I thought I wouldn't miss 2x a day room cleaning... I was wrong.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

On 7/9/2023 at 7:40 PM, DebJ14 said:

The hotels we stay in both in the US and Mexico provide full service every day and evening turndown that includes fresh towels, ice and emptying the trash cans.  

Many hotels chains (Hilton is definitely one) have gone to only servicing your room every five days.   So, if you want service every day, make sure you pick a brand that has that.

 

Likewise, if you want twice a day service on a cruise, make sure you pick a line that has that.  

"I don't like the way this company does business, but I'm going to keep giving them my money." is a great way to let folks know you really DON'T have a problem. 

[Twolittleboys]

21 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Many hotels chains (Hilton is definitely one) have gone to only servicing your room every five days.   So, if you want service every day, make sure you pick a brand that has that.

 

Likewise, if you want twice a day service on a cruise, make sure you pick a line that has that.  

"I don't like the way this company does business, but I'm going to keep giving them my money." is a great way to let folks know you really DON'T have a problem. 

 

So does anyone know which cruise lines still have twice a day service? I know NCL and Royal have cut back and Aida has had only once daily service as long as I can remember...

[mjkacmom]

Just now, Twolittleboys said:

 

So does anyone know which cruise lines still have twice a day service? I know NCL and Royal have cut back and Aida has had only once daily service as long as I can remember...

I think carnival is once a day?

[Etta1213]

On 7/3/2023 at 3:31 PM, Mikew0805 said:

I have been doing once a day service since long before they decided to change it. Does not matter the room I am in.. Suite or non suite, I only want morning service.

 

Sorry for those that do not like it.

Same here. I prefer privacy.

[RedIguana]

38 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

So does anyone know which cruise lines still have twice a day service?

Princess still does, as of last month anyway.

[Scottdalfonso]

I love once a day- less people in and out of my room, less of me feeling like I have to rush out so they can get in and less wasting of resources. We just stayed at Holiday Inn and they had a sign saying we had to let the front desk know if we wanted any service in the room, otherwise it would be every 2nd night. So I don't know why people think a cruise line would be any different. Clean towels are great- MAYBE once a day, certainly not needed twice a day (and every other day is JUST fine for most people) You want to be served and pampered, pay for a suite. Otherwise, deal with the same cutback that EVERY cruise line and hotel chain are currently doing. 

[Tatka]

1 hour ago, Twolittleboys said:

 

So does anyone know which cruise lines still have twice a day service? I know NCL and Royal have cut back and Aida has had only once daily service as long as I can remember...

 

I believe premium massmarket line do

 

• Celebrity
• Holland America
• Princess
• Cunard

[Tatka]

As for service in hotel... If we stay in a hotel, which due to us cruising now 5 times a year rarely happens we stay at Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Westin and such. I do not remember ever more than 1 service a day.

 

 Maybe at Ritz or such there is a full service, but RCI or even Celebrity are not luxury brands.

 

 I think suites on RCI are still serviced twice (or more) a day though. If one wants luxury service they need to book suites.

Edited July 11, 2023 by Tatka

[thistimeplease]

1 hour ago, Twolittleboys said:

 

So does anyone know which cruise lines still have twice a day service? I know NCL and Royal have cut back and Aida has had only once daily service as long as I can remember...

MSC has twice a day and we really like it.

 

[thistimeplease]

1 hour ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I love once a day- less people in and out of my room, less of me feeling like I have to rush out so they can get in and less wasting of resources. We just stayed at Holiday Inn and they had a sign saying we had to let the front desk know if we wanted any service in the room, otherwise it would be every 2nd night. So I don't know why people think a cruise line would be any different. Clean towels are great- MAYBE once a day, certainly not needed twice a day (and every other day is JUST fine for most people) You want to be served and pampered, pay for a suite. Otherwise, deal with the same cutback that EVERY cruise line and hotel chain are currently doing. 

 

Not every cruise line, I just sailed with MSC and they still have twice a day service. To each their own but my family does like the twice a day service.  We also take showers twice a day and like fresh towels each time.  

[Twolittleboys]

27 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

I believe premium massmarket line do

 

• Celebrity
• Holland America
• Princess
• Cunard

 

Excellent, I am on a mission to try out all the major lines to find the best fit and HAL, Princess, and MSC are at the top of my list.

[Tatka]

Just now, Twolittleboys said:

 

Excellent, I am on a mission to try out all the major lines to find the best fit and HAL, Princess, and MSC are at the top of my list.

 

We cruised for 20 years with them + RCI, NCL, MSC, Carnival (with them we split our ways almost right away). RCI is our line of choice now. It has cons, but pros + logistics (we cruise from Northeast of US) + us reaching Diamonds and then Diamond+ made us very loyal. 🙂

 

Celebrity is a sister line with some luxury touches and a bit more sophisticated crowd on average. 

They created amazing Edge class ships which encompass many features of Royal too.

[time4u2go]

On 7/7/2023 at 12:37 PM, cello56 said:

Here is a shocking concept! 

When I am on a cruise ..... I am not at home! 

At home, I make my own bed, we hang and reuse towels, we eat the food that is served and don't expect elaborate meals. 

On a cruise, someone else makes my bed and cleans my bathroom and provides me with clean DRY towels as often as I need them. 

If I wanted to be making my own bed, cleaning my own bathroom and reusing towels I would have stayed home instead of going on vacation! There is simply no rationale to say "you don't expect this at home" when it comes to being pampered and taken care of. I am paying a lot of money - and recently a lot of money since prices have increased - to be on vacation with someone else doing all the work.

Excellent post.  Same could be said for the comparisons to a land-based hotel.  To borrow what you stated, when I am on a cruise, I am not in a land-based hotel.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

59 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Excellent post.  Same could be said for the comparisons to a land-based hotel.  To borrow what you stated, when I am on a cruise, I am not in a land-based hotel.

Bottom line is MANY companies are cutting back services AND increasing charges.  If you don't think the product offered (by any company) is worth the charge they're asking... DON'T BUY THE PRODUCT.

 

ETA:  Why should a company offer more value if they're able to sell the "lessor" value?  

Edited July 11, 2023 by S.A.M.J.R.

[Pratique]

Wasn't it always possible to ask the attendant to service the room once a day? Before the policy change? Or just hang the do not disturb sign out all day long?

 

I know that the attendants are sometimes uncomfortable being asked to skip a service because they don't want to get in trouble with their supervisors, but if you make the request clear they will oblige.

 

We often sail in a loft suite on Oasis class so we get two attendants twice a day. They are in and out fairly quickly and are always available nearby to get us something if we need it. It is a real luxury to be waited on like this and one of the reasons we enjoy cruise vacations instead of going to a hotel. If we are in a non-suite I would at least like the option to select once or twice a day servicing, but it seems unlikely that such an option will ever become available. But who knows what the future holds.

[baileybrad]

Our May cruise was our first with one service per day. Fine with that and we were asked if we wanted evening or morning service. We chose evening. We have late dining and left the room around 7:35pm or so to head to dinner. Our thought was that since we shower before dinner that the wet towels would go away and the cabin would be nice and fresh in the evening upon our return. 

 

We make our own bed. We ask for extra towels. So the morning cleanings have never been much of a concern for us. 

 

Well our plan had a hole in it. On half of the nights our room was not cleaned after we showered so we had to push the wet towels into the far corner under the sink. He had come into our room earlier in the evening and left a towel animal, dimmed the lights, left the requested paper compass, etc. Not a show stopper and we obviously dealt with it. Just could never figure out the inconsistency.

 

Spouse wants to go to morning cleaning on our future trips. I just feel like that is much more intrusive. I warned her to not complain when there is a knock on the cabin door when she is sleeping late in the morning. I am out the door at 6:00am so it will not impact me.

 

One odd thing we noticed is that the "out catching waves" magnets are a thing of the past. Just have the "sleeping in" magnet. Suppose that is because they do not need to catch you out of the room since your service is pretty much locked in. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by baileybrad

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, baileybrad said:

Our May cruise was our first with one service per day. Fine with that and we were asked if we wanted evening or morning service. We chose evening. We have late dining and left the room around 7:35pm or so to head to dinner. Our thought was that since we shower before dinner that the wet towels would go away and the cabin would be nice and fresh in the evening upon our return. 

 

We make our own bed. We ask for extra towels. So the morning cleanings have never been much of a concern for us. 

 

Well our plan had a hole in it. On half of the nights our room was not cleaned after we showered so we had to push the wet towels into the far corner under the sink. He had come into our room earlier in the evening and left a towel animal, dimmed the lights, left the requested paper compass, etc. Not a show stopper and we obviously dealt with it. Just could never figure out the inconsistency.

 

Spouse wants to go to morning cleaning on our future trips. I just feel like that is much more intrusive. I warned her to not complain when there is a knock on the cabin door when she is sleeping late in the morning. I am out the door at 6:00am so it will not impact me.

 

One odd thing we noticed is that the "out catching waves" magnets are a thing of the past. Just have the "sleeping in" magnet. Suppose that is because they do not need to catch you out of the room since your service is pretty much locked in. 

Interesting, I can see pros/cons with either morning or evening but I guess if I am offered a choice I'll clarify about what time they're aiming to complete it.  Even if not offered a choice I'll ask what time they'll aim for - while we are fairly consistent in our travel habits I'll be curious to see how it goes.  I expect we won't mind, but it will all depend on overall accessibility.

[HUNKY]

YIKES!!!

 

Did not know this about our upcoming Royal Wonder cruise.

 

Can I ask my attendant for twice-a-day service?

 

Their answer will certainly affect their extra tip!

[BND]

11 minutes ago, HUNKY said:

YIKES!!!

 

Did not know this about our upcoming Royal Wonder cruise.

 

Can I ask my attendant for twice-a-day service?

 

Their answer will certainly affect their extra tip!

They are only doing once per day unless you are in a JS or higher.  This is new policy that was announced a couple of months ago, not the steward's decision.  So, for you, with holding any extra tip is a punishment?   It doesn't hurt the company if you with hold extra tips.  Have you read the entire thread? 

[Scottdalfonso]

48 minutes ago, HUNKY said:

YIKES!!!

 

Did not know this about our upcoming Royal Wonder cruise.

 

Can I ask my attendant for twice-a-day service?

 

Their answer will certainly affect their extra tip!

It's not their decision..it's the company.  You're going to withhold giving them extra tips because of it? 

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, baileybrad said:

One odd thing we noticed is that the "out catching waves" magnets are a thing of the past. Just have the "sleeping in" magnet. 

Did you turn the magnet over?  They are two-sided.

[megr1125]

12 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Did you turn the magnet over?  They are two-sided.

Actually, some were double sided, and others were single sided. I was on several Royal ships with 2 magnets.  

[Mum2Mercury]

On 7/11/2023 at 11:08 AM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Likewise, if you want twice a day service on a cruise, make sure you pick a line that has that.  

"I don't like the way this company does business, but I'm going to keep giving them my money." is a great way to let folks know you really DON'T have a problem. 

That's overly simplistic:  Say you like a certain cruise line's ships, itineraries, food, entertainment ... but you're displeased with their room service.  Do you walk away from the things you do like because of a couple things you dislike?  

My impression is that the majority are displeased with the reduction in service (coupled with the increase in gratuity) but it isn't "enough" to make them leave.  I think the cruise line considers this a win.  

On 7/11/2023 at 1:00 PM, Tatka said:

I think suites on RCI are still serviced twice (or more) a day though. If one wants luxury service they need to book suites.

I'd argue that cabin service, given the small space, twice a day isn't "luxury".  It hasn't been considered such in the past.  

1 hour ago, BND said:

So, for you, with holding any extra tip is a punishment?   

43 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

You're going to withhold giving them extra tips because of it? 

These two posts are a twist on what the other poster said -- or, rather, implied.  The other poster implied he would tip EXTRA for more service -- an increased tip, a reward for extra service.  Y'all are acting like he's planning not to tip at all.    

[S.A.M.J.R.]

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

That's overly simplistic:  Say you like a certain cruise line's ships, itineraries, food, entertainment ... but you're displeased with their room service.  Do you walk away from the things you do like because of a couple things you dislike?  

My impression is that the majority are displeased with the reduction in service (coupled with the increase in gratuity) but it isn't "enough" to make them leave.  I think the cruise line considers this a win. 

Not really.  It depends on how important the room service is to you.  The way some people are reacting, it's the end of the world.  

 

And again I ask, why should the company change back if they're still able to sell the cabins?

[crzndeb]

4 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Did you turn the magnet over?  They are two-sided.

They just changed them on the Ovation in May. My room attendant let me keep the old one. Only one side is magnetic.