Room Stewards into my stuff

[Maryandi]

I have been on 19 cruises and on the last 2 - I have had the room stewards (rs) taking things out of my (what I thought of as ) my private areas.

 

I always thought that drawers, closets and anything personal of the pax is not to be touched. (Being in the hotel business, that is what we taught our staff).

 

On the Volendam last March, the RS made reference to something I had in my closet (that I never took out of the closet until packing up time) and on the last night TOOK something out of my closet that I was saving until morning !!

 

Then on the Disney ship, May 7, the RS took something of mine that was on a table on the balcony that I was saving for my son. :mad:

 

So what's going on here, my cabin is mine until I walk out on the last AM. No one should be clearing out anything without my say so, or even looking in there.

 

Has anyone ever had this happen ??

 

MaryAnn

 

P.S. I did not use the comment cards to burn the guy - never saw the Volendam guy but told the Disney guy and his superior (who happened upon us in the hallway.

[doone]

I have never had a room steward make reference to anything I had put away nor take anything that I left out. I don't recall anyone else ever having that happen to them either. I am not saying it didn't happen to you, but, for me anyways, its the first I have heard of this on a HAL ship.

 

Now, Premiere Cruise Lines, my mother had a Gucci watch taken right out of her draw. We reported it immediately, they did nothing at all, as a matter of fact, we never heard a word from Premiere, no wonder they went "belly up" so to speak.

[missygirl]

To my knowledge I have never noticed that anything has been gone through and we have cruised on four previous ones. The only thing that I have ever heard was that a RS had went into a friends drawer on her cruise to retrieve her nightgown to fold into a flower. She said that what bothered her was this is such a personal item that she really didn't wanting stranger touching it and he did go through her things.

Missygirl:)

[Robin7]

The only thing that I have ever heard was that a RS had went into a friends drawer on her cruise to retrieve her nightgown to fold into a flower.

 

I had that happen on a Princess cruise. The RS got out one of my nighties and left it arranged on the bed with the chocolate after he prepared the stateroom for the night. We ALWAYS put our stuff away because I don't want the RS handling my stuff. So we spoke to him about it, and it didn't happen again.

 

On HAL (five times now), we've never had anything like that happen that I could tell. In fact, the Room Steward has often left stuff I wish he would have taken, like a half-empty cup of soda or those dumb fliers about jewelry sales at the shops. Now I'm just careful to put those things in the little recycling thing attached to the trash can and to leave only empty glasses.

 

Robin

[dakrewser]

I have been on 19 cruises and on the last 2 - I have had the room stewards (rs) taking things out of my (what I thought of as ) my private areas.

You seem to very carefully avoid mentioning what the "stuff" in question was - personal items, clothing or "souvenirs" which someone might consider simply waste or trash?

 

And, yes, they do clean in the closet.

[Maryandi]

I didn't mention what the stuff was because that is not important -it is the going into drawers and closets that is the point. If it is important to you to know what the stuff is I'll let you know.

 

And throwing out something(anything) on the veranda.That was important to me, too.

 

And what is needed to clean in a closet until the guest leaves ? He did not clean well in the closet before we got there because there were the cardboard liquor boxes and dirty bathrobes from the previous people.

 

MaryAnn

[saltydog28]

wowzo-I'm wondering why you left something out on the verandah? It gets windy out there and items get blown off. Either out to sea or on to someone elses verandah. Maybe he removed it as a safety issue or didn't realize you wanted it.

Just a thought,

Pat.

[Randyk47]

Last, and only time, an RS got into personal stuff, that I know of, was on my very first cruise in 1994 on the Carnival Fantasy when the RS made something....a crab I think...out of my ex's nightgown. (More fitting than he probably realized.... :eek: ) We're typically pretty organized and while a table may collect some brochure or flyers, etc., we try to not leave too much out. Luckily HAL has only recently gone the "towel animal" avenue but our one and only towel thingie was indeed made out of towels, not our personal clothing. I don't like the idea of them going through drawers though and hope that doesn't become a norm or habit.

[jhannah]

We've never had anything pilfered on any of our cruises. I could see a steward looking in the closets, especially toward the end of the cruise, to make sure the life jackets are in there and neatly stowed for the next guests. But I can't imagine any reason for a steward to bother or talk about what he found in there. Yes, our "private space" should be just that.

[Maryandi]

Pat - I thought so at first but the balcony was not windy and it was a solid railing chest high. A towel left on the back of a chair was not even moving.

 

Had this happened only once - I wouldn't feel as upset about it but the fact that it happened 3 times on 2 different lines makes me think that it is more frequent than I thought.

 

MaryAnn

[gizmo]

I am very confused over the OP's post. :confused: Taking things out of a private area ? I think the post is lacking in detail so it makes it difficult to comment. I think "what stuff" does matter.

 

 

I do know at one time, Carnival's RS would lay out night gowns for the ladies. And YES , the did go through drawers/closets to get the night gown. I have no idea if this is still a practice or not.

[Tricia724]

I can't say that I've ever had anything personal taken or disturbed, but I did notice something on one cruise that bothered me a little.

 

One night we brought a glass of wine back to the cabin with us; and since we had a bottle of wine in our refrigerator for in-cabin use, I decided to keep the glasses on hand. So, I rinsed them out, dried them off, and put them in a small dresser drawer that was not being used. When we opened our wine, I went to retrieve the glasses and they were gone. Now, the steward had to remove them because neither of us did....which brings up the question of why he was looking in a drawer that was supposed to be used for our personal belongings.

 

I guess I think that most stewards are honest and don't cross that line, but there is always someone who strays off the path. I'm one of those people who leave my bucket with casino money sitting on the dresser and who tosses my jewelry in an unlocked drawer, so one of these days I'll probably pay for being lazy. So far, I haven't had any problem.

[noblepa]

On our recent Oosterdam cruise, my wife had some small request for the steward. I don't even remember what it was. She left a note, asking him for what she wanted, along with a dollar bill as a small tip. When we returned that evening, the request had been filled, the note was gone, but the dollar remained.

 

I figured that the steward didn't want to risk any kind of misundertanding and be accused of taking money, even though we thought it was fairly clear that the money was intended for him. Now, especially in light of the current thread on tipping (possibly insulting staff by "bribing" them), maybe he didn't think it was necessary that we tip before a service was provided, or perhaps he was insulted by the amount.

 

BTW, we did leave the auto-tip in place and added a little extra at the end of the cruise.

 

I've left larger amounts of cash on the table or bed in our cabin on this and other cruises, and I've never had a problem.

[Maryandi]

Tricia, that's exactly what I'm talking about !!! It's not the value of the item, it's the fact that drawers (& closets) are gone thru and things are taken away. He had no business even being in the drawer let alone taking the glasses. Doesn't matter who's or what's or whatever.

 

You get my point and it's disturbing - I wonder if the safe and our luggage (locked ) is the only place for privacy ?

 

M.A.

[kryos]

I guess I think that most stewards are honest and don't cross that line, but there is always someone who strays off the path. I'm one of those people who leave my bucket with casino money sitting on the dresser and who tosses my jewelry in an unlocked drawer, so one of these days I'll probably pay for being lazy. So far, I haven't had any problem.

Wow! These stories amaze me because I've never had any such problems on any cruise I've taken. Especially on my last cruise, I was blessed with what was probably the best room steward on the ship. But, I guess we all have to remember ... sometimes a dishonest one will slip through the cracks. Especially when a cruise line goes on a hiring frenzy, like NCL is doing right now with advertisements appearing almost weekly in the Sunday newspapers (probably in several major markets), there are going to be some people hired who are gonna be dishonest. They will be weeded out, but it will take time. During that time, some passengers can get shafted.

 

I'm the same as you ... lazy. I put my wallet in the safe shortly after embarkation, but have been known to leave it laying around after a day in port ... being too lazy to put it back since maybe there is another port the next day.

 

Hopefully, I'll keep getting the honest, upright room stewards. Hopefully, you will too.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[mickeyfitz]

I agree that there is normally no reason for a steward to ever be opening a drawer and almost never a reason to be opening a closet. I do expect some privacy in those areas, but I really don't understand the upsetment over the "thing" on the verandah which was mistakenly disturbed. It was afterall in plain sight and it is the steward's job to tidy up that area and I can only assume that he thought that the "thing" was to be discarded. Many guest leave their "things" all over the stateroom and verandah and expect the steward to pick up after them.

[Maryandi]

He can 'tidy up' all he wants but unless it's in the wastebasket, he cannot decide what to throw away or keep.

 

How many times have we wished they have thrown something away and until it is in the basket it just sits there day after day ?:)

 

I just don't want anyone going thru the 'private' areas and personal stuff and deciding what goes or not.

 

You can decide what bothers you as I can. But I bet we'll all be more aware of what we thought was our personal areas.

 

M. A.

[Copper10-8]

Just like any hotel on land (except the Bates) it is not normal course of business, and I'm pretty sure not even allowed, for room stewards or anyone else employed by HAL to go through drawers and closets when that cabin is occupied during a cruise let alone remove guest's personal items from there. Be advised though, that there is HAL-owned property in some closets of a guest's cabin (multiple life jackets, an umbrella, a laundry basket and laundry forms come to mind) and in one of the drawers, you'll find a bible. Those could be the reason why a steward would need access to a closet but I doubt that he would do it when alone in the cabin and I'd think he would ask for permission from the pax beforehand. On the last night before or morning of disembarkation, our closets are empty with the exception of what we're wearing on our way home. When we are at breakfast, I could see our steward opening closets to verify that the life jackets are still there and would have absolutely no problems with that.

This topic has come up before with folks relating that their steward has used personal items on towel animals or in some cases, life-size towel people. I have had them use my sunglasses or a baseball hat:eek: (blew that one, now they know I wear them at times) on a towel animal. Those items have always been out in the open. It would not be OK with us if our steward was going through our drawers while we were still occuping the cabin and I would advise him of that.

[mickeyfitz]

The problem is that I have seen people leave trash and debris all around their stateroom and verandah, expecting their steward to take care of the mess and it is simply unrealistic to insist that nothing can be thrown out unless it is in the wastebasket. Unless I know what the "thing" on the verandah was, I am not ready to criticize his judgment.

[Krazy Kruizers]

So far we have had only incident - and it was on a back-to-back cruise. Zuiderdam, May 2005 - and it was not our cabin steward who took away our bottle of vodka. We were sitting out on the verandah while all the rooms were being made ready for the new passengers. After having lunch we decided to have a drink and when we went back inside the cabin our bottle of vodka was gone. Now our room steward knew that we were staying on for another cruise so he did our cabin first thing in the morning. When we discovered that the bottle was gone, we went looking for him. Instead we ran into the person incharge of checking the cabins after the room stewards have cleaned them and he said that he didn't realize that we were out on the verandah and that we were on for another cruise - AHHH - he has a list and should have seen that our names were on there for a second cruise. To make amends, a new bottle was sent to our cabin within a half hour.

[Gerd]

Hello everybody

 

I had a strange one with our cabin steward on our last Statendam cruise.

 

The steward has token stuff from a closed drawer next to my bed - those cards, which come every evening together with chocolate. The chocolate I collected for later, but the cards, I always put on the last day on the table.

 

But why the hell he has to look in the drawer, and to take something out.

 

Ones I detected it, I asked him why he did so – but his answers was really unlikely, that I was really surprised. That’s why I talked about it with the hotel manager. :confused:

 

I did not remark any change of attitude from him later on, i.e. no excuses, that’s why, on the end of the cruise, he did not receive the usually given "Trinkgeld" => German expression for Gratuity……

 

The auto tipping was, of course, not at all cancelled !! :)

 

 

G E R D

 

 

 

MS Rotterdam – 12 days Vikings and Czars - July 4th 2006

 

:confused:

[Casshew]

I've had my nightgown taken from the closet and laid out on the bed... it was kinda creepy. :eek:

[sail7seas]

I agree, KK....... That was not good! Happy to hear he did the right thing and sent a fresh bottle. :) Hope it was your brand. :)

 

 

 

 

[sail7seas]

We would be displeased if a cabin steward went into our drawers while we were occupying a room. I cannot think of any legitimate reason why it would be required or reasonable. I most assuredly would not want him seeking my lingerie to either set out for my use or for him to be looking for personal items he could use making the towel animals.

 

I think Copper made valid points regarding the closets. I have often asked stewards for more laundry/dry cleaning slips. They normally stock them in the entry closet of the Suites so it is reasonable he would be in that closet. Also, his point about life jackets and robes and umbrellas etc (HAL property) is stored in those closets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Oh yes - it was replaced with the Grey Goose that we bought just a couple of days before the end of the first cruise.