What if you slept in the nude? What would they do then with no night wear? 😂

[Greenpea2]

19 minutes ago, rhblake said:

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.

I must be too. Have never had a towel animal except on a cruise.

 

[erdoran]

When people cruise there are certain expectations - some tangible "8 days and 7 nights on xxx itinerary, the following free restaurants & entertainment", others intangible/assumed - specific drink available at my favorite bar, pretzel rolls, towel animals, nightly turndown, prime rib at Cagney's, pillow mint, Grey Goose under $15.  The clearly-stated items are promised, the others aren't, and at that point it becomes a business decision, weighing the impact on customer relations vs the cost of continuing to provide the item/service.

 

It seems clear that NCL, like ANY business, is continuing to do whatever they can to reduce cost/increase profit, and they have every right to do so.  They are not a charity.

 

We, as consumers, have every right to vote with our wallets.  When the cost cutting/price increasing impact our enjoyment too much, or something gets taken away that's critical to our experience (e.g. towel animals for those who DO really care about them, and some do) then we can and should let NCL know how important that item is to us, and ultimately may decide that towel animals, UBP Grey Goose, pillow  mints, etc are so important to our experience that we'll cruise elsewhere...if we make that decision, it's even more important to tell NCL the reason they have lost our business (or not, there's no obligation but it might help others!)

 

Just because something isn't a deal breaker to YOU, it might be to someone else...and your deal-breaker might not matter to the other person.  We are all individuals and have different priorities and deal-breakers, and they are equally valid.  For myself, I love the towel animals and I'll note that it sucks if they are really doing away with them and I WILL miss them, but NCL won't lose my business over that.   For me, there are other things that are more important to me - but someone else on this thread might REALLY care, and I hope they make a lot of noise about it if they do.  

[Peachypooh]

Which other cruise lines do towel animals? I have only been on NCL for the past 10 years but before that

I went on Celebrity and no towel animals at that time. But did go on Liberty of the seas a few years

back and no towel animals.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Peachypooh

[Takoyaki]

9 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

Which other cruise lines do towel animals? I have only been on NCL for the past 10 years but before that

I went on Celebrity and no towel animals at that time. But did go on Liberty of the seas a few years

back and no towel animals.

 

we did royal in 2014 and had them most if not all nights

[erdoran]

10 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

Which other cruise lines do towel animals? I have only been on NCL for the past 10 years but before that

I went on Celebrity and no towel animals at that time. But did go on Liberty of the seas a few years

back and no towel animals.

My one and only Carnival cruise, I think in 2008, had them....in fact, they even had a "how to make towel animals" demo.  I know I've seen them someplace else, just don't remember where.  Maybe a Disney hotel?  Not sure.

[cloud_nine]

Every Royal cruise I've been on we've had them and when we do, we've raved about them to the stateroom attendant and then they tend to leave one every night.

[JustAllie]

48 minutes ago, erdoran said:

My one and only Carnival cruise, I think in 2008, had them....in fact, they even had a "how to make towel animals" demo.  I know I've seen them someplace else, just don't remember where.  Maybe a Disney hotel?  Not sure.

 

Maybe that's the next step -- the "how to make towel animals" demo is on Embarkation Day, right after Muster Drill, and from then on we get to make our own towel animals.  :-) 

 

I enjoy the towel animals, but it has always struck me that they were a good idea that snowballed into too much work.  One cruise would be an unexpected fun treat, but the room stewards would probably feel a lot of pressure to make them nightly in order to keep their passengers happy & get a bit of extra tip.  If the ship simply bans them, that takes the pressure off the room stewards to do something that isn't necessary to keep the room clean.  

[lujaha]

Just back from a cruise with P&O.  No towel animals there.  Regulars said they hadn't had them for a while.  Must say I missed them, but do understand the impact all those extra towels to wash could have.  So looks like I will be disappointed on my next cruise on the Encore!

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, erdoran said:

My one and only Carnival cruise, I think in 2008, had them....in fact, they even had a "how to make towel animals" demo.  I know I've seen them someplace else, just don't remember where.  Maybe a Disney hotel?  Not sure.

I was on The Escape last year, they had a demo in the Atrium showing how to make the towel animals. 

 

I also don't understand how having them in the room means extra towels...we always looked at our towel animal, had a laugh, maybe a picture and used the towel in the bathroom...

Edited March 29, 2019 by PTC DAWG

[TonyB17]

1 hour ago, Peachypooh said:

Which other cruise lines do towel animals? I have only been on NCL for the past 10 years but before that

I went on Celebrity and no towel animals at that time. But did go on Liberty of the seas a few years

back and no towel animals.

HAL had them every night I think.  This was a couple of years ago.  Chocolates where the eyes would be, which I liked more than the towel animal.  But I have a slight chocolate problem.  Maybe not so slight.

[CruisingNole]

11 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

Which other cruise lines do towel animals? I have only been on NCL for the past 10 years but before that

I went on Celebrity and no towel animals at that time. But did go on Liberty of the seas a few years

back and no towel animals.

 

Royal and Carnival always have towel animals. Royal usually has an instructional towel animal “workshop” of sorts on the last sea day.

 

It seems lately that a common phrase on the NCL forum is “do other cruise lines still do XYZ...”

 

Yes, yes they do. Lobster, prime rib, shrimp, bottled water, all of the things NCL has “taken away” can be found on every other major cruise line. 

 

Live a little, folks. Step out of your safety net and *gasp* see what else is out there. You might be surprised.

[ziggyuk]

I have not done MSC yet but others report they don't do towel animals.

[PTC DAWG]

9 hours ago, CruisingNole said:

 

Royal and Carnival always have towel animals. Royal usually has an instructional towel animal “workshop” of sorts on the last sea day.

 

It seems lately that a common phrase on the NCL forum is “do other cruise lines still do XYZ...”

 

Yes, yes they do. Lobster, prime rib, shrimp, bottled water, all of the things NCL has “taken away” can be found on every other major cruise line. 

 

Live a little, folks. Step out of your safety net and *gasp* see what else is out there. You might be surprised.

All cruise lines have their loyal customers...many can’t resist the perks, a free meal, shorter line etc...I get it...

 

me, not so much, have two cruises this year, one on MSC and one on Celebrity...

[gooch47]

The cutest towel animal I ever saw was a monkey sitting on the toilet wearing sunglasses and reading the Latitudes newsletter.

 

 I always roll my eyes when I see the signs stating that you can voluntarily reuse your towels (hang them up) to save the environment.  I always say to myself, you mean to save YOU money.

[JustAPilot]

I would imagine NCL does some kind of research before removing the towel animals. Everyone on this board is a seasoned cruiser and loves their towel animals. Maybe NCL found that outside of this board most passengers don’t really care if they have a towel animal on their bed or not. Personally I don’t, I walk in the room and say “oh cool it’s a swan” or something like that and that’s it and take it off so I can use the bed. 

[david_sobe]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 10:41 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

PETA strikes again.....

Nope...its

Del Rio strikes again 🚫💰

[erdoran]

3 hours ago, JustAPilot said:

I would imagine NCL does some kind of research before removing the towel animals. Everyone on this board is a seasoned cruiser and loves their towel animals. Maybe NCL found that outside of this board most passengers don’t really care if they have a towel animal on their bed or not. Personally I don’t, I walk in the room and say “oh cool it’s a swan” or something like that and that’s it and take it off so I can use the bed. 

Actually, it reminds me of the new trend in hotels - at least for Marriott and I can imagine others.  You have the OPTION to decline housekeeping services and if you CHOOSE to do so, you get extra reward points.  Note - OPTION and you are compensated.  You choose a reduced level of service and you “pay” less (if points can be assumed to have monetary value).

 

I think that is more at issue here - no decrease in fare, just a decrease in services.

 

And I doubt very much any research was done.  My guess it’s more like “what service levels can we reduce and position to look like the good guys for doing so?” And also “what wasn’t promised in writing?”.   I’m sure next there will be more and more pressure to reuse your towels instead of having towel changes daily, less room servicing, etc, all for “the good of the environment” which, btw IS true - but it’s also for “the good of the balance sheet”.  

 

Maybe meet in the middle and try the Marriott model?  Extra latitude points to encourage pax to accept reduced service levels?  I don’t dare hint at a reduced DSC 😆

[pcakes122]

Unpopular opinion here, but I am happy about this change.  I usually travel solo, I'm disabled AND I'm a neat freak.  Every night coming back to my cabin it has been a chore to get the towel animal off the bed and to another flat surface without it falling apart (because I don't want to hurt the room steward's feelings - another reason I don't ask them to please stop.)  Ultimately, my cabin winds up FULL of towel animals which is just clutter to me and drives me a little crazy. 🙂

 

Again, I know I could have asked the stewards to stop, but it just seemed like they took time to create them and leave them for me, and I didn't want to disappoint them by acting like I didn't appreciate it.  I DID appreciate the gesture, just not the extra work  (If you are not disabled, you won't understand that trying to "save them" actually took effort) or clutter.

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 3/28/2019 at 4:26 AM, ziggyuk said:

There should be no environmental impact from leaving towel animals, in a land hotel they simply use the bathroom ones, extra towels are simply unnecessary.

 

There is lost time but they take seconds to make, they are a way for the cabin steward to build a rapport, I'm sure the lost time is the stewards personal free time and they are happy to give those few seconds as it helps with tips.

 

This is my favorite, but it made us jump when we turned on the light.

We had one like that on the Dawn last year.

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 3/29/2019 at 10:57 AM, ziggyuk said:

 

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

I never saw a towel animal in a land hotel, and I stayed in some very nice ones.

[ziggyuk]

40 minutes ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

We had one like that on the Dawn last year.

 

Did it make you jump out of your skin when you turned the light on? We did 😱

[Barb Nahoumi]

It did take us by surprise for a moment.  My husband later took it down, because he needed the hanger.  He placed the animal on the shelf, without ruining it.

[ziggyuk]

This is a non animal from Sri Lanka hotel, they made it with a toilet roll, a pillow, my shirt and shorts.

 

Great at first but there was an ants nest in the centre of the roll which ended up being quite horrible as the ants did not like being disturbed!

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by ziggyuk