Towel animal ?

[LorettaD]

Just curious if these are still around or a thing of the past? On our recent Bliss cruise we had 2 separate cabins ( different floors) and neither got one towel animal. Seems odd.

[smplybcause]

They're only done upon request. They were done away with as an all the time thing as a way to go green (cuts down on the number of towels having to be washed).

 

If you request them you should tip your steward above the DSC. And you still might not get them if requested - depends on the steward. 

[LorettaD]

Ok thanks, that makes sense. We wouldn’t request them just curious as neither cabin received them. Better to have them conserve.

[casofilia]

Not seen them for quite a while now; the stewards are happy; it meant a lot of unnecessary work one way or the other.

[Gizmosmum]

We had one on our recent Jewel sailing with the card showing the time change leaning against it.

[zqvol]

22 hours ago, LorettaD said:

Just curious if these are still around or a thing of the past? On our recent Bliss cruise we had 2 separate cabins ( different floors) and neither got one towel animal. Seems odd.

We got them for 14 straight nights on the Gem in early - mid October, and never asked. I really think it depends on your steward.

Edited January 1, 2020 by zqvol

[hladygirl]

The basic NCL policy now is you only get them if you request them. You will then have to tip Stewart more or feel like a jerk. Just NCL’s way of making you feel like you have to pay more. On my last cruise in April 2019, no towel animals or ice bucket without request. Made you feel like you were inconveniencing them and should pay extra for what you got on previous cruises. Will expect only one cabin steward service soon instead of two per day like carnival.
 

 

 

 

[blueslily]

We requested towel animals for two cabins on the Epic in October. Just mentioned it once to the two different stewards for the rooms and had them every day. No extra tip. Both stewards were great. We did not feel guilty. Towel animals are per request now. Thats it. So, we requested them on day 1 and had no issues after that. Rooms were on two different decks of the ship. One forward and one aft. So, two totally different room stewards. Easy peasy experience. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by blueslily

[smplybcause]

19 minutes ago, blueslily said:

We requested towel animals for two cabins on the Epic in October. Just mentioned it once to the two different stewards for the rooms and had them every day. No extra tip. Both stewards were great. We did not feel guilty. Towel animals are per request now. Thats it. So, we requested them on day 1 and had no issues after that. Rooms were on two different decks of the ship. One forward and one aft. So, two totally different room stewards. Easy peasy experience. 

 

Rather s*tty to ask the stewards to go above and beyond their duties and not acknowledge that with a tip. 

[blueslily]

27 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

Rather s*tty to ask the stewards to go above and beyond their duties and not acknowledge that with a tip. 

 

 

It's fine that we see and think about things differently.

 

Happy New Year everyone! 🎆😁

 

 

[smplybcause]

10 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

 

It's fine that we see and think about things differently.

 

Happy New Year everyone! 🎆😁

 

 

 

Always nice to ask people to do stuff beyond what they're paid to do and think they owe you to do it! Such a nice way to see things! Happy new year. 

[blueslily]

2 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

Always nice to ask people to do stuff beyond what they're paid to do and think they owe you to do it! Such a nice way to see things! Happy new year. 

 

I do not know you and you do not know me. So, I do  not take comments like those personal. That would be silly of me. I also will not go back and forth here either. Its unnecessary. 

 

I'm logging off to enjoy the night. Its 2020!

 

Take care! 😊

 

 

[smplybcause]

14 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

I do not know you and you do not know me. So, I do  not take comments like those personal. That would be silly of me. I also will not go back and forth here either. Its unnecessary. 

 

I'm logging off to enjoy the night. Its 2020!

 

Take care! 😊

 

 

 

I've said nothing personal. And I don't need to know anything about you to state that asking someone to do something above and beyond their job description should result in monetary appreciation. 

 

If you ask your steward to do something above and beyond their job description you should thank them monetarily as they've taken extra time out of their day to acquiesce to your request.

 

Happy new year and may people not take others time for granted in 2020!

[Love my butler]

Room stewards are there to do the basics AND to fulfill any reasonable requests.  Stewards are tipped via the Discretionary Service Charge (DSC), so there is no requirement to tip extra.  You have already tipped.  As always, you can tip as much or as little as you like without some random internet troll making you feel guilty about your decision.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, blueslily said:

We requested towel animals for two cabins on the Epic in October. Just mentioned it once to the two different stewards for the rooms and had them every day. No extra tip. Both stewards were great. We did not feel guilty. Towel animals are per request now. Thats it. So, we requested them on day 1 and had no issues after that. Rooms were on two different decks of the ship. One forward and one aft. So, two totally different room stewards. Easy peasy experience. 

Wow. You ask your steward to take time and go above and beyond and stiff two of them?  
 

Towel animals are not “by request”. They have been discontinued. BIG difference. 
 

If you request your room steward to do you a favor and fold them for you, that is not within their current job description and well above and beyond. Tip them. 

[mugtech]

52 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 
 

Towel animals are not “by request”. They have been discontinued. BIG difference. 
 

 

Used to be included, now they try to shame you into paying for it.

[newmexicoNita]

On 12/30/2019 at 9:38 PM, LorettaD said:

Just curious if these are still around or a thing of the past? On our recent Bliss cruise we had 2 separate cabins ( different floors) and neither got one towel animal. Seems odd.

You can request them but they are not automatic any longer. Think of the savings to the cruise lines: the animals waste a lot of towels that need to be laundered and take time to make. For many, they were not a big thing: I know for us, we had been getting them for years so it is no loss. BTW towel animals were not always part of cruising. I think the first one I ever saw was about 20 years ago. 

[newmexicoNita]

9 hours ago, hladygirl said:

The basic NCL policy now is you only get them if you request them. You will then have to tip Stewart more or feel like a jerk. Just NCL’s way of making you feel like you have to pay more. On my last cruise in April 2019, no towel animals or ice bucket without request. Made you feel like you were inconveniencing them and should pay extra for what you got on previous cruises. Will expect only one cabin steward service soon instead of two per day like carnival.
 

 

 

 

are you through with your ranting? We just got off a upscale cruise line and we did not get towel animals. I guess for those who travel on the bargain lines like Carnival they are missed. For many of us, we really do not care a darn. I  would not feel like I was imposing if I asked for a towel animal. Why do you think people feel that way, have you, personally, felt you were inconveniencing them? I asked for  a coffee on our last NCL cruise as we were in an Ocean view cabin so they were not standard. I did not feel bad, nor  did our cabin steward make us feel uncomfortable. 

[FarreyFamCruzin]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Wow. You ask your steward to take time and go above and beyond and stiff two of them?  
 

Towel animals are not “by request”. They have been discontinued. BIG difference. 
 

If you request your room steward to do you a favor and fold them for you, that is not within their current job description and well above and beyond. Tip them. 

 @BirdTravels you always seem to be “in the know” for all things NCL, so much that I’ve wondered if you are an NCL employee yourself. However, in this case, I’m not sure I know where you are getting your information on the discontinuation of towel animals all together. I did a quick Google search and found multiple press articles quoting an April 2019 NCL press release that said:

 

”We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by fostering a culture of awareness and respect for our world’s resources.  Our mission is to continually improve our sustainability culture through fresh innovation, progressive education and open collaboration. In this instance, we are assessing the impact of reducing the number of towel animals we showcase aboard a few of our ships....  We understand that many of our guests enjoy them as part of the experience of cruising with us so towel animals remain available upon request," the statement continued. "This is simply a test, and we are providing them if guests request them."

 

Here are a few links:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3922/

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/norwegian-cruise-line-cutting-back-on-towel-animals.html

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-norwegian-cruise-line-towel-animal-cutback-20190408-story.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2019/04/09/norwegian-cruise-line-limit-towel-animals-some-ships/3411290002/

 

Where are you seeing / hearing that they have been discontinued all together?  In my mind,  “On request” is much different than “Discontinued”.  If they are on request, I have no problems asking my steward to make them to bring joy to my kids on our cruise. If they truly are discontinued, it would be pretty obnoxious of me to ask for something that simply isn’t available.