Looks like no room privacy now.

The think a lot of you are missing the big picture here. This is not just another "minor inconvenience", this is going too far. Especially on the cruise where we already had our bags scanned and gone through security. It is fine for them to enter the room if needed, maintenance, etc. No one has an issue with this. But just random "check ups" as if everyone is a psycho killer is crossing the line. Innocent until proven guilty. There is a lot that I can put up with, going through metal detectors, security cameras following our every move, but to have our private quarters invaded regularly is too far! This is starting with the hotel and cruise industry, then what, to your apartments? This is going down a slippery slope.

There's nothing being said about "random check-ups". I'm not sure where you're getting that info from.

When they say "security" I'm pretty sure it's for something along the lines of weapons that somehow got through. Not "How many socks did Nancy bring on her Disney Cruise?"
 
No. Of course we all know they have access to the rooms for emergencies, not to come in and see what you are doing. No one has ever expected or thought that. Don't be fooled into thinking that hotels are doing this as some kind of altruistic gesture for our safety. It is purely to cover their own behinds. I have been staying in hotels my whole life and have never seen them come in to "check" on anyone. I have stayed places and kept the DND sign up the whole time and not once did they come in or contact me saying they needed to go into the room(unless it was maintenance which rarely happens). So this whole "it's always been like this" is a bull. Yes of course they have a key and could access, but they never did. Disney never did, this is all new not same old same old.
There are no "random checkups" to see what people are doing in their room. If you leave your sign out all the time, they are going to check on you. If you, like most people, only use your sign when you are sleeping or dressing, then there won't be a need to come in while the room is occupied and they most likely won't do that. It's pretty simple really and you are making a HUGE deal out of really nothing. If you are THAT unhappy about it, don't stay on property. Don't cruise with DCL.
 
I actually would guess from the wording that this is done more for liability reasons of needing to check on someone for health reasons, etc than for security checks. As mentioned elsewhere, we go through many checks to get on the ship so a stockpile of weapons is not the concern here like at the hotels.

So long as things will be handled by room stewards, I doubt there will be a noticeable change. Disney’s crew is so stealthy about cleaning some days I don’t know how they get in and out so fast. Also, they depend on tips as compared with the hotel employees so they won’t want to jeopardize their income.
 


That said, there may be an important legal reason why the signs are changing. If you have a DND sign, you have an "expectation of privacy". If anything happens or is discovered while you have a DND sign, there are possible legal implications that would be different than a sign that states "Privacy Please". Privacy Please is a request for privacy with an implication that such a request may not be honored.


In trying to figure out how this is any different than the old sign, I was puzzled until I read this and I think this it, it's a CYA legal thing for Disney. From a more practical standpoint, I get the sense that some people do not understand the importance of getting out of their stateroom to allow the attendants to turn down the room. On our last cruise, the stateroom host missed his own personal time off because he was waiting on folks to leave the room so he could get in to clean. I think these signs will just allow them to encourage guests to give the stateroom hosts time to turn down the room. I also agree with others that it is probably a change due to Las Vegas but I feel like that would be more of a concern on at the resorts than a legitimate concern on a cruise ship.
 


There are no "random checkups" to see what people are doing in their room. If you leave your sign out all the time, they are going to check on you. If you, like most people, only use your sign when you are sleeping or dressing, then there won't be a need to come in while the room is occupied and they most likely won't do that. It's pretty simple really and you are making a HUGE deal out of really nothing. If you are THAT unhappy about it, don't stay on property. Don't cruise with DCL.

This is what really struck me in reading the thread about the new room check policy at WDW -- the people most likely to be affected by it are people who, for whatever reason, leave their DND sign out constantly (whether because they're in their rooms all day every day or because they just don't want housekeeping to come in at all). Those of us who leave the room for a large chunk of the day and don't leave the sign out when we're not in there (i.e. only put it out when napping, showering, changing, etc. during the day) are much more likely to result in housekeeping coming by at another time, whether explicitly arranged with the guest or not. I know my stateroom host was keen to know which dinner seating I had, and he had the timing down to a science re: doing turndown before I got back from the show to drop off my popcorn bucket and change for dinner. They'll work around you as best they can; they don't want to interrupt their flow by running into you anymore than you want them in the room while you're using it.

And this is all still working from the assumption that daily room checks are even going to be a thing on the ships, which I honestly don't believe we can assume based on current evidence. I think it's more likely that Disney is just standardizing language across the company and covering their butts by explicitly listing the existing policy that allows them to enter if they believe there's an emergency.
 
The think a lot of you are missing the big picture here. This is not just another "minor inconvenience", this is going too far. Especially on the cruise where we already had our bags scanned and gone through security. It is fine for them to enter the room if needed, maintenance, etc. No one has an issue with this. But just random "check ups" as if everyone is a psycho killer is crossing the line. Innocent until proven guilty. There is a lot that I can put up with, going through metal detectors, security cameras following our every move, but to have our private quarters invaded regularly is too far! This is starting with the hotel and cruise industry, then what, to your apartments? This is going down a slippery slope.
I get what you mean about the big picture. Most people are not going to get it. Unfortunately I think you're fighting a losing battle.
 
A cheaper, old fashioned product exists for this item. A rubber door stop, available at any hardware or big box store for about $2.00. I never travel without a couple of them.


What happens if there is an emergency at the resort like a fire and first responders are unable to open your door even a small bit that the slider lock allows to check and make sure your room is vacant because you have basically barricaded yourself inside.
 
What happens if there is an emergency at the resort like a fire and first responders are unable to open your door even a small bit that the slider lock allows to check and make sure your room is vacant because you have basically barricaded yourself inside.

I don't know about @serenitynow , but if I can't get out of my door but first responders can get to it, chances are I'm already dead. I'm perfectly capable of hearing an alarm, removing a door stop and leaving a room. With that logic, we should never deadbolt our doors at night when we are at home.

Besides, first responders have things like axes. They're really good at getting into doors if they need to. They're most likely not going to use a master key to check if you're in your room or not. If they need in, they're going to knock the door down.
 
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What happens if there is an emergency at the resort like a fire and first responders are unable to open your door even a small bit that the slider lock allows to check and make sure your room is vacant because you have basically barricaded yourself inside.
Well, I guess everyone has to weigh the odds for themselves. The chances of having someone come into your resort room Without your knowledge or permission versus having an emergency that forces first responders to break down your door if for some reason you are unresponsive inside your room.

I started using them after a solo trip where I got out of the shower to discover housekeeping in my room. I didn’t hear any knock because of the shower and she was certainly within her right to enter to clean, but still we scared the hell out of each other. I don’t know which one of us screamed louder, but quite a few people came to see what all the screaming was about. Not fun.
 
Well, I guess everyone has to weigh the odds for themselves. The chances of having someone come into your resort room Without your knowledge or permission versus having an emergency that forces first responders to break down your door if for some reason you are unresponsive inside your room.

I started using them after a solo trip where I got out of the shower to discover housekeeping in my room. I didn’t hear any knock because of the shower and she was certainly within her right to enter to clean, but still we scared the hell out of each other. I don’t know which one of us screamed louder, but quite a few people came to see what all the screaming was about. Not fun.

Hotel personnel do not need your permission to enter your room, that isn't something new. Guests staying at a resort or hotel do not have the same privacy rights as they do in their own home.

Why didn't you lock the slider bar while showering - that would have prevented housekeeping from entering your room without your knowledge.
 
I want to know how the room attendant didn't hear the shower going when they came in! Regardless, I'm sorry that happened to you. I would have also screamed and been mortified!
 
Why didn't you lock the slider bar while showering - that would have prevented housekeeping from entering your room without your knowledge.
No, it wouldn't. They have a tool that can easily open that from the outside.

I'm not justifying anyone trying to barricade themselves into a hotel room, btw. Just stating the fact that the sliding bar won't keep them out.
 
This is what really struck me in reading the thread about the new room check policy at WDW -- the people most likely to be affected by it are people who, for whatever reason, leave their DND sign out constantly (whether because they're in their rooms all day every day or because they just don't want housekeeping to come in at all). Those of us who leave the room for a large chunk of the day and don't leave the sign out when we're not in there (i.e. only put it out when napping, showering, changing, etc. during the day) are much more likely to result in housekeeping coming by at another time, whether explicitly arranged with the guest or not.

On last year's EBTA, I was down at Guest Services to add to my gratuities and there was a gentleman next to me who was insisting very loudly that the stateroom host gratuity be removed completely from his stateroom's accounts because they had the DND sign up the whole time on the 2-week cruise and refused to let the stateroom host into the cabin and so he felt justified in not paying for services not provided.

I presume that the cabin did not require any cleaning or maintenance when they boarded, and of course everything was untouched and didn't need to be reset for the next set of guests on the following cruise.
 
On last year's EBTA, I was down at Guest Services to add to my gratuities and there was a gentleman next to me who was insisting very loudly that the stateroom host gratuity be removed completely from his stateroom's accounts because they had the DND sign up the whole time on the 2-week cruise and refused to let the stateroom host into the cabin and so he felt justified in not paying for services not provided.

I presume that the cabin did not require any cleaning or maintenance when they boarded, and of course everything was untouched and didn't need to be reset for the next set of guests on the following cruise.
Ewww. I don't even want to think of what that room would be like after 2 weeks of no service... :crazy2:
 
We've never had an issue with our stateroom hosts - they've always respected the sign and never knocked when they're out. We also go out of our way to get to know them and chat them up when we see them.

I figure that the chap who has to clean the toilets on that boat deserves some respect!
 

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