Cruising During Covid Times Questions

[sueandkent]

Hello, I haven't cruised since Nov of 2019 and I know a lot has changed. Cruising on the Majestic Jan 2022. 

1. After reading ALL the Princess fine print it stated that the steward will only clean the cabin once a day unless requested for a night time turndown cleaning. Is this actually the case? Has anybody requested the night time service?

2. Dining with others. As my past cruises were mainly just my husband and I we always enjoyed being seated at a table with others and met many lovely people this way. Will they still do this and seat you with others who are not part of your immediate travel group?

Thank you. 

[AVCruzers]

You are going to love the MAJESTIC especially if you have never booked that ship.  We were on last month and will be on it again in December.  It is true that steward only cleaned in the morning.  We did not ask for a night turndown.   Nightly turndown was a nice service but if it can help lessen a steward's workload, we don't need it.  They work very hard for their wages.   You can just ask for a table to share as reported by other cruisers on CC.  

[Marelaine]

We just got off Emerald. Our steward advised us on the first day that they he would service the cabin in the morning. Once he realized that we showered in the late afternoon, he started replenishing the used towels with fresh ones, and replacing the other bathroom supplies, while we were at dinner. I was happy with the service. 
On the medallion app there is an option to request turn down one night or every night, at no extra cost.

[Hlitner]

At the risk of starting a controversy I do have an issue regarding nightly turn down service.  Traditionally, nearly every cruise line has included twice a day steward/stewardess service.  The night time service generally included cleaning the bathroom, changing towels, and turning down the bed.  So now, some cruise lines are trying to eliminate this second service and move to a once a day cabin service.  But have they reduced tips?  Nope...in fact many lines continue to increase tips.  So we are now being asked to pay the same or more for less service.  While I do understand that the cabin staff works hard, you could apply that to just about everyone on the ship.  But we are not paying for less service.   And we do like that night time service because the stewards also refill the ice bucket (which has likely melted during the day.  

 

About 3 years ago, a resort we had used (Myrtle Beach) e-mailed us that they had stopped daily maid service and changed it to only 3 times a week.  The maids would change towels, but no other services except three times a week.  This was an expensive hotel but there was no price reduction despite the fact we had paid a non-refundable deposit (months prior to the policy change).  Although the price had actually increased, after the fact,  we were told that the service had decreased.  Suffice it to say we had some works with the manager and no longer go to that resort.  In fact we now rent a very nice condo (3 times the size of that resort room) for less money.  At the Condo we do not get daily service but the facility is much nicer.

 

What we are seeing on mass market lines is a gradual decrease (cut-backs) on several levels while prices continue to increase.  In the past 5 years, DW and I have started booking more cruises on luxury lines (such as Seabourn) because it is the only way to get the kind of quality and service, we used to get on mass market lines (such as Princess).   We have watched everyday steaks become everyday burgers, decent cold water lobster tails become puny warm water lobster tails, decent steak that used to be served in the MDR now requiring an extra charge, etc.  Yes, we do realize that the cost of everything has increased.  But a Princess cruise that used to cost us about $6000 now will cost us $9000 and for that 50% increase we are getting less.   Just saying!

 

Hank

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, sueandkent said:

Hello, I haven't cruised since Nov of 2019 and I know a lot has changed. Cruising on the Majestic Jan 2022. 

1. After reading ALL the Princess fine print it stated that the steward will only clean the cabin once a day unless requested for a night time turndown cleaning. Is this actually the case? Has anybody requested the night time service?

2. Dining with others. As my past cruises were mainly just my husband and I we always enjoyed being seated at a table with others and met many lovely people this way. Will they still do this and seat you with others who are not part of your immediate travel group?

Thank you. 

We shower before dinner so asked the steward cleaned at night & we told him that we didn’t need a morning service. My wife needed ice for her knee & he brought a bucket of ice in early afternoon & at night. Using the MedallionClass app’s Dine My Way function you can request a private table or to share a table with other passengers.

 

[Coffeeluvr05]

Hubs and I are in the same camp as some of the others that tend to shower later and so we still need our room refreshed later.  I don't mean to be bougie, and I definitely am grateful for the hard work of all of the crew on the ship, but part of the vacation experience for me is being waited on.  I kind of feel guilty saying that now.  I guess I'm just so appreciative that I get to take trips and I do hope that they don't take away all of the little details that make it a vacation.  I recently stayed in a hotel and wasn't told that they don't provide housekeeping and came back to my room after a day of being out and came back to it the same way we left it.  I practically made the bed, but our trash cans needed to be emptied and all of our towels needed replacing.  It was hideous the pile of towels we had after just two days.  I was charged a housekeeping tip on my hotel bill. Sigh.

[cruzsnooze]

I agree the tipping is out of hand in relation to the service. You can decrease the amount at guest services. There used to be two tiers of tips, suites vs all other cabins. Now they have 4 tiers, a bigger profit  margin. 

  I sailed on the Grand Princess last month and besides less service there were fewer amenities. No gold mesh /upgraded bathroom amenity for elites or suites. No satin sleep bag in our suite. No daily bottled water No slippers. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by cruzsnooze

[cr8tiv1]

I was recently on the Grand.  I had requested only morning service.  Every day, my room steward asked if there was more that I needed from him at night.  I declined, but he always asked.  

 

I found out that he serviced ALL the suites on the ship.  Normally, one is assigned to the Window Suites and a section above or below (Plaza).  He was almost always visible in the morning and evenings.  

 

I did request a few items that "used" to be given out.  I received daily bottled water and slippers.  Occasionally, I would walk in after dinner and find fresh towels. 

 

Yes, I have seen cutbacks around the ship.  I do not feel that any services were compromised, although with the "extra" time, my steward was given more work to do.  When I found out that suite sheets are changed every day...I asked him to reduce that to every 3-4 days. 

 

I do enjoy being pampered on a cruise.  Anything is better than what I have to do for myself at home.  

[JF - retired RRT]

8 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I agree the tipping is out of hand in relation to the service. You can decrease the amount at guest services. There used to be two tiers of tips, suites vs all other cabins. Now they have 4 tiers, a bigger profit  margin. 

  I sailed on the Grand Princess last month and besides less service there were fewer amenities. No gold mesh /upgraded bathroom amenity for elites or suites. No satin sleep bag in our suite. No daily bottled water No slippers. 

Wait!! Satin sleep bag?!! On Princess?

[PrincessLuver]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

At the risk of starting a controversy I do have an issue regarding nightly turn down service.  Traditionally, nearly every cruise line has included twice a day steward/stewardess service.  The night time service generally included cleaning the bathroom, changing towels, and turning down the bed.  So now, some cruise lines are trying to eliminate this second service and move to a once a day cabin service.  But have they reduced tips?  Nope...in fact many lines continue to increase tips.  So we are now being asked to pay the same or more for less service.  While I do understand that the cabin staff works hard, you could apply that to just about everyone on the ship.  But we are not paying for less service.   And we do like that night time service because the stewards also refill the ice bucket (which has likely melted during the day.  

 

About 3 years ago, a resort we had used (Myrtle Beach) e-mailed us that they had stopped daily maid service and changed it to only 3 times a week.  The maids would change towels, but no other services except three times a week.  This was an expensive hotel but there was no price reduction despite the fact we had paid a non-refundable deposit (months prior to the policy change).  Although the price had actually increased, after the fact,  we were told that the service had decreased.  Suffice it to say we had some works with the manager and no longer go to that resort.  In fact we now rent a very nice condo (3 times the size of that resort room) for less money.  At the Condo we do not get daily service but the facility is much nicer.

 

What we are seeing on mass market lines is a gradual decrease (cut-backs) on several levels while prices continue to increase.  In the past 5 years, DW and I have started booking more cruises on luxury lines (such as Seabourn) because it is the only way to get the kind of quality and service, we used to get on mass market lines (such as Princess).   We have watched everyday steaks become everyday burgers, decent cold water lobster tails become puny warm water lobster tails, decent steak that used to be served in the MDR now requiring an extra charge, etc.  Yes, we do realize that the cost of everything has increased.  But a Princess cruise that used to cost us about $6000 now will cost us $9000 and for that 50% increase we are getting less.   Just saying!

 

Hank

 

Agree totally.....we have been staying in hotels with some of the top brands and they say because of Covid they have had to reduce services yet the bill remans the same or higher.

 

 It seems the travel industries such as hotels, airlines, cruise lines, rental car companies have found a new way to line their profits and cut services while charging even more during the pandemic.  Let's not forget that many of these companies, excluding cruise lines received 100's of millions of funds from the government during Covid too.

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Agree totally.....we have been staying in hotels with some of the top brands and they say because of Covid they have had to reduce services yet the bill remans the same or higher.

 

 It seems the travel industries such as hotels, airlines, cruise lines, rental car companies have found a new way to line their profits and cut services while charging even more during the pandemic.  Let's not forget that many of these companies, excluding cruise lines received 100's of millions of funds from the government during Covid too.

It is a shame that COVID is being used as an excuse (by many) to reduce both the frequency and quality of services.  Not only are we seeing this on mass market cruise lines but it is happening in plenty of other places such as the airlines.  Fly business or first class on an airline and you will still find that many have reduced the quality of everything....citing Covid as the reason.  When one pays thousands of dollars for a Business Class ticket it is reasonable to expect better quality food.  Some airlines (such as Turkish Air) have restored much of the services they had pre-COVID....but other airlines continue their service cut-backs.   I should mention that we have taken two cruises in the past 4 months on Seabourn and that cruise line has actually improved some facets of their food service (more venues and expanded menus).

 

Hank

[Ombud]

I am constantly amazed by people who cannot reuse towels. Do you wash them daily at home? You know they dry fast if you bother to hang them up. 

 

I don't need twice daily service and welcome that being discontinued. Used to have to put up 'do not disturb' sign but no longer have to. 

[coo359a2]

24 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I am constantly amazed by people who cannot reuse towels. Do you wash them daily at home? You know they dry fast if you bother to hang them up. 

 

I don't need twice daily service and welcome that being discontinued. Used to have to put up 'do not disturb' sign but no longer have to. 

 

Before 2020, If we needed extra towels for whatever reason, we would   get some of the beach towels on Lido deck to use.  I don't use a new towel each day at home nor do so on the ship.  Can't say the same for my kids when cruising or at home. Think they use every towel and wash cloth each day on the ship and leave it in a pile on the floor.  They for sure didn't do that while living at home.

[geoherb]

There's a feature on the TV that lets you request the nighttime service. You can choose it for just a particular day or for the length of the cruise. On my Majestic cruise in August, I had morning and nightly service from my cabin steward. I try to reuse towels and let my cabin stewards know that I don't need the ones hanging up replaced. It's easier when sailing solo.

 

I shared tables at breakfast and lunch in the dining room on my cruise. I never got to share one at dinner because no one else was asking to share a table at 8. Perhaps if I had gone earlier. Most of the time, though, I was seated at one of the tables for two that are close enough to talk with others. I ate with new friends a couple of nights and did the winemakers dinner another night.

[Mud_Shark]

We have been on 3 cruises this month - 1 on carnival and 2 with princess (emerald and now on sky).  All 3 informed us on day 1 that room would only be serviced once per day unless we requested twice per day service.  We said we were fine with once per day and really didn't care at all.  But funny thing is, on each cruise they cleaned and serviced late morning but Also all snuck back in during dinner for what apppears to be a quick tidy up and change of towels.  Just no pillow chocolates but we are not noticing any reduction in room servicing.

 

Don

[coo359a2]

20 minutes ago, Mud_Shark said:

We have been on 3 cruises this month - 1 on carnival and 2 with princess (emerald and now on sky).  All 3 informed us on day 1 that room would only be serviced once per day unless we requested twice per day service.  We said we were fine with once per day and really didn't care at all.  But funny thing is, on each cruise they cleaned and serviced late morning but Also all snuck back in during dinner for what apppears to be a quick tidy up and change of towels.  Just no pillow chocolates but we are not noticing any reduction in room servicing.

 

Don

My biggest miss with the new turn down service for Princess, it no pillow chocolates.  Will bring my own😄

[Ombud]

Yes, I want pillow chocolates so I'll bring Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel. I can DIY 🍫😁

[coo359a2]

1 minute ago, Ombud said:

Yes, I want pillow chocolates so I'll bring Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel. I can DIY 🍫😁

I want to cruise with you.  I was bringing M&Ms but like your chocolates better

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Yes, I want pillow chocolates so I'll bring Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel. I can DIY 🍫😁

While you are in a DIY mood perhaps you can smuggle in a hot plate so you can heat some Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee cans for all your meals.  And also make sure to sweep out the corridors as you can also do this for yourself.  My point is that we are paying for a cruise and one expects what is normally included.  When one-party unilaterally starts taking away benefits (while increasing prices) then there is expectation that prices are significantly reduced or they market a new product ("Cruise where you DIY clean your own cabin, cook your own meals, etc).  

 

 What you are suggesting is that folks simply accept paying more money for less and do everything themselves.  I am a licensed pilot but I do not want to be flying my next flight because the crew decides they do not work after 4pm.   Tis a slippery slope.

 

Hank

[Ombud]

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

While you are in a DIY mood perhaps you can smuggle in a hot plate so you can heat some Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee cans for all your meals.  And also make sure to sweep out the corridors as you can also do this for yourself.  My point is that we are paying for a cruise and one expects what is normally included.  When one-party unilaterally starts taking away benefits (while increasing prices) then there is expectation that prices are significantly reduced or they market a new product ("Cruise where you DIY clean your own cabin, cook your own meals, etc).  

 

 What you are suggesting is that folks simply accept paying more money for less and do everything themselves.  I am a licensed pilot but I do not want to be flying my next flight because the crew decides they do not work after 4pm.   Tis a slippery slope.

 

Hank

Thank you for my best laugh today!!!!! Shaking my head in disbelief and quoted your entire post just so you cannot change any of it 😅🤣😂

[Ombud]

18 hours ago, sueandkent said:

Hello, I haven't cruised since Nov of 2019 and I know a lot has changed. Cruising on the Majestic Jan 2022. 

1. After reading ALL the Princess fine print it stated that the steward will only clean the cabin once a day unless requested for a night time turndown cleaning. Is this actually the case? Has anybody requested the night time service?

2. Dining with others. As my past cruises were mainly just my husband and I we always enjoyed being seated at a table with others and met many lovely people this way. Will they still do this and seat you with others who are not part of your immediate travel group?

Thank you. 

1. Yes if you want it. Just let your steward know when s/he introduces themselves at the beginning of the cruise. For those of us who only need it once a day, it's finally perfect 👌 

2. They still asked me if I wanted to share, absolutely no difference from pre-pandemic 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

Yes, I want pillow chocolates so I'll bring Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel. I can DIY 🍫😁

Will you also give yourself a tip?🤣😁

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

 What you are suggesting is that folks simply accept paying more money for less and do everything themselves.  I am a licensed pilot but I do not want to be flying my next flight because the crew decides they do not work after 4pm.   Tis a slippery slope.

 

Hank

I think I am going to listen much more attentively when the flight attendants give the safety talk before takeoff!

[Ombud]

12 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

Yes, I want pillow chocolates so I'll bring Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel. I can DIY 🍫😁

Will you also give yourself a tip?🤣😁

Nope but I'll get a better chocolate than the ones Princess used to hand out. 

[coo359a2]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

  I am a licensed pilot but I do not want to be flying my next flight because the crew decides they do not work after 4pm.   Tis a slippery slope.

 

Hank

I thought flight crews were limited on how many hours they could fly at one time before having to stop.  We have had flight delays waiting for a new flight crew to come to the airport and replace those that would exceed this certain number