When you take a cruise for your vacation, one of the best things about it is that you won't have to think about cleaning in any way, including dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing, or lifting a finger in any other way. This is largely attributable to the room attendant that you had. (also known as a cabin steward or cabin attendant). These employees of the cruise company are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of your cabin throughout your trip.
What else is there to know about the steward who will be serving you in your vacation cabin? In this article, I will discuss their responsibilities, what you can (and cannot) ask them to do, and what distinguishes them from the staff members who are responsible for making your hotel or vacation room presentable.
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Room steward responsibilities
Your cabin steward is not only responsible for cleaning and sanitizing your room and bathroom before you depart, but they are also responsible for keeping your cabin clean and organized while you are at sea.
Service in each cabin is typically provided twice daily by the majority of cruise companies. This indicates that you should anticipate your room steward to come in at some point between breakfast and lunch to make the beds, remove any empty glassware or room service trays, and provide new towels and refills of toiletries as required.
Additionally, they will come to your stateroom in the evening, most likely while you are dining, to perform turndown service. This service may include the delivery of sweets and amusements such as cushion chocolates and towel animals. Your steward's nightly responsibilities will also include leaving copies of the next day's activity schedule, as well as dinner invitations, shore excursion tickets, and flyers for events such as art auctions and spa tours, on cruise lines that still provide paper printouts. This is the case on lines that still provide paper printouts.
Having said that, there are some notable exceptions. To reduce expenses, a number of the industry's most prominent cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival Cruise Line, have reduced the frequency of room cleanings to once per day. On board the ships operated by those companies, passengers can anticipate having their rooms cleaned once a day.
Placing the "do not disturb" magnet or hanging sign that is supplied on your door will let the cabin steward know that they should not enter your room. This is something that I do when I'm working, napping, or getting ready for supper.
In addition to these duties, room stewards are responsible for collecting guests' garments that they can later have laundered, dry-cleaned, or pressed for an additional charge, restocking the minibars in each cabin, and responding to guests' requests for additional amenities such as hangers and bedding.
What a stateroom steward can do for you, as well as what they cannot do for you
Remember that a room attendant is not the same thing as a butler. They can provide you with child-sized life jackets, fold the pyjamas you left strewn around the room when you went out for morning trivia, refill your ice bucket, show you how to operate your TV and climate control, and show you how to operate your TV and climate control; however, they are unable to honour specific requests that go beyond the scope of keeping your room clean.
Here are some of the duties that you can anticipate being performed by your flight attendant:
- They will come up to you during the first day or two of the cruise and introduce themselves.
- After you have boarded the ship, your checked baggage will be brought to your stateroom.
- Take care of the dirty plates, glasses, and other items left behind by room service and remove them from your cabin.
- Put some order and cleanliness back into your space. (vacuum, wipe up spills, fix beds and generally organize).
- Take out the used linens and replace them with clean ones.
- Change your bedsheets (if requested).
- Set up sleeping accommodations (splitting beds, combining beds and pulling down bunks).
- Please replenish the shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and moisturizer that are provided.
- It's time to get some more Kleenex and toilet paper.
- Bring daily schedules and any other paper notifications that need to be made.
- If they don't know the solutions themselves, they should at least be able to answer your general questions and direct you to someone who does.
- Notify maintenance immediately if you experience any issues with the plumbing or electrical systems in your apartment.
They will be unable to do the things listed below:
- It would be helpful if you could answer some inquiries about your onboard bill.
- Make arrangements for you, such as shore excursions, supper reservations, or spa treatments.
- Take room service requests.
- Assist you with either unpacking or repacking.
- If you have problems moving around, you should offer assistive services.
- I'll watch over your children.
- Join me on your vacation and I'll keep you company.
- I'll show you where the staff sleeps.
If you want to take care of the first few things on the second list, you will need to contact the spa, the shore excursions desk, or guest services from your cabin and make an appointment, or you can go there in person. There are also instances when you can make these reservations through the mobile app provided by your cruise line. If you have reserved a luxurious apartment that comes with the services of a concierge, you will have the opportunity to make reservations through that individual as well.
Calling the ship's specific number for room service, which is typically displayed on the phone in your stateroom, is required if you wish to order room service. If you are staying in high-end accommodations, you should consider hiring a butler so that they can assist you with loading and unpacking your belongings. If that doesn't work, then you're on your own.
How room attendants differ from hotel housekeepers
There is a significant difference between a housekeeper who would service your room at a hotel and a cruise cabin steward, even though a cruise cabin steward is comparable to a housekeeper in that you are likely to encounter your room steward and may even get to know them. On the day of embarkation, they will virtually always knock on your door to introduce themselves and their team (if they aren't working alone), describe the particulars of your room, and ask if there is anything you require.
It is also common practice for them to inquire about your day and greet you by name whenever they come into contact with you in the hallway.
Cabin attendants have an uncanny ability to not only remember your name but also the names of those who are travelling with you as well as any special requests that you may have made. Would you like your ice bucket to be refilled regularly? Do you prefer one cushion chocolate to two rather than the other way around? Do you wish to have a printed duplicate of the daily schedule even though this is something that can only be requested from your cruise line? Do you require the use of four washcloths rather than the usual two? Ask your hotel steward.
The level of personalized service that you will receive on a vacation is significantly higher than that of a typical hotel. As a result of this, it is expected that you will pay your room steward for a job well done, except for luxury cruises where gratuities are already included. If a passenger believes that their cabin attendant went above and beyond the call of duty, they may choose to leave additional cash gratuity at the end of their voyage rather than relying solely on the per-passenger daily service fee that is charged by the majority of cruise lines.
Making plans for a cruise? You can get started with these tales:
- These are the five-cabin positions on a cruise ship that passengers covet the most.
- The eight cabin positions that are the most undesirable on any cruise ship
- The complete list of items that you need to bring on a vacation
- An overview of the most well-known cruise companies in the industry
- 21 helpful hints and suggestions that will make your trip more enjoyable
- 15 ways in which sailboats are a money pit.