Personal Touches

[ticketsunlimited]

Jill and I 5 years ago started a tradition of buying a box of 36 Hershey bars at BJ's to bring on each of our cruises.  Jill brings colorful ribbon and we give them out with our tips during the week.

We usually start the first day with 4 candy bars and a $20.00 bill for our cabin attendant.  We stack the candy bars, fold a 20.00 dollar bill on the top and wrap the colored ribbon at the middle.  I put my finger down so Jill can tie it tight and then she curls the ribbon to make it look fancy.  We will do this 3-5 times a week depending on how the week goes with our cabin attendant.

We do this for our favorite waiters, bar tenders, spa attendant, concierge...during the week.  THEY ALL LOVE IT!!  

 

Sometimes its a 5.00 dollar bill, a 10.00 dollar bill or a Twenty.  The candy bars with the ribbon gives it that "personal touch" that they really love and will always remember.

Jill and I always tell our Cabin attendants we are going to spread the word on what we do so that more cruisers will do this in the future and they laugh.  By all means we would love to see everybody use this idea in the future to show their appreciation to a cruise employee that made your cruise that much more special.

 

We would love to hear everyone's  "Personal Touches" that they bring on their cruises.  Dan

[Biker19]

11 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

gives it that "personal touch" that they really love and will always remember.

Some hand out $2 bills for the same effect.

[Blur]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Some hand out $2 bills for the same effect.

Lol I was going to make the same comment!

[firefly333]

I was bringing pringles and giving out multiple tall cans. Someone else gave out short cans. Also I've given out bags of candy ..didnt last month. Broke my arm and not adding any extras. 

 

Whatever you give out I think telling others just invites criticism. Everyone has their own way they think is fun.

[ticketsunlimited]

7 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I was bringing pringles and giving out multiple tall cans. Someone else gave out short cans. Also I've given out bags of candy ..didnt last month. Broke my arm and not adding any extras. 

 

Whatever you give out I think telling others just invites criticism. Everyone has their own way they think is fun.

Thats why I started the topic, to see what everyone does for fun.  

Hopefully everyone else interprets it that way.  There is no "right way" to thank the employees for great service.  I just wanted to hear about other "unique ways" people thank them for a better cruise experience.

[orville99]

We cruise (on average) every 30-40 days, and tend to always book the same ships and suites, so we get to know our cabin stewards quite well. If they are still going to be on board the next  time we board, we always ask them if we can bring them anything that they have difficulty getting either on board or in ports of call. We had one steward who was addicted to Snickers bars and since he was stil going to be working the next time we cruised, we went to BJs and bought him one of those giant bags of bite sized snickers.

We are cruising again on Sunday, and our cabin steward from our last cruise is still on board, and we are bringing him a bag full of what he likes as well.

[PompeySailor]

I give them all a10 on the survey as this is what they ask for, as it gets noticed by their boss and leads to better sweeties

Cant argue with that 

 

 

[dunrobbin]

58 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Jill and I 5 years ago started a tradition of buying a box of 36 Hershey bars at BJ's to bring on each of our cruises.  Jill brings colorful ribbon and we give them out with our tips during the week.

We usually start the first day with 4 candy bars and a $20.00 bill for our cabin attendant.  We stack the candy bars, fold a 20.00 dollar bill on the top and wrap the colored ribbon at the middle.  I put my finger down so Jill can tie it tight and then she curls the ribbon to make it look fancy.  We will do this 3-5 times a week depending on how the week goes with our cabin attendant.

We do this for our favorite waiters, bar tenders, spa attendant, concierge...during the week.  THEY ALL LOVE IT!!  

 

Sometimes its a 5.00 dollar bill, a 10.00 dollar bill or a Twenty.  The candy bars with the ribbon gives it that "personal touch" that they really love and will always remember.

Jill and I always tell our Cabin attendants we are going to spread the word on what we do so that more cruisers will do this in the future and they laugh.  By all means we would love to see everybody use this idea in the future to show their appreciation to a cruise employee that made your cruise that much more special.

 

We would love to hear everyone's  "Personal Touches" that they bring on their cruises.  Dan

DH works for Wahl and buys Hair clippers to give to the barbers on board. They have to use their own equipment, and DH will ask them what they are using, and then give them a new upgraded version.  They are so grateful!  Made me tear up when they did!

[jencruzin]

We pay gratuities in advance and tip extra when they do extraordinary, unexpected things. Oh, and we give them great surveys, too.

[wcook]

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

giving out multiple tall cans. Someone else gave out short cans.

I’d love to hand out different kinds of cans, but the cruise line won’t let me bring them on board. 

[mom says]

6 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

We do this for our favorite waiters, bar tenders, spa attendant, concierge...during the week.  THEY ALL LOVE IT!! 

Of course they do. Because there is cash involved. They are in guest forward jobs, and it is their job to smile and say thank you. 

We tip above the daily gratuities, give good reviews on the survey, and for truly excellent service will name them on the guest comment cards. At least once per cruise we will ask our steward if there is anything we can pick up for them on the next port stop. I would never presume to know what kinds of candy or other snacks the crew likes, nor impose my preferences on them. 

[ticketsunlimited]

4 minutes ago, mom says said:

Of course they do. Because there is cash involved. They are in guest forward jobs, and it is their job to smile and say thank you. 

We tip above the daily gratuities, give good reviews on the survey, and for truly excellent service will name them on the guest comment cards. At least once per cruise we will ask our steward if there is anything we can pick up for them on the next port stop. I would never presume to know what kinds of candy or other snacks the crew likes, nor impose my preferences on them. 

oooookaaay.  Cant tell if you happy, sad, or angry with this post.  Have a Hershey bar and get back to me.

[ticketsunlimited]

8 minutes ago, mom says said:

Of course they do. Because there is cash involved. They are in guest forward jobs, and it is their job to smile and say thank you. 

We tip above the daily gratuities, give good reviews on the survey, and for truly excellent service will name them on the guest comment cards. At least once per cruise we will ask our steward if there is anything we can pick up for them on the next port stop. I would never presume to know what kinds of candy or other snacks the crew likes, nor impose my preferences on them. 

P.S.  like most of us on this board we also do all of the above.  Its common sense, right?

[Elaine5715]

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Some hand out $2 bills for the same effect.

They remember but not warmly.  

[Elaine5715]

8 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Thats why I started the topic, to see what everyone does for fun.  

Hopefully everyone else interprets it that way.  There is no "right way" to thank the employees for great service.  I just wanted to hear about other "unique ways" people thank them for a better cruise experience.

Sure there is, tip well and mention crew by name in after cruise surveys

[mom says]

5 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

oooookaaay.  Cant tell if you happy, sad, or angry with this post.  Have a Hershey bar and get back to me.

Not sure why you feel that emotions are required for a rational post. And no thanks, I don't eat junk "chocolate".

[Elaine5715]

6 minutes ago, mom says said:

Not sure why you feel that emotions are required for a rational post. And no thanks, I don't eat junk "chocolate".

Nor do most crew members... quality dark chocolate is their choice.  People don't notice that there are no milk chocolate desserts on board but all dark chocolate?

[CruiserBruce]

31 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Nor do most crew members... quality dark chocolate is their choice.  People don't notice that there are no milk chocolate desserts on board but all dark chocolate?

You can speak for all crew? There is no milk chocolate on board? I find that very hard to believe. 

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Nor do most crew members... quality dark chocolate is their choice.  People don't notice that there are no milk chocolate desserts on board but all dark chocolate?

 

50 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

You can speak for all crew? There is no milk chocolate on board? I find that very hard to believe. 

 

Maybe you don't see it because they ate all the milk chocolate. 😀

[shorne]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

People don't notice that there are no milk chocolate desserts on board but all dark chocolate?

 

Thank heaven for small favours.

[ticketsunlimited]

8 hours ago, mom says said:

Not sure why you feel that emotions are required for a rational post. And no thanks, I don't eat junk "chocolate".

[mom says]

Repeating the same thing multiple times doesn't make it more impressive. So they sell more than any other candy bar. Big deal. It still isn't quality chocolate. Even worse, it's milk chocolate (gag). It's the Carnival of candy bars. That's fine if you've never experienced anything better. I prefer a good chocolate.

Edited April 11, 2023 by mom says

[mrgabriel]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

Repeating the same thing multiple times doesn't make it more impressive. So they sell more than any other candy bar. Big deal. It still isn't quality chocolate. Even worse, it's milk chocolate (gag). It's the Carnival of candy bars. That's fine if you've never experienced anything better. I prefer a good chocolate.

 

When I moved from Canada to the States many years ago, I stopped eating chocolate bars because they were awful - Hershey's especially. It was actually a good way to lose a few pounds. 😁 

 

Our treat for the crew is cash, a handwritten thanks at the end, and acknowledging them by name in the post-cruise survey. 

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, mom says said:

Repeating the same thing multiple times doesn't make it more impressive. So they sell more than any other candy bar. Big deal. It still isn't quality chocolate. Even worse, it's milk chocolate (gag). It's the Carnival of candy bars. That's fine if you've never experienced anything better. I prefer a good chocolate.

Wow,we agree on something😀

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, mom says said:

…It's the Carnival of candy bars. That's fine if you've never experienced anything better. I prefer a good chocolate.

I’ve heard it the other way: Carnival is the Hershey’s of cruise lines.