Thinking about first cruise: Tell me about room host/hostess

[MaryLou1962]

I was surprised by how the interactions with our stateroom host positively impacted the experience we've had on our cruises. By calling us by name, welcoming us back every time we went ashore, reminding us of helpful things to take on excursions, and telling us where to find cheap, reliable wi-fi (!) he made us feel like we were an important part of his experience.

Our last cruise was the 14 night EBPC and we had a LOT of sea days where we were in and out of the cabin all day long, and we saw him in the hall many, many times, yet never once encountered him in our cabin. It really was like magic. And when he heard our cabin was going to be on the DIS cabin crawl, he was like a madman ensuring our cabin was in the tip-toppiest shape possible! He totally felt like his professional reputation was on the line. He and I both heaved a sigh of relief once that was over!!

And the only time maintenance ever came to do something was a request to access our verandah so they could do some painting. They wouldn't have come in if we hadn't been there. How do I know this? Why we ended up following them out on to the verandah while asking a million and one questions about their job, the ship and much more. They spent a lot of time with us satisfying our curiosity. Which we came to realize is part the Disney way of doing things.

You have to give up a certain amount of control.

But what really got me thinking was the PP comment about how you have to give up a certain amount of control. It wasn't concerns about my stateroom that made me contemplate this before our first cruise. In fact, I'm not sure what did cause me to ponder on that in the first place, but I did think about it--a lot. And in the end I found that giving up what at the time time seemed like control was what led to our discovery that cruising was by far the most relaxing family travel we had ever experienced.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE all the different types of travel our family is lucky enough to enjoy, but man are we glad we found cruising to add to the mix!

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Many, many thanks! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write out your responses.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

I think it's completely natural to be hesitant about an unknown like cruising for the first time. I also think you'll be surprised and delighted by the service you will receive.

Nobody has mentioned this yet, but part of a host's job is making sure that you're not trashing the room. No way are they going to not enter for an entire cruise.

 

[tryin]

Whenever we were in the room, the host would come back later. Once, my 20 yr. old son was eating lunch in the room and the host didnt enter. They knock and if someone answers, they say they will return later. I did have maintenance in to fix the heat while we were there.

 

[myelton01]

No one has mentioned this, but our stateroom host (on carnival) even helped me surprise DH for our anniversary. I snuck into the room and grabbed the card I had for DH and asked our host if he could just leave it on the bed while we were in Nassau and he was more than happy to do so. When we got back to the room DH and I were both surprised because our host had left the card as well as two beautiful swan towel animals and extra chocolates! I can only imagine Disney hosts would do the same, adding their own version of pixie dust as well.

 

[trickiwoo]

Also, unlike a hotel, your stateroom host knows you and which room is yours. I've heard horror stories about hotels where the housekeeping has the door open while cleaning a room, and a thief will walk in and say, "Oops! I forgot this!" and then steal something from your room. But with the cruise staterooms, your host will know if someone comes in your room that isn't part of your travel party.

On one of the first nights of our cruise I was still getting used to the ship and I made a wrong turn trying to get back to my stateroom. The stateroom host was out in the hall and gave me a funny look and said, "Mrs. Franklin, your room is on the other side." I was pretty embarrassed, but she helped me find my room. So yeah, they do keep an eye out for who is supposed to be where.

 

[jjje]

Here's a (I think) cute story about how great the stateroom hosts are. Our first night on the cruise my husband wanted something ironed so our hostess told him to hang it up on the hook by the bathroom. When we came back to the room the ironed shirt was hanging on the hook. A couple of days later he wanted some things laundered and she told him to put the stuff in the laundry bag and hang the bag on the hook. When we came back to the room later the clothes were washed and neatly folded and sitting on the bed. Two days later my husband hung what he thought was an empty laundry bag on the hook. Turns out there was a single pair of my son's underwear in the bag. We came back to the room to find a tiny pair of boxer briefs freshly washed and folded and sitting on the bed. It made us laugh so hard when we wondered what our hostess must have thought about us wanting a single pair of underwear washed. (I wish I could have somehow gotten a picture of our hostess and that single pair of underwear but I suppose that would have been weird.) She was so great and really on top of everything we needed.

 

[lilpooh108]

We are hoping to cruise this Fall for the first time ever. Can you please tell me about the room hosts? What do they do?

We are the type of people who keep the Privacy Please sign on our door whenever we travel because we do not like the thought of personnel being in our room. My husband has trust issues, and I do also but not as strong as he. When on vacation staying at hotels, we don't need or ask that our room is cleaned -- I simply meet the housekeeper in the hallway to get fresh towels. Sometimes I bring the trash out and put it in the trash area of their cart. I don't care if they make the beds. Basically, we are fine on our own! And, I also do this as sort of a "gift" to the housekeeper. If it was my job, I would be THRILLED if someone said "please pass on our room today". We always tip on the day we check out even though the person has done basically nothing during our stay. (I digress, but there is a lovely woman we adore at historic resort in San Diego -- we specifically ask to stay in her section of the resort each time we visit so that we can see her each day and converse a bit during our towel exchange. I love tipping her because she is so wonderful and has worked long and hard for many years.)

Is there anyone out there like us? If so, can you and do you ask that your host doesn't go into your stateroom? I realize most people want to be totally waited on while on vacation and our feelings may be in the minority. Can't help it, just not looking forward to someone being in our room often.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

I completely understand. I NEVER let people in my hotel room, not because I think that they will steal but b/c I'm too lazy to "clean up" enough for them to come in (I have kids, there's always stuff all over the room that I don't want a stranger to touch).

My parents are even more this way than me---my mom will actually clean up the entire room (sparkling) before the steward comes in. She does this on a Disney cruise as well.

I've explained to her that its the steward's job to deliver navigators, papers and clean toilets. The problem with simply leaving your DND hanger on is the steward has to check you off the list and they're too polite to ask you when you're leaving...so if you just leave it hanging they'll have to wait for you for the whole day. My mom now cleans before she leaves for the day (they usually stay out the whole day), and the steward makes up the bed, and then returns to do turn down/toilets and leaves quickly.

I do have to say on the cleanliness issue---one time I came back to my room and found a dirty "rag" on my table next to my baby's diapers. The steward had forgotten it. Which kind of reminds me of my own general rule --- I don't really think they "clean" the room better than we can. All I did was Lysol wipe down that area again and started putting diapers in plastic bags before leaving them out.

But don't feel like you're alone. After 4 cruises, the only thing I really tidy up before leaving now is the bed so that he can make it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also, unlike a hotel, your stateroom host knows you and which room is yours. I've heard horror stories about hotels where the housekeeping has the door open while cleaning a room, and a thief will walk in and say, "Oops! I forgot this!" and then steal something from your room. But with the cruise staterooms, your host will know if someone comes in your room that isn't part of your travel party.

That's a good point!



We are happy to go without housekeeping at normal hotels. But it's just lovely on a cruise. If you're nervous about a dishonest steward, remember that there is NOWHERE for them to go, that their room doesn't belong to them, and the ship knows who has been in your room.

We accidentally left the DND sign on our door, and came back to a messy, undone room, and a steward practically set to pounce on us, asking how he could help. If you're going to limit access I think you should definitely talk to the steward to explain, so they aren't constantly wondering when they can get into your room.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

This is a really good point, we will just talk to them. We aren't opposed to the host ever coming in, it's just after reading posts for the last couple of years, it sounded like they are in and out all day long and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they would need to be in and out so much.

This also reminds me of a time at a resort when I explained to the housekeeper that we would not need service that day, she acted flabbergasted and said "it's free! Do you know it is free?" She was very sweet.

I think another reason I am fine picking up and cleaning ourselves is one time I was still in our room when the gal strted making the bed. She put the pillows on the floor while she made the bed then put those same pillows back on the bed. Blech! If I hadn't seen her do it, I would have come back and slept on that pillow that night. Gross. When we come into a room, I disinfect everything with the wipes I bring along and feel good about it being our family touching stuff only.

OP, super cute story about the little pair of undies!!! Adorable!!

 

[jrabbit]

...
They also know the best use of space in the rooms! On our third or fourth cruise, we had managed to accumulate a large number of lanyards (DD's pin-trading lanyard, plus 3 repeat cruise lanyards and 3 DVC lanyards). We couldn't figure out where to store them - until we came back after turn-down one evening to find them hanging from the lights on either side of the mirror over the desk! Great idea - they were easy to find, didn't interfere with anything, and were out of the way in a place that they wouldn't get lost. I wouldn't have ever thought of it, but it worked out great! !

On our last cruise we all got the Pom poms at the sail away party and left them on the desk. The next morning after the room was cleaned they were gone. We assumed that our room steward tossed them or collected them for the next sailing. Took us 3 days before we noticed them "attached" to the lights above the desk :Rolf:

 

[bumbershoot]

This is a really good point, we will just talk to them. We aren't opposed to the host ever coming in, it's just after reading posts for the last couple of years, it sounded like they are in and out all day long and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they would need to be in and out so much.

It seemed to me like ours was in twice; once to clean up and put DS's bed back up into the ceiling (what a weird thing to write), then while we were at show/dinner to pull the bed back down and put out chocolates, etc. We were staying concierge and once or twice they needed to put something in the room, and I think they have the steward do that, too, but I'm sure those are trips that take just a moment.

Basically they'll put your Navigators in the room, if you own DVC and they've figured out you're on the ship they'll leave you notices and lanyards and chocolates, etc etc. It's like getting little gifts sometimes. And of course the last night they leave the envelopes to put your tip slips (and any extra cash you might want to put in them) in. They aren't just cleaning, but leaving stuff we want to have left.

 

[manateesmom]

They're in at least twice a day, for the morning cleaning, bed-making, new towels routine, and then in the evening for turn-down and leaving the next day's cruise program. There may also be maintenance issues that require an extra visit.

Room stewards are one of the big reasons we prefer cruising over land-based resorts for vacations with little ones. Your room attendant really will work around your schedule. For us, DS takes naps, and he NEEDS his post-lunch nap. He will crash hard and get super crabby and emotional if he does not go down for a nap at his allotted time. So it's very frustrating to have room service in full-on cleaning mode when we come back to our room with a sleepy child. At one very nice resort, I could not get housekeeping to leave. I slipped her $10 cash to just leave a few towels and go, little one needs his nap. She stayed an extra 15 minutes, emptying trash, tidying up. It was just so annoying. I understand it was her job, but when you're bouncing a cranky toddler, waiting for the wailing to start . . .

On cruise ships, we've only ever had to explain once what DS's nap schedule was, and then there was never a problem with the room being occupied when we needed it. The room attendant tended to tidy up after naps, too, which really wasn't necessary, but that was another instance where we'd get an extra visit to the room.

 

[DisneyDudet]

Thank you all SO MUCH for your thoughtful replies. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to reply. I now have a much better understanding of what the hosts do and can visualize it now.

One more question....if we are in our room, is there a way to block others from coming in? Our 13yo DD said she may want to stay in our room sometimes. I couldn't leave her there unless I know there is a way to block out the host. She *thinks* she won't want to be in the club all the time, but I know her and know that is where she will be ALL the time, but still thought I'd ask about the door lock. Thanks so much in advance for your replies on this question.

Apart from the morning cleaning (or afternoon if you are a sleepyhead) and the evening turn down service, the stewards tend to stay away. They have delivered items before, but last cruise they either left it during one of the cleanings or stopped by and knocked. If you don't want to be bothered (maybe you are changing or showering and no one else is in the room), just put the privacy sign out. No issues. Last time they needed to do maintenance, They called prior to them coming in. While that doesn't help if you're away, but this would give you a warning that they need to enter your room while you're in it.This past cruise, our neighbors had some issues with their bathrooms, and since they were somehow connected with ours, they needed into our bathrooms. They called beforehand to tell us, and so we decided to go explore.

So if your DD is there alone, she can lock the door and put the sign on the door, and no one should even knock!

 

[Missypyxi]

Sorry if this was already mentioned, but the room stewards also leave your navigators for the next day on your bed for you the night before, and on special nights like Pirate night, they leave your pirate head wrap. If you had your do not disturb sign up, you'd probably have to go to guest services to get all of the things that your steward would have left for you each night. That could be a hassle!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

So, if DD was there alone and maintenance needed to come in, would they still come in if DND was on door or would they just keep trying to reach us by ohone or by knocking when the DND sign wasn't on the door. I don't have a lot of peace about her being alone so I want to be sure NO ONE gains entrance while she is alone. If there is a chance of someone having to come in, we wouldn't allow her to stay there alone. I hope I'm expressing this clearly!

 

[disney1990]

So, if DD was there alone and maintenance needed to come in, would they still come in if DND was on door or would they just keep trying to reach us by ohone or by knocking when the DND sign wasn't on the door. I don't have a lot of peace about her being alone so I want to be sure NO ONE gains entrance while she is alone. If there is a chance of someone having to come in, we wouldn't allow her to stay there alone. I hope I'm expressing this clearly!

We found that, with the DND sign on the door, they won't even knock.

One other thing, not mentioned, that they will leave your information about upcoming excursions your are doing and your tickets to Palo/Remy. We always looked forward to coming to our room after dinner to get our Navigators, bedtime chocolates and see the what towel animal they had created. I loved they they would sometimes put my husbands hat on the towel animals.

 

[DillWaters]

So, if DD was there alone and maintenance needed to come in, would they still come in if DND was on door or would they just keep trying to reach us by ohone or by knocking when the DND sign wasn't on the door. I don't have a lot of peace about her being alone so I want to be sure NO ONE gains entrance while she is alone. If there is a chance of someone having to come in, we wouldn't allow her to stay there alone. I hope I'm expressing this clearly!

The door is likely boltable. NOBODY could get in, even you, when that bolt is engaged. You can tell her to lock the door when you leave and you will knock and identify yourself when you come back.

OTOH, if she's old enough to bolt the door, she's probably old enough to be trusted by herself. What has you so paranoid about other people? Most people in this world are not actually evil. And I imagine the chance of anybody of any age having a serious criminal problem with staff on a Disney cruise is non-existent.

 

[disney1990]

The door is likely boltable. NOBODY could get in, even you, when that bolt is engaged. You can tell her to lock the door when you leave and you will knock and identify yourself when you come back.

OTOH, if she's old enough to bolt the door, she's probably old enough to be trusted by herself. What has you so paranoid about other people? Most people in this world are not actually evil. And I imagine the chance of anybody of any age having a serious criminal problem with staff on a Disney cruise is non-existent.

Just be sure that she isn't like my DD was at 13. Once she fell asleep, no amount of knocking on the door would have woke her up. She could sleep through a smoke detector going off in the hallway outside her bedroom. So, if she had locked the deadbolt, we would never have been able to wake her up to enter the Stateroom.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

What has you so paranoid about other people?

Something bad enough that I don't ever want the same to happen to my daughter.

Most people in this world are not actually evil.

You are so right and prayerfully not on a Disney cruise! But some are, and I don't want my daughter to encounter them on the ship or anywhere else!

Thanks so much again, everyone! You have really helped me a lot. We LOVE amazing service and it sounds like we will get it on our cruise. I just love knowing how it works with the host/hostess. Thanks so much again!!