Gift ideas for outstanding crew service?

[wilsonzoo]

Would love to hear of any unique or fun ideas for gifts that we could present to any "above and beyond the call of duty" crew members we will encounter. With HAL's very confusing new tipping policy, I'm thinking small gifts might be a good way to insure that the person gets to actually keep what is intended to be a personal Thank You, as opposed to this "pooling" thing.

 

I've heard international calling cards; we've given baseball hats and T-shirts to rave reviews. Any other ideas?

 

Thanks!

[kitty9]

One thing you have to remember about giving gifts, is that the crew members are severely limited in space, not only in their cabins, which are tiny and they share, but in space to send things back home. If even just a couple of passengers give gifts every cruise like you have, and even though it's well-intentioned, it would be overwhelming to the crew member. While they will probably be quite nice and polite in thanking you for your gift, I honestly think that giving them a little more in the way of cash would be more appreciated and let them know their hard work was greatly appreciated. After all, once they've been on a ship for 5 months, and have passengers giving them caps and t-shirts, how many do they really need? The other idea is the phone cards. If you buy them here in the US, most of those don't work in any of the ports. You have to buy the phone cards in the individual ports in order for them to work in the local phones.

[tef43]

Cash.

 

There is no substitute.

[Nitemare]

Cash.

[serene56]

Take the 10 bucks that you would spend on gifts and hand that to them in a thank you caard.

 

I took along a disposable camera and took pictures during the week of MY staff. Had the camera developed onboard and put those pictures in the envelope along with their tip money and thank you card. They can send the pictures off to their families to see them hard at work. (smiling??)

 

I once did the phone card thing only to embarrass myself to find not everyone has telephones. They can also buy their own phone cards for a lot cheaper then what we can.

[ginag]

:) I agree with some of the other posters.....cash! Seeing the look on their face when you hand them $20.00.....priceless!! We gave our room steward and his asst. $20.00 each, I thought the asst. was going to cry! So touching!:)

 

~gina~:)

[dixiegirl]

Just a thought..........

 

How do you pay your bills with a gift??? I am sure these employees have bills just like the rest of us and cash is sorely needed. Who doesn't have debt these days?

 

If you were given a coffee mug on payday instead of your check, how would you feel? What if your boss said "Hey, you worked so hard this past week, instead of cash we are giving you a tshirt and a pen...ENJOY!" You would be so mad and you would be worrying about how the heck you are going to pay that credit card bill or electric bill.

 

Just a thought! Put yourself in their shoes next time you sit down to pay your bills.

 

CASH, CASH, CASH!!!

[sonnykub]

In addition to cash....how about giving them a break?

 

What we've done for exceptional room stewards is ask that they 'take the night off' or 'take the morning off', and the rooms of those in our immediate party.

 

One time, our steward was a little sad since we were in his home country's port, but could not visit his parents because they were too far away to visit in between taking care of the morning cleanup and evening turndown. Once we heard this, we told him that we didn't need our room cleaned that morning, and hopefully this would give him some time to visit his family. A few other couples did this as well, and it turned out he did get a short (but memorable) visit with his family. He was beaming when he got back.

[MaryPoppinz]

The question was about a gift above-and-beyond the tip not in place of the tip. There is nothing wrong with using cash for that, but to suggest that it's out of line to give a gift because an employee cannot pay the light bill with it isn't fair to someone who is trying to be thoughtful.

 

We also give the cabin steward basically every evening off. We don't need our rooms turned down or cleaned twice a day. On any given cruise, I might also not have him bother to clean the cabin (only switch out the towels) a couple of mornings. I don't do it in place of a tip, but to offer a simple courtesy that respects his need to be treated to a few minutes of free time here and there, just as one might do with anyone else one 'employed.'

[98Charlie]

There is no doubt that cash is the way to go.

 

The crew has no storage for souveniers. They can probably purchase phone cards that work better for them. They know what size they wear. Etc., etc.

 

I personally doubt that they have a lot of bills. They have chosen this line of work because they can earn in one month on a cruise ship an amount equal to a years work (if they can find work) in their home country. I do believe that much of the money is sent back home to the family. When they are able to spend some time at home between contracts and see what their labor has provided it reinforces their desire to return to the sea.

[assam]

Cash and a short note to the hotel manager describing what marvelous service Mr. X has provided and how he's really made your cruise! That can make the difference when it comes to promotion and some lines provide a bit of extra time off if an employee is named a certain number of times in the end-of-cruise survey.

 

I'm surprised, sonnykub, at the idea of a passenger being able to give a crew member additional time off as most lines make employees sign on and off the ship. That's new to me. I can't imagine a cabin steward telling his supervisor that it's okay he's late back, the guests took pity on him and said their rooms didn't need to be done. :)

[StephenJohnson]

Would love to hear of any unique or fun ideas for gifts that we could present to any "above and beyond the call of duty" crew members we will encounter. With HAL's very confusing new tipping policy, I'm thinking small gifts might be a good way to insure that the person gets to actually keep what is intended to be a personal Thank You, as opposed to this "pooling" thing.

 

I've heard international calling cards; we've given baseball hats and T-shirts to rave reviews. Any other ideas?

 

Thanks!

Cash is always the right size & colour.

[GLW513]

My wife and I sailed on the Miracle out of Baltimore in May...before we left our TA recommended Pre-Paid Phone Cards to be given to crew members.

 

At the end of the cruise we gave one to each of our wait and cabin staff. From the looks on their faces you would have though that we were giving them gold....they wouldn't stop thanking us.

[GLW513]

My wife and I placed a $20 and a pre-paid phone card into envelopes with a Thank You card.

 

When we got back we sent a letter to the cruise company headquarters mentioning each of the crew members that we felt had done an outstanding job...and it wasn't just our wait and cabin staff. There were many crew members that went above and beyond what would have been expected of them.

[GLW513]

Sorry for the double post....my wife reminded me about the letter just as I was hitting the send button!

[CaribbeanCruisesRock]

Best gift is $

[NYDee]

I don't understand the "$20 and a phone card." We give them a minimum of the suggested $3.50 per day per person. Then an amount above that depending on the level of service. On our last 14 day cruise we gave the room steward and the waiter well over $100 each for the two of us. No phone card.

[spongerob]

I take a cheap 4-cup coffee maker with me when I cruise. At the end of the cruise, I give it to the cabin steward. I had one fellow tell me he already had one, but knew someone else who would really appreciate it.

[snoopy_leogirl]

Sounds like cash is a good gift, who wouldn't want it?

[Aldeya]

This was discussed on the boards a while ago...

 

CASH!

[serene56]

You will get used to seeing the same posts over and over. New people come in here all the time. Its like a trend. But now the search is working maybe we wont be seeing the same questions. ( I doubt it) lol

[GLW513]

NYDee - Our wait staff, and room stewards in our opinions went well above the "Call Of Duty" and we rewarded them. Now as for the Lounge Waiters and Waitresses there were several that also did an outstanding job and we rewarded them. (especially one waitresses that was working during the art auctions)...she was working her butt off delivering the "FREE" champagne...no 15% for that. She was friendly and very attentive. And most importantly my wife was taken by her.

[cruisinqt]

You're right this has been discussed before. But I have talked to Ulmo since then and may have a little insight. Ulmo is a CC member and worked on a cruise ship not long ago. Ulmo said he spent most of his pay on books, magazines, chips, boxes of candy bars, calling cards, and lots of other stuff. He said you do have some of down time and the boredom almost drives you nuts. That's why he quit. Even though he made good money, he spent it all when he went into port because he was bored out of his mind sometimes. Don't get me wrong, they work 12 hours a day seven days a week. And that is for 6 month or longer contracts. But there is down time during the day when their job is done and they're waiting for more work to do. He said there's not much to watch on tv and what the ship has to offer gets old real quick. He spent most his down time reading and munching on junk food. So did most of the other crew members he talked to.

 

He said he would have killed for a box of snickers and a stack of magazines to read. He also said he spent a fair amount of money on calling cards so he could keep in touch with his family. So whether we give these people money or a gift such as a calling card, I don't think it matters. The money will probably go towards the calling card, books, magazines, or a box of snickers anyway. I plan on buying a few boxes of candy and some calling cards when we get into our port area before we sail. I like the idea of a personal gift instead of cash. I'm already giving them plenty of that. I also think some of these people are from third world countries and they send all of their money home. If I give them the candy, at least that's something they can keep for themselves and won't send home. Anyway, that's my two cents worth. Happy sailing guys!

[bec2629]

I agree that a token of appreciation is a good idea....keep in mind, no one is suggesting this in leiu of a "cash tip". I don't think there is anyone on these boards that would consider that. Anyone that would interpret their gesture as such is out of touch.

The crew members are, for the most part, unselfish people and that is why they are in the position they are, working 24/7 to help support family "back home". We always make a point to learn about the staff, showing an interest in them on a personal level. Our stewards, waiters, bartenders, enjoy talking about their family, what they plan to do when their contract is complete, etc..

If I choose to bring them a calling card, a treat from the port we are in, or a t'shirt from home, these are all just a little extra for them...personally....to enjoy...not something they feel obligated to send home or have to use on neccessities. If a staff member does their job they will, without question receive at least the standard tip, if they go beyond the call of duty they will receive the standard "cash tip" and then some.

 

For some reason this discussion has really hit a nerve with me, that some posters actually think if someones suggest giving a calling card, they mean they wouldn't tip????.....bizarre:confused:

[98Charlie]

I hope that I have not, in any way, indicated that I thought that gifts would be used in place of any standard gratuity.

 

However, in most cases, the crew can do more with the cash than with the gift. In the case of cruisinqt's friend, how am I to know in advance what candy bar he likes, what type of magazine he reads, etc? I still believe that the crew have their own network and know where to get the best deals on phone cards. A crew member may end up with more phone minutes by using the money that their guest would have used to buy a phone card.

 

The one gift that I can understand giving is a disposable product like the coffee maker or a book or magazine that you have finished. Another might be, as suggested by bec2629, something from a port stop when you have already met your steward and waiter and have an idea of what they like.