Just being nosy

[emilygrace]

Has anyone recently asked their cabin steward how many cabins he/she has to attend to? I'm just curious because I was on the NCL Pearl in January and our steward and his assistant always seemed harried and rushed. I finally asked him how many cabins he was responsible for and he said 32! That seemed like an awful lot to me. Couple that with the fact that NCL puts an automatic $10 "service fee" on your account and tells you (in their literature) that you don't need to tip unless you feel the service was exceptional, and I bet these poor people are working their butts off for next to nothing. I'm sure a lot of people don't give them anything extra. It was really different from our RCCL cruises where the stateroom attendants always have a smile for you and usually open your door for you if they are in the vicinity. These workers on NCL don't have time to smile!!!

[RumRunner01]

We usually ask our cabin stewards and the answers very between 30-40 on the three cruises I've taken. I agree, they do work their butts off! I always have tipped in addition to the recommended amount. I've only cruised Royal Caribbean and Princess so far.

[cruisePRN]

my cabin syeward on RCL told me he had 17 cabins

[Mach1]

I asked my steward on the Serenade and he said he had 8 rooms, I thought he had more, and he said if he did he would never get them all done. They clean them twice a day. He was always very busy. Maybe it depends on the size of the cabin :confused:

I didn’t think to ask on the Grandeur

[Pomperaugrr]

We asked our room steward on Navigator. He indicated that he had 12 cabins and 2 suites that he was responsible for. That was on Deck 10 forward. It may vary by ship and deck/cabin type. Our cabin stewards have always been great. Tipping beyond suggested amounts was always earned by our stewards. We have been fortunate.

 

Eric

[emilygrace]

I would think it definitely would depend on the type of staterooms they were responsible for, with the suites taking more time just because of the larger size and small details like the toiletries and such. I seem to remember that most of our attendants on RCCL had 20 or less to take care of.

 

We have always tipped way over the suggested amount just because the service has been fantastic, and with a smile too! I did tip on NCL too, but I really doubt if many of the people in our hallway did. We had to track down our attendant because they were so busy trying to turn the cabins around for the next group of people. Since you aren't given any envelopes, you must take it upon yourself to initiate this.

[TRadle]

Our cabin attendant told us that he preferred to be assigned to the suites because they are much easier to clean. They aren’t tripping over everything and have room in the bathroom to bend over and clean things. I thought he made a rather interesting point!

[isujim]

EG I think the average is 15-20. It is higher than it used to be........about 2 years ago, RC increased the number of staterooms a cabin attendant is responsible for........and yes........it will vary from deck to deck and the type of stateroom they are responsible for.

[Annieeee]

Has anyone recently asked their cabin steward how many cabins he/she has to attend to? I'm just curious because I was on the NCL Pearl in January and our steward and his assistant always seemed harried and rushed. I finally asked him how many cabins he was responsible for and he said 32! That seemed like an awful lot to me. Couple that with the fact that NCL puts an automatic $10 "service fee" on your account and tells you (in their literature) that you don't need to tip unless you feel the service was exceptional, and I bet these poor people are working their butts off for next to nothing. I'm sure a lot of people don't give them anything extra. It was really different from our RCCL cruises where the stateroom attendants always have a smile for you and usually open your door for you if they are in the vicinity. These workers on NCL don't have time to smile!!!

 

 

Nope, never asked .

 

Annieeee

[OHCruisin]

The last time I asked, she had 12. Poor gal, 8 of them were singles. When I cruise with a friend, I always tip more than suggested, unless the service was bad. Then they get the recommended amoung. When I cruise solo, as I am in May, I tip as if there are two people in the cabin. This is where the staff makes their money. If they only have 12 cabins and 8 of them single, that's a lot less money in their pocket.

[scubapuss]

It all depends on what type of rooms they are cleaning I.E suites, inside.

[lephysteria]

my cabin syeward on RCL told me he had 17 cabins

 

Yep, I'm on the Monarch right now, and my old cabin attendants and his neighboring colleagues (Barnes, Nigel and George) all say that they have 17 cabins to tend to :)

[BillOh]

We asked our room steward on Navigator. He indicated that he had 12 cabins and 2 suites that he was responsible for. That was on Deck 10 forward. It may vary by ship and deck/cabin type. Our cabin stewards have always been great. Tipping beyond suggested amounts was always earned by our stewards. We have been fortunate.

 

Eric

 

Thats what I remember our guy saying on Voyager.

[emilygrace]

I thought that 30-40 that Rumrunner01 mentioned seemed rather high. It seems from the posts here that most of the stewards on RCCL have anywhere from 12-20. All I know is that they do a fantastic job!

[linswi]

I have a slightly different question about the cabin stewards...

 

I have heard stories of people leaving trash on the table or a towel on the floor and then leaving their room for about 15 minutes. When they come back, the trash is gone and the towel is picked up or replaced. I would say that is great service but.. how do the stewards know you have left the room? Do they just check every so often? And I assume they knock before entering just to be safe? Also, are there "Do not disturb" signs to put out if you don't want your room made up every day?

 

I guess that was a couple of questions... :) This will be my first cruise and I think I come up with about a million questions a day!

[Camsnana]

WE were on the Legend in January and did ask our cabin stewart that question. She said she alone had eleven cabins to clean. She also told us that some of them prefer to clean the cabins without any help as then they do not have to share the tips. So they give those people a lesser amount of cabins to clean, and they reap the benefits. Our cabin was immaculate, always!! We did tip her upon arriving in room. I read that on CC. It gives a little incentive to the stewart. But still we felt so bad for her. Every time we entered or left our room (balcony, seventh floor) we was always there, looking so tired. They earn every penny in tips they get and I think they are very underpaid for what they do....

[emilygrace]

Yes, there is a little card that you put in the key slot that says "make up my room" or "do not disturb". But I would let them make up the room at least once a day! If you're just going to run up to breakfast and then come back and shower and stuff, leave the "do not disturb" card in the door. And yes, they do knock, even if you don't have any card in the door.

[egh170]

Figure out the tip.

$3.00 per day per person times 2 people in the room = $6.00 per room per day times 7 days = $42.00 times 32 rooms = $1344.00 ( not so under paid is it?)

Approximately $5700.00 per month times 10 months= 57,000.00 per year. and where most of these people reside that goes a long way.

[aqhacruiser]

They clean our JS on the Explorer twice a day. In the morning and while we are at dinner when they turn down the bed. :)

[JTJ]

Cabin stewarts seem to live in the hallways the majority of the day, I don't think they are allowed to go anywhere else, so they tend know when people leave, I've alway wondered why 2X a day cleaning. I could get along fine with 1X in the morning.

[DonnaK]

on Mariner, our steward had 12 cabins (two were JS). on Carnival Miracle, the steward had 27 cabins. The difference in quality of service says it all.

 

same in the dining room - our wait team had two tables of 10 on Mariner. On Carnival, they had 6 large tables (8-10 tops) and two small tables. Way too many to give individualized and personal service.

[CruisinMommas]

The hotel director on the Brilliance was asked this ques. He stated, "On that ship a steward had about 18 cabins to clean." If a steward had trouble with that amount they would be cut back to 15 and given some assistance be it training or whatever. We had Angela from Latvia. She was excellent. She was quick, efficient and pleasant. We have always had good attendants.