Jump to content

Gratitude of Cabin Stewards


Projunior
 Share

Recommended Posts

Our eighth Celebrity cruise is coming up this Saturday. It will be our thirty-first cruise in all (others on Holland, Princess, RCI, NCL, MSC, NCL,Crystal, Costa). For every one of our cruises, on every cruise line, I have, without fail, left the steward what I consider a generous cash tip, beyond the auto-billed daily service charge, in our cabin on the last night of the cruise before we head off for late-seating dinner. This means we never see the steward that night as we don’t get back to the cabin until long after his/her duties are complete. Typically we depart the ship early the next morning and rarely see him/her then.

 

On our 30 cruises, we have received an expression of thanks exactly one time. One steward wrote a nice thank you note to us and left it on the bed. On those rare occasions when we do see the steward on departure morning, we have received a friendly, “Have a nice trip home”, but no specific expression of thanks for the tip.

 

I never cease to be perplexed by this. I have always thought that stewards, for no other reason except their own self-interest and perhaps that of their co-workers, would indulge those passengers who are thoughtful enough to tip. But that has been anything but my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What an odd sentiment. Isn't it selfish on your part to expect praise? Do you thank your boss for giving you a pay check on every pay day?

 

For the record, I just got off HAL two months ago and the steward made a point of thanking me for the tip I had left the night before. Most do. Some don't. Many probably find it hard to remember who did what. They see hundreds of faces week in and week out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can understand where OP is coming from...when you give someone something you don't have to you like to have receipt acknowledged otherwise you wonder if it actually went to the person intended. I usually leave a tip on the bed every morning when I go to breakfast and steward has always thanked me either in person or with a note that just says "thank you".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rarely on any of my RC or X cruises, have I not been able to find my cabin crew members, on the final evening of the cruise. If you want beaming appreciation, hand them the tip in person -- and be sure to tell them what a great job they did. By simply leaving your extra tip in the room, your cabin crew may just think that you wanted to be 'discreet' with your generosity. :halo:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our eighth Celebrity cruise is coming up this Saturday. It will be our thirty-first cruise in all (others on Holland, Princess, RCI, NCL, MSC, NCL,Crystal, Costa). For every one of our cruises, on every cruise line, I have, without fail, left the steward what I consider a generous cash tip, beyond the auto-billed daily service charge, in our cabin on the last night of the cruise before we head off for late-seating dinner. This means we never see the steward that night as we don’t get back to the cabin until long after his/her duties are complete. Typically we depart the ship early the next morning and rarely see him/her then.

 

On our 30 cruises, we have received an expression of thanks exactly one time. One steward wrote a nice thank you note to us and left it on the bed. On those rare occasions when we do see the steward on departure morning, we have received a friendly, “Have a nice trip home”, but no specific expression of thanks for the tip.

 

I never cease to be perplexed by this. I have always thought that stewards, for no other reason except their own self-interest and perhaps that of their co-workers, would indulge those passengers who are thoughtful enough to tip. But that has been anything but my experience.

I view additional gratuity as a way of saying thank you for great service. I don't expect to get a thank you for expressing a thank you. That's just me.

CM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I give an additional gratuity to my stateroom attendant (or any other crew member) I place it, along with a personal note of thanks, within a sealed envelope with the person's name on it. I hand the sealed envelope directly to the intended crew member the day before disembarkation. In this way, I know the intended recipient has the envelope, and I've given them the opportunity to open it at a time when they have privacy. Though I often receive thanks, I don't expect or require it.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see where the OP is coming from too... to some extent, this just affirms the right person got the gratuity. It is very normal for a housekeeper at a hotel to write a quick “thanks.” But apparently not for the OP?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If cabin steward provided superb service we seek him/her out last morning to deliver a big thank you, the envelope and a handshake. They appreciate being recognized for a job well done. If service was merely ok we just leave a lighter envelope in the cabin and depart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We also give tips on the very last day. We leave it in our cabin for the room steward, and we give extra in the dining room as we are leaving.

 

We do this on purpose because we do NOT want praise and thanks.

 

When you go to a restaurant, and leave a tip, do you hang around after paying so that the waiter can come back and thank you?

 

We pay our bill, tip added to credit card slip, and leave.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I give an additional gratuity to my stateroom attendant (or any other crew member) I place it, along with a personal note of thanks, within a sealed envelope with the person's name on it. I hand the sealed envelope directly to the intended crew member the day before disembarkation. In this way, I know the intended recipient has the envelope, and I've given them the opportunity to open it at a time when they have privacy. Though I often receive thanks, I don't expect or require it.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

This is exactly what we do. I find tipping a bit awkward but so appreciate the efforts of hard working crew, that we are happy to leave extra. The crew member has always said thank you and tucked the envelope away in a pocket (or at the Martini bar,in the tip bowl) to look at later. I wouldn’t want them them to mention it again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also agree that expecting them to write notes, in their non-native language, to leave behind for people who tip extra on their busiest night on the ship is absolutely unrealistic. We often tip extra, and we usually write a short note, and hand the extra to them (room stewards, waiters, etc..) personally in an envelope either that night or the next morning. We have, without fail and without exception, received profusive thanks every time we have done this. In fact, when we have gone back and sailed on the same ship within a few months we have been welcomed back by crew members with warm hugs and smiles. I hope part of this is the fact we always treat them well, but I have to believe also that they appreciate and in fact even remember those who were generous to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We give additional tips directly to the crew member intended in a sealed envelope and we write a note of appreciation. Every one of them had thanked us gratefully. It is not considered good etiquette to thank someone for a thank you. In addition, that last evening/day, as had already been mentioned, the crew are their busiest, transporting luggage to the proper place and preparing the ship for a quick turnover. We know the majority of passengers arrive for their cruise as early as possible, and depart as late as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As OP, may I clarify, please? I would never expect a composed formal thank you "note". That would be silly. For the record, the one, and only, steward that ever left an acknowledgement, did so by writing exactly three words on the cabin stationary: "Thank you" followed by his first name. A act of graciousness, or was it not? The simple laws of probability might predict that more than one steward out of the 30 we have had could have managed to fit that seemingly less than onerous task into their "busiest nights".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I commend the OP for continuing to reward the hard work of the staff even tho only one in thirty has responded in the manner they deem the best. For me, I find it more satisfying to make a personal presentation, including a hand written “thank you”on cards we bring along. I have always received gracious acknowledgment. Perhaps you could try this next time and see if you are more satisfied.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As OP, may I clarify, please? I would never expect a composed formal thank you "note". That would be silly. For the record, the one, and only, steward that ever left an acknowledgement, did so by writing exactly three words on the cabin stationary: "Thank you" followed by his first name. A act of graciousness, or was it not? The simple laws of probability might predict that more than one steward out of the 30 we have had could have managed to fit that seemingly less than onerous task into their "busiest nights".

 

I agree. In fact, i've stopped eating in landbased restaurants because of the dearth of thank you notes I received from in-grateful waitstaff. Serfs these days...just no class whatsoever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm siding with the hand the steward the tip in person with a thank you and a hand shake. Now my issue is we usually do b2b or b2b2b and always tip for both cruises in person on the last night. They seem to appreciate that more. I always figured that after two 14 or 17 day cruises that they deserve that for keeping me in line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What an odd sentiment. Isn't it selfish on your part to expect praise? Do you thank your boss for giving you a pay check on every pay day?

 

 

 

I bet they would thank the boss if the boss added a nice, big tip to their paycheck.

 

The OP isn't writing the stewards paycheck. They are giving an *additional* amount. That's far different than thanking the boss for the standard paycheck IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feh. If you really want to do the Cabin Stewards a real favor... sent a nice complimentary letter to the CEO of the cruise line including your reservation number, your cabin number, and the name of the room steward. That letter gets forwarded to the Captain of the ship and down the line, and also gets added to that Steward's permanent employment file. This, in turn, opens up better opportunities for that employee.

 

And a pox to those passengers who go out of their way to make sure gratuities are removed from their final bill and don't bother leaving a gratuity. Those cruise employees are on multi-month contracts, and work very hard for what they earn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OP, I think it's a matter of perspective. Do you feel you're leaving a gift, or a thank you for their service? If the former, I can see why you would expect acknowledgement / gratitude. If the latter (which is how I personally view extra tipping), it's not necessary and could even come off awkward. So maybe if you try to shift your perspective, you'll feel less frustrated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep in mind that you are asking them to write notes to persons in all the cabins they are responisble for on the day when they are the absolute busiest.

Also remember that English is not the first language of many crew and while they can speak understandable English, they feel very unsure of their writing skills.

On the other side of the coin: We always write letters of appreciation to anyone who does anything spacial for us. We always bring a stack of "Thank You" notes. I know several who do the same, but I think that those who do are in the minority.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...