Once a day house keeping???

[sanmarcosman]

3 minutes ago, tm_aw_love said:

Honestly, I doubt that we see twice a day service on Carnival anymore, as has been mentioned several times throughout this thread they were moving away from it long before COVID. That being said, even evening 'turndown service' is a FAAAR cry from some of the people demanding twice a day cleaning. Stewards are not maids/butlers.

Here we agree. Guests who have never worked in the lodging industry often confuse cleaning and turn down service as being one in the same. They're not. You see this often here in the forums: " I want the room cleaned twice a day just as before. " They never had two cleanings! 

Edited July 21, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[asalligo]

The room steward had a lot to do with why we continued cruising after the first experience. I have never stayed in a hotel nice enough to provide turn down service, but our first Carnival cruise was just over the top service and an experience we had just never had before. 

[sanmarcosman]

17 minutes ago, asalligo said:

 I cannot remember in the last ten years anything cut for cost savings that returned. 

If you aren't speaking about the current pandemic related cuts then I'll remind you of the " Great Shrimp Cocktail " fiasco of ( I want to say ) 2013. When Carnival officially stated that the rumor was true and it would only be offered once on a 7 day cruise the uproar here on Cruise Critic and elsewhere was loud and clear. The shrimp cocktail was returned as a nightly appetizer in the MDR promptly as a result. The housekeeping issues were not resolved totally nor were the corrections fast. The printed cabin menus were changed by management to include the third option of "both" services daily rather than just "morning" or "afternoon."

[wemjam]

20 minutes ago, asalligo said:

But the experience is why I came to love cruising. If that is gone, why not just book an all inclusive in Mexico? I wish I could put you all on a cruise 25 years ago so that you could really see the difference. I know it is cheaper now and I do appreciate that. 

Was there 20 years ago... know exactly what you mean.  I see the change from then until now too.  My point is sometime people have to change their expectations, things do change.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

1 minute ago, asalligo said:

The room steward had a lot to do with why we continued cruising after the first experience. I have never stayed in a hotel nice enough to provide turn down service, but our first Carnival cruise was just over the top service and an experience we had just never had before. 

 

Back in the day when your MDR waiter had time to talk and you could get to know them. When they would change out the flatware  during different courses. When they had a sommelier in there as well. When "formal" meant (a little more), etc....

 

When we first sailed in '99, the experience was of a higher caliber. Sometimes it's difficult to pick up on the little things (which go by the wayside), but they do add up.

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I think these cuts are part of what caused us initially to test the waters elsewhere. When we first tried Celebrity, from our perspective, it was more refined. Interestingly though, to hear other Celebrity loyalists tell the story, we were already late to the game - as changes (yes, cuts) had already been noticed there. At least those lines (NCL, Celebrity, and Royal) offer some levels of cabins where - for a price - you can still experience a higher level of service.

 

 

Tom

[sanmarcosman]

4 minutes ago, asalligo said:

The room steward had a lot to do with why we continued cruising after the first experience. I have never stayed in a hotel nice enough to provide turn down service, but our first Carnival cruise was just over the top service and an experience we had just never had before. 

You make a good point. Many Americans didn't know the pleasures and comforts that American First Class hotels provide to their guests until they sailed aboard a Carnival cruise. Just think of that. When people ask us how we can stand sailing with a line like Carnival we always share our happy cruises and some of them have come to experience Carnival for themselves. This November a neighbor who is a retired GM with Hilton is going on their first Carnival cruise aboard Carnival Panorama from Long Beach. We're looking forward to hearing their report.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

15 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

You make a good point. Many Americans didn't know the pleasures and comforts that American First Class hotels provide to their guests until they sailed aboard a Carnival cruise. Just think of that. When people ask us how we can stand sailing with a line like Carnival we always share our happy cruises and some of them have come to experience Carnival for themselves. This November a neighbor who is a retired GM with Hilton is going on their first Carnival cruise aboard Carnival Panorama from Long Beach. We're looking forward to hearing their report.

 

I trust that you gave them a least a little head's up 🙂

 

Tom

[mrpayroll]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

What if you're really nice, tip them out a bit extra and just ask for an extra quick tidy sesson?

No extra tip needed. They will do it.

[mrpayroll]

3 hours ago, coffeebean said:

So, I guess evening towel animals are out of the question.

You only get them about three times during  seven night cruise now.

[sanmarcosman]

5 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I trust that you gave them a least a little head's up 🙂

 

Tom

They're our generation and they think of Kathy Lee Gifford's TV spots for Carnival. That variety of cheese will do that to people 😉  I think things turned when we mentioned we sailed QE2 in May of '88 before Carnival swallowed up Cunard and we keep returning to the Carnival product.

[BenjiRodney]

Once a day is good, its not like the entire lido deck is traipsing through the room. 

[ultrafighter]

17 hours ago, amypintx said:

 

Same for us. I don't understand the uproar over the once a day thing. Most hotels have only ever cleaned once a day. 

Every hotel I've been in this year isn't even doing once a day service.  It's every second or third day so I'm 100% happy with once a day service on a cruise ship.

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, asalligo said:

Not true, NCL and MSC are almost always cheaper. Especially if you add the often free drinks at NCL. 

 

I just figured this out myself. Carnival does a good job of breaking things down so it can be a value for those on a budget but for those who end up paying extra for dinners, drinks, excursions etc, other lines that include all those in a package type deal can be a better value when it all adds up. I'll be sure to pay attention to totality and not base fair when doing future bookings. I think Carnival will still win out the majority of the time but not always. Norwegians 'free at sea' was an eye opener for me. I did some comparative analysis and it's a fantastic added value for some cruises when the special promos apply.  

[crzndeb]

I don’t mind once a day cleanup, actually prefer it. I cruise solo, and am a bit OCD about a neat cabin, and will even pretty much make my own bed  in the morning. Hard habit to break, when I do it at home. 
My last cruise on Carnival was a B2B on the Splendor to Singapore (31 days). My steward said he would clean the cabin twice, even though I said once was fine. I was almost in the front of the ship, so I was last in the morning, but first in the evening. So in the morning, it was more like noon to get done. I think his assistant probably did most, and it was a quick job. Got pretty close to his assistant, Meline, and still occasionally email her.

Edited July 21, 2021 by crzndeb

[Computer Nerd]

15 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

I thank you for your post...Too many people are willing to pay more for less and the cruise lines along with a lot of US corporations know this as well.....

We, as cruisers, cannot force the cabin stewards to perform servicing twice a day as we expect but if they don't, they will get paid accordingly for the service they provide (meaning I will cut the steward portion of the gratuities in half to coincide with half the work being done).

[Computer Nerd]

15 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

 

I mean you can have that expectation but it will not happen and don't be one of those customer's that berates a member of the crew because they aren't allowed and doing what Management has told them to do. 

I would never berate a crew member but I will also not overpay for services not performed. I will just explain why I am lowering the gratuities and leave it at that. Oh, and probably start sailing Royal and MSC more.

[ColeThornton]

What is the world coming to when one must actually be forced to turn down their own sheets at night to get in to bed on a cruise ship.   DAMN YOU, COVID-19!

[Computer Nerd]

14 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

Many are under the impression that the cabins were cleaned twice a day. Not so. In the evening turn down service was provided and just like a first class hotel ashore this included: emptying the waste baskets, exchanging fresh towels for used towels left on the floor, turning down the bed and adding a towel animal. 

Pure semantics. Picking up a used towel towel off the floor is cleaning. If you don't believe that then you can argue with my mother.

[Computer Nerd]

9 hours ago, zzdoug said:

Is this even possible anymore?  I thought you had to leave your key card in the slot in order to have lighting in the room.  I doubt too many stewards would so actively and overtly flout the rules by leaving a card in the slot when you are not there.

You can leave ANY card in the card slot to leave the electricity on in you cabin.

[BlerkOne]

22 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

We, as cruisers, cannot force the cabin stewards to perform servicing twice a day as we expect but if they don't, they will get paid accordingly for the service they provide (meaning I will cut the steward portion of the gratuities in half to coincide with half the work being done).

Cruise line tipping is per day, not per service, and never has been. They remember people who tip as they should, and those who don't.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, asalligo said:

Not true, NCL and MSC are almost always cheaper. Especially if you add the often free drinks at NCL. 

Not at all in my experience.

[wemjam]

15 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

When you go to McDonalds, do you hand the cashier a ten spot as a tip, because you have empathy for the common man? Empathy has nothing to do with the situation.

As a matter of fact I have, and in McDonalds no less.  Bought less than $10 worth of food and handed them a $20 and told them to keep it cause I could see they were having a bad day.  I have paid for meals for complete strangers in restaurants out of kindness (a nice older gentlemen eating breakfast alone, a person who was kind enough to let us be seated first and there as a long wait because the table was bigger and they didn't need that much space), I have left tips for someone else's waitresses when I could see how demanding their patrons had been and then left them a $1 tip - covered a ladies groceries when she came up short at the register in front of me.... so I most assuredly will tip the room steward working his butt off to make my vacation enjoyable.  

 

Guess that's the difference in people.

[ScottsSweetie]

10 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Not at all in my experience.

Agreed. I just priced out an NCL cruise - bare bones price vs. "free at sea" - a difference of more than $500.  If you are a heavy drinker and you purchase wi-fi for the entire trip, then maybe this could be a deal. Not worth it for us. Though I do get a kick out of the moniker "free at sea".

[sanmarcosman]

45 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

Pure semantics. Picking up a used towel towel off the floor is cleaning. If you don't believe that then you can argue with my mother.

Directors of Housekeeping across the land and their GM's strongly disagree. Have you recently reviewed the housekeeping payroll for a 4-Diamond property versus a 3-Diamond and do you know the difference and why there's a variance?