Hardly Any Cruisers Know Cabin Stewards Can Do This!

One of the more frequently asked questions I see on cruise message boards is: “what can I ask my cabin steward to bring or do for me?”. As I keep seeing the same limited list of suggestions, I decided to make this as, based on my experience, I can see cruisers are missing out on many more things cabin stewards can do and bring.

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ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 101 cruises I have done to date.

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00:00 Start
00:48 What can I get?
02:20 Tips and tricks
04:10 Problem solving
04:36 Cabin extras
04:45 bed and sleeping extras
06:05 daily service extras
07:06 bathroom extras
08:00 mini-bar extras
08:14 perks you not due extras
08:42 towel animal extras
09:06 electronic extras

[bobbysmith]

On my first cruise, on a port day, I called for more towels. Our steward can in, but my cousin was in the bathroom at the moment. He was all smiles, and told me he would just put them on the sofa for now, and if that was ok. I told him yes. As he turned away, in the mirror, he no longer had his smile, but a deep sadness. When he turned around, he was all smiles, but the sadness was still in his eyes. I asked if he was alright. He informed me his grandpa died in his sleep last night. And, that he also raised him too. I noticed a tear beginning to form. Out of just being a compassionate person, I just hugged him. He hugged back, and out of sheer grief we were on our knees, as he sobbed uncontrollably. When my cousin came out I told her that his grandpa had died last night. She got down on her knees and hugged him too. A few moments later, there was a knock at our door. It was a neighbor, and heard someone crying loudly, and wanted to make sure everything was ok. He saw my cousin still hugging our steward, and I told him his grandpa died last night. The man walked past me, got on his knees, and asked the man if he needed a flight home, because he travels at lease one a week by plane, and has tons and tons of airline miles. Our steward told him the airline, but he would be leaving in two days when we get back, because his contract was over. But, that his grandpa would be buried by then, because of two over night layovers. The neighbor, said he has tons of airline miles and, he would upgrade his ticket to a one way, and he just needed to know his flight number, his ticket number, and full name on the ticket. Our steward thanked him, and said he cannot, plus thanked the neighbor too. The neighbor told our steward that if he did not give him the information, that our steward would be insulting, him, and his hospitality. So our steward complied. We then all left the room. A few hours later, I saw our neighbor with his family at dinner. He informed me that he was able to changed our stewards ticket to an hour later than the original ticket to be a nonstop ticket, and our steward got the new reservation number. Because of the inconvenience of the extra hour, he also got our steward access to the first class longe too. I told him that was very nice of him to do. Our neighbor smiled, and said, our steward will find out when he checks in, that his seat is a first class seat, that also fold down into a bed.

[leisamcpherson]

My daughter turned 21 on our last cruise in February 2024. I put up a banner for her. I also informed the cruise line of this information. Our lovely cabin person, Lector, on Majestic Princess, in Australia, made a beautiful tower cake from a variety of towels, with ribbon & placed her squishmellows & candy canes around the cake, on her bed. It was beautiful & a very lovely surprise for her. He created a beautiful birthday atmosphere for her. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[alisont]

I remember on one cruise I took with my elderly Dad the buckle on one shoe broke and that left him with only sandals and his smarter evening shoes. I mentioned it to cabin crew who asked around amongst the crew. The shoes disappeared from Dads cabin and I got a call to go to reception where I was told the ships carpenter had kindly mended them. Shoes reappeared in Dads cabin and had been polished too. The carpenter was too shy to come to meet us so I got an envelope and sent a thank you note and a nice tip too.

[JeaWis]

2 years ago on the Island Princess I ask guest services if someone could check on my husband (he had mild dementia and would occasionally fall) while I was on an excursion. They told me to ask my cabin steward.
The steward not only checked on my husband but cleaned our room depending on what my husband was doing. E.g. he made the bed when my husband was in the bathroom. That steward helped give our son and me peace of mind. He was of course tipped extra for his outstanding service. And I gave him an outstanding commendation in the after cruise survey.

[paulaylett]

Moving to our new cabin midway through a B2B Far East cruise on Celebrity Millennium we noted that a sizeable area of the floor was spongy. We immediately told our cabin steward who had only just arrived on ship. He could not understand why it had not been reported/fixed previously, but that he would ensure it was fixed without delay. The next day was a port day during which time our room had ben stripped, furniture removed, carpet lifted and concrete floor laid. On our return, nothing was any different except that the floor was now solid. The steward informed us that they had photographed where our belongings had been placed so that they could be returned to exactly the same positions, that the desk, coffee table and chair had spent the day on the balcony and that the bed 'had been on its holidays'!

[davidellis]

And if a cabin steward helps you, be sure to call them out positively in your cruise line questionnaire / review! It really does matter.

[sharonlarsen]

We had a Celebrity cruise to Iceland last year and I loved the lotion that was provided so much and I asked our cabin steward if I could purchase it anywhere. He told me I couldn't that it was only available through the cabin staff. He very kindly provided me with a bottle to take home with me. It wasn't a new bottle but one that would normally be in a cabin but it was full to the brim with the lotion. I will never forget that kindness and every day I use the lotion I think of him and our trip.

[shaleighreynolds]

Had one time we needed a topper on one of our mattresses…. I tipped him as soon as we got to our room, and asked for the topper. He had it on by the time we got back from dinner. He was always at the ready, appreciation and a little cash goes a long way!

[rfmonii]

I'm glad you mentioned how the cabin stewards can work around your schedule. I work at night, so I normally sleep well past noon. On my first cruise I told the steward I sleep during the daytime, so she learned my schedule and would not service my room until I leave. I felt so guilty about that because I know it was an inconvenience for her (she was very young and very new to working on a cruise ship). But she did a wonderful job accommodating me, and I acknowledged that with a positive survey and a large cash tip.

[mhtammi]

Our cabin steward on our Mediterranean cruise two months ago was amazing. It was our first cruise and we had so many questions. He was so helpful and we tipped generously.

[ruthfitzjohn]

We always ask to swap our large duvet for 2 single duvets - the key to a good night’s sleep and a long marriage.

[ShirleyEdwards-zt]

When my husband was ill he found the room chair too hard to get in/out of & sofa was a no no only having one arm so the steward got him an old double proper armed chair which was wonderful & saved a lot of hard work for us both

[batshevanivylerner]

it sounds trivial, but on the first few days we were on board our last cruise, our cabin steward gave us directions about the best route to take to get to wherever on board the ship we were heading (when he saw us leaving the stateroom). There are lots of ways you can go, but he always knew the fastest, least crowded, least annoying way to go!!

[juliegold]

A few years ago I broke my ankle two weeks before a cruise. I rented a scooter and went anyway. Another cruiser mentioned that I could have one of the beds removed to give me more room to maneuver. It was great advice. I could turn the scooter completely around in the cabin and it made my experience so much better.

[ElizabethHeinrich-uvef]

We were on a wonderful cunard cruise . My husband had difficulty getting his tie just right. The butler stepped in and made him look like James Bond. Please tip generously.

[wren]

Cabin stewards are some of the hardest working crew members and I doubt they are very well paid. And as Gary and others have pointed out, post-pandemic many cruise lines require them to take care of more cabins than ever before.

They share in the pre-paid gratuities, but we always give our steward a nice extra tip. Something to consider if you’re able.

[bonnies]

Just wanted to compliment the quality on the videos you make! They’re always super helpful, the perfect length, and the way that you link to other helpful videos gets me to click every time!

[catwilliams]

The hubby and I had a short Four Day in April...and our Cabin Steward was so tickled by my utter delight at the Towel Animals he made that I ended up with an extra one just because...I got a Pupper, and a Elephant, and a Sea Turtle, and a Piggy...and they were so cute!!! He had to have been laughing at this 57 year old lady just squeee'ing like a little girl over them...and they ended up on the back of the sofa in a row because I refused to unfold them or let them be taken away... (They are one of my favorite things on a cruise...silly, I know...but they just really delight me...)

[Puzzler-qvhn]

Having taken 3 relatively short cruises, considering a river cruise, and always (well almost always) a very polite person, I see I still have a lot to learn about cruising! Thank you Mr. Bembridge for such helpful advice. Due to sciatica on my part and a disability on the part of my significant other I have learned that we have to think VERY carefully about river cruises. You pointed out lots of factors (so much walking, stairs, cobblestones for example) that I had never even considered. That said, it really is great fun to see you enjoy yourself on cruises I may or may not ever go on. We appreciate you!

[motherhenable]

I was on a Viking cruise when I caught a cold. I didn't want to spread it so I spent a few days in our cabin until my symptom abated. One day my lunch tray showed up, spaghetti, with no silverware. I called room service to ask that it be brought up. My cabin steward showed up to freshen the room and replenish my fluids. I told her and she checked on it and called it in. She checked back in 15-20 minutes and still no silverware so she called it in again. I got a call from customer service and explained. I had silverware in a few minutes. She saved my lunch and kept me in tissues and water and sodas. Great service which I wrote up.