Rewarding Staff

[Moonraker1066]

Here is a question, apart from the usual of giving extra tips, has anyone done anything above and beyond in rewarding a member of staff, be it a cabin attendant, bar waiter or even a concierge. Giving them some sort of electronic gadget, would that be a bit OTT?

[DeltaOne]

Here is a question, apart from the usual of giving extra tips, has anyone done anything above and beyond in rewarding a member of staff, be it a cabin attendant, bar waiter or even a concierge. Giving them some sort of electronic gadget, would that be a bit OTT?

 

The staff on the ship is there to earn money. Money is the best reward you can give them.

 

Second best reward: positive comments on the "how did we do" card they sometimes give you at the end of a cruise.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Paul from Maryland

[harry0]

I used to be serious about WOW cards but I since think they are not that big of a deal to the crew. Does someone have more insight.

[seb]

We see crew members on the International Phones in port stops all the time. We have given a couple folks prepaid phone cards for their excellent service. That seemed to be very well received as it is like cash and a little more "personal" for them.

[bouhunter]

We see crew members on the International Phones in port stops all the time. We have given a couple folks prepaid phone cards for their excellent service. That seemed to be very well received as it is like cash and a little more "personal" for them.

 

Do you think the server at your local restaurant would rather have more cash, or a phone card? The staff can use extra cash for phone calls if they want, otherwise for whatever their priorities are. A phone card is not at all like cash, it can only be used for one purpose.............:rolleyes:

Edited February 10, 2014 by bouhunter

[cb at sea]

I don't know why YOU work, but I work for money! If someone goes above and beyond, give them cash and they can purchase what they need/want. I once worked for an employer who gave us turkeys or hams at Christmas.....I would have rather had gotten the cash, than the meat.

Edited February 10, 2014 by cb at sea

[trev71]

The road always leads to MONEY. Cash is King

[PORT ROYAL]

Here is a question, apart from the usual of giving extra tips, has anyone done anything above and beyond in rewarding a member of staff, be it a cabin attendant, bar waiter or even a concierge. Giving them some sort of electronic gadget, would that be a bit OTT?

 

 

Agree with post that cash is the most acceptable option. But on receiving excellent service we always make a notation on the comment card, giving their name/names. Then on returning home a letter of commendation is sent to the Cruise Line HO. Been given to understand that letters/e-mails are forwarded to the ship, with commendations given by a senior officer and a notation made on their records. This will add weight to a potential promotion.

[ckrobyn]

I used to be serious about WOW cards but I since think they are not that bg of a deal to the crew. Does someone have more insight.

 

I used to be too.

I asked a crew member about receiving wow cards on my cruise in November and they stated it didn't really help them, but that the more wow cards they got, they could turn them in for prizes :o

[PattyG12]

Phone cards would really be a waste of money since they can purchase them in their little "Canteen" for MUCH cheaper than you can get them.

 

Cash is really the best thing for them.

 

The WOW cards were a nice thing when they started but now they just get put in for drawings for stuff. Most crew I've asked really don't care about them one way or the other.

 

The best thing (other than cash) is to write their names on the comment cards AND follow up with nice comments in the online surveys. That's how they get their promotions (and more money).

 

We normally leave little things for the room steward too. We had our room decorated in December and when we left, I did leave my steward the decorations. She was pretty excited to be able to decorate her room for the holidays.

[lady_cruiser]

We give the usual amount required, extra at the end of the cruise and treat them to supper at least once.

 

And yes I know the food is a no-no but when we bring food back from the Windjammer and our cabin attendant tells us they are hungry and how good it smells we always offer them one of our dishes. When they tell us no, we always tell them that it is very easy to go back to the Windjammer and fix ourselves another plate. Then, if our cabin attendant says "if you don't mind, I'll take it and eat it later" we will give it to them. We found our from the Hotel Director that they are allowed to accept meals from the guests as long as they don't take 30 minutes to eat it. Otherwise we would not put their jobs in jeopardy.

[cruisegirl1]

I had some exemplary service from the guest services desk on a recent Celebrity cruise. Once the issue was finally resolved (it was an issue in the cabin that housekeeping could not seem to resolve), I called and personally thanked the specific staff member. Then wrote a quick note letting the Guest Services Supervisor know how much the specific staff had assisted in the matter.

 

The staff called mid cruise to ask about the issue, see if everything else was OK and let me know to see her personally of we needed anything else.

 

Also made a positive comment on the survey.

 

As she was a guest services staff, I do not think tipping would have been appropriate.

 

M

[WetToes]

Here is a question, apart from the usual of giving extra tips, has anyone done anything above and beyond in rewarding a member of staff, be it a cabin attendant, bar waiter or even a concierge. Giving them some sort of electronic gadget, would that be a bit OTT?

 

To answer your question ... no, we've never given an electronic gadget. Maybe if they saved mine or a family members life I'd consider it.

Yes, I do think it would "be a bit OTT".

[szdiver]

most will probably think me nuts, but I make jewelery and bring a few extra bracelets for the girls that help me out along the way......they seem to enjoy the extra little gifts and they also receive money with it.....

[WetToes]

most will probably think me nuts, but I make jewelery and bring a few extra bracelets for the girls that help me out along the way......they seem to enjoy the extra little gifts and they also receive money with it.....

 

I don't think what you bring is "nuts". It's a small item, not taking up room in their tiny space. Plus you are also giving cash. :D

It's also not a food item :rolleyes:, that they may or may not like. It's also not 'trinkets' from a home state. :rolleyes: A state, that is likely not the crew's home, or a state that they very likely will never visit.

[gerif]

Face it, they're going to gush and carry on over any little trinket you so generously (in your own eyes) you care to give them. They would never do otherwise. Truthfully, all they really want is the cash.

[Big_G]

Here is a question, apart from the usual of giving extra tips, has anyone done anything above and beyond in rewarding a member of staff, be it a cabin attendant, bar waiter or even a concierge. Giving them some sort of electronic gadget, would that be a bit OTT?

 

Funny you should ask this question after we just got off Allure two weeks ago. We met a very nice older gentleman on Labadee who cruises just for the flowrider. He brings portable radios to the staff on Labadee that actually live in Haiti. I wish I could remember his name but they all knew him by first name and he knew theirs. Cash is always king and I'm sure he's a good tipper too but I thought it was a pretty neat idea.

[WetToes]

Funny you should ask this question after we just got off Allure two weeks ago. We met a very nice older gentleman on Labadee who cruises just for the flowrider. He brings portable radios to the staff on Labadee that actually live in Haiti. I wish I could remember his name but they all knew him by first name and he knew theirs. Cash is always king and I'm sure he's a good tipper too but I thought it was a pretty neat idea.

 

Isn't a bad idea, especially since they are not 'rooming' on the ship. There are probably lots of good gift ideas for the 'live in' staff at Labadee and other such islands.

[kgrassel]

Any chance that older gentleman's name was Harv? We had a guy like that at our dinner table one cruise. LOVED the flowrider, rode it constantly. He lived in Miami, and cruised just for that purpose.

[Big_G]

Any chance that older gentleman's name was Harv? We had a guy like that at our dinner table one cruise. LOVED the flowrider, rode it constantly. He lived in Miami, and cruised just for that purpose.

 

Sorry I can't remember. He's in great shape for his age and very friendly. We actually chatted with him for a while. I think he said he has 23 cruises on Allure and that he was solo but his wife was jumping on with her girlfriends the following week. He was joking that he's over on his cruise budget.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Big_G

[JohnSnowGOT]

Those silly WOW cards are so very annoying!

They take forever to complete and RC doesn't even provide pens in the cabins anymore.

Besides........really now do you think the crew is spending months sometimes years away from their homes and family cleaning your toilets as you vacation with your loved ones, to receive silly trinkets and such. THey are there on that ship for CASH...........# 1

You really want to make a crew member happy??? Tell them they are wonderful, and put some big cash in their palm.

[jo24]

I definitely agree, cash is what will mean the most to them. This is followed by receiving 'excellent' on the relevant sections of the survey and also comments on the survey do get back to the staff members.

 

Stateroom attendants are ranked in relation to the ratings they get on the survey and the number of specific comments they receive about the service they have provided. The higher their ranking the more chance they have of getting a good section of cabins (suites etc) which in turn leads to the chance of more gratuities.

 

Like others have said, WOW cards unfortunately mean very little if anything at all any more.

[negc]

Those silly WOW cards are so very annoying!

They take forever to complete and RC doesn't even provide pens in the cabins anymore.

Besides........really now do you think the crew is spending months sometimes years away from their homes and family cleaning your toilets as you vacation with your loved ones, to receive silly trinkets and such. THey are there on that ship for CASH...........# 1

You really want to make a crew member happy??? Tell them they are wonderful, and put some big cash in their palm.

Yeah it takes so long to write the crew member's name on the card and to give a brief description of why you think that they deserve the card.:rolleyes:

[redcard]

Why not offer to adopt one of them?

 

You could take them home, dress them up in little outfits and show them off to the neighbours.

[crisndeefromde]

Just off the Adventure...we did not get Wow cards to hand out. We received envelopes to put some extra cash in at the end of each week.

 

Cash means more to them then anything especially with sharing more of their money under the new system.