Enjoying room service or bringing some extra treats back from the Lido Marketplace buffet can be a great part of a cruise, but what are you supposed to do with the dirty dishes afterward?
Cruise ship staterooms are notoriously small, and keeping dirty dishes inside your cabin can add to already cluttered spaces or just be an icky mess to contend with.
Carnival Cruise Line’s policy to place these used dishes outside one’s stateroom is well known, but not often well understood. Now, the cruise line’s official Brand Ambassador, John Heald, has offered a bit of insight into the reasoning behind the policy.
The issue was brought up by a guest who wasn’t sure about the policy and was receiving conflicting information from different sources – always a hazard when asking social media groups for tips.
“What is Carnival’s protocol for room service dishes and trays, leave [them] in the cabin for the room steward or place [dishes] in hallway?” the guest asked. “I want to follow what is proper not what some are telling me.”
Heald has previously explained that Carnival’s policy is to leave dishes outside so they can be collected, as there are crew members assigned to visit stateroom hallways and tend to this task. He has reiterated that policy, but also explained in a bit more detail why the policy is in place.
“The proper protocol is to please leave it outside of your cabin. If there is any uneaten food there if you could cover it that would be great,” he confirmed. “This way we can get all the plates and cutlery, etc. back into service. Thank you for asking.”
Covering any uneaten food helps keep the hallway looking tidier, and helps make sure the food isn’t accidentally stepped in or kicked about.
The mention of getting “all the plates and cutlery, etc. back into service” is a new detail that isn’t often noted, however, but it does make good sense.
Years ago, when Carnival Cruise Line offered twice daily stateroom service, dishes might only be left in guest cabins for a few hours before a steward would be able to collect them when tidying up the stateroom.
Worth Reading: Carnival Guest Wants Trays Back But Not Everyone Agrees
With only one daily service now offered, however, many more plates, coffee mugs, silverware, glasses, and other dishes could potentially be unavailable for a full day.
With thousands of guests onboard an individual ship and multiple meals served in multiple venues each day, it is imperative that dishes be able to be cleaned and sanitized so they can be reused right away.
Do Guests Actually Follow the Policy?
To be clear, it has always been Carnival Cruise Line’s policy for these types of dirty dishes to be moved into the hallways to be collected, no matter how often staterooms might be serviced or when the dishes are used.
Not all travelers agree with the request, however, and they don’t always put their dishes in the hall. Many guests feel the policy can give the cruise line a very low-class look and reputation, or they can potentially cause a trip hazard for guests with mobility issues.
To check how guests feel about the policy, Heald included two responses in his daily poll. Guests could disagree and vote “to stop being K-Mart Cruises people should not put their plates and trays outside of the cabin door. They must be kept inside the room.”
Out of more than 48,200 votes cast, just 6% of travelers (roughly 2,900) agree and claim to always keep their room service or Lido plates inside their room until otherwise collected.
Read Also: How Not to Overeat on a Cruise – And Why It Matters
On the other hand, an overwhelming 28% (approximately 13,500 voters) state, “I put my plates and cutlery outside of the room as per Carnival Cruise Line policy.”
Admittedly, on my first Carnival cruise or two I did leave such dirty dishes inside the stateroom, until I learned what the policy is. Since then, we stack any dishes as carefully as possible and place them outside our door, far enough from the door so we don’t accidentally kick them as we go in and out of our stateroom.
Many guests do wish there was a compromise, perhaps a cart or other collection station in hallways, so dirty plates aren’t scattered about. This is especially true when some dishes may be left in the hallway for several hours.
This might even be easier for crew members to collect used dishes, but with space already at a premium in the sometimes narrow corridors, it may simply not be possible.
Of course, guests can always return the dishes to the Lido Marketplace themselves – which will not only get dirty dishes out of halls, but will ensure they get cleaned and back into service as soon as possible!
