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Stay Between the Sheets
The Travel Troubleshooter · April 23, 2002

Q: I have a question about Carnival's housekeeping practices. In early December, as my husband and I were finishing a cruise aboard Carnival Victory, we watched the cabin steward come in and make the room ready for the next guests-clean sheets and pillow cases, but same blankets and bedspread. Is that common?

-- Louise Yeakey

A: Not only is this common in the cruise industry, it's also the standard operating procedure in the hotel business.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association suggests that properties clean sheets and bedspreads at regular intervals-daily for sheets, and "whenever they see fit" for bedspreads and comforters, according to Tia Gordon, a spokeswoman for the association. "Whether that's once a month or once every other week, that's up to the property to decide."

The Cruise Lines International Association, a trade group for the cruise industry, doesn't have any such guidelines. And even if it did, they'd be difficult to implement or enforce. Maritime law (which is confusing and counterintuitive to someone like yours truly) doesn't really concern itself with the minutia of linens in your cabin. But it probably should.

I asked Carnival to comment on its bedspread policy but it didn't respond before my deadline, despite repeated requests. I think it's safe to say that Carnival has a policy for cleaning the sheets and bedspreads that's in line with the rest of the industry, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb by guessing that's what the cruise line would tell me.

Experienced travelers know that there's a better-than-average chance they aren't the first people to use their bedspreads after it came out of the laundry. So the first thing they do when they check in is to roll the bedspread up and throw it on to the floor. That's extremely inconsiderate to the next person who will use the room. Better to fold the bedspread and put it away in a closet.

My advice is to never use a bedspread, even if it looks unsoiled. There's no implied guarantee that the bedcovering is clean. Just fold it up and pretend it doesn't exist. Same thing for blankets and comforters.

Next time you take a cruise, stay between the sheets.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. ChrisCrossings appears weekly on this site.