Smoking and Room Service on Monarch

[Dianajh]

Just thought I'd throw out a couple of discrepancies between things I'd read on the boards, RCCL policy and our experience on our 3 day trip:

 

Smoking - personally I don't smoke but we had a couple of ppl with us who do. One person asked for an ashtray for her room and was told that, because of the quick turnaround, ppl aren't supposed to smoke in their cabins on 3/4 day trips. Another person asked and was brought an ashtray. I realize they could have addressed their issue with housekeeping since RCCL policy says you can smoke, suffice it to say the steward didn't get more than a minimal tip. Has anyone else run into this?

 

Room Service - Mid trip they changed the room service menu and somewhere communication broke down because room service was irritated that we didn't know what we wanted to order before calling, but the menus had been taken out of every one of our 15 cabins. More importantly, We were unable to order dinner from the dining room to be delivered to the room, which is disturbing because we had several family members in poor health who were unable to make it to the dining room. We also had a 2yr old who was a bit cranky one evening so her mom stayed with her rather than irritate fellow passengers.

 

Has RCCL policy changed regarding dinner being delivered to the room?

My husband and I love RCCL, but if we can't get dinner in the rooms for our grandparent's, we might end up considering Carnival for our week long trip next year.

 

If you read my post regarding Halloween on the Monarch you'll see that overall we had a fabulous time and the service and staff are to be commended.

 

Just updating everyone. Thanks for any input.

DJ

[MadCnty]

As for smoking (and yes I have my flamesuit on...) a tip with the steward upfront usually gets anything within reason. And as far as RS menus they should have been available via the TV, even if your "hardcopy" was gone. The reason I say should have, is because of the "change". And we had no problem getting dinner menus in the stateroom, but again the headwaiter would be the one to talk to and an upfront tip usually ensures their "agreement".

[PTarbay]

we might end up considering Carnival for our week long trip next year.

Unless something has changed recently I have been on several Carnival cruises and have only ever been able to order from the regular room service menu even during meal times.I'm looking forward to my RCI cruise and ordering the omelets delivered to the cabin in the morning.Madcnty is absolutely right.Tips help make a lot of things happen.

[MadCnty]

Oh Heavens, You just might even have your meal via room service with a cursity at delivery! It was quite impressive. Nothing like a genuine thank you with no words spoken other than thank you...

[TERRY223]

Sorry to hear about your troubles-:( But, both could have been corrected instantly with a simple phone call to the purser's desk/ guest relations. A firm, but friendly reminder for an ashtray would have "killed two birds with one stone", you would have gotten an ashtray-and the room-attendant/steward would have gotten straightened out by *upper Management*. Same thing with meals by room service,;) . If anyone was "irritated" because you weren't sure of your order before you called- would have gotten "un-irratated" real quick by using the same method as before. RCCI policy does not change,ever, no matter how long or short the cruise. Bad service, will never be corrected by- just giving the minimun"tip",,, but a nice little phone call:D - will!!! KUDO's to the mother of the 2 yr.old for her thoughtfull consideration of others:) . Hope your next cruise will be "the best ever". I have found, that when travelling with the very young or the very old(have done both-several times), that before the cruise, call the cruise line directly about any concerns or special needs, and once aboard ship, go to the purser's desk/guest relations desk to remind them of your special needs. You'll find that the cruise lines want to make your experience with them as memorable and stress-free as possible.

[MadCnty]

Wow, is that loud or is it just me??? !

[jkrislc]

And as far as RS menus they should have been available via the TV, even if your "hardcopy" was gone.

The Monarch does not have an interactive TV system like the newer RCI ships.

[Dianajh]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

Had I personally had the problem with the room attendant my husband would have made sure that management was aware. Personally I would have had no problem igoring obviously incorrect information (the handout in the room clearly stated you could ask the attendant for an ashtray), but my friend didn't mention it to me right away and she is VERY conscious of where she is smoking and who is around and might be offended.

 

I hate to admit that it never occured to me to talk to the head waiter or guest relations to request service for my grandfather, but that is a great idea. We have taken him on 4 cruises now and he spends a lot of evenings in the room because of his health.

 

Thanks again everyone. It's good to know that, as far as anyone knows, RCCL should still allow us to order dinner to the room if we talk to the right person.

 

We'll make sure to get it straightened out right away on the next trip through requests or tips. I have no problem letting money grease the wheels ahead of time if it will help.

 

As I said before - Overall we had a great trip and that's saying a lot since there were 30 of us. Even the people who dealt with these issues directly were happy with the cruise and would do it again.

 

Thanks,

DJ

[breenw]

I don't care whether I get "flamed" or not, but last year on RCCL our cruise was practically ruined because we were put in a room where the previous occupants had smoked like chimneys. My huband has severe asthma and it was a big deal to us!

 

The minute we opened the door to our cabin, the smoke hit us in the face. Even the folks across the hall from us could smell it. Of course, the ship was sold out so we were unable to move. My husband was miserable all week and we could hardly stand to go into our room.

 

The head housekeeper told us that they have a constant problem with this. He told us that the previous week, a woman had fallen asleep in her bed with a lit cigarette and had set the bed on fire. Luckily it didn't spread too far before she realized what she had done.

 

I know that smokers feel they should be able to smoke wherever and whenever they want, but when a smoker smokes in a place as small as a ship cabin, you are forcing non-smokers who may be in the room next, to suffer the consequences. Likewise, if we go into a nightclub or area which is designated for smokers, that is our choice to enter that area, so we have nothing to complain about. I just wish people who smoke would be more thoughtful about non-smokers and smoke in the designated areas, and not in their enclosed cabins.

[mohavemommy]

Wow, is that loud or is it just me??? !

just a bit.....

[mal2969]

IMHO............there should be NO smoking in the room.

[mohavemommy]

IMHO .... there should be no smoking on the balconies either

[TravelingTess]

Seems kind of silly that they won't provide irons in cabins because of the fire hazard, but let people smoke in the cabins. Especially when people are on vacation, sometimes drinking heavily......:rolleyes:

[Dianajh]

I just wish people who smoke would be more thoughtful about non-smokers and smoke in the designated areas, and not in their enclosed cabins.

 

Unfortunately - the cabins are a "desginated smoking area" according to the literature in our room. I wouldn't have had a problem if the policy said no smoking in the room. I would have just prepared my friend for it ahead of time, because it was a concern for her before we left. As I said, she is a very sensitive smoker. The other folks with us smoked like chimneys and I did feel bad for the people who had their cabin next.

 

I was under the impression, from previous posts, that they had equipment to "ozone" the room if it smelled bad when you got there.

 

Personally I loved being on the Carival Paradise when it was STRICTLY non-smoking. Apparently that idea wasn't selling though and they opened it up for smokers again. We did that trip specifically for my grandfather who has a problem with smoke too.

 

I have to say cruises going out of California aren't as smoky as others, since most people in CA are used to being restricted to certain areas.

 

Thanks again,

DJ

[dosi]

I have not cruised on RCCL but have needed to bring to dinner to our room on several other occasions. We travel with our little boy and a few times he has become quite restless at dinner. The waiters have always been very kind to pack up a full meal for me to bring back for DH or vice versa....so if you can't get the meal you want via room service you can always explain the situation to your Maitre D or server and I bet you will be able to get whatever dinner you want!!

[DON M.]

Just thought I'd throw out a couple of discrepancies between things I'd read on the boards, RCCL policy and our experience on our 3 day trip:

 

Smoking - personally I don't smoke but we had a couple of ppl with us who do. One person asked for an ashtray for her room and was told that, because of the quick turnaround, ppl aren't supposed to smoke in their cabins on 3/4 day trips. Another person asked and was brought an ashtray. I realize they could have addressed their issue with housekeeping since RCCL policy says you can smoke, suffice it to say the steward didn't get more than a minimal tip. Has anyone else run into this?

 

Room Service - Mid trip they changed the room service menu and somewhere communication broke down because room service was irritated that we didn't know what we wanted to order before calling, but the menus had been taken out of every one of our 15 cabins. More importantly, We were unable to order dinner from the dining room to be delivered to the room, which is disturbing because we had several family members in poor health who were unable to make it to the dining room. We also had a 2yr old who was a bit cranky one evening so her mom stayed with her rather than irritate fellow passengers.

 

Has RCCL policy changed regarding dinner being delivered to the room?

My husband and I love RCCL, but if we can't get dinner in the rooms for our grandparent's, we might end up considering Carnival for our week long trip next year.

 

If you read my post regarding Halloween on the Monarch you'll see that overall we had a fabulous time and the service and staff are to be commended.

 

Just updating everyone. Thanks for any input.

DJ

 

Another smoking question, and once again all the non-smokers want to turn the orig. post into a smoking debate- I dont have the time or the desire to fall for this again. One fact: the room and the balcony are LEGAL places to smoke.

[breenw]

Don M. - maybe that's because smokers like you don't understand how irritating it is to be forced to be around cigarette smoke. If it is in your cabin, you can't get away from it like you can if you are in a nightclub, casino, etc. You can walk away from those areas if the smoke is too bad, but to be forced to smell it in your cabin is unacceptable.

[jebl]

I am one of those ex smokers who developed asthma, probably from smoking so much. The second hand smoke really bothers me at times. When it does I move to another area of the room. However, I sympathize with the smokers even though their left over smoke bothers me now. The easy answer is to take an air cleaner such as Oust along and perhaps a travel size of Febreeze. Between the two they should clear the air and the furnishings of the left over smoke smell. Of course it would be even nicer if the housekeeping staff did this at the end of the cruise.

 

Judy