Day 2 on Reflection - Stateroom attendant a ghost?

[Elusive_Cruiser]

8 hours ago, ScubesDad said:

I wouldn't be overly concerned as it appears everything required by the attendant is being completed at the usual high standard with the exception of actually meeting them.  There could be several reasons why you have not been able to connect; the most obvious one being your schedules have not coincided.

 

A few years ago we did a B2B and during the first segment the attendant was always visible and around.  On the second leg we did not meet the new attendant until the third day. We knew it was a changeover situation and we were aware the first attendant was going home. The situation was very much as you described your situation, all the required functions were completed in an exemplary manner, we just had not seen or met the new attendant. On the third day the attendant reached out and introduced herself, apologized for not connecting earlier, and chatted with us.  She indicated there were some "issues" with other guests which needed attending too.  It became apparent within a few days the reason we saw very little of her was the l;evel of care she actually put forth in her job.  She was doing a deep clean on every cabin she took over, to ensure they were up to her standards.  In fact, she found a pair of eye glasses in the room which she assumed were ours...who knows how long they had been there.

 

If there is something I require urgently I will pick up the phone and call the attendant. Their telephone number is attached to a speed dial button.  Otherwise we just leave  a note on the desk with our request, and it is fulfilled when they next visit the room.  I think this is just a "one off" situation, and not the new normal.

 

I, as well as others, are a little disheartened at the implication you would not reward the attendant for looking after you solely because you had never met them.  I understand the personal connection is missing, and would suggest you call them and ask them to drop by and meet.

 

Enjoy the Reflection, we sailed on her this past June and enjoyed every minute.

Thank you ScubesDad - it is your post, and a couple of others, that schooled me about withholding tips.  

 

I never have urgent needs... I just enjoy the extra attention of a 'hello'.

 

[mayleeman]

Face it: the "mean" comments were only in response to a statement by you that you would likely not tip the attendant if you did not meet him/her. You did not say you would not add an "extra tip" but instead you said there was a greater than even chance of no tip at all.

 

You came off as mean and punitive over a totally ridiculous standard that the attendant could not even be aware of (not making seeing you a priority). Any experience at all on CC should inform you that the horde will take up torches and pitchforks any time a cruiser acts like a jerk toward a crew member. This one is on you.

 

That said, I am glad you took the lesson of the postings you learned from. And I am hoping that what you really meant was that a personal connection helps you see the attendant as an actual person, and that can create a bond, and that after bonding you feel like it is no longer an impersonal relationship, and thus are more inclined to be more generous than just leaving prepaid tips on..... But you threatened no tip, and in the tipping duels on CC you know that is throwing down a gauntlet.

[clskinsfan]

We rarely see ours when we cruise. Because we are rarely in our cabin. 

[Elusive_Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Face it: the "mean" comments were only in response to a statement by you that you would likely not tip the attendant if you did not meet him/her. You did not say you would not add an "extra tip" but instead you said there was a greater than even chance of no tip at all.

 

You came off as mean and punitive over a totally ridiculous standard that the attendant could not even be aware of (not making seeing you a priority). Any experience at all on CC should inform you that the horde will take up torches and pitchforks any time a cruiser acts like a jerk toward a crew member. This one is on you.

 

That said, I am glad you took the lesson of the postings you learned from. And I am hoping that what you really meant was that a personal connection helps you see the attendant as an actual person, and that can create a bond, and that after bonding you feel like it is no longer an impersonal relationship, and thus are more inclined to be more generous than just leaving prepaid tips on..... But you threatened no tip, and in the tipping duels on CC you know that is throwing down a gauntlet.

Ahhhh... funny, but as I was coming back up to my cabin, reflecting on the comments, I only just realized that perhaps people were thinking I was removing the 'daily tips', which I am NOT.

 

Thank you for yet another thoughtful and positive post. 

 

I would never remove the daily tips charged to our account.  My understanding is that those are distributed among all the staff that make our experience great.

 

I always tip extra to our cabin attendant, and to the other staff that go beyond  (bar, baristas, wait staff, etc).

[Purplsmurf]

We were on the Infinity TA in October. It wasn’t until day 8 of our 14 day cruise that we first saw our cabin steward and that’s because we had an issue with water on our bathroom floor.  After that I think we only saw him once the rest of the cruise. I have always had them introduce themselves the first day and we would still see them occasionally, but not this time. We saw other cabin stewards just not ours. 

[mayleeman]

@Elusive_Cruiser It is funny how we can make an impression diametrically opposed to what we intend. Especially on an internet board. In person, if having a discussion, the first question would be, "Do you mean....?" and you could have cleared it up immediately! On a board, people see the words as written, and immediately jump all over them. I actually thought of this possibility before my first post and wish I had brought it up then. But I was too into confrontation mode by then.

 

I saw the Mr. Rogers movie yesterday. I suspect he would have given you the benefit of the doubt immediately.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

15 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

@Elusive_Cruiser It is funny how we can make an impression diametrically opposed to what we intend. Especially on an internet board. In person, if having a discussion, the first question would be, "Do you mean....?" and you could have cleared it up immediately! On a board, people see the words as written, and immediately jump all over them. I actually thought of this possibility before my first post and wish I had brought it up then. But I was too into confrontation mode by then.

 

I saw the Mr. Rogers movie yesterday. I suspect he would have given you the benefit of the doubt immediately.

Yes, very correct!  Glad this is getting sorted out, and understood.  I really do not like being viewed as a bad person.  I treat people well, and respectfully.  Thank you for your understanding.

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, Elusive_Cruiser said:

Yes, very correct!  Glad this is getting sorted out, and understood.  I really do not like being viewed as a bad person.  I treat people well, and respectfully.  Thank you for your understanding.

 

Hope you now have a fantastic cruise! Would love to hear more about your general experiences/impressions...

[Pushka]

I recall we had a very attentive butler in a Hotel. It weirded us out as he would appear the instant we set foot in the room. I much prefer elusive cabin attendants who attend to their duties without fanfare. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

Hope you now have a fantastic cruise! Would love to hear more about your general experiences/impressions...

Same.  

@ElusiveCruiser, I hope you will report out on your cruise as it's been a while since we were on Reflection.  And I urge you not to allow a group of faceless names on keyboards to make you feel one way or another.  Take what resonates with you and leave the rest behind.  

[Mike981]

I like how this thread came together, nice job kids! 👍

I like to see my cabin attendant by the second day so I can ask them to please bring ice to the room and clear out a little room in the mini fridge for our water bottles. Other than that, just the usual and we are golden.

 

ElusiveCruiser, I also would like to hear your take on the Reflection. We leave in just under 30 days and are looking forward to our first cruise with her. I have seen mixed reports of it feeling more crowded after the refurb.

Have a wonderful time!

[Texed]

1 minute ago, Mike981 said:

I also would like to hear your take on the Reflection. We leave in just under 30 days and are looking forward to our first cruise with her. I have seen mixed reports of it feeling more crowded after the refurb.

 

Reflection has not been refurbed yet.  It has always had occupancy of 3,046 versus 2,886 for Silhouette, and 2,850 for the other "S" class ships.  🙂

[Mike981]

9 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

Reflection has not been refurbed yet.  It has always had occupancy of 3,046 versus 2,886 for Silhouette, and 2,850 for the other "S" class ships.  🙂

OOOooops, my bad. 😳

 

I thought I read that they shrunk one of the main lounges to add more rooms and assumed (and you know what they say about doing that) they went into refurb.
Thank you Texed for setting me straight.

[barbette165]

Mike - the refurb of Reflection in early 2018 was really minimal compared to the "Revolution" changes. New chairs in the MDR, new carpets, RFC keys. There are more passengers on Reflection due to the pool being on deck 14 vs deck 12 plus the 5 suites that take up a portion of the Sky Lounge. This means that on deck 15, the lawn club, mast bar and grill and basketball court are all on the same level and the Solstice deck is only one flight of stairs up from the mast bar/grill as opposed to two flights up on the other S-class ships. As a consequence the Solstice deck receives much more footfall on sea-days, spreading people out a bit more. (Space that will be lost to the unwashed masses after the revolution when the are becomes the Retreat sun deck).

[George C]

Same thing happened to us last week on msc, I have done over 60 cruises and this was a first, also we had a butler and did not see him until dinner time in suite lounge, but he did his job and we were happy. 

[Elusive_Cruiser]

11 hours ago, Mike981 said:

OOOooops, my bad. 😳

 

I thought I read that they shrunk one of the main lounges to add more rooms and assumed (and you know what they say about doing that) they went into refurb.
Thank you Texed for setting me straight.

 

They have made the Sky Lounge 1/2 the size it was.  We've been up there a couple of times in the evening, and, actually, we like it.  It was too big, and underutilized before.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

As for our overall experience, on the Reflection - it has been the same awesome we've come to love on Celebrity.  Getting used to the extra deck took a few hours (:)) Pool deck on same deck as buffet = Deck 14.  My DH actually felt like there were less people on this ship than what we've experienced on the Eclipse, Equinox and Silhouette!

 

Food, service, ship cleanliness, staff,etc etc - all up to par with why we love Celebrity.

[keesar]

23 minutes ago, Elusive_Cruiser said:

 

They have made the Sky Lounge 1/2 the size it was.  We've been up there a couple of times in the evening, and, actually, we like it.  It was too big, and underutilized before.

 

The Sky Lounge has always been that size since the Reflection was launched.  I am not happy taking away public space in order to increase revenue by adding more rooms.

 

You will notice the difference in service at the bars and in Blu Restaurant with the increased number of passengers.  

Edited December 13, 2019 by keesar

[drakes2]

On 12/11/2019 at 6:42 AM, upwarduk said:

I don’t think they have an assistant now, so they will be very busy.

The perk with our next booking is pre paid tips ( from Southampton) so they are even less likely to come to introduce themselves, as they assured of their tips.

My most recent stateroom attendant did say they no longer have an assistant but also have half the rooms to clean. I was in a CC and although he was very efficient and one day brought me an extra bottle of wine that he said a guest did not want I did not tip extra than the standard $15 per day. The last evening he seemed to be hovering around not sure if he expected an extra tip or not. I just felt a bit awkward. 

[waterbug123]

My general understanding is that staff cuts have resulted in room attendants having more rooms to clean, which keeps them busier than in the past.  Sometimes I see our attendant in the hallway as we're coming or going, sometimes I don't.  If I don't, I just assume he/she is busy cleaning someone else's room, and I certainly don't expect him/her to rush out the hallway every 20 seconds just to see if another pax is walking by to greet by name.  Also, their schedule can vary according to what time the people in other cabins decide to come and go each day, so I don't worry if I don't see them i person.  If we do, we give them any requests in person; if we don't we leave a note.  Either way, assuming your goal for the cruise isn't to become best friends with your room attendant, then as long as your room gets cleaned, towels are replaced and any requests are ultimately answered their tip shouldn't be affected. 

[VikingRob]

Another thing to consider, there are way less stewards then there use to be. They are spread very thinly. Less people covering more cabins! Tipping extra I am sure is always appreciated, but the most important thing is making sure you are positive in your post cruise questionnaire. That is how they get their promotions and any extra benefits. 

[Elusive_Cruiser]

As an update - it was 5 days before we met our cabin attendant.  He was a kind, and shy, young man.  He did a great job in our stateroom - just was not the engaged attendant we are used to.  We did tip him extra at the end of the cruise, but not as much as we usually do.

 

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. 😞

[mayleeman]

Well, that'll teach him. Unless you didn't tell him what made you unhappier with him than attendants you tipped more.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Well, that'll teach him. Unless you didn't tell him what made you unhappier with him than attendants you tipped more.

It is not my 'job' to 'teach' him what makes me happy... no more than the restaurant or bar server.... I tip based on my experience, as does the rest of the population. I  did not remove the daily tips.  I DID give an extra tip, as he did a great job in our cabin.  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.

 

Have a nice day.

[NMTraveller]

They are busy.  I don't think that they have a bunch of time to chat.  Call them on the phone if you need something.