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

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, OrangeCatRamblers said:

 

A help-yourself towel cart in the corridor would help so much. 

So,,, why do you need more than one towel a day? We only get one towel a week at home (until laundry day). 

[OrangeCatRamblers]

10 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

So,,, why do you need more than one towel a day? We only get one towel a week at home (until laundry day). 

 

Sure, wash off sand and sunscreen, lady issues, toddler vomit, use your imagination, man! 

[more2sea]

5 hours ago, psuboater said:

We weren't able to get into our cabins until 3:30pm, and the luggage came at 6 -- definiely the latest we've experienced.

Thanks so much for the reply.    Helpful to  know to bring things need for day in carry on as may be late getting into cabin or luggage delivered later than usual. Not my first choice but a minor inconvenience .  Last  cruise heard people complain cabins were not ready when they boarded. Should be interesting

[mking8288]

Once-a-day-cabin-cleaning works, perhaps for solo and adult travelers traveling as a pair or couples ... I am doubtful that families with infants, young children and teens find this "new" service tier acceptable and workable.  

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah - just ask for this, ask for that, ask for those, wait for them, and expect ...  By the way, oops, DSC shared by all NCL crew members is now $80 a day for a family of 4 - kind of difficult to "sell" and to tell those that saved for that once a year or twice a year cruise vacation.  

 

On our January 2023 cruise, ship was still on twice a day cabin services and yet, none of the staterooms were ready until after 1:30 or 1:45 p.m. - except possibly for Haven.  Now that it has gone to once-a-day-cabin-cleaning schedule with 22 rooms per "attendant" - it has been reported to be worst and later than that.  Not to mention, more than 150+ crew positions once needed ... are no longer being filled.  

 

    This comment was just posted by someone else on a different CC roll call for another NCL vessel, verbatim: (FWIW - not facts-checked, of course) 

"just got off he Getaway. The cutbacks were so evident not sure will sail NCL again. Once a day service meant very cursory cleaning sometimes at 4pm. No sheet change in 12 days."

 

Let me bust another myth, feel free to flame - I have some "idea" that at least a few cheerleaders are sailing frequently on discounted and partially "comp'd" NCL cruises b/c of other affiliations or "memberships" perks - consider yourself lucky, you earned & paid for these enhanced cruise in other ways - but, others on the same ship aren't privileged.  Okay, my "rant" for the week is over - feel free to strongly disagree, resume stalking of the latest live reports onboard from ships.  

Edited March 11, 2023 by mking8288

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, mking8288 said:

I have some "idea" that at least a few cheerleaders are sailing frequently on discounted and partially "comp'd" NCL cruises b/c of other affiliations or "memberships" perks - consider yourself lucky,

I want to find out how to cruise on discounted cruises! We pay full freight...but then I don't feel bad thrashing NCL for their awful customer service. 🙂

 

12 hours ago, mking8288 said:

"just got off he Getaway. The cutbacks were so evident not sure will sail NCL again. Once a day service meant very cursory cleaning sometimes at 4pm. No sheet change in 12 days."

I kind of wish I was cruising in an aft balcony on my upcoming cruise (of course the balcony) as the room attendant would be servicing our suite, plus regular staterooms. I think we would get more of a feeling for what the attendants are going through. As it stands, on Joy we'll be surrounded by a few Haven cabins so I suspect the attendant will only provide service to Haven cabins. I'm hoping not. I'm hoping we have an attendant who is servicing the regular staterooms too so I can have really quick conversations with them about life now.

 

Pretty sure we'll be telling the attendant to clean our room only once a day. In January we told our attendant to ignore our room on half the days of the cruise.

 

I have so many questions about how this process will affect our cruise and am excited to experience it (good or bad).

[resetjet]

On 3/6/2023 at 12:02 PM, bedfordmom said:

Not going well on the Feb 26 Getaway. I originally thought no big deal but didn’t realize that the stewards have double the rooms than before. That means that you may get your morning service at 5pm.Imagine coming back to your cabin after a long day and wanting to take a shower. No dry towels and the room steward is trying to get in the room. When asked why do late he said everyone requested early. 

Its an idea that works on paper but not in practice.  People have too many quirks and personal habits.  I believe the will wind up going from twice the normal amount of rooms to 1.5 to fix it.  

[tony s]

15 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Now, isn't that true about just about everything... paying more and getting less. Shrinkflation? 

 

Why would you ever expect a business to hold their prices in today's economy???? 

 

A year ago, I could get a dozen eggs for $0.79 on sale. Today, the "sale" price is $4.75. Yeah, blame the flu, but everything else is in the same boat. Do you think that the ship can prepare that omelet in the buffet for the same price this year that they did last year?

 

That bag of Lays potato chips is 2 oz lighter and 30% more $$$.And you buy it every week,,, but you expect the cruise line or any business for that matter to off you the same service for the same cost as 2 year ago. That is simply not realistic. 

 

I see your point. However if you upped price and kept service same, that would be one thing. But to make service worse and raise prices NO! Like NCL, I am in a business, to enjoy my vacation not pay more for subpar service. I feel for the steward but at the end of the day it is my hard earned money. 

[AK Dreaming]

I didn’t even consider the service reduction would delay cabin being ready on embankment day. Anyone have experience with late cabins 

[njkate]

On 3/10/2023 at 7:56 PM, BirdTravels said:

So,,, why do you need more than one towel a day? We only get one towel a week at home (until laundry day). 

Because myself at least finds that gross to only change your bath towel once a week. 3 days max for me

[Dorhead1230]

On 3/11/2023 at 9:46 AM, cruiseny4life said:

I want to find out how to cruise on discounted cruises! We pay full freight...but then I don't feel bad thrashing NCL for their awful customer service. 🙂

 

 

Casino. We are casino guests when we sail. So, we do still pay in other ways lol, but our cabin fares are generally comped or deeply discounted (depending on what they offer as a comp, we have sometimes paid to upgrade to balcony/aft-facing balcony). We do still pay all port fees and taxes, the CAS admin fee, insurance, and DSC and gratuities on FAS. But it still works out to a good deal. For example on that Getaway cruise we did last month, our cost per person all-in for balcony cabins worked out to about what just the fare without taxes and fees was for inside cabins. I’m in the camp that’s fine with once a day service (as long as we’re left extra towels when that happens), but still thinks it’s a really bad look for NCL to cut service while simultaneously raising the DSC.

[njkate]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

O.K.... so, the world does not come to an end if you don't change your towel twice a day, 14 times a week, 60 times a month, 730 times a year?

What you seem to fail to realize is everyone is NOT like you. Did I say I needed my towels changed twice a day?!?! No, I did not I said 3 days of an unchanged towel is max for me, in addition if you are sharing your cabin with others especially kids the towels can get mixed up if they aren't fresh folded towels. You have at it with dead skin cells etc accumulated for a week on unwashed towels, yuck,  I'll pass. I took me along time to go from a fresh towel each day to a 3 day max. Sheesh we should all live by your rules I guess

Edited March 12, 2023 by njkate

[PTC DAWG]

I’m clean when I dry off after a shower…I don’t need two towels a day for that…

 

And I will say I feel sorry for the stewards at times…you can see the state of the rooms that some people leave them to deal with…slobs comes to mind.  

[dbrown84]

39 minutes ago, Dorhead1230 said:

Casino. We are casino guests when we sail. So, we do still pay in other ways lol, but our cabin fares are generally comped or deeply discounted (depending on what they offer as a comp, we have sometimes paid to upgrade to balcony/aft-facing balcony). We do still pay all port fees and taxes, the CAS admin fee, insurance, and DSC and gratuities on FAS. But it still works out to a good deal. For example on that Getaway cruise we did last month, our cost per person all-in for balcony cabins worked out to about what just the fare without taxes and fees was for inside cabins. I’m in the camp that’s fine with once a day service (as long as we’re left extra towels when that happens), but still thinks it’s a really bad look for NCL to cut service while simultaneously raising the DSC.

I'll 2nd the casino.  I've taken 7 cruises, all comped casino cruises.  I'm doing the drink package on my next cruise (I've always declined in the past) and my total is just over $600 (DSC included).  Otherwise, I've never paid over $500 total.  My best deal was when they were offering free flights for everyone, instead of just the 2nd guest.  I left out of New Orleans for that cruise, so I was able to get free rooms before and after the cruise at Harrahs.  that was practically a free vacation

[ceilidh1]

I will be on Bliss in April with 3 teens (😬) and the closer it gets, the more nervous I become! I'm ok without twice a day "cleaning" but definitely want the sofabed/bunk to be beds at night and put away in the day. On the subject of towels, my issue isn't reusing them, it's getting them dry enough to reuse. Hanging them on the bathroom door usually doesn't do the trick if I shower in the morning and then  wish to shower again before dinner...I plan on asking for extra towels right off the bat, so we will see how that goes!

[Panhandle Couple]

Just got off our 2nd cruise with the new rules.

 

Older couple, but no real issues for us.  I don't know if being Gold helped our rooms being done first or not. I did not over hear anyone complaining about their rooms being done late.

 

Of course there are the std tips:

Sleeping in until 10 AM with the do not disturb light on means your room will be done last.

Leaving the room and not hitting the room service light gives the steward no signal on which room to choose next.

 

Our steward this last week even refilled our soap/shampoo dispensers, that were not even 1/2 gone.

Our stewards always seem to say high to us (and ask if we need anything) 2 times a day or more.  If I needed clean towels I could ask for them.

 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, Dorhead1230 said:

Casino. We are casino guests when we sail. So, we do still pay in other ways lol, but our cabin fares are generally comped or deeply discounted (depending on what they offer as a comp, we have sometimes paid to upgrade to balcony/aft-facing balcony). We do still pay all port fees and taxes, the CAS admin fee, insurance, and DSC and gratuities on FAS. But it still works out to a good deal. For example on that Getaway cruise we did last month, our cost per person all-in for balcony cabins worked out to about what just the fare without taxes and fees was for inside cabins. I’m in the camp that’s fine with once a day service (as long as we’re left extra towels when that happens), but still thinks it’s a really bad look for NCL to cut service while simultaneously raising the DSC.

Thanks! I suppose the $400 we spent (and lost) on two cruises, in the casino didn't scratch the surface of getting comps. I think it's a lot to blow, but I doubt Casino at Sea does. 🙂

 

I don't think we care about once, or twice, a day service. We'll see next week. My current plan is to tell the room attendant to treat our suite as they treat the other rooms. I also don't want to make them work any harder than they already do, so if I can take away one stress point in their day, that works for me! Boo on NCL for making me make that decision though.

[bjlaac]

So here's what's going on in reality with once a day cleaning.  Just got off an eleven night cruise on the Gem.  Upon boarding told all cabins not ready until 3:00 PM.  At 3:30 PM a mandatory lifeboat drill was called while most passengers were trying to unpack.

 

Throughout the Cruise room stewards (at least on our deck) did not start until 10:00 AM each morning.  Multiple passengers complained during the cruise their room steward didn't show up to make their rooms until 4:00 PM on many days.

 

Lots of complaints at customer service.

 

Somehow I don't think this is working especially at $20 a night, heck I wouldn't settle for it at $16 a night in gratuities.  The only thing that's going to make this nonsense stop is to remove the pre-paids and tip accordingly.

[Megamixer]

30 minutes ago, bjlaac said:

Somehow I don't think this is working especially at $20 a night, heck I wouldn't settle for it at $16 a night in gratuities.  The only thing that's going to make this nonsense stop is to remove the pre-paids and tip accordingly.

I have never ever thought of removing the daily service charge until now.  I always prepay before cruising and will see how my next 19 day TA goes.  I normally take an additional few hundred dollars that I give out when I feel it's deserved but have already decided that's not happening on the upcoming cruise.  Our prepaid grats were over $700.   

[ceilidh1]

35 minutes ago, Megamixer said:

I have never ever thought of removing the daily service charge until now.  I always prepay before cruising and will see how my next 19 day TA goes.  I normally take an additional few hundred dollars that I give out when I feel it's deserved but have already decided that's not happening on the upcoming cruise.  Our prepaid grats were over $700.   

This is the sad thing about it - I, also, always tip on top of the pre-paid grats for my steward. With the increase in price, combined with the decrease in service, the steward would have to be particularly outstanding for me to do that now! 

[ggTexasGal]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I will be on Bliss in April with 3 teens (😬) and the closer it gets, the more nervous I become! I'm ok without twice a day "cleaning" but definitely want the sofabed/bunk to be beds at night and put away in the day. On the subject of towels, my issue isn't reusing them, it's getting them dry enough to reuse. Hanging them on the bathroom door usually doesn't do the trick if I shower in the morning and then  wish to shower again before dinner...I plan on asking for extra towels right off the bat, so we will see how that goes!

This suggestion might not be an ideal solution If you run into trouble getting dry towels in the room, but here goes...

You could use the beach towels in the room, and then have your teens go exchange them near the pools.  Fresh, dry towels in a pinch?!

[dbrown84]

I've always been fine with once a day cleaning.  I would often turn on the DND light in the evening just so the room steward would have less to do.  I'd actually be ok with every other day.  My next cruise is Sat - Sat.  I think I may let the steward know they can just clean the room on Sun, Tues, and Thur

[DMP609]

What can be done that won't penalize the room steward but make NCL realize this isn't working and their customers aren't happy? The stewards have been given more work than before because they now have over twice the rooms to service in the same amount of time. This is not their fault. It's NCL's fault completely.

[IrieBajan54]

5 hours ago, bjlaac said:

So here's what's going on in reality with once a day cleaning.  Just got off an eleven night cruise on the Gem.  Upon boarding told all cabins not ready until 3:00 PM.  At 3:30 PM a mandatory lifeboat drill was called while most passengers were trying to unpack.

 

Throughout the Cruise room stewards (at least on our deck) did not start until 10:00 AM each morning.  Multiple passengers complained during the cruise their room steward didn't show up to make their rooms until 4:00 PM on many days.

 

Lots of complaints at customer service.

 

Somehow I don't think this is working especially at $20 a night, heck I wouldn't settle for it at $16 a night in gratuities.  The only thing that's going to make this nonsense stop is to remove the pre-paids and tip accordingly.

I was on the same cruise and solo. I was on deck 10 and had a friendly and personable cabin steward. I exercise daily and have to wash out my workout gear, then roll in towels to quicken drying. Even though my cabin wasn't cleaned until late afternoon daily, at least I got the towels requested. But the guy obviously was stretched thin and that is NCL's fault. 

 

I was one of those who got their luggage after 5:00 p.m. 

 

I ended up giving the cabin steward a hero card because he got my towel request done daily. Other than him, no one else deserved one.

[PistolPete13]

7 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’m clean when I dry off after a shower…I don’t need two towels a day for that…

 

And I will say I feel sorry for the stewards at times…you can see the state of the rooms that some people leave them to deal with…slobs comes to mind.  

I concour.  I just got off the Getaway in NYC.  My room attendant tried to get an early start and had propped open the doors to some of the vacated cabins already.

I'm not the neatest guy in the world but everyday I would try to clear off the various surfaces in the room to make wiping things down easier for the cleaner.  Some of the rooms I walked past literally looked like bomb had gone off.  The one image that lasted in my mind were a stack of FreeStyle dailies (12 night cruise) scattered like confetti over the floor.  Ugh.

My room attendant was stretched thin during the trip but to his credit he always had a smile when he greeted me.  Like others have said, his workload has changed with more cabins with this once a day schedule.  This was his 3rd or 4th contract and does not plan to be back in part due to these changes.

Edited March 12, 2023 by PistolPete13

[ceilidh1]

I'm trying to wrap my head around this. I had (naively) thought that the once a day service would actually be beneficial to stewards. In my mind, instead of having, say, 10 rooms to service twice a day they would now have 10 rooms to service once a day. I hadn't even thought about a scenario where, in fact, they would now have 20 rooms to service once a day (as I said, I'm naive). So, that leads me to wonder what happened to those other stewards that were originally servicing those rooms? Jobs cut? If so, NCL are raising service charge fees, decreasing service, and cutting positions. Am I correct in thinking this? 

 

Edited to add: My naivety came from the position that if service charges were raised while service was reduced, the service that we DID get (once a day) would be of a higher quality.

Edited March 12, 2023 by ceilidh1
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