The crew

[MoTex]

Saw this posted on FB so copied and shared, if anyone wanting ti reward their cabin staff for a job well done:

 

If you are cruising again, soon.. I had the opportunity to talk to several staff. One opened up to me, more than I ever expected. I asked him how they were doing: opposite of what people are saying, they do need stuff. Carnival does have a shop for them, but it is expensive (have you priced toothpaste in the gift shop?) He said it is the same for them. They need toiletries,  shampoo, deodorant,  toothbrushes, ibuprofen, anything you can think of because when people bring, if one can't use, they trade or share. BUT.. he said mostly,  they would love snacks! He specifically said single pack Pringles, BBQ flavored Pringles, single serve chips, cheese crackers and peanut butter crackers and there is an Asian market in Galveston,  they have noodles many of them eat. He said,  anything would be appreciated by someone. They all pass it around and and share where needed. He said the extra money is soooo appreciated, (I'm not suggesting we stop those extra tips)! but that gets saved, shared with the team and gets sent home. And as you saw, they can't go off the ship at the ports, so at Carnivals mercy for shopping.  So, if you are cruising, please pass the word in those groups.

 

 

[hurricane0226]

Maybe like a care package like we used to get when we were deployed on the navy ships, little things go a long way, snacks and stuff, I will remember and bring some on the November cruise.

[mexicobob]

Sounds like a great idea.

[Saint Greg]

I've seen this posted before and JH has said carnival is providing them with toiletries. I asked a crew member I know on Mardi Gras. She told me she has everything she needs. They can leave the ship at some ports but they can't go far. And they use Amazon but it takes awhile.

[BlerkOne]

I'm sure the crew prices are cheaper than what the passengers pay. The crew bar is. Even with discounted prices the crew might share washers and dryers rather than pay for Carnival to do laundry. I think overall it is hard to beat cash 

[MoTex]

Actually this post was from someone that was on the same ship I was. Several have commented on their post that if you ask the crew if they need anything they will tell you “no”. It costs very little to be nice and we could all use a little bit of “nice” right now.

[matymil]

3 hours ago, MoTex said:

Saw this posted on FB so copied and shared, if anyone wanting ti reward their cabin staff for a job well done:

 

If you are cruising again, soon.. I had the opportunity to talk to several staff. One opened up to me, more than I ever expected. I asked him how they were doing: opposite of what people are saying, they do need stuff. Carnival does have a shop for them, but it is expensive (have you priced toothpaste in the gift shop?) He said it is the same for them. They need toiletries,  shampoo, deodorant,  toothbrushes, ibuprofen, anything you can think of because when people bring, if one can't use, they trade or share. BUT.. he said mostly,  they would love snacks! He specifically said single pack Pringles, BBQ flavored Pringles, single serve chips, cheese crackers and peanut butter crackers and there is an Asian market in Galveston,  they have noodles many of them eat. He said,  anything would be appreciated by someone. They all pass it around and and share where needed. He said the extra money is soooo appreciated, (I'm not suggesting we stop those extra tips)! but that gets saved, shared with the team and gets sent home. And as you saw, they can't go off the ship at the ports, so at Carnivals mercy for shopping.  So, if you are cruising, please pass the word in those groups.

 

 

Good idea. Im gonna mention this to my FB group

[Moviela]

I am consistently amazed and proud of the heart felt generosity of cruise ship passengers. Now really Pringles and noodles? Please express your thanks with a warm smile and cash. The crew are people like you and I and capable of spending their money wisely. The "automatic gratuities" added to your account are fair, and distributed to the many people who are not in guest facing roles, yet make your voyage comfortable. 

[chengkp75]

A couple of points.  IF you are going to give food items to crew, and I don't recommend it, remember that as noted in the OP's post, it must be single servings.  Anything other than sealed single serving food found in crew cabins is a violation of sanitation requirements, and will be confiscated.

 

Secondly, as moviela says, there are a lot of others who make your cruise just as enjoyable as the cabin staff, or the wait staff.  Even in "normal" times, many of these "back of house" crew have even less ability to get ashore than the front of house hotel staff.  If you really want to help the crew out during this pandemic, see Guest Services, and request to speak to the Crew Welfare officer, and/or the Hotel Director to make a donation to the crew welfare fund, specifically to address purchasing needed items for the crew, if these are not being supplied by the line.  They can arrange with the Seafarer's Institute or Seamen's Church Institute in the home port to arrange to pick up the items and bring them to the ship.

[sc4125]

I have to agree that money is the best way of helping.  Though not all the crew can get off in ports, the people who do are very good at getting them what they need.  My daughter was on the Glory a few years ago as part of the entertainment staff.  Now I know this was before Covid, but even then not everyone could get off in Miami and the ones who did had a "shopping list" for those who couldn't. 

 

Again I realize this was before Covid and she was in an entirely different world than some of the crewmembers, but I too worked onboard the ships back in the 80's and everyone I knew would rather have cash than anything else. 

 

They are not forced to send ALL the money they get home.  As someone else posted, there are pretty strict rules about what you can and can't have in your cabins for sanitary and health reasons.  Remember their quarters are also very small.

 

I guess I would suggest that you talk to more than one crewmember to get an opinion or speak to a supervisor - the Hotel Manager would be a good one - to see what you can do to help.

 

I love that everyone wants to help though!!!

[mz-s]

These people aren't homeless, give them cash if you feel compelled so they can buy what they want.

[Terab85]

We mentioned something like this on my Sept 18 & 26 FB groups.  I know that the room stewards & waiters/bartenders tend to get the extra tips but we talked about the behind the scene people.  The people wiping down the railings, clearing off the tables on Lido, etc.  I bought snack size chocolates and tip size envelopes that I plan to put a few $$ and a treat to hand out to the people we see around the ship.  Might not be much, but hope that they will feel appreciated. 

[LatinaInTexas]

Personally haven't given anything other than cash/tips because of mixed responses to posts like this.

Can't help but wonder if they say they have everything or say no to needing anything it might be because they think they will get things instead of cash/tips? Not understanding some people want to give both things and cash/tips?

[mz-s]

22 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Personally haven't given anything other than cash/tips because of mixed responses to posts like this.

Can't help but wonder if they say they have everything or say no to needing anything it might be because they think they will get things instead of cash/tips? Not understanding some people want to give both things and cash/tips?

 

Put yourself in their shoes. If you worked on the ship would you rather have a $5 bill or a bottle of shampoo. It's common sense people.

[ronrythm]

So this one crew member likes Pringles? For that, you’re going to assume they all like Pringles? And that’s the problem with any food item; everyone has different tastes, no one food is everyone favorite. Including chocolate. If they have money, they can definitely buy what they like. Or send it home. They can do what is important to them.

[sanmarcosman]

5 hours ago, ronrythm said:

So this one crew member likes Pringles? For that, you’re going to assume they all like Pringles? And that’s the problem with any food item; everyone has different tastes, no one food is everyone favorite. Including chocolate. If they have money, they can definitely buy what they like. Or send it home. They can do what is important to them.

This is true and many cultures don't care for American chocolate in particular. Most American chocolate is manufactured with soy lecithin. "Soy lecithin is an ingredient used by commercial/industrial chocolate makers, to keep chocolate moving through their pipes. It's an industrial waste product made from the sludge left after crude soy oil is processed with hexane and acetone." Copyright Valerie Beck - in Chocolate Uplift 2014.

We give cash and trust them to know what they want to do with it. 

[sparks1093]

16 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Put yourself in their shoes. If you worked on the ship would you rather have a $5 bill or a bottle of shampoo. It's common sense people.

What if the bottle of shampoo they can buy is $10? I can see both sides of this argument and believe that @chengkg75, as always, has the best of both worlds. If you are really concerned about this make a donation to the crew welfare fund. 

[KmomChicago]

While onboard I hadn't heard this.  Our room crew did mention they can't get off in ports right now, but didn't suggest they needed anything, more that it's a little boring / bummer because they enjoy doing so.  Surely they get the same shampoo and body wash we get in the room dispensers, or something similar, and they must get toothpaste and any other basics as John Heald has apparently indicated. You don't have your front line crew (or really any crew) unable to manage their basic health and hygiene. That makes no sense.

 

I had bought a new bottle of (cheap) conditioner in Florida just for the cruise that I then left behind *still almost full* at my dad's place down there rather than dragging on the plane. I could have left it in the room, and after reading several posts like the one here, I guess my room attendant would have kept it or given it to someone else who could use it. 

 

Instead I assumed my junk is just junk and clutter for them to deal with so we cleaned up after ourselves and on the last night I handed her a 100 dollar bill, more than we've ever given before (we always do prepaid gratuities and did this time as well).  I hope it helps her start to make up for the months of unemployment

 

I appreciate that many people want to be extra generous, especially right now, if we can afford to.  I also think it's fine to assume that getting the business back to normal means doing the normal stuff, i.e. if you prepay gratuities there is no reason to feel obligated to run errands in port or give more. 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 Surely they get the same shampoo and body wash we get in the room dispensers, or something similar, and they must get toothpaste and any other basics as John Heald has apparently indicated.

The cruise line does not provide this stuff for free.  As noted, there is a crew store where supplies can be purchased, but also as noted, there is a mark-up to pay for the crew who work in the store, etc.  Most will not take your used products, but will dump them in the trash.  Would you take a used shampoo container from a stranger?

[Sam Ting]

9 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The cruise line does not provide this stuff for free.  As noted, there is a crew store where supplies can be purchased, but also as noted, there is a mark-up to pay for the crew who work in the store, etc.  Most will not take your used products, but will dump them in the trash.  Would you take a used shampoo container from a stranger?

Not according to the people who actually work there 

[Elaine5715]

50 minutes ago, Sam Ting said:

Not according to the people who actually work there 

Never doubt the validity of Chief's information

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

The cruise line does not provide this stuff for free.  As noted, there is a crew store where supplies can be purchased, but also as noted, there is a mark-up to pay for the crew who work in the store, etc.  Most will not take your used products, but will dump them in the trash.  Would you take a used shampoo container from a stranger?

Not a chance in heck would I use opened personal care products.  Beside the possibility of being tampered with, I would assume like myself, crew members have specific standards for personal care products and aren't children who think any unwanted product left behind is gold. 

[ninjacat123]

On 8/22/2021 at 8:04 AM, chengkp75 said:

A couple of points.  IF you are going to give food items to crew, and I don't recommend it, remember that as noted in the OP's post, it must be single servings.  Anything other than sealed single serving food found in crew cabins is a violation of sanitation requirements, and will be confiscated.

 

Secondly, as moviela says, there are a lot of others who make your cruise just as enjoyable as the cabin staff, or the wait staff.  Even in "normal" times, many of these "back of house" crew have even less ability to get ashore than the front of house hotel staff.  If you really want to help the crew out during this pandemic, see Guest Services, and request to speak to the Crew Welfare officer, and/or the Hotel Director to make a donation to the crew welfare fund, specifically to address purchasing needed items for the crew, if these are not being supplied by the line.  They can arrange with the Seafarer's Institute or Seamen's Church Institute in the home port to arrange to pick up the items and bring them to the ship.

Thanks for bringing to light the crew welfare fund!  I will check that out on my Sept 4 cruise. 👍

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

The cruise line does not provide this stuff for free.  As noted, there is a crew store where supplies can be purchased, but also as noted, there is a mark-up to pay for the crew who work in the store, etc.  Most will not take your used products, but will dump them in the trash.  Would you take a used shampoo container from a stranger?

I actually probably would take and use it from a guest who left it behind, whose name was on file, who handed me a Benjamin on her way out the door, and if I was hard up for conditioner to begin with. I can’t imagine why someone would tip me that well but then leave adulterated conditioner behind. I’m not very squeamish about something like this.

 

 I get the potential “ick” factor, however and wouldn’t (and didn’t) assume someone else would have wanted it. I took it with me and it’s in my dad’s guest bathroom. I didn’t want it thrown away and I will use it when I visit. 
 

I wouldn’t, however, bring them a care package of new products of my random choosing either. I just think it’s weird to choose for them among all the options out there. Here’s some Zest and some Tresemme and some Crest! Oh great, I use Dove and Head and Shoulders and Colgate, but thanks anyway.

[Fireworks77]

I perfectly understand that human nature takes over, and caring people such as the OP have good intentions. However, I would never get into a personal conversation with anyone I don't know well enough to to consider friend.  Even though service jobs are usually extremely labor intensive, I believe the only help that truly matters is $$$ and a written compliment sent to the cruise line.