How is the new process of only once a day cabin cleaning going?

[dexddd]

18 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Turn on your TV in the cabin, it's on the main/first screen - this one, from 2022 - on both the Joy & Getaway.  

 

Prima was like that for us.

[mking8288]

5 hours ago, dexddd said:

Prima was like that for us.

Our steward this January was fine & busy, mostly catering to the corner Fwd PH Suite - going in & out.  We had trouble nominating vacation hero and not having the name(s) didn't really matter this time, LOL.  

 

Are you going to be on Viva's TA this Fall ?? 

[PC Skier]

They raised the tips and decreased the service? Room service is one of the reasons I love to cruise. It's my little treat to have everything neat and tidy without having to do it all myself. We cruised for 8 weeks last year on RCCL , Princess and NCL. We are almost at the top on all 3 but I must say NCL was our favorite until last year. It was the first time we didn't buy future cruise credits. Now I am really glad we didn't. Might have to say good bye to NCL.

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, PC Skier said:

They raised the tips and decreased the service? Room service is one of the reasons I love to cruise. It's my little treat to have everything neat and tidy without having to do it all myself. We cruised for 8 weeks last year on RCCL , Princess and NCL. We are almost at the top on all 3 but I must say NCL was our favorite until last year. It was the first time we didn't buy future cruise credits. Now I am really glad we didn't. Might have to say good bye to NCL.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are only providing once a day service. You can still find twice a day service (for now) on Celebrity and Princess, among others. Good luck! 

[carohs]

On 3/13/2023 at 3:11 PM, uneamie said:

Like it's been said, it melts fast. By the time you get back to your room at any given time...it's nothing but water. One bucket of ice in the morning does not last till dinner. 

Time to invest in a big Yeti tumbler. Ice will last forever if that's all that's in there. 

 

But the room being serviced once a day doesn't make or break my cruise. The bigger issue for me is the couch beds/Pullmans being left out and the lack of towel animals. To say the least, this is not family friendly. Since they often heavily discount the 3rd and 4th passengers, imo they are discouraging families to book, thereby reducing costs another way. 

[uneamie]

1 hour ago, carohs said:

Time to invest in a big Yeti tumbler. Ice will last forever if that's all that's in there. 

 

But the room being serviced once a day doesn't make or break my cruise. The bigger issue for me is the couch beds/Pullmans being left out and the lack of towel animals. To say the least, this is not family friendly. Since they often heavily discount the 3rd and 4th passengers, imo they are discouraging families to book, thereby reducing costs another way. 

Yeah....good idea, although I shouldn't have to figure out my own way of having ice. I never have that issue in a hotel. 

[carohs]

2 hours ago, uneamie said:

Yeah....good idea, although I shouldn't have to figure out my own way of having ice. I never have that issue in a hotel. 

Let's not get into all the woulds, coulds, and shoulds of cruising ....

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

1 hour ago, carohs said:

Let's not get into all the woulds, coulds, and shoulds of cruising ....

The woulds, coulds and shoulds of cruising are kind of the central topic of these message boards. 

[AK Dreaming]

39 minutes ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

The woulds, coulds and shoulds of cruising are kind of the central topic of these message boards. 

Exactly!  I’m a Platinum cruiser but this is my first cruise with the new service changes to once a day. I am really just asking for real life experience with setting up extra beds and putting them away. NCL told me the steward would take care of this daily. From this board I’ve learned that is not always the case. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[uneamie]

2 hours ago, carohs said:

Let's not get into all the woulds, coulds, and shoulds of cruising ....

And why not may I ask? This is a forum where we exchange information, ideas and opinions right? 

Edited March 16, 2023 by uneamie

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, PC Skier said:

They raised the tips and decreased the service? Room service is one of the reasons I love to cruise. It's my little treat to have everything neat and tidy without having to do it all myself. We cruised for 8 weeks last year on RCCL , Princess and NCL. We are almost at the top on all 3 but I must say NCL was our favorite until last year. It was the first time we didn't buy future cruise credits. Now I am really glad we didn't. Might have to say good bye to NCL.

Hmmm,,, is there something in your life outside of a cruise ship that hasn't increased in price, reduced in size in the past year? Why would you expect the cruise line to be any different?

 

Royal is now once a day service with a higher daily service charge and charges for room service. 

[dexddd]

18 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Our steward this January was fine & busy, mostly catering to the corner Fwd PH Suite - going in & out.  We had trouble nominating vacation hero and not having the name(s) didn't really matter this time, LOL.  

 

Are you going to be on Viva's TA this Fall ?? 

Nope.  Too expensive.  Thanks for asking.

 

The Prima was too expensive but it was a time we could sail, do our first TA, new ship, and DD could go.  We had a great time and onboard experience, for the most part.  Getting asked to pay $1.50 plus grat for a drink or $3.00+ for a can of soda in Haven got old.  Reductions in meats not good.

 

I can't put out cash for something in back if my mind could have a going concern issue.  Plus the standard, trite ...for your convenience, of course... and ...Sail and Sustain... are very child like excuses for cutting service.

 

We just sailed in February with five people, three rooms.  DM paid and we could have gone on any line.  No single supplement for DM. 

 

Gave NCL about 5% thought and even looked at GVs.  Had fabulous time on another line who still had filets, didn't seat us by kitchen doors, comped us a specialty without asking and most we saw were smiling, happy folks.  Even had an asst concierge, without request, helped our group get back onto wifi between trips.  The whole group still saying what a great time they had one month later.

 

Not quite able to book last minute like you...blame on DW who has lots of PTO but always slammed and under staffed at work with vacation requests have to be months in advance.

[Beer Belly]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Hmmm,,, is there something in your life outside of a cruise ship that hasn't increased in price, reduced in size in the past year? Why would you expect the cruise line to be any different?

 

Royal is now once a day service with a higher daily service charge and charges for room service. 

I feel it's the idea of raising costs, cutting services, eliminating Ports, cutting meal portions, cutting entertainment in what seems like one big swoop. When you look at the big picture, all these cuts are what some, or most, cruise for. Personally, we are doing an All Inclusive prior to our next NCL sailing to see if there is more value for the vacation dollar.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

I feel it's the idea of raising costs, cutting services, eliminating Ports, cutting meal portions, cutting entertainment in what seems like one big swoop. When you look at the big picture, all these cuts are what some, or most, cruise for. Personally, we are doing an All Inclusive prior to our next NCL sailing to see if there is more value for the vacation dollar.

And that is the problem. Due to their financial situation after the Covid shutdown all the cruise lines are in bad shape and are making these cuts in services and additions to price. But the travel industry is competitive with other choices. Make too many cuts and price increases and potential passengers will take their dollars somewhere else.

[carohs]

16 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

The woulds, coulds and shoulds of cruising are kind of the central topic of these message boards. 

Touché 

 

14 hours ago, uneamie said:

And why not may I ask? This is a forum where we exchange information, ideas and opinions right? 

Because that's when the popcorn tends to come out.. this particular topic has been relatively drama free. And "shoulds" don't carry as much weight in a thread of how things actually are/have been going (IMO)

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

And that is the problem. Due to their financial situation after the Covid shutdown all the cruise lines are in bad shape and are making these cuts in services and additions to price. But the travel industry is competitive with other choices. Make too many cuts and price increases and potential passengers will take their dollars somewhere else.

Other cruise lines are all doing the same. It is an industry change, not NCL change. 

 

From a travel industry perspective, my airfare to my cruises have literally doubled in the past year,,, now much higher than pre-pandemic. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by BirdTravels

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

Other cruise lines are all doing the same. It is an industry change, not NCL change. 

 

From a travel industry perspective, my airfare to my cruises have literally doubled in the past year,,, now much higher than pre-pandemic. 

I understand many if not all cruise lines are doing the same, but that does not make it better.

 

We had our first cruise in 2002, and the cruise industry, in fact the entire travel industry, was still trying to recover from the aftermath of the events of 9/11. The cruise was from Barcelona. And all of us who bought cruise line transfers were taken on a free tour of Barcelona instead of just made to wait for embarkation. Ten years later we did a similar itinerary from Barcelona. Cruises were now doing well, and instead of a free tour, we were made to wait for embarkation with no real amenities.

 

My point is when things are not going well, that is the time to go our of your way to make it a more worthwhile experience for your passengers.

[uneamie]

2 hours ago, carohs said:

Touché 

 

Because that's when the popcorn tends to come out.. this particular topic has been relatively drama free. And "shoulds" don't carry as much weight in a thread of how things actually are/have been going (IMO)

I don't think stating your opinion or dislike about something is creating "drama". Having relentless arguments over it does. I won't feed into that but I will continue to express my feelings or opinions. I don't think mine are "popcorn" worthy. 

[dexddd]

On 3/15/2023 at 11:35 AM, mking8288 said:

Our steward this January was fine & busy, mostly catering to the corner Fwd PH Suite - going in & out.  We had trouble nominating vacation hero and not having the name(s) didn't really matter this time, LOL.  

 

Are you going to be on Viva's TA this Fall ?? 

Checked yesterday, Viva, same room, 41% more than Prima with one less day and poor port stops for the TA.  Haven plenty of rooms vs Prima Haven sold out in 1.5 days of opening.

[CILCIANRQTS]

On Epic now.

Does not matter to us, other than not knowing when servicing will happen.

Better than the turndown service at home! 😉😎

[AK Dreaming]

3 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

On Epic now.

Does not matter to us, other than not knowing when servicing will happen.

Better than the turndown service at home! 😉😎

How many in the cabin.  I would not care much if it was just me or me and one person.  We have three and need the beds set up and put away.

[tgloersen]

On 3/15/2023 at 11:29 PM, BirdTravels said:

Hmmm,,, is there something in your life outside of a cruise ship that hasn't increased in price, reduced in size in the past year? Why would you expect the cruise line to be any different?

 

Royal is now once a day service with a higher daily service charge and charges for room service. 

5Dz Eggs at Bj's just went from $20 to $15  🙂

[eileeshb]

On 3/13/2023 at 10:11 PM, uneamie said:

Like it's been said, it melts fast. By the time you get back to your room at any given time...it's nothing but water. One bucket of ice in the morning does not last till dinner. And you will be lucky if you even get one bucket of ice. On our last cruise, which was on the Breakaway in 2018 our cabin steward NEVER brought ice to our cabin. I had to hunt him down to get it and who wants to go through all that every time you want an ice bucket???  We should not have to do that. I know they are busy...I get that and I get that it's not their fault, so in light of that the cruiseline needs to address these issues where the root problem is they do not have enough staff and they are over worked. It's that simple. 

I use a 1lt insulated wide mouth bottle, I put the ice in in the evening so I have it first thing if I’ve an early excursion in warm weather. No fridge in the studios and the ice bucket isn’t super insulated so even when it was a twice a day service the ice would be melted in the bucket overnight. 

[MoCruiseFan]

On 3/15/2023 at 1:02 PM, PC Skier said:

They raised the tips and decreased the service? Room service is one of the reasons I love to cruise. It's my little treat to have everything neat and tidy without having to do it all myself. We cruised for 8 weeks last year on RCCL , Princess and NCL. We are almost at the top on all 3 but I must say NCL was our favorite until last year. It was the first time we didn't buy future cruise credits. Now I am really glad we didn't. Might have to say good bye to NCL.

Don't make a mess, won't be a mess...

 

[AK Dreaming]

15 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Don't make a mess, won't be a mess...

 

I dont think the issue is being messy, I think the issue is the level of service.  Do we have to go get our own ice each night?  Do we have to set up and make our third bed and put it a way every day before an excursion?  Do we constantly have to call for more towels?  Will our cabins not be ready until we sail away and miss our dinner reservations because we have not gotten our luggage?