Small Thank you item?

[jchiefs13]

I'm curious... for those who have a favorite Concierge or other employee onboard, or for someone who helped get you something special onboard: What small thank you type gift have you taken with to give to this person?

 

I am sure that small tokens of normal life are appreciated - I'm just looking for ideas so I can say thank you to a staff member.

 

Judy

[PennStateFan123]

Dead presidents on green paper work best

[TheGaDawgFan]

Cash

[Langley Cruisers]

I am sure that small tokens of normal life are appreciated - I'm just looking for ideas so I can say thank you to a staff member.

 

No offense, but they're actually not. Crew/staff quarters are small and they simply don't have room for anything from passengers. Oh, they will smile and thank you sweetly for whatever you give them, but they absolutely may discard it after you're gone.

 

Cash is king, as most people here will tell you. At our jobs, we all work for money, not trinkets or tokens. They will love the cash.

 

.

[bluegirlum]

Agree with the others. Cash. They don't have rooms for all the small "gifts" they get. Many are sending their money back home to their families. Giving them money is the best thank you you can give. They will not like anything else.

[cb at sea]

Money!!! Why do you work? For gifts? I don't! I work for money...so do they!

[dplusd]

I'm curious... for those who have a favorite Concierge or other employee onboard, or for someone who helped get you something special onboard: What small thank you type gift have you taken with to give to this person?

 

I am sure that small tokens of normal life are appreciated - I'm just looking for ideas so I can say thank you to a staff member.

 

Judy

 

Just the fact that you care enough to ask about thanking a staff member in a special way says a lot about you (positively). I do agree with others that cash is the appropriate way to thank a crew member for making your vacation special.

[ccryder]

If not cash, then prepaid phone cards.

[iheartbda]

If not cash, then prepaid phone cards.

Phone cards are becoming a thing of the past. Crew has other ways of communicating.....Skye, internet, etc. Also, phone cards are not all created equally and not usable for all countries.

[Langley Cruisers]

If not cash, then prepaid phone cards.

 

Please no - as mentioned, these are quickly becoming obsolete and if a crew member wants a phone card, they can buy the appropriate one they need.

[bighairtexan]

But you CAN make it more personal than palming some cash at the end of the cruise. A really heartfelt nice note as to WHY is a nice touch. So bring some personal notepaper and envelopes to stick that cash in. I'm not even slightly suggesting that they're going to keep the note stuck on their mirror, but they'll read it and appreciate it esp. when accompanied by cash.

[phoenix1181]

I always bring a few note cards with me. A nice note & a few dollars is definitely the way to go.

[Merion_Mom]

Cash is ALWAYS king.

 

IF IF IF IF you wish to add something small to your cash gift, most of them have personal cravings - the most common one is M & M's.

 

Reyno V. LOVES Nestle's Crunch, if you encounter him.

 

Darryl Dyball adores Peanut M & M's, and the egg mcmuffin type sandwiches from the Park Café.

 

Katie Turner will kill for anything salted caramel.

 

;)

 

Other than that, most of them DO like candy.

 

If it is convenient, travel-wise, Guest Services staff often love fresh-baked, homemade cookies and brownies.

 

But NEVER EVER instead of cash.

 

And WOW cards. Some have reported here being told that WOW cards are no longer important, so I specifically asked some senior staff on board the Serenade last week. STILL important. And mention them BY NAME on your post-cruise survey.

 

But first and foremost, as PennStateFan wrote, and I always write, "Pieces of green paper with pictures of dead presidents on them."

 

:D

[Royalpair]

Last July on Navigator we gave the Diamond host a WOW card, and he said for 5 of them he got an extra day off :-). We gave the other to our asst waitress (along with cash) and she seemed very appreciative. I always picture gifts for the crew like mugs for a teacher, way too many to keep.

[julesbeara]

I actually bought a few crew members Starbucks frappacino's on our last cruise.

[hrrsamrovk]

I always picture gifts for the crew like mugs for a teacher, way too many to keep.

[yolanda1]

Cash. No question. A little written note of appreciation would make it even nicer.

 

But definitely not any of the other bits of tat that some people give to them. They don't have room for "stuff", even if it's stuff that you might think is nice.

 

Some people say things like "The waiter was thrilled with the fridge magnet with the name of my home town on it"

 

I once spoke with a Concierge who said that over the years he had been given tons of useless tokens and trinkets and candies, but he did appreciate that they were given with the best of intentions.

 

Just because they smile politely, look thrilled and say thank you doesn't mean they want it!:D

[chengkp75]

Cash is ALWAYS king.

 

IF IF IF IF you wish to add something small to your cash gift, most of them have personal cravings - the most common one is M & M's.

 

Reyno V. LOVES Nestle's Crunch, if you encounter him.

 

Darryl Dyball adores Peanut M & M's, and the egg mcmuffin type sandwiches from the Park Café.

 

Katie Turner will kill for anything salted caramel.

 

;)

 

Other than that, most of them DO like candy.

 

If it is convenient, travel-wise, Guest Services staff often love fresh-baked, homemade cookies and brownies.

 

But NEVER EVER instead of cash.

 

And WOW cards. Some have reported here being told that WOW cards are no longer important, so I specifically asked some senior staff on board the Serenade last week. STILL important. And mention them BY NAME on your post-cruise survey.

 

But first and foremost, as PennStateFan wrote, and I always write, "Pieces of green paper with pictures of dead presidents on them."

 

:D

 

From my experience (a few years ago, different line), the guest surveys were always collated and discussed at the weekly revenue meeting of all department heads. The equivalent of WOW cards, and crew mentioned by name in surveys were always tallied. Every month at the crew meeting, the Captain would recognize one or two crew who had done exceptionally well in guest services (or sometimes were named by fellow crew as being a behind the scenes person who helped them give great service) with something like a pass to a specialty restaurant, a day off, and things like that.

[trev71]

Its all about the Cash. then they can buy whatever they want with it.

[DCT61]

Give them whatever you give the concierges and maids at the hotels where you stay.

[Dan-P]

Dead presidents on green paper work best

 

First post NAILS it! :D

 

Dan.

[Paul65]

The thought is nice, but I am with the others in that a cash tip is the most appropriate, along with a hand-written note, if you want to make it more personal.

 

Also already mentioned, but calling out staff by name on guest surveys and "WOW Cards" if you feel they did an exceptional job can mean a lot to them.

[griffy116]

While it makes US feel good to give something personal...We give cash inside a very heartfelt thank you card. Imagine 5 small thank you gifts per cruise for the length of their contract. Now imagine five monetary gifts. We always tell them in the thank you card how much we appreciate how they took care of us and we mention the special things they did. We submit the WOW cards and I always send an e-mail to Royal Caribbean telling them about their special crew members and staff we encountered on our cruise, including some that weren't our waiters such as someone in the WJ or someone at Guest Services. $$$$ is the special thank you gift. It doesn't take up space in our luggage or the cabin of the crew member an everyone appreciates cash.

[jchiefs13]

Cash is a given. I meant the small personal card or the candy bar w/ the note saying "that was so sweet" - perfect. Thanks. I was waivering on the candy thing because who knows what type of candy someone likes, but I'm sure they can share w/ friends... and candy doesn't clutter up a small room like trinkets (which isn't what I meant).

 

Thanks everyone!

Judy

[chermilo]

Cash, WOW Cards and mentioning names (complete name -- I take a picture of their badge) and where they worked on the survey at the end of the cruise.