Little gifts for service staff

[brigittetom]

I agree with the last two posts. We may all rave about the pillow chocolates, but hey, they are not the best. I'd be willing to bet that a few Godivas or brought from home chocolates would be very much appreciated. I also agree with the personal touch. It is very much appreciated. I was in the F&B business for years. My favorite is a Christmastree ornament from Paris (because I mentioned Paris was my favrorite city), brought for me by someone who wanted to say Thank You. Every year, when I hang it on the tree I think of her kindness. How does it get anybetter. Yes, Cash speaks for itself. We all give the cash, no one has implied that they would give less in the end.

We only do very little outside of the Tips but we always make sure to show our appreication for the service provided. Actually, on many Celebrity Cruises we have delt with cabin stewards that didn't have the concept of ice, or I have made the mistake in telling them that I like to sleep in and if they have the opportunity to go into port, please just skip our cabin in the morning. This has resulted in our cabin only being cleaned at night for a 14 day cruise. We still left the proper tip and then some. Personally, I like the interaction with the staff. I loved our last cabin steward that kept knocking on the door as we were getting ready for dinner. He always insisted on saying a personal hello to me. He would say that he would like to inquire about the Mrs. Go figure. He got a great tip..

Zenith from Jacksonville
Feb. 13 05

[Guest]

Kathleen P ~ you've missed my point. Giving a small gift of something that is homemade in our home town has nothing to do with giving the staff their tips at the end. I've never even thought of the two of them together. For us, it's a way of letting some staff members know we thought about them before we left home. It's something from our favorite local store and they aren't anything like the little chocolates your cabin attendant puts on you pillow at night. Besides that, the cabin attendant is only one of perhaps 7 or 8 people that I might give a box too. This isn't meant to be a tip (for us anyway); it's meant to be a kind gesture. And we don't do it to "generate" good service. You're either going to get good service or your not, a box of chocolates isn't going to encourage good service and we don't do it for that reason. It doesn't affect what tip we leave at the end of the cruise at all. We tip for good service and I'd say that 95% of the time (I've been on 18 cruises now) we tip more than is recommended. By the way, we often give our gifts to people who aren't typically "tipped." A guest services staff member who has been friendly; a bar server who is personable; etc.

Lois ~ in our experience the crew has always been very appreciative of the gesture. When Amanda is along, she always let's them know they are from her favorite local ice cream store (Oprah served their ice cream to her audiene last winter during the holidays). It's a nice way to get to talk to the staff about your home and their home.


Brigette ~ you're right! I think crew do appreciate a personal touch from passengers. Sure, the cash is very important to them, but knowing that you also care about them as "people" goes along way.

~Host Anne

[This message was edited by Host Anne on 04-10-04 at 10:20 AM.]

[CajunLiner]

Thanks, Host Anne. I think that was what I meant but didn't say quite as well. I work in a hospital and, every now and then, we a have a patient or patient's family member that brings the staff a tray of goodies from home. They don't get any better care than anyone else, but they certainly make us feel appreciated. They are the one's we remember fondly after discharge, not because of the cookies or whatever, but because we feel they cared about us, too. Even when care, either of the patient or passenger, is not effected, everything is so much nicer when you like each other.

Justin

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[Guest]

CajunLiner ~ you put it into perspective perfectly! It's nice to let the crew know they are appreciated in small ways other than the tip at the end of the trip. It doesn't even have to be a tangible item. A simple thank you and a smile goes a long way, too!

By the way, thanks for all you do in the medical field, too. Hospital staffs don't get nearly as much thanks as they should. My mom was a nurse for many years and the kind gestures you referred to always made her feel truly appreciated.

~Host Anne