A disgruntled Carnival Cruise Line passenger recently complained about a stateroom “do not disturb” sign that went ignored.
The unnamed guest made his dissatisfaction known by messaging the cruise line’s brand ambassador, John Heald. He responded by explaining why cabin attendants are required to ignore the sign, surprising many.
| The popular online personality, who frequently engages with his over 500,000 Facebook followers, posted the following message on his feed on behalf of a cruise ship passenger: “How would you like it if the cabin cleaner walked in on you, John Heald? Our cleaner knocked and walked in on us, ignoring the do not disturb sign we had out. This was not acceptable. We took away the gratuity and gave it to other crew people. Is this how Carnival trains their workers?” |
Many commenters expressed their sympathy, citing that it shouldn’t have happened. After all, one can easily imagine several instances that would be awkward for a total stranger to walk in on.
Cruise lines avoid such embarrassment by allowing guests to indicate if attendants can tidy up or should simply move on to the next stateroom. In Carnival’s case, they have colorful “Snoozin and Cruisin” door hangers. So, why did the attendant still enter the room?
After checking with Carnival, Heald explained that employees must have some form of contact with each of the guests to confirm their well-being and safety.
He wrote, “I have since spoken with the Housekeeping Manager, who explained what had happened. The guests had their “SNOOZIN” sign out for more than 24 hours. So it is company policy that we check the safety and well-being of the guests, and that is what happened here.”
He added that the attendant knocked but received no response, prompting her to enter the room with the floor supervisor. Heald concluded, “The crew member was simply doing her job.”
| The post accumulated over 1,600 comments, several of them showing appreciation. “I’m back to siding with the crew member. I’d certainly want someone to check on me,” commented Scott Fleming. “Thank you for the clarification and thank you, Carnival, for caring,” posted Daisy O’Reilly. |
What if you really don’t want to be disturbed?
The policy is non-negotiable across all of Carnival’s cruise ships. Cruise line employees must make contact with guests to check if they are well. If you don’t want attendants to enter your cabin, you can greet them in the hallways to let them know you’re fine. The easiest way is to respond when they knock and simply give them a heads-up that you’re okay.
