Little gifts for service staff

[CajunLiner]

I am hoping to establish a good relationship with butler, cabin attendant, waiter, etc. from the very first. (I like being taken care of.) I read in a previous thread about giving each of them a pre-paid phone card on the first day to help establish a more cordial relationship with them. I thought the idea was nice and was wondering if anyone had done such a thing. Note: I do NOT think it is a substitute for couteous and considerate behavior toward wait-staff---just a nice little extra. Any experiences?

Justin

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;11;13;18;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
Until Galaxy Panama Canal Cruise

[debby21]

We have given calling cards on our last few cruises. We have gotten different reactions, fron bewilderment to profuse thanks because he was able to call home at one of our ports. We still do it because we think eventually it will be appreciated, and it makes us feel good.

Debby

Constellation Eastbound Transatlantic
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[Criscomia]

Justin - I usually hand the attendant/butler for my room a little money up front and let them know that they will receive more at the end. I have always had outstanding service. I also make these ceramic egg boxes and put their tips in these ceramic eggs and hand them out at the end of the trip. They not only get their tip, but a gift that was made especially for them.
Cindi

[Fang]

I normally pay half of the suggested tip up front on the first day of the cruise. I let the butler, cabin attendent and waiter know that this is just a down payment.

I have never recieved anything other than outstanding service doing this and normally tip them the suggested amount at the end of the cruise.

I think that this works very well

[Nitemare]

Heh, I've never given any of my tip in advance and I have never received anything other than outstanding service doing this!

And, of course, I tip appropriately at the end of the cruise.

[lssteele]

We have given phone cards on our past cruises..we gave one to the girl in charge of tour excursions...she was really surprized...maybe no one really thinks how hard she worked to make sure we get on and off tours..anyway, phone cards are really appreciated. Just watch the pay phones outside the cruise ships...and the lines of crew members waiting to call home. Our daughter worked for 7 years on a ship and that was one of the hardest things for her...not to beable to call home when she wanted to.

Panama Canal on the Galaxy
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[cruise freak]

On our cruise we always give the cabin steward money up front and this past Chistmas we also took phone cards from Sam's club and gave them to cabin steward, waiter, asst. waiter, and bar person and they were all very excited. They all told me when they made their Christmas call. They are really deserving people that we appreciate and a little extra for them when we Americans have so much is a very nice gesture. Go ahead and give what you can as it will give you a great feeling.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;02;28;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]  Till the Big Z
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;12;05;21;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]  Till Infinity and Beyond

[Spender Nui]

2 comments:

Tipped up front once on our only Cunard cruise. Told the cabin steward that we liked to have a lot of ice. We ended up throughout the cruise getting our own.

Phone cards bought in the USA work on very few ship destinations now. Was a good idea at one time but not a lot of value now.

[Guest]

We do something a little different. We always bring chocolates from our favorite local candy store (homemade in our hometown). We tell them it's just a little something from home. Doesn't mean we expect anything extra from them. We just want them to know that we appreciate them.

Last year when we did this, one of the bartenders brought us homemade cookies from her Mom the next day that she had in her cabin. Those are the kinds of special things that mean a lot to us and the crew.

~Host Anne

[seashells4u]

I think giving pre-paid calling cards (either at the beginning of the cruise or at the end, with their tip), is an excellent choice!
I have a friend who works on a cruise ship. Sometimes it's hard for them to even get to the store to buy them in port, so I know it would be appreciated.

[MISSYLOU]

I like the idea of phone cards too. We have a cabin steward on Infinity who is very special to us. We have bought him T shirts from a port we visit and little gifts for him to take home to India for his little girls. Just our way of letting him know how special he is. We did this on our last Infinity cruise and he wasn't even our steward. We left a note for him that we were on board and he made a special effort to come find us. He sent us home with a nice Celebrity canvass tote filled with chocolates (like 5 pounds) to give to our grandson who had been on a previous cruise with us. Some of these stewards can really touch your heart and ours certainly did.

Karen & Paul
[img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_3_23.gif[/img]
[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/124134511FOjEih"]http://community.webshots.com/album/124134511FOjEih[/url]
Galaxy B2B 10/04
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Mercury 03/04
Radiance 01/04
Summit 09/03, Infinity B2B Hawaii 03/03,Infinity 10/02,
Maasdam 07/02, Sun Princess 03/02,Maasdam 11/01,Statendam 07/01,Dolphin 1990?

[nyer]

Where can you buy phone cards? I am not a member of Sams, but do go to Costco and BJ's. Do they have them at these stores?

[zukid]

Last year we put the tips at end of cruise into picture frame in shape of 3 bouys tied together. The faces of the presidents showed in the windows. Everyone seemed to get a big kick out of them, and we found them for only $2.00 each.
People do seem to appreciate that extra mile - no matter where you find them.
Sandy

[img]http://www.animatedgif.net/sports/lmscubadivr_e0.gif[/img]
[img]

[MISSYLOU]

You can buy phone cards at any store like Kmart, Walmart, Quicktrip etc. They are usually by the check out registers.

Karen & Paul
[img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_3_23.gif[/img]
[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/124134511FOjEih"]http://community.webshots.com/album/124134511FOjEih[/url]
Galaxy B2B 10/04
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Mercury 03/04
Radiance 01/04
Summit 09/03, Infinity B2B Hawaii 03/03,Infinity 10/02,
Maasdam 07/02, Sun Princess 03/02,Maasdam 11/01,Statendam 07/01,Dolphin 1990?

[B-Anne]

On our last cruise in Sept., we also experienced bewilderment when giving phone cards to waiter and asst. waiter. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] We also gave our cabin steward and asst. phone cards asking only that we have plenty of ice!!
Like a previous poster, that request was totally ignored. We still tipped all of them over and above the suggested amounts at the end of the cruise! I will not give phone cards again [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]!!

[theawesome1]

For what I was told by our waiter or steward is money must be turned into the POT that is divided between everyone on board.

A phonecard is theirs exclusively & cannot be cashed in to go into a pot. So it is a great way to give them money exclusive to each person.

Then to disembark at a port & see them in the phonebooth using it with a BIG smile....

My logo: When we disembark, I just have to book another!

[Longboysfan]

Phone cards can be bought in lots of 12 or so in BJ's or Costco or Sams.
You can also ask them to pick their poison - as in something to drink also.

Next - Millennium - The wait begins anew. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]<applet code="countdown.class" CODEBASE="http://*************/java-sys" width="203" height="25">
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<param name="day" value=13>
<param name="hour" value=16>
</applet>
Always booked and waiting...
[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[CajunLiner]

Thanks everyone for the posts! This is really interesting.

I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and saw some four-piece boxes of Godiva chocolate designed to hold a gift card (or phone card) in the lid. I thought that might be nicer than an envelope.

Another thing I was thinking of was trying to find, maybe on-line, a translation of "please", "thank you", "hello", "good morning", "good bye", etc.,in as many languages as possible. That way I could have something nice to say, in their native language, to those who take care of us regularly. I imagine that you are likely to run into just about any nationality among the crew. Has anyone done something like this or have an opinion?

Justin

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Until Galaxy Panama Canal Cruise

[l929]

In what denominations do you buy the phone cards? How much do you give at the beginning of the cruise?

Holiday 8/89
Festival 8/90
Fantasy 1/91
Tropicale 8/91
Costa ??? 8/92
American Hawaii ??? 8/94
Imagination 8/96
Radiance 3/02
Summit 4/04

[Longboysfan]

The phone cards come in one hour parts.
The tip in advance may be about 20% of what you think the eventual total may be.

Next - Millennium - The wait begins anew. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]<applet code="countdown.class" CODEBASE="http://*************/java-sys" width="203" height="25">
<param name="font" value="lcdb0">
<param name="year" value=2005>
<param name="month" value=2>
<param name="day" value=13>
<param name="hour" value=16>
</applet>
Always booked and waiting...
[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Lois R]

Hi[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I have never given a phone card..but instead of using the supplied envelopes, I always bring "Thank You" Cards....not the "boxed kind"...but individual Thank You cards. I put their money inside the card and tip at the end. Its really nice to see the smile I receive when I hand them out [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img].

Anne....we have a local chocolate shop here...I really REALLY like your suggestion. The shop is called "3 Sisters"...the folks who own it have 3 daughters. I have used them many times...and wish I had heard you say it before...I would have brought some for my cabin attendant on the Mercury.
Well, there is always the next cruise [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Next up...HORIZON Sept 18th to Bermuda!

See My Century and Mercury Pictures at:
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[lssteele]

The crew members can buy phone cards on the ship...so we have made friends with either an ACD or Purser and they have bought them for us to give. That way there's no problem with being able to use them when they are in port.

Panama Canal on the Galaxy
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[Kathleen P.]

Why would you give chocolates when I am sure the cabin steward has their fill of chocolates - remember the chocolates on your pillow at night?

Cash is King, you can turn cash into anything you need. Since cruise ship employees have a very small space in which to live, trinkets and small tokens are most likely not appreciated, no matter how polite they may act to your face. The best idea I read so far is a personalized Thank you note with your tip in the form of cash.

Phone cards are not created equal, you may be wasting your money and giving some hard working person a worthless slab of plastic.

Why does everyone try to get out of giving cash tips/or less cash and a crappy gift to make up for the smaller tip?

Picture yourself a cabin steward, cleaning up your cabin 2X a day. Placing imported chocolates on your pillow every night, of which he can eat at will from the large stash he has - for a tip he gets a $2 bill in a small box of chocolates. WOW what a thank you!

[T-sip]

I disagree with Kathleen P's response (just above this one). True, a small gift or trinket isn't worth much in a monetary sense. But most of the servers, bartenders, cleaners on board are not motivated purely by money. They, like everyone else, like to be recognized and appreciated for what they do and for how hard they work.

So a little (but thoughtful) gift, purchased at home before leaving or in one of the ports, is a good way to make them feel kindly towards you and your party. Sure, cash is the universal gift certificate, but thinking in advance and buying or making a gift implies more than pulling a couple bills out of your wallet.

Just like if your 5-year-old kid makes you his best drawing of a turkey for Thanksgiving and writes "Dad" at the top, it means more than if your boss gives you $25 for a Thanksgiving "bonus".

[mango14217]

Kathleen no one said they weren't giving a good tip the phone cards etc are extra thoughtful gifts.

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