Day 2 on Reflection - Stateroom attendant a ghost?

[mrsgoggins]

4 hours ago, Elusive_Cruiser said:

As for the Reflection - not our favorite ship.  The extra deck of cabins, hence extra pax, was noticeable.  Not horrible, but for sure affected our enjoyment of Cafe Al Bacio. 😞

 

This was my experience also on our October/November Med cruise.  We are on her again shortly in the Caribbean and so I am hoping that good weather keeps people out of Cafe Al Bacio during the day 😎.

[mayleeman]

11 hours ago, Elusive_Cruiser said:

Please don't be so negative and assume that I am a *****.

 

 Earlier you called my comments thoughtful, and now you are angry. My comment was serious. If he could have done better, how can he know if you don't educate him about your wishes?

 

Did not greet you upon boarding? Seriously? Did you read any of the multiple possibilities people have provided, or did you even check if he was on duty then? Is his most important job to do the things you admit he was excellent at, or is it the kow-towing you really desire to make you feel special?

 

I cannot disagree with what you might think I am concluding about your attitude, but I assure you anything I think is evidence-based on your self-description, not an assumption. By your own standards, you downgraded his tip from your usual, and it was based on him not meeting a standard you did not vocalize to him.

 

Honestly, I cannot imagine how anyone could not be thrilled with an excellent attendant simply because he was shy or possibly working too hard to be your butler or doorman.

Edited January 1, 2020 by mayleeman

[LMaxwell]

On 12/11/2019 at 12:08 AM, Elusive_Cruiser said:

 Yes, our cabin was ready, and clean, when announced.  Yes, we had turn down last night.  Yes, he/she came in today, at some point and tidied.  Yes, he/she delivered our afternoon canapes.  And, yes, we got turn down tonight.  I'm just used to our attendant being engaged with us!  

 

We'll see what happens over the next few days, but if I don't see you, I'm not likely to want to tip you. 

 

The top portion of what you have described is really what matters to me, and I agree without interaction there isn't as much potential for additional tips.  A pleasant attitude in passing really is wholly sufficient if the jobs are being done satisfactorily.  Sometimes I find additional engagement to be a bit cringey.  Sometimes it is pleasant.  But I try to keep in mind they have big workloads and so I keep my expectations to what the company advertises I get with the room. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by LMaxwell

[jjsnonna]

On 12/11/2019 at 9:56 AM, Lady Arwen said:

Honestly, much ado about nothing.  I can't see any problem here. 

I agree, and who stomps down the hallway if they don't have enough hangers?  Honestly, my first thought was that this post was a joke.

[NoWhiners]

12 hours ago, Elusive_Cruiser said:

...As I mentioned in my original post, this is the 1st time that we were not greeted, upon boarding, by our cabin attendant.  And, we are used to having our attendant opening the cabin door when my hands are full.  This never happened, not once, in 11 days.  So, this is why, he received the extra tip, but not as much as I normally give.

 

Please don't be so negative and assume that I am a *****. Sorry to say, but you are, for making your negative and ignorant comments.

 

 

 

Hmm...don't be surprised at the reactions you may get to these statements. Just a friendly heads up.

 

Happy New Year

Edited January 1, 2020 by NoWhiners
correction

[phoenix_dream]

I disagree with most of the posters on this thread.

 

One of the nice touches with Celebrity has been that at the beginning of the cruise, the stateroom attendant introduces him or herself and checks in with you.  We sail often with Celebrity and have a number of things we like to discuss with them (extra hangers, extra pillows, remove the drinks in the fridge, etc.).  Yes, we can always call and ask for those things and if needed of course we would do that.  But a good stateroom attendant will 'make the rounds' the first day to check in with you and see if there is anything special that you need.  It's called going above and beyond and that is what extra tipping is about, isn't it?  You tip the normal amount for normal service (i.e.,service that is a standard part of your contract with the company- room clean, etc.  You have a right to expect that for what you pay for the cruise), and extra for service above and beyond.  Of our 54 Celebrity cruises I would estimate this has happened at least 50 of the 54 times.  Excellent service is a hallmark of Celebrity and it is those small touches that make the service special.   I'm not saying that not stopping by the first day is an overall indicator of not going above and beyond, but then again it may be.  Only the OP can evaluate that.

 

Let the flaming continue...………..

[mom says]

It seems to me that if the OP requires this level of fawning and extra attention, he really needs to upgrade to a suite. JMHO.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

54 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I disagree with most of the posters on this thread.

 

One of the nice touches with Celebrity has been that at the beginning of the cruise, the stateroom attendant introduces him or herself and checks in with you.  We sail often with Celebrity and have a number of things we like to discuss with them (extra hangers, extra pillows, remove the drinks in the fridge, etc.).  Yes, we can always call and ask for those things and if needed of course we would do that.  But a good stateroom attendant will 'make the rounds' the first day to check in with you and see if there is anything special that you need.  It's called going above and beyond and that is what extra tipping is about, isn't it?  You tip the normal amount for normal service (i.e.,service that is a standard part of your contract with the company- room clean, etc.  You have a right to expect that for what you pay for the cruise), and extra for service above and beyond.  Of our 54 Celebrity cruises I would estimate this has happened at least 50 of the 54 times.  Excellent service is a hallmark of Celebrity and it is those small touches that make the service special.   I'm not saying that not stopping by the first day is an overall indicator of not going above and beyond, but then again it may be.  Only the OP can evaluate that.

 

Let the flaming continue...………..

To be fair, unless the OP was in the cabin from the moment they were available until Muster and then from Muster until dinner and so forth, it is possible that the window that the steward had to greet people happened when they were out of the cabin.

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

I disagree with most of the posters on this thread.

 

But a good stateroom attendant will 'make the rounds' the first day to check in with you and see if there is anything special that you need.  It's called going above and beyond and that is what extra tipping is about, isn't it?  ...I'm not saying that not stopping by the first day is an overall indicator of not going above and beyond, but then again it may be.  Only the OP can evaluate that.

 

 

This is a reasonable argument, no flaming from me. I'm not sure the cabin attendant making the rounds is above and beyond, but that is a minor point. I believe the attendant should be evaluated for their overall service or lack of it. And it is true that that is in the eye of the customer.

 

I do think it might be a little unrealistic to have the cabin attendant open your door for you every time you show up with your hands full of things. There are so many reasons for this (they could be in another cabin, off duty, down the hall restocking something or getting something for another cabin, doing one of those training drills on port days, etc), it isn't really fair to make this a big part of their evaluation. If they were around, saw me coming to my cabin with hands full, I might consider that going above and beyond, although I find that they are pretty helpful/friendly whenever they see you.

 

Everyone has their expectations I guess, but we can also manage them to realistic levels.

 

Peace.

[Michidoeme]

On the other hand on one of our cruises when we still had 2 attendants per cabin, the boss man always seemed to lurk in the hallways, running to open our doors before we could, inquiring how we and our day were, etc.  Asking if we had special requirements etc.  He hardly got around to doing something meaningful and his poor assistant seemed to end up doing all the real work.

We gave the extra tip to the assistant !  We are perfectly able to open our own doors and his constant in-your-face  was a bit offputting.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Michidoeme

[chaps612]

I've been on five celebrity cruises and without fail have met and  tipped first day our stateroom attendant. I still remember Krishna on our first Reflection cruise who without a doubt was our best ever.

[drakes2]

On 1/1/2020 at 3:16 PM, Michidoeme said:

On the other hand on one of our cruises when we still had 2 attendants per cabin, the boss man always seemed to lurk in the hallways, running to open our doors before we could, inquiring how we and our day were, etc.  Asking if we had special requirements etc.  He hardly got around to doing something meaningful and his poor assistant seemed to end up doing all the real work.

We gave the extra tip to the assistant !  We are perfectly able to open our own doors and his constant in-your-face  was a bit offputting.

They're down to one attendant per stateroom  now  but mine said he only has half the amount of cabins to clean. Although he was fine and the room was kept clean he once forgot to replenish toilet paper also shower gel. It was after hours and I had to get housekeeping to deliver the missing items. Couple other minor issues. I just left auto tips on no extra. 

[mlmbar]

A few years ago on Adventure of the Seas we had a real elusive and obnoxious attendant. She never came the first day so we called her. When she came, ALL we wanted to do was ask for ice and extra towels daily, she was angry and told us "how it was". She pointed her finger at us, told us "her hours" and that we were the only cabin she had at that end  of the hallway so if we didn't put the clean up sign on the door, don;t expect her.  We still gave her a tip hoping her attitude would change. Our beds were made but after two days we had accumulated wine glasses and coffee cups so obviously we were not getting full service.  We called hotel services and the manager came to our cabin and explained that our attendant hadn't shown up in two days so we had a sub. Hadn;t shown up?????? Did she go overboard?  Well, she finally "showed up" the next day for the remainder of the week. We never actually saw her close up again but she would glare at us if she saw us in the hallway and our only towel animal was a scorpion  LOL!!! This woman became a source of a laugh to us. Needless to say, no tip at the end