Has anyone brought something special for their room steward?

[cgrout78]

To all the people who think it is a good idea to give the staff "gifts"......how would you feel if your boss gave you a baseball cap, tee shirt or a key chain for your Christmas bonus?

 

 

My christmas bonus was a smoked chicken, and it was DELICIOUS! I also got a can coozie. :D

[ithaca gal]

Reading the post about wanting a gift card instead of cash reminded me of a "bit" by the late Mitch Hedburg:

 

"I never understood gift cards. You take perfectly good cash that can be used EVERYWHERE and buy a card that can be used in ONE PLACE!" Hmmmm.

 

I never understood why anyone would think a gift card is any more thoughtful that cash. A gift card is just CASH THAT CAN ONLY BE USED INTHAT STORE/RESTAURANT.

 

Having said that ........... I just came home from a cruise where I saw a guest hand a large chocolate bar to a steward as she thanked him. He nicely accepted it then, when she walked away, walked over to me and said he couldn't eat chocolate ----- would I like it?

 

So ........... it's cash, cash, cash. IF YOU REALLY MEAN IT.

[Athankfulheart]

I've read through this thread and others like it. I completely understand the "cash is best" for tipping as we are compensating someone for thier services. I believe that it would be totally wrong to think that bringing a "gift" instead of a cash tip was even remotely acceptable. That said, some people get really heated about this topic. Sometimes I see a poster mention giving a small token gift in ADDITION to a cash tip ( sometimes above the auto grat) and get pummeled for it as if they are doing something completely offensive. Thats the part that I don't understand :confused:

 

I've done auto tips, and Ive left a nice card and an extra tip because I felt I received exemplary service. So, is my Hershey bar,magazine or GC to a port restaurant really that offensive ? Thats the response that Id really like to understand better, since Ive seen it happen several times around the forum.

[paul929207]

I've read through this thread and others like it. I completely understand the "cash is best" for tipping as we are compensating someone for thier services. I believe that it would be totally wrong to think that bringing a "gift" instead of a cash tip was even remotely acceptable. That said, some people get really heated about this topic. Sometimes I see a poster mention giving a small token gift in ADDITION to a cash tip ( sometimes above the auto grat) and get pummeled for it as if they are doing something completely offensive. Thats the part that I don't understand :confused:

 

I've done auto tips, and Ive left a nice card and an extra tip because I felt I received exemplary service. So, is my Hershey bar,magazine or GC to a port restaurant really that offensive ? Thats the response that Id really like to understand better, since Ive seen it happen several times around the forum.

I don't know that it is offensive as much as it is a potential waste of money. Not everyone eats chocolate. They often have poor dental care, so candy is not good for them. They may not read or be interested in the subject of your magazine. They don't often have time to go to restaurants ashore. They may not like the food in the restaurant you select. It may not be made to the specifications of their religion. In short, many of these "gifts" wind up in the trash.

[Athankfulheart]

I don't know that it is offensive as much as it is a potential waste of money. Not everyone eats chocolate. They often have poor dental care, so candy is not good for them. They may not read or be interested in the subject of your magazine. They don't often have time to go to restaurants ashore. They may not like the food in the restaurant you select. It may not be made to the specifications of their religion. In short, many of these "gifts" wind up in the trash.

 

 

I can respect that. The posts that Ive seen don't have the sentiment of " I care about my fellow cruiser not wasting thier money" but more of a tone of "How dare you even think of doing this!" Its difficult for me to see a gift (barring a useless trinket) going into the trashcan rather than to a fellow crew member, but if thats what you've seen then I have no reason not to believe you. Thanks for your insight.

[paul929207]

I can respect that. The posts that Ive seen don't have the sentiment of " I care about my fellow cruiser not wasting thier money" but more of a tone of "How dare you even think of doing this!" Its difficult for me to see a gift (barring a useless trinket) going into the trashcan rather than to a fellow crew member, but if thats what you've seen then I have no reason not to believe you. Thanks for your insight.

You have to remember that the crew are packed into small cabins for months at a time. None of them have much room to store their stuff. If they get trinkets from passengers, even if they would have a use for them, they don't have the room.

[Athankfulheart]

You have to remember that the crew are packed into small cabins for months at a time. None of them have much room to store their stuff. If they get trinkets from passengers, even if they would have a use for them, they don't have the room.

 

 

Yep, I understand and agree, which is why I made the exception (useless trinkets). Food, magazines being consumable was more along the lines of what I was thinking they might pass around, use and toss.

[Martini Mom]

A while back, I heard that they also appreciate phone/calling cards.

[paul929207]

A while back, I heard that they also appreciate phone/calling cards.

I am sure they appreciate calling cards, as long as they are good in the countries they visit. However, they probably know where to get the cards cheaper than you pay.

[iheartbda]

I've read through this thread and others like it. I completely understand the "cash is best" for tipping as we are compensating someone for thier services. I believe that it would be totally wrong to think that bringing a "gift" instead of a cash tip was even remotely acceptable. That said, some people get really heated about this topic. Sometimes I see a poster mention giving a small token gift in ADDITION to a cash tip ( sometimes above the auto grat) and get pummeled for it as if they are doing something completely offensive. Thats the part that I don't understand :confused:

 

I've done auto tips, and Ive left a nice card and an extra tip because I felt I received exemplary service. So, is my Hershey bar,magazine or GC to a port restaurant really that offensive ? Thats the response that Id really like to understand better, since Ive seen it happen several times around the forum.

No it is not offensive but everyone has posted why it is not a good idea. Lack of space, who knows what they can or cannot eat, who knows what they need or want, phone calling cards are very iffy as to use, etc. A gift card to a port restaurant? The crew does not always have time off in port. If you are giving above the auto tip, just add to that what you would spend on something extra.

 

What I don't understand is why people feel it's necessary to give something extra other than cash. If they feel they want to do something personal, what could be more so than filling out one of the comment cards and giving them a good report? Every line I've been on has the cards and those do far more for the employee than anything materialistic.

[kitty9]

I've read through this thread and others like it. I completely understand the "cash is best" for tipping as we are compensating someone for thier services. I believe that it would be totally wrong to think that bringing a "gift" instead of a cash tip was even remotely acceptable. That said, some people get really heated about this topic. Sometimes I see a poster mention giving a small token gift in ADDITION to a cash tip ( sometimes above the auto grat) and get pummeled for it as if they are doing something completely offensive. Thats the part that I don't understand :confused:

 

I've done auto tips, and Ive left a nice card and an extra tip because I felt I received exemplary service. So, is my Hershey bar,magazine or GC to a port restaurant really that offensive ? Thats the response that Id really like to understand better, since Ive seen it happen several times around the forum.

 

A lot of posts explained the reasoning for this. Some are of a faith where they cannot eat certain foods, so I think food should not be an option. For example, if they're Muslim, they might only eat "halal", so anything else is not according to their religion. As for reading materials, nearly every single crew member is from a foreign country, and while they may speak passable English, it's probably a good bet they don't read English. As for the gift card, I'm not sure you realize that the crews don't get much time off, and when they do, it's spent calling home or the most valuable to them, sleeping. They don't have time to go dashing off to a port restaurant for a lunch. The only ones who do are the entertainment staff and bridge officers.

 

And as for trinkets, I highly doubt these wonderful persons have any idea who the Yankees, Cubs or Lakers are. They're not Americans and if they follow a sport it's probably rugby or futbol (soccer).

[janetz]

When we learned that it was our cabin attendent's birthday we bought him a six pack of assorted bottled beers. This was on the Carribean Princess and we bought the beer at port in St.Thomas. As we reboarded, not a word was said about the beer. Anyways, he was very pleased. Even the crew have their parties. :D

[nevadabadgirl]

Having spent my whole life working for tips, I can honestly tell you this. Cash is best. But that being said, we have regular guests who come to our business and sometimes they will bring us a trinket. Box of chocolates, pen and datebook, etc. It is appreciated that some thought went into it.

 

But these are regular customers who know us, and we know them. If a customer I don't know gives me something, I am gracious and accept, but generally think it is a little odd...

 

Of course, I live in a house and not crew quarters...so if I like my trinket, I have room.

 

I would say cash. And cash. And more cash :D (though I did receive a gold ring once...that was a good "trinket"...I sold it :D)

[griffy116]

Cash, treating them with respect and keeping the mess in the room at a minimum. We have cruised for many years and we always make sure we tip the recommended amount plus some extra money. We treat our steward respectfully and don't patronize them. We keep the room neat. Even on vacation, it's not necessary to act like a pig in the room. We had 2 teens in an inside room across from us on our last cruise. We privately told the steward that if he ever found a mess in the room, please feel free to "rat them out, as we will be doing the tipping." We checked the room sporatically to see if they were keeping it neat, before the time for the steward to clean up. It was spotless (if only we could get them to be so neat at home). We didn't say anything to the teens or the steward. He saw us going down the hall on one of the last nights and ran us down. He was all smiles. He said he had been looking for us. He wanted us to know what a pleasure it was to take care of us and that we had two very nice young men who were so courteous to him and who kept their room better than any of his other guests. He added that they were fine young men. One of the young men was my Grandson. He will be traveling in April and in July on a cruise. He's taking a friend who has never sailed. We overheard him telling his friend that there are 2 rules: (1) We have to leave a note or a message if we get off the ship, letting someone know where we are. (2) We have to keep the cabin neat..even neater than at home. He was saying, "you wouldn't believe what these people do for their salary.." The money and the respect mean more than you know.

[sweetnovember]

We cruised on the Holiday about 2 years ago out of Mobile. The ship was awful but the crew was terrific. Jaya?? was our room steward and I would leave him little gift bags with candy and a dollar bill. I would also write a nice thank you note. He seemed to really appreciate it even though it was not much.

 

 

We have auto tip set up and everyone will get their share but I was wondering if anyone has brought something special from home?

 

We are in Chicago and I thought wouldn't it be cool to bring a "Chicago Blackhawks" or Bears jersey or something else, put a ribbon on it and leave it on the last night. We might have a woman and I would have to bring something different.

 

Just a thought, as I'm sure the tip is enough but how great would it be to give a little gift as a sign of appreciation.

[imnance]

The posts that Ive seen don't have the sentiment of " I care about my fellow cruiser not wasting thier money" but more of a tone of "How dare you even think of doing this!"

 

I can't speak for anyone else but.....I get annoyed when a poster asks about taking a Christmas, or any other religious holiday, gift for their steward/staff and is told that some extra cash would be a better idea as not everyone celebrates the named religious holiday. Then the poster comes back and says something like...."Well, I don't care. It's Christmas. I'm going to give my steward a Christmas gift." They don't care that many people don't celebrate Christmas or that their "gift" could be an insult.

 

It's at that point that I realize that the poster doesn't really give a rat's patootie about making the gift about the steward/staff. It's about making the gift all about the poster.

 

Savvy cruisers, thoughtful cruisers, cruisers who's true intention is to thank a staff member for an exceptional job all know that cruise staff endure the long hours and long contracts for one reason. That reason is to accumulate money, not stuff, to better their family's position in their world.

[paul929207]

The cruise staff is trained to be very polite to all passengers. When they are given a gift the will be very appreciative. It doesn't matter whether they like the gift or not, they will want to to think they do.

[Happy ks]

There have been two times when a ship employee really seemed to be excited over a gift we gave them. Once was an assistant waiter, I gave each tipped employee a Christmas card and a small box of candy...she was ecstatic about the Christmas card! It wasn't religious at all, pretty generic, but she told me it just didn't feel like Christmas in her cabin and she was going to put it up on her wall. The candy was well recieved, but I was more surprised at the reaction to the card.

 

The second time was when we ordered too much wine (how can that be?) and had forgotten to pack the last bottle into our checked bag, it couldn't go into our carry on, so we asked the cabin steward if he wanted it. His face lit up like you wouldn't believe and he kept asking us "Are you sure?".

 

Other than a small token of consumables like a small box of candy, we only give cash. Let them choose what they need.

[cruzeluver]

Only difference between cash and a gift card is : with the gift card you are telling the recipient where to spend it!:p

[griffy116]

I forgot to mention earlier that these crew members get incentives and promotions according to those comment cards. If you've had exceptional service, it is truly "rewarding" for them if you make mention of them personally and by name on those comment cards. We always complete them and turn them in, and we have e-mailed the cruise line to reinterate how special a particular crew member made the cruise or how they went above and beyond their job. Cash, respect and recognition on the comment cards are always appreciated.

[Beachgrit]

Cash, treating them with respect and keeping the mess in the room at a minimum. We have cruised for many years and we always make sure we tip the recommended amount plus some extra money. We treat our steward respectfully and don't patronize them. We keep the room neat. Even on vacation, it's not necessary to act like a pig in the room. We had 2 teens in an inside room across from us on our last cruise. We privately told the steward that if he ever found a mess in the room, please feel free to "rat them out, as we will be doing the tipping." We checked the room sporatically to see if they were keeping it neat, before the time for the steward to clean up. It was spotless (if only we could get them to be so neat at home). We didn't say anything to the teens or the steward. He saw us going down the hall on one of the last nights and ran us down. He was all smiles. He said he had been looking for us. He wanted us to know what a pleasure it was to take care of us and that we had two very nice young men who were so courteous to him and who kept their room better than any of his other guests. He added that they were fine young men. One of the young men was my Grandson. He will be traveling in April and in July on a cruise. He's taking a friend who has never sailed. We overheard him telling his friend that there are 2 rules: (1) We have to leave a note or a message if we get off the ship, letting someone know where we are. (2) We have to keep the cabin neat..even neater than at home. He was saying, "you wouldn't believe what these people do for their salary.." The money and the respect mean more than you know.

 

You just hit the nail on the head so to speak! Show respect and don't be a slob!!! We also tip very well at the beginning and the end of the cruise. Something our steward told us on our first cruise was that dollar bills were greatly appreciated because they could be used in vending machines. They were discouraged from getting change into smaller bills on board. So, envelopes with lots of single bills and a note.

 

Also, the crew comment cards are like gold for them! Usually the stewards name is on a small business card sized nameplate just inside your door with their full names and home country.

 

For those wondering just how small crews cabins are watch this!

 

I also saw a youtube video showing similar cabin done "suite style" where two cabins shared the tiny bathroom. This appears to be a 2 person cabin...there are 3 person cabins the same size!

[Cuizer2]

We have auto tip set up and everyone will get their share but I was wondering if anyone has brought something special from home?

 

We are in Chicago and I thought wouldn't it be cool to bring a "Chicago Blackhawks" or Bears jersey or something else, put a ribbon on it and leave it on the last night. We might have a woman and I would have to bring something different.

 

Just a thought, as I'm sure the tip is enough but how great would it be to give a little gift as a sign of appreciation.

 

Okay, so each week someone brings a jersey from their favorite team and leaves it as a gift. So after a six month contract the room steward has 26 different jerseys. Then what? Could you transport that much extra clothing home? What would you do with the jerseys from 26 teams you had never heard of (since there is zero chance your room steward is from the USA)?

 

If you want to help them out, bring a little extra cash, say $5 or $10 and put it in an envelope with a thank you note explaining that this gift is in addition to the the auto tip.

[Marie51]

Okay, so each week someone brings a jersey from their favorite team and leaves it as a gift. So after a six month contract the room steward has 26 different jerseys. Then what? Could you transport that much extra clothing home? What would you do with the jerseys from 26 teams you had never heard of (since there is zero chance your room steward is from the USA)?

 

If you want to help them out, bring a little extra cash, say $5 or $10 and put it in an envelope with a thank you note explaining that this gift is in addition to the the auto tip.

 

Not to mention 26 different baseball caps, key chains, etc to go along with the shirts.

 

Give extra cash and mention them on the comment card.

[Distilled1]

I always tip on arrival a good to/ to much amount of extra CASH on top of the standard tip, for hopes of never ending ice and a little extra service if we meet the steward (as I know we can get messy, even though we try to keep the room clean.) and then again when we get a great Towel animal or some other nice gesture...

I had always heard that they do like DVDs as they share and pass them around .. but with bit torrent and such maybe not so much anymore.. I wonder if on top of the CASH if things like an I tunes card would be liked I see from many you tube post they seem to have lap tops and mp3 players...

 

I think its nice to add a little something extra just for them that isn't just to go home...

 

what do you all think ? an I tunes card on top of any extra in a thank you note?

 

I love the post card idea with the cash just to say its from us ;)

when we did Disney we printed custom tip envelopes for each day filled with $$$ and a hand written note of thanks *** and we were quite young at the time LOL***

[Marie51]

I always tip on arrival a good to/ to much amount of extra CASH on top of the standard tip, for hopes of never ending ice and a little extra service if we meet the steward (as I know we can get messy, even though we try to keep the room clean.) and then again when we get a great Towel animal or some other nice gesture...

I had always heard that they do like DVDs as they share and pass them around .. but with bit torrent and such maybe not so much anymore.. I wonder if on top of the CASH if things like an I tunes card would be liked I see from many you tube post they seem to have lap tops and mp3 players...

 

I think its nice to add a little something extra just for them that isn't just to go home...

 

what do you all think ? an I tunes card on top of any extra in a thank you note?

 

I love the post card idea with the cash just to say its from us ;)

when we did Disney we printed custom tip envelopes for each day filled with $$$ and a hand written note of thanks *** and we were quite young at the time LOL***

 

I never tip ahead and I always get never ending ice and great towel animals in addition to great service. I do give extra on the last day in addition to the suggested amount.

You don't tip the server when you first arrive at a restaurant, do you?