Christmas gifts for staff?

[ksodini@hotmail.com]

cruising over Christmas. Do I need to bring gifts for staff, waiters, servers, etc? And what to bring?

[Essiesmom]

Cash is king.  Don’t try to be cute.  Their cabins are smaller than your and shared.  They don’t need anything but money to send home.  This is a very common question and the majority answer is always CASH.  And don’t be cute with $2 bills.  EM

[d9704011]

You don't 'need' to bring anything extra (cash) if you'd prefer not to.

[Elaine5715]

30 minutes ago, ksodini@hotmail.com said:

cruising over Christmas. Do I need to bring gifts for staff, waiters, servers, etc? And what to bring?

Cash and cash, please remember that crew members come from countries with different cultures and religious  beliefs.  Those who do exchange gifts would way more appreciate cash so they can send extra home not a trinket for the trash.  

[Aquahound]

Need to?  Of course not.  Essiesmom nailed it.  If you want to gift, give extra cash.  Don't try to be cute by giving $2 bills, rubber ducks, fruit cakes, or whatever other crazy ideas people come up with.  

[1025cruise]

I find most of the staff collect artwork. Their favorite is small rectangular prints of dead US presidents and other historical figures, printed in greenish ink.

[leaveitallbehind]

3 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Don't try to be cute by giving ...rubber ducks... 

Agree, as they probably have collected 100's of these in recent years cleaning the ships up at the end of each cruise.....

Edited February 5 by leaveitallbehind

[jsn55]

Every time this topic appears, I think of the people who post about how they bring their stewards little things from their home state and personal cards with their thanks.  They see this as a tip and rave about how much the crew loves the personal touch.  And I think "You are delusional, dear, ship crew members are trained to be polite, friendly, sweet, they'll toss the junky stuff at the next port."  By all means give them some little momento if you must, but tip in cold hard cash. 

[chengkp75]

13 hours ago, ksodini@hotmail.com said:

cruising over Christmas. Do I need to bring gifts for staff, waiters, servers, etc? And what to bring?

Do you do this for waiters at your favorite restaurant, or the staff at a motel?

[SoloAlaska]

Cash unless you actually know the person. I knew a staff well and knew she was about to finish her contract so I brought her a very special gift. This was my second cruise with her onboard and we stayed in touch between plus hung out together during the second cruise. Another staff on another cruise we knew she wasn’t able to get off the ship and asked her what she would like from shore. A bag full of junk food and candy was perfect because that’s what she wanted and couldn’t get.

[ldubs]

I suppose folks want to give something extra in the spirit of the season.  I think gifts are not appropriate, and certainly not Christmas cards.  I know I'm repeating here.  If one wants to give something in the spirit of the season, giving extra cash would be a nice thing.  

[klfrodo]

On 2/4/2024 at 1:25 PM, ksodini@hotmail.com said:

cruising over Christmas. Do I need to bring gifts for staff, waiters, servers, etc? And what to bring?

Considering the staff is International, I would imagine that a large percentage don't celebrate Christmas.

[ldubs]

16 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Considering the staff is International, I would imagine that a large percentage don't celebrate Christmas.

 

I don't know what the percentage might be but it would certainly be the case.   Without an overabundance of political correctness, passengers should be aware of this.   

[MBP&O2/O]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

I don't know what the percentage might be but it would certainly be the case.   Without an overabundance of political correctness, passengers should be aware of this.   

Our Indian crews did not celebrate Christmas per se, but they were paid 'double time' the same as European crews. The officers received zero enhancement or, if working 12 hour days in port,  Christmas day or no Christmas day,  no overtime whatsoever.

An Indian lass I worked with - shoreside - loved Christmas for the same reason ..............£££££ 😁

[donaldsc]

On 2/4/2024 at 1:59 PM, Aquahound said:

Need to?  Of course not.  Essiesmom nailed it.  If you want to gift, give extra cash.  Don't try to be cute by giving $2 bills, rubber ducks, fruit cakes, or whatever other crazy ideas people come up with.  

 

If you feel that you must bring food which is a very bad idea just remember that people from different nationalities eat different things.  Many of them will just will not eat the great cheese curds that you brought from Wisconsin.  Also many lines do not allow crew to accept anything that is not sealed in their original packaging for obvious reasons.  How do they know if you have added some original ingredients to your wonderful brownies.

 

DON

[ldubs]

46 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

If you feel that you must bring food which is a very bad idea just remember that people from different nationalities eat different things.  Many of them will just will not eat the great cheese curds that you brought from Wisconsin.  Also many lines do not allow crew to accept anything that is not sealed in their original packaging for obvious reasons.  How do they know if you have added some original ingredients to your wonderful brownies.

 

DON

 

B-b-b-but they really like me so I gave them fridge magnet with little fluffy's picture to remember us by. 😀

 

I feel sorry for staff who are forced to pretend appreciation for unwanted trinkets or homemade food from strangers.  

[Aquahound]

11 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

B-b-b-but they really like me so I gave them fridge magnet with little fluffy's picture to remember us by. 😀

 

 

LOL! I actually saw that happen once.  Poor guy.  He was a champ, but I know that stupid magnet went straight to the garbage or deep-sixed off the balcony.  😁

[sailing canary]

It never ceases to amaze me that some people think that service workers from other parts of the world are going to be grateful or happy with the likes of a fridge magnet or baseball cap from Schitt's Creek or some other real place they've never heard of!

What ARE they thinking???