Go Green—reduced housekeeping services—is this new?

[bikerunner]

This is no different than many other industries.  Automation in stores for checkout.  Factories going more automated  Just buying whatever over the internet now etc.  I worked in the hospitality industry many years and know the frustrations overall.  What the lines are doing is happening thru out. No different when I stay at the Ritz or Four Seasons (if Im staying 3 or less days I dont bother with housekeeping and just ask for towels midway sometimes)  if you want to say they are comparable to a cruise.  Its partially labor issues, some wage issues etc.  I dont mind this change overall or as pointed out it is optional to do.  I would just do the once a day for myself I know. Honestly Im not in the room after breakfast until later in the day.  If people need the housekeeping to come in 2 plus times a day, thats there choice.  I also know when many not all people go on vacation/cruises etc they become total could care less about the rooms there in since they dont own it  

[lux4me]

Yes I agree with you and most of those Ritz Carltons and Four Season now charge a $30-$50 per night resort fee.  We used to be diamond loyalty members with both .  Putting up with it makes it appear ok to them. If I am staying at your resort at $600 a night then why the fee?   My Partner and I stay at some of the best hotels in the world but balk at a resort fee…

When will the ships add a ship fee..? 
this will include you towel service by the pool, tender service,  destination surcharge etc…. 

[zitsky]

I really hope X is NOT reading this thread.  Too many 'bad' ideas.  😆 

[NMTraveller]

On 7/7/2021 at 4:18 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

While there are labor shortages in the US (and other countries), I'd imagine the overwhelming majority of CC readers understand there is a never ending pool of folks looking to sign a crew ship contract.

The labor shortage in the US is due to people getting  paid more not to work by the government than to work.  This is coming from living in a state with the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the country with a labor shortage.  There are plenty of jobs yet many do not want to go back.  You get paid $1200 more per month and get the month off by not working.

 

Regarding housekeeping in hotels I request it everyday but many will not supply it due to the US labor shortages.

 

On my July 4th vacation there were many older people working the tours because the younger ones were on unemployment.

 

Now the issue with not getting service everyday is that your trash piles up.  I could go a day or two without clean towels but why?

 

Yes the cruise ships will probably be able to staff up.

Edited July 9, 2021 by NMTraveller

[jagoffee]

Just because a Green idea potentially saves a company money does not make it a bad idea, it still potentially helps the environment.  Many Green ideas do not actually save money and they are also implemented.  
 

The “requested” reduction in towel service has been around on cruise ships and hotels for many years.

 

The way people turn this into a negative is disheartening.  If you do not wish to do it, then do not select the option. Suggesting that it is somehow offensive for companies and other people to try and make a difference is not really appropriate IMO.  

[bEwAbG]

Yet study after study has shown that enhanced unemployment is not the root cause of the labor shortage, even when the amount was $600 and not $300.  Things like concern about workplace safety and lack of childcare options are keeping a lot of workers from taking specific low wage jobs, not to mention that a lot of those workers found better employment elsewhere (higher wages, better conditions, not having to deal with the public worried about getting shot for enforcing a mask mandate, etc.).  I would think this would have little bearing on the cruise industry, which sources its employees from other countries.  Their concern will be with what options workers have in those countries as well as whether workers will want to be separated from their families for long periods of time based on what they just went through.

 

Anecdotally, there was one restaurant where my sister lives in Texas that had a sign up about how no one wanted to work, yet everyone in the town knows the owner is a real SOB and had constant turnover before the pandemic due to his personality.

[jg51]

16 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

... Now the issue with not getting service everyday is that your trash piles up.  I could go a day or two without clean towels but why? ...

.

Hello, "NMTraveller."

 

Why do you mention "not getting service every day"?  That is not something being discussed on this thread.  Instead, the question, on this thread, is whether or not we would "Go Green" -- that is ...

to choose to have FULL service in the morning, but only "reduced" service in the evening -- in exchange for "an extra night's worth of [Captain's] Club points." 

 

Please read the details about the reduced service in posts #1 and #2, on page 1, of this thread.  You will see that the "reduced" evening service is still a considerable amount of service (including "removal of garbage").

 

We were also surprised to see your question about "going a day or two without clean towels, but why?"

Again ... Going without towels is NOT something being discussed on this thread.  Let's suppose that you were to choose the "Go Green" option that is being offered.  Well, if you drop towels to the floor of the bathroom (at any time of day or night), those towels will be replaced during the next morning (full) service!  You will not go without new towels for "a day or two," but only some minutes or hours (depending on when you drop the towels). 

 

Finally -- and we know that this is a matter of opinion, not shared by all people, but ...

Every towel that we have ever dropped on a bathroom floor, aboard a ship, has been a "clean" towel !!!

We believe that, if one merely wipes shower-water off one's just-washed body -- or if one merely wipes sink-water off one's just-washed hands, that does not make the towel "dirty"!  The towel is merely wet, not soiled.  And that is why we would not mind, in the least, going through an entire week's cruise without replacing such a towel!

 

Thanks for reading.

.

Edited July 9, 2021 by jg51

[mahdnc]

37 minutes ago, jg51 said:

We were also surprised to see your question about "going a day or two without clean towels, but why?"

 

We believe that, if one merely wipes shower-water off one's just-washed body -- or if one merely wipes sink-water off one's just-washed hands, that does not make the towel "dirty"!  .

 

Who is "we"?

[NMTraveller]

50 minutes ago, jg51 said:

.

Hello, "NMTraveller."

 

Why do you mention "not getting service every day"?  That is not something being discussed on this thread.  Instead, the question, on this thread, is whether or not we would "Go Green" -- that is ...

to choose to have FULL service in the morning, but only "reduced" service in the evening -- in exchange for "an extra night's worth of [Captain's] Club points." 

 

The references in this thread to not getting service everyday were from hotels.  That is what I was referring to and responding to.  Comparing hotel service to cruise service is a valid comparison.

 

I am against the cruise lines cutting their services as I enjoy the over the top service.  I do not enjoy the hotels cuts in services, neither would I enjoy the cruise lines cuts in services.

 

An optional cut today can become a mandatory cut tomorrow.

Edited July 9, 2021 by NMTraveller

[sanger727]

22 hours ago, lux4me said:

  They are reducing service.   and not putting something in its place,  and prices are going up.   Saying I only need housekeeping once a day is not the point.  The lines will see how far they can push and cut the current experience to recoup their billions of losses over the  last 18 months.  What department is next? 
 

 

But they aren't reducing service and not putting something else in it's place...

 

And they aren't sayin you need only one housekeeping a day....

 

They are offering the option of full housekeeping twice a day or full housekeeping one plus full turn down service. No forced reduction...

 

I'm in the club that even when housekeeping is offered twice a day we only use every other day or so. We don't like people to come in when the room is untidy or things are out so have to pre-clean to have the cabin cleaned. Easier to let the trash get slightly more full and re-use the towels. Not a big deal to us. 

 

I also don't have this problem with towels not getting dry like other people seem to. I also wash some of my clothes in the sink and hang those up and they dry as well. There is a clothes line that runs through the shower...

Edited July 9, 2021 by sanger727

[sammyboots]

1 hour ago, jg51 said:

.

Hello, "NMTraveller."

 

Why do you mention "not getting service every day"?  That is not something being discussed on this thread.  Instead, the question, on this thread, is whether or not we would "Go Green" -- that is ...

to choose to have FULL service in the morning, but only "reduced" service in the evening -- in exchange for "an extra night's worth of [Captain's] Club points." 

 

Please read the details about the reduced service in posts #1 and #2, on page 1, of this thread.  You will see that the "reduced" evening service is still a considerable amount of service (including "removal of garbage").

 

We were also surprised to see your question about "going a day or two without clean towels, but why?"

Again ... Going without towels is NOT something being discussed on this thread.  Let's suppose that you were to choose the "Go Green" option that is being offered.  Well, if you drop towels to the floor of the bathroom (at any time of day or night), those towels will be replaced during the next morning (full) service!  You will not go without new towels for "a day or two," but only some minutes or hours (depending on when you drop the towels). 

 

Finally -- and we know that this is a matter of opinion, not shared by all people, but ...

Every towel that we have ever dropped on a bathroom floor, aboard a ship, has been a "clean" towel !!!

We believe that, if one merely wipes shower-water off one's just-washed body -- or if one merely wipes sink-water off one's just-washed hands, that does not make the towel "dirty"!  The towel is merely wet, not soiled.  And that is why we would not mind, in the least, going through an entire week's cruise without replacing such a towel!

 

Thanks for reading.

.

Have to say, I’m surprised that you “ would not mind, in the least, going through an entire week’s cruise without replacing a towel!”  Even at home I change my towels more than once a week never mind on a cruise ship. 🙈

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, sammyboots said:

Have to say, I’m surprised that you “ would not mind, in the least, going through an entire week’s cruise without replacing a towel!”  Even at home I change my towels more than once a week never mind on a cruise ship. 🙈

Agreed.  Two issues - first, people don't seem to understand that no matter how you wash yourself, you are never really totally sanitizing your body - there are still microorganisms being transferred to your towel.  Second, these microorganisms grow best in warm, damp conditions.  Have any of these people actually been in the bathrooms of cruise ships?!?!?  There is really no good way to adequately dry your towels in-between showers.  Would waiting a day or two really matter health-wise?  Doubtful, but certainly waiting a week would not be something I would care to risk.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, sammyboots said:

Have to say, I’m surprised that you “ would not mind, in the least, going through an entire week’s cruise without replacing a towel!”  Even at home I change my towels more than once a week never mind on a cruise ship. 🙈

That's just the contrarian stirring the pot again. 

[Cruise Raider]

Sign me up!!  We recently spent 5 days in a hotel and told the maid we didn't even need our room serviced the entire time we were there.  We did swap out the towels after 3 days ... we are very tidy and didn't need the room cleaned after we wiped everything down with Lysol wipes anyway.  We still tipped as though they had come in daily to clean up our room because they count on those tips to make a living.  

BTW, Princess is offering once a day cleaning when they resume and asking people to call if they need the second visit on a specific day.  I'm actually thinking of reducing the times the room steward comes in to every other day.  We have no problem reusing our same towels. 

[zitsky]

We have people who are too neat and don't want service.  And the messy ones who don't want service.

[jg51]

On 7/9/2021 at 3:21 PM, sammyboots said:

Have to say, I’m surprised that you “ would not mind, in the least, going through an entire week’s cruise without replacing a towel!”  Even at home I change my towels more than once a week never mind on a cruise ship. 🙈

 

22 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Agreed.  Two issues - first, people don't seem to understand that no matter how you wash yourself, you are never really totally sanitizing your body - there are still microorganisms being transferred to your towel.  Second, these microorganisms grow best in warm, damp conditions.  Have any of these people actually been in the bathrooms of cruise ships?!?!?  There is really no good way to adequately dry your towels in-between showers.  Would waiting a day or two really matter health-wise?  Doubtful, but certainly waiting a week would not be something I would care to risk.

.

Yes, "sammyboots" and "phoenix_dream" ... and that is exactly why we prefaced our previous comment with these words:

"we know that this is a matter of opinion, not shared by all people."

 

We knew that many people (perhaps the majority, maybe even the great majority) would disagree with us.  Nevertheless, what we said was true -- namely, that we "would not mind" using the same towels for a prolonged period of time.  The reason for this fact is that we learned, more than fifty years ago, that it is safe to do this -- and it has never caused us any sickness or disease. 

 

We realize that it is an unpopular idea, but we think that most people simply get "brainwashed," when they are little children, into believing that towels can be dangerous and need to be replaced often -- even if they just get wet/damp (not soiled). 

 

We have no fear, at all, of those little microorganisms that you mentioned, "phoenix_dream"!  Our towels, aboard ships, have become dry very swiftly.  Sorry if that has not been true for you.

 

Now despite our having opened this "can of worms" and having started a tiny controversy, we want to follow up now and say this:

Even though we have considered it unnecessary to replace our towels aboard ships, nevertheless we have dropped our damp towels to the bathroom floor every TWO days (not every seven days)!  We have done this because we don't want our stewards (or their supervisors) to worry about us!  We thought that they might have the same opinion that you have.

.

Edited July 10, 2021 by jg51

[jg51]

On 7/9/2021 at 2:44 PM, NMTraveller said:

The references in this thread to not getting service everyday were from hotels.  That is what I was referring to and responding to.  Comparing hotel service to cruise service is a valid comparison.

 

I am against the cruise lines cutting their services as I enjoy the over the top service.  I do not enjoy the hotels cuts in services, neither would I enjoy the cruise lines cuts in services.

 

An optional cut today can become a mandatory cut tomorrow.

.

Sorry about our misunderstanding.  We should have read more carefully!

.

[zitsky]

I can see a new job at Celebrity...  towel inspector.  Are your towels too wet?  too dry?

[RICCruisers]

I won’t opt in to go green. Instead I will opt in to get rid of the awful afternoon snacks. 

[garyl62]

Some time has passed since the program came out and I've seen a few comments about it in other threads so I thought I'd bring this back to the top and see if anyone who signed up for this and has completed a sailing would like to share their experience.

 

I have a 3 night sailing coming up in a CS booked with the double point promo so I signed up for this also as I couldn't find anything limiting eligibility based on length of cruise.  If everything comes in we'll end up with 84 points for a quick 3 day cruise.  Keeps us moving up the ladder even if points are getting less important, one never knows how the program will change in the future, those points may once again get something that is meaningful to me!

[Redtravel]

Just stayed at a very expensive resort.  We were not happy that nobody entered our room to do anything.  We made our own beds, left dirty towels and trash in the hallway.  Clean towels were delivered once a day in a plastic bag.  Our room had maintenance issues which we requested be fixed.  Again, due to Covid precautions nobody would enter our room. We do understand covid safety. We were upset that we never saw any staff member wearing masks. Breakfast buffet had guests serving themselves..  multiple guests used the same serving utensils.  Risky?   Cutbacks or safety?  We left and will not return.  If I have to do housekeeping, I would rather stay home.    
 

[Germancruiser]

That " Go Green" concept is nothing but a nice covering up for cost cuts. I also would never set foot into this expensive resort- I agree. The cabin stewardess asked if I like to " Go Green" and have one day full service the other day- half service in June on board the Apex. I told her right away that I don´t like half day servcie and prefer the usual service.

An some people just don´t dare to say " NO " to a thing that is called " Green". In some minds it is like :

" Green"  - good person, NOT GREEN- bad person- and on that some cruise lines count on.

So if am I am bad person because I like full service- be my guest!

[pumpkin 11]

3 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

That " Go Green" concept is nothing but a nice covering up for cost cuts. I also would never set foot into this expensive resort- I agree. The cabin stewardess asked if I like to " Go Green" and have one day full service the other day- half service in June on board the Apex. I told her right away that I don´t like half day servcie and prefer the usual service.

An some people just don´t dare to say " NO " to a thing that is called " Green". In some minds it is like :

" Green"  - good person, NOT GREEN- bad person- and on that some cruise lines count on.

So if am I am bad person because I like full service- be my guest!

Agreed, we will not be opting in.

[garyl62]

I guess I should have just left this alone.... or been more direct so people understand both the question and the program. 

 

For those of you that have sailed and opted in, how did you like the full housekeeping services in the morning coupled with turn down and cabin tidying at night, both of which are still provided every day?

Edited August 25, 2021 by garyl62

[Sascol]

On 7/4/2021 at 11:38 AM, Jim_Iain said:

Not new but in the past they just had a card in bathroom saying something about save the environment.    Hang Towel if you wish to reuse or put on floor for replacement.

We try to be green by hanging the towels once a day and using again. In 25 years on 25 cruises I do not recall EVER coming back to the same towels we hung up. We try but they seem to get replaced anyway. This seems to be the case on all cruise lines we have sailed.