Cabin Steward's Card Key Opens Deadbolt

[negc]

You won't get much sympathy from most posters in this forum. Most believe (though they would never come right out and say it) that Princess can do no wrong. :D

 

 

 

Why not use a doorstop? As you can see from a previous post, some ships give them to passengers. A combination of doorstop, Do Not Disturb sign and knowledge of how the system works is probably best.

 

I have stayed in lots of hotels and have had anyone access my room while the deadbolt was activated.

 

The primary problem with your solution of using a doorstop is that it would really negate the whole idea of their being able to get into your stateroom quickly in the event of an emergency. That is a recipe for disaster. It would seem much more effective and simpler either to make passengers fully aware that using the deadbolt will not necessarily guarantee their privacy, or to supply every room steward with a second key that will override the deadbolt in cases of emergency.

Then again, as you have surmised, Princess rarely if ever makes a mistake in how they operate and it is always the responsibility of the passengers to adapt to Princess' way of doing things.:rolleyes:

[Cruisin Kay D]

I too am concerned about the stewards being able to get in even with the deadbolt turned -- a personal security issue like the single lady said -- a HUGE personal security issue when traveling with children or teens who are in a room across the hall or next door to you.....you don't want these people able to just walk in on children!!! We're hoping to take our grandkids & plan on going on a ship with CONNECTING door between 2 outside cabins -- but I sure don't want one of those guys walking in on my 2 teenage granddaughters or the one that is 9!!!

 

There has to be a better way to solve this emergency situation than the room steward having access all the time to my cabin, day & night!!!

 

This situation is just about as stupid-crazy as our state's requirement that I (age 65) with grey/white hair have to show an ID to purchase a beer or glass of wine!!!!

 

Maybe add a chain deadbolt where at least they can only open it 4 inches!

[nho9504]

Not only the cabin steward entered to clean the room, he also left the door wide-open after he finished his job. Our two rolleraboards were in plain view.

 

We were not stupid enough to empty the contents of the safe to put them on the table though. We had packed up everything but did not empty the safe when we went to breakfast. We came back to find the cabin door wide-opened and our two bags were shifted in place. Not a biggie as we knew how tight the schedule is during turn-around day. If this happened on the day of disembarkation, we dont blame the cabin steward though we hope such thing would not happen. It never happened to us on any Princess cruise we took. In some cases we stayed in our cabin till our colour was called, almost passed 9:30. Cabin steward never showed up.

 

Except my room stewart ignored this on my cruise a couple of weeks ago.

 

I had ALMOST taken the money and stuff out of the safe, thinking the room would not be entered and we could run get cereal just before getting off the ship. Like I said this was 6:30 am surely the room steward could have waited until we left at 7:15, early walk off.

 

I got the same response as the OP is getting, everyone said lesson learned, dont leave anything in your room ever that can be stolen or depend on the Privacy card. Not one poster thought the room steward was in the wrong, everyone said it was me.

 

OP I get it. You think your privacy will be respected and it was not.

[nho9504]

I believe some of you take your imagination too far - in 99.99% of the case, an accidental entry is just the cabin attendant tries to do his/her job, thinking the cabin is not occupied at the moment because there is NO ANSWER to the knock on the door.

 

I seriously doubt some crew members would try to enter a guest's cabin and commit criminal act while at sea - there is NO ESCAPE ROUTE TO FRET AFTER CRIME when you are on a ship!

 

Of course there is always that very remote chance such terrible crime could have been committed - but the chance of getting traffic accident on your way home probably is still bigger than that.

 

Stop being paranoid and irrational, people.

 

I too am concerned about the stewards being able to get in even with the deadbolt turned -- a personal security issue like the single lady said -- a HUGE personal security issue when traveling with children or teens who are in a room across the hall or next door to you.....you don't want these people able to just walk in on children!!! We're hoping to take our grandkids & plan on going on a ship with CONNECTING door between 2 outside cabins -- but I sure don't want one of those guys walking in on my 2 teenage granddaughters or the one that is 9!!!

 

There has to be a better way to solve this emergency situation than the room steward having access all the time to my cabin, day & night!!!

 

This situation is just about as stupid-crazy as our state's requirement that I (age 65) with grey/white hair have to show an ID to purchase a beer or glass of wine!!!!

 

Maybe add a chain deadbolt where at least they can only open it 4 inches!

[nho9504]

I wonder if anyone of you EVER read that thick, hard binder of manual in your stateroom?!

 

I for one did not read it cover to cover, but I did flip thru some sections when I was searching certain information - I remember vaguely there is some mentioning about the DO NOT DISTURB/SERVICE PLEASE sign....

 

Not sure if they mention anything about the cabin steward can over-ride the deadbolt or not.

 

We ALWAYS put the Do Not Disturb up when we take an afternoon nap. Never have any problem.

 

Though our Please Service does not seem to get service anytime sooner than the "schedule" our cabin steward has for himself... Many mornings we returned from breakfast after an hour, it was still "Please Service" on the door! One evening when we returned at 7:45pm, he still hadn't done the turn-down - in our case, it was a mere job of checking bathroom towels and flipped the blanket open by a corner, as we requested NO bedspread being put back on after the first morning. The cabin steward was right outside and he sort of informed us he hadn't made up the room. We told him we would be out again in 15 min and he could do it then.

 

We would rather have the easy access to the cabin then the 2-key system. Though a refit of the cabin door with the light on/off system would be nice - just dont know how much it would cost for 16,000 doors?!

[Genessa]

Except my room stewart ignored this on my cruise a couple of weeks ago.

 

I had ALMOST taken the money and stuff out of the safe, thinking the room would not be entered and we could run get cereal just before getting off the ship. Like I said this was 6:30 am surely the room steward could have waited until we left at 7:15, early walk off.

 

I got the same response as the OP is getting, everyone said lesson learned, dont leave anything in your room ever that can be stolen or depend on the Privacy card. Not one poster thought the room steward was in the wrong, everyone said it was me.

 

OP I get it. You think your privacy will be respected and it was not.

 

what happened to you should never have happened!

 

I'd have been furious is the steward had come into my room while I was eating breakfast that morning before I had disembarked the ship!

 

 

But, I think the original poster is making a mountain out of a molehill.

Sure, Princess should have a sign posted on the inside of the door explaining that the deadbolt would only prevent people without keys from getting in, but I knew that already, because when you want to LEAVE the room, you don't have to "open" the deadbolt, only the door.

 

I personally prefer it, 'cos if I'm alone in the cabin, I can put the deadbolt on, but don't have to worry about staying awake, or not being out on the balcony, and dh can get in.

 

I've never had a steward try to get in a room when I had the privacy sign on.

 

 

As for hotels, most of the ones we've been to have, instead of deadbolts, the "bar" that swings over a "hook" and prevents the door from being opened from the outside. Which means, when dh is in the casino and I go up to bed, I can't go to sleep, or I can't put the bar on the door.

[Crown Prince]

Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone:

 

"Hey, Antonio, stoppa dis installation, righ now. We gotta some new cabine doors bein' deliver in a couple days. Dey gonna change deesa lock mechanisms. Don worry - dis Emerald will be delivered on time any ways." :rolleyes:

[Crown Prince]

I think Fred went to sleep. :p

[Jacqueline]

I think that the posters from the "Name on the Stateroom Door" thread have found a new cause. Not only do they know who you are but they can get into your room !

I travel as a single woman with teens or children. Just shoot me if I am afraid of some poor cabin steward from a third world country who would sooner throw himself overboard than loose his job (see related thread, "Princess reads these boards").

[MaryPoppinz]

I could care less about my name on the stateroom door. And I'm not a bit worried about the cabin steward stealing from me. But, I'd really, really rather not be walked in when I've just gotten out of the shower and I'm rummaging through the closet for somethig to wear. And chances are he feels exactly like I do.

[chasetf]

That's a great idea...maybe something similar to the "Occupied/Vacant" thingy on airline lavatory doors. A lever you push left or right. Of course all existing doors would have to be modified or replaced and that would be expensive.

In my previous post I calcuated 16,346 doors on cabins (# of passengers / 2). At $150 per door (conservative estimate) that comes out to about $2.5 million. Oh I forgot the new Emerald unnamed sister..... add another $234,000.

 

How would you think the CEO of Princess would take the news we want him to spend $2.7 million because folks forget to put the DND signs out or are worried kids will remove them. :confused:

[sultan_sfo]

For 50 7-day cruises per year, this is $3 per cruise (if recovered in 1-year). Princess CEO is fortunately a lot more intelligent than the "cheerleaders".

/Sultan

 

...

At $150 per door (conservative estimate) that comes out to about $2.5 million.

 

How would you think the CEO of Princess would take the news we want him to spend $2.7 million because folks forget to put the DND signs out or are worried kids will remove them. :confused:

[piper28]

Perhaps it is possible to refit the doors with a DND indicator that is built into the lock mechanism itself.

 

I'm not overly convinced that this is a great idea. Do we really want an indicator on the door that the cabin is likely empty? Now, I have to admit, I suspect the likelyhood of rooms being broken into is pretty slim, but having a signal that shows the room is likely empty just helps someone that really is going to break into a room pick one that's less likely to get him in trouble.

 

I don't tend to have a strong opinion one way or the other on whether the default key should open the deadbolt. I'd tend to lean towards the steward having two keys, even if it is an invconvenience to the ship to deal with this. The two flaws I really see with this are: a) one more key that could get stolen and give someone access to a cabin, and b) without some sort of penalty for the steward, I suspect they'd get in a habit of using the override key all the time. My experience with security is people always try to go the easiest way :).

 

I do tend to think that asking here whether a policy has changed isn't going to get too far. After all, I don't think there's a lot of people here that really would have an authoritative answer to that question. The best way to get an answer for that is write a letter, and wait 4-8 weeks for a response :).

[sultan_sfo]

It only shows that a dead bolt is not "on". So you think that other pax are roaming about with keys to other cabins when the keys do not even have a cabin number? /

Sultan

 

...

Do we really want an indicator on the door that the cabin is likely empty? ..

...

.

[dforeigner]

I had something else disturbing happen, that I posted, but no one here seemed to find it wrong or else just didnt comment.

 

I had put the privacy thingee into our door, 6:30 am and we ran up for about 15 minutes to eat cereal and our steward came on in.

 

We were so surprised to come back and find him in our room. I asked him why and he said he had to get the room ready for the next people, no apology or excuse like he thought we accidently had the privacy card upside down...just acted like he thought it was ok to ignore the card.

 

This was on the Princess Grand. We had nothing like this on other cruise lines.

 

Just steering the pot here. Is it possible that the cabin steward actually saw you leave the room and indeed thought you forgot to remove the do not disturb sign?

[Princess Patches]

I could care less about my name on the stateroom door. And I'm not a bit worried about the cabin steward stealing from me. But, I'd really, really rather not be walked in when I've just gotten out of the shower and I'm rummaging through the closet for somethig to wear. And chances are he feels exactly like I do.

 

Mary Poppinz hit the nail on the head again. It is not about worrying that the cabin steward may steal from you or being "afraid" of the cabin steward as several posters have suggested, it is about putting two people in an awkward position that is not necessary. My cabin steward was as embarassed as I was because he was unaware he had opened the deadbolt. There is no way he can know if the deadbolt is on prior to his entering the cabin. He did not like the new system any better than I did.

 

I don't understand why it would be so difficult for the cabin steward to carry two card keys, say one in green for everyday usage and one in red for emergencies. The card keys are very small and thin. I also like Spongerob's idea of a DND sign that is built into the door.

 

As another poster suggested, I will write to corporate headquarters and find out if this was just some kind of mix up on the Golden or if this is indeed the new system as I was told. I will post any answer that I get.

[Admiral Horatio Nelson]

Nearly all thefts I have experienced whilst at sea have been opportunist thefts i.e. somebody leaves their sunglasses on the table in the buffet and somebody else takes them.

 

It is highly unlikely that someone is prowling the decks looking for a cabin to break into, especially your cabin steward!

 

Remember doors and their locks are designed to keep unwanted and unauthorised people from entering your cabin, not your cabin steward or other ship's personnel who could save your life with that key in the event of an emergency. Also note that your cabin steward's key can only open the doors of cabin he is charged to clean, not every door on the ship as some might think.

 

 

I don't think some are thinking this through. Like I said before if you woke up in a few feet of water you would wonder why somebody hadn't woken you up. If you had stuck a wedge under your door then they could not get in at all. By the way the wedge is for keeping the door open when the cabin steward is inside as he (or any other member of the ship's crew) is prohibited from being in a cabin with a closed door with any guests.

 

I think this subject is more to do with empowerment than anything. People want the power to be able to say who comes in and who does not. It's understandable in this day and age, however, you have to remember the differences between land and sea. Those people who have access to your cabin do so to potentially save your life if such a situation arises.

 

As for the cynics who suggest that saving money is the reason, well you are just wrong. Cruise lines go far beyond the legal regulations when it comes to safety. The ship I am on at this present time has a lot of expensive equipment it is not even required to have by law, including multiple types of satellite communications costing millions of dollars. This is all to help save lives. Your door locks are no different; they are by no means a cheap way to lock a door. The system behind that door locking mechanism is a large one that requires much maintenance and training to ensure its operation is a smooth one.

 

You should rest assured that this system is in place not worry about it. When you think of the possible ramifications of not having this system; the possible scenario of an accidental entry by a cabin steward trying to clean your room is small when compared to your safety of life at sea.

[Colo Cruiser]

Nearly all thefts I have experienced whilst at sea have been opportunist thefts i.e. somebody leaves their sunglasses on the table in the buffet and somebody else takes them.

 

It is highly unlikely that someone is prowling the decks looking for a cabin to break into, especially your cabin steward!

 

Remember doors and their locks are designed to keep unwanted and unauthorised people from entering your cabin, not your cabin steward or other ship's personnel who could save your life with that key in the event of an emergency. Also note that your cabin steward's key can only open the doors of cabin he is charged to clean, not every door on the ship as some might think.

 

 

I don't think some are thinking this through. Like I said before if you woke up in a few feet of water you would wonder why somebody hadn't woken you up. If you had stuck a wedge under your door then they could not get in at all. By the way the wedge is for keeping the door open when the cabin steward is inside as he (or any other member of the ship's crew) is prohibited from being in a cabin with a closed door with any guests.

 

I think this subject is more to do with empowerment than anything. People want the power to be able to say who comes in and who does not. It's understandable in this day and age, however, you have to remember the differences between land and sea. Those people who have access to your cabin do so to potentially save your life if such a situation arises.

 

As for the cynics who suggest that saving money is the reason, well you are just wrong. Cruise lines go far beyond the legal regulations when it comes to safety. The ship I am on at this present time has a lot of expensive equipment it is not even required to have by law, including multiple types of satellite communications costing millions of dollars. This is all to help save lives. Your door locks are no different; they are by no means a cheap way to lock a door. The system behind that door locking mechanism is a large one that requires much maintenance and training to ensure its operation is a smooth one.

 

You should rest assured that this system is in place not worry about it. When you think of the possible ramifications of not having this system; the possible scenario of an accidental entry by a cabin steward trying to clean your room is small when compared to your safety of life at sea.

 

 

Well said once again. ;)

[Casshew]

So basically the only time the stewart entered you cabin was when you didn't have the DND Tag out, & the time you had it out upside down by mistake?

 

IMO he was just doing his job, trying to make your cruise better by taking care of your cabin.

[Colo Cruiser]

So basically the only time the stewart entered you cabin was when you didn't have the DND Tag out, & the time you had it out upside down by mistake?

 

IMO he was just doing his job, trying to make your cruise better by taking care of your cabin.

 

 

Ditto. :)

[Princess Patches]

Admiral Nelson,

 

Your post goes on at length about the necessity of the cabin steward and other personnel needing a deadbolt emergency override key in the case of an emergency. That is not the issue at hand. No one on this thread disputes the need for the cabin steward to have such a key. The issue at hand is whether he needs to use the emergency override key for twice daily routine cabin cleaning. Where is the emergency in the turndown service?

 

The only time you addressed the issue at hand was in a previous post in which you stated it would be too costly for the cabin steward to have two card keys, one for routine cabin cleaning and one for an emergency override. You also stated that if the cabin steward had to go look for the secondary emergency override key in a real emergency the time lost could be disastrous. I don't agree.

 

The cabin steward has one card key that opens all the cabins he cleans. He does not have separate keys for each cabin. If he carried two card keys, one in green for everyday usage and one in red for emergencies, instead of just one key, the cost to the cruise line is nominal. It would mean only the difference between carrying two plastic keys instead of one. He could easily carry two small plastic card keys on his person at all times and he would not have to go looking for the emergency key in a real emergency. He would have it with him.

 

I fail to understand why you think carrying two plastic card keys instead of one is an expensive, unworkable alternative.

[Admiral Horatio Nelson]

I agree with you that in theory your idea is a good one. However, what I was saying is that a good idea in theory does not always work in practice.

 

The key a cabin stewardess has is vital to her job, she takes great care not to lose it as she cannot perform her job without it. Giving them a second key that they NEVER use except in the event of an emergency would be lost/misplaced/left in their cabin etc etc. In the even of an emergency they might not be able to put their hands on the correct key. This is not the case with their main key.

 

I cannot fully articulate how much that TIME is vital in an emergency, and safety overrides all other issues, even if convenience does seem to be your main priority.

 

Some people want the emphises placed on the steward and some would even want millions spent on the development of a new key system all so you don't have to bother placing a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on your door. All this to prevent the highly unlikely event of the cabin steward walking in on you.

[Cruisin Kay D]

Agree totally with Princess Patches last post about 2 key cards!!!

DH & I were quite surprised to read all this last night & we have always felt the deadbolt is for our personal privacy whether on our past 15 cruises or in a hotel room or in a timeshare unit!!! We don't want to have to worry about somebody walking in on us when we're having private moments becasue we forgot to put out the DND sign!! And I don't want somebody walking in on children & teens!!

 

Wonder how much of a background check the cruise lines are able to do on these people they hire from all these various countries around the world??

[MaryPoppinz]

My cabin steward was as embarassed as I was because he was unaware he had opened the deadbolt. There is no way he can know if the deadbolt is on prior to his entering the cabin. He did not like the new system any better than I did.

 

I know it was clear from your first post that the cabin steward didn't realize he was overriding your deadbolt, but I just think it's very, very strange to have a 'new policy' about this without informing the people using the new keys that they might inadvertently waltz in on something most people on this board are apparently not doing in their cabin.

[MaryPoppinz]

IGiving them a second key that they NEVER use except in the event of an emergency would be lost/misplaced/left in their cabin etc etc. In the even of an emergency they might not be able to put their hands on the correct key. This is not the case with their main key.

 

The emergency key would obviously be kept on the same lanyard/ring with the regular key that they "take great care not to lose.' I don't think anyone would recommend leaving it in their cabin.

 

Someone suggested color-coding them with a simple green=regular, red=override system. I don't think that would be any more difficult to understand than any of the myriad of other emergency procedures they are expected to retain an understanding of and use when the need arises.