Morning or Evening Stateroom Service Preference?

[ZBrady]

In yesterday's episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast, Matt talked about six of his takeaways from his recent cruise on Mariner of the Seas.

One of his takeaways was his experience with the new once-a-day stateroom service, in which he discussed his preference between morning and evening service. 

I was curious to hear other's take on which time they preferred for their service and the reasoning behind it.

Thanks, all, and looking forward to the discussion!

[smokeybandit]

I would go with morning. Mornings are more predictable for schedule for us, where as afternoons could be quite busy outside the cabin or pretty relaxed in the cabin

[Xaa]

I think mornings for us because beds will be messed and showers just taken

[CanHardlyWait]

1 hour ago, ZBrady said:

In yesterday's episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast, Matt talked about six of his takeaways from his recent cruise on Mariner of the Seas.

One of his takeaways was his experience with the new once-a-day stateroom service, in which he discussed his preference between morning and evening service. 

I was curious to hear other's take on which time they preferred for their service and the reasoning behind it.

Thanks, all, and looking forward to the discussion!

Which did he say?

For me it's morning. Who has a housekeeper come just before bed?

[ZBrady]

1 hour ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Which did he say?

Matt selected Evening service - he mentioned wanting to not be compelled to rush out of the room in the morning (ie sleeping in). One hiccup was the room not being serviced for the first ~36 hours of the cruise because there is no service on embarkation day. He also said he would choose evening service again in the future.

[CanHardlyWait]

23 minutes ago, ZBrady said:

Matt selected Evening service - he mentioned wanting to not be compelled to rush out of the room in the morning (ie sleeping in). One hiccup was the room not being serviced for the first ~36 hours of the cruise because there is no service on embarkation day. He also said he would choose evening service again in the future.

Thanks. 

I've read others mention the first 36 hours thing. Way too long for me. Trash can alone would drive me nuts. LOL.

[FloatyBoaty]

My first cruise since the change to once daily service was last month on Quantum and it was ideal - my stateroom attendant said to just put out the magnet whenever I wanted the room serviced - no need to commit to morning or evening. I think there was only one time I stopped back at my cabin and he hadn't yet gotten to it. So stress free! 

[DoomSlayer]

We experienced the change to service on our March Adventure sailing.  We chose afternoon service and were happy with it because it matched our normal routine anyway.  But with this being such a subjective topic, I am glad Royal did give us a choice as there will be a lot of people with different preferences based on their own personal routines and reasons.

[hurls15]

We chose morning on our March Oasis sailing.  For us, we would eventually be leaving the room every morning sometime between 8:00 and 10:30am, even if we slept in and were rolling out of bed for a late breakfast.  

However, our evenings were more variable, depending on the days events (excursion, pool day, specialty restaurant reservations, shows etc).  We really appreciated being the flexibility of being able to be in the room during the early evening, whether it be for showering or napping. 

[CruiseGus]

8 hours ago, FloatyBoaty said:

my stateroom attendant said to just put out the magnet whenever I wanted the room serviced 

My last 3 cruises beginning in March they have replaced the 2 sided magnet with a single side that only says "do not disturb"

Every cruise on the survey I have commented that I want the 2 sided magnet back 

I have actually asked the HMO for it back and had on delivered to my cabin.

Actually on a 7 night cruise I only get service on day 3 or 4 and carry my plates etc to an area that collects them like Windjammer. Then if b2b I let them change on dat 7 before TAD

Heck my wife doesn't clean that often home

 

[Pattycruise]

I had discussed this with the attendant I had when the rumor started

it would seem wise to select evening if you beach excursions= sand

otherwise whatever sand you bring in in the day time is there for the whole night. I picture sand in the bed.  Obviously not everyone is covered in sand  but it’s good for thought.

im on Enchantment and the steward asked which service I would like. Morning from 8-1 (I think) or evening 4-8.  I told him whatever’s easiest for him. He chose morning.  Now, if he’s going to knock and wake me, I’ll be switching to evening service.

it’s day 1 -he added my mattress topper while I was at dinner and brought my D+ toiletries .  (Yeah!)  I know it’s not necessarily his job but I have my dirty champagne glasses and plate outside my door since 1:30, and have since added the ice bucket and another glass.  I’m in a busy crew hallway….it’s after 10:15 and still there.  Room service just did a delivery 2 doors down, and no pick up.  I guess we’ll see if overnight they will disappear.

 

[ScottishRobbie]

100% mornings. I've been on Ovation twice during the Australian season that just ended a few weeks ago. In November they were still doing twice a day cabin servicing, but maybe a week or so after I got off, they were changing to once daily. When I was onboard in Feb, I was getting afternoon service. It really wasn't ideal as by the time my attendant got to my room, it was getting close to 5pm which is when I was trying to get ready for dinner etc. I hadn't been given the choice between if I wanted am/pm servicing so presumed that I'd just have to accept that the room servicing would be done whenever my attendant made it to my room, just wished I asked earlier in the cruise to have it done in the morning.

[mills10]

If you do mornings do you still get a towel animal?

[CanHardlyWait]

2 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I had discussed this with the attendant I had when the rumor started

it would seem wise to select evening if you beach excursions= sand

otherwise whatever sand you bring in in the day time is there for the whole night. I picture sand in the bed.  Obviously not everyone is covered in sand  but it’s good for thought.

im on Enchantment and the steward asked which service I would like. Morning from 8-1 (I think) or evening 4-8.  I told him whatever’s easiest for him. He chose morning.  Now, if he’s going to knock and wake me, I’ll be switching to evening service.

it’s day 1 -he added my mattress topper while I was at dinner and brought my D+ toiletries .  (Yeah!)  I know it’s not necessarily his job but I have my dirty champagne glasses and plate outside my door since 1:30, and have since added the ice bucket and another glass.  I’m in a busy crew hallway….it’s after 10:15 and still there.  Room service just did a delivery 2 doors down, and no pick up.  I guess we’ll see if overnight they will disappear.

 

From the minute I first heard about once a day cleaning I wondered about sand at the end of the day. No matter what we do, we always have some trail with us. I still would have to pick morning service. Couldn't stand a messy cabin all day. I wonder if $20 would get an extra quick evening vacuum?

[Coda_Sarah]

We are choosing evening.  We go to the MTD pretty much each evening or go to a specialty restaurant around the same time. With the mornings, on sea days, we may sleep in a bit or come in and out of the room after going to the pool.  Evening seems easier.  We will be gone 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours

[WAAAYTOOO]

Boarded Vision today.

Our stateroom attendant confirmed that JS will continue to get serviced twice a day.

Even though we were in a JS on EX a couple of weeks ago, we saw our room attendant so infrequently that I was never able to confirm what service we were supposed to be getting.  But this attendant did confirm…so we will still be getting twice-a-day service.

[DoomSlayer]

18 hours ago, mills10 said:

If you do mornings do you still get a towel animal?

Ohhh -- our priorities, LOL.  We love the towel animals too!  I do think they are up to the steward on if, when, and how often you get them.  Last trip I was on, we had two rooms, one for the kids and one for my wife and I.  The steward and my son became "buds" and there was a towel animal for his room every day.  My oldest daughter started "dissecting" the animals and figured out how they were made.  Now we have towel dogs, elephants, and dinosaurs whenever it is her turn to fold laundry.

[Jill]

We’re on Wonder in a few weeks. Haven’t sailed since October but we will choose evening. We’re pool/beach people and will take a nap in the afternoon. I’d rather a fresh made bed for bedtime. 

[Traveling Mike]

We just got off the Alure and I did the evening service.  That allowed us to stay in the room as long as we liked and not worry about the cabin steward waiting on us.  When we leave for dinner, he comes in and the room is cleaned and ready for sleep and the next day.  One thing I did was request extra towels.  I shower in the morning an defore dinner so we needed extra towels.

 

[Pooch]

We will be in a JS so all set with 2 a day.  My son & nephew are in a balcony.  I’m suggesting they opt for evening service as I don’t expect either to be up before 10, maybe later .

[BrianB]

Difficult for me to relate with those who cruise with kids.....I cruise solo. Plus, I'm sort of a neat freak. Everything is hidden away in drawers and my bag is under the bed. If it weren't for the binoculars on the vanity shelf, my cabin would appear unoccupied.

So I guess I'm somewhat easier for them to service. 

For me, I prefer morning service. But here on the Anthem, my attendant said just put the magnet on the door whenever I want service. We still have the two-sided magnets. 

Even though I get serviced in the morning, I noticed he still pops by during the evening and leaves a Cruise Compass...and puts the pillows down. I told him that although I appreciated it, not to waste time doing towel animals.

Oh, and I still tip the same as before.

[FSUFAN]

Morning.  Get fresh towels, bed made.  I can come back during the afternoon and rest on made up beds and a room that has been tidied up.  It will stay looking good for most of the day and not having to look at towels hanging to dry and such all day.

[USFFrank]

I think we'll be trying the evening service out on our next cruise. Just going to ask for extra towels each day and the cruise compass.

[MaryCS62]

Well, our next cruise is 16 days on Oasis in  Jr Suite, so hoping for the 2 x day service.  If nothing else, DD will either be in the pullout couch or the pullman bed, so definitely want those put away in the am & returned to usable in the evenings, although she'd probably put the sofa bed away herself to make room. If not, then based on what everyone is saying, I'd probably go for morning with the request for extra towels - I MUST shower in the mornings, or my aching body is no good for the rest of the day, and if I did anything that made me sweat, I'd need a shower before dinner as well.  we still get 2 x day

[WannaCruise]

We didn't really have an option on our Oasis cruise in March (then again, we didn't request a time), but I preferred evening service.  It worked perfectly for us when we'd shower before dinner, and then we'd return to the stateroom in the evening to fresh towels, rather than having our wet ones lying around.  We'd semi make the bed and the rest wasn't a big deal.  

[Robert M]

If they do morning do they come back in the evening to do set up for the sofa bed or do we have to do that on our own?

[Cactus527]

I just polled my family - they all said evening, I said morning. They looked at me like I was bonkers. I like to be up early and get the day going! Typical day includes doing all my main chores in the morning, chilling in the evening. I don't like having a messy day. They all said "but morning means we can't sleep in." Priorities! 

[jbrinkm]

On 4/21/2023 at 9:31 PM, Traveling Mike said:

We just got off the Alure and I did the evening service.  That allowed us to stay in the room as long as we liked and not worry about the cabin steward waiting on us.  When we leave for dinner, he comes in and the room is cleaned and ready for sleep and the next day.  One thing I did was request extra towels.  I shower in the morning an defore dinner so we needed extra towels.

I was on the same cruise as @Traveling Mike. We also chose evening and it was done during our early dining time. It was fine - I just missed the relationship we usually have with our cabin attendant since he wasn't around as much.

We ALSO had a QR code in the room where you could request extra items and services that I used a few times (opening balcony divider, getting a bucket of ice). The cleaning worked out well, but if you had an additional need, you could request it this way and (usually) it was a different staff member who would arrive for those requests, not our attendant. Advertised as response between 30-60 minutes and that was accurate for our experience. 

 

[khynzelman]

On the Quantum I wasn’t given a choice however I probably could have asked. I’m an early riser so the morning worked for me and the attendant as well.  He mentioned he now has 25 staterooms instead of 17 so more morning services help him plan his day better.

[Scarlett625]

If we are asked on our upcoming cruise, my husband and I are going to request morning. We are both early risers. I'm usually up at 5am to workout for an hour, then shower and off to breakfast by 7am. My husband will probably get a coffee at the Cafe and explore the ship during that time and meet me back at the room to go to breakfast. I always haphazardly make the bed in the morning, but I prefer a well made bed throughout the day over waiting for a turned down bed in the evening. 

If it were my teen/adult children, I'm sure they would prefer the evening service since they sleep in late. So I can see both sides.