socialsea Posted September 11, 2014 #1 Share Posted September 11, 2014 So other than tipping extra, has anyone ever done something nice for your cabin steward? On our last cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, we had an excellent cabin steward. He took such good care of us in every manner. We chatted with him every chance we could. The morning we were docked in St. Thomas, we were leaving our cabin to go for breakfast and we ran into him. He was so excited to be able to leave the ship and have lunch with a friend in St. Thomas. But he had to get all his rooms done before he could go. At the same time, my husband & I both said, " Well, you don't have to clean our room today." He was so happy I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He said we were the third couple that told him not to clean their room. My husband went back into our room and gave him a $20 and told him to have lunch on us. He gave us both a big hug. We made his day and he certainly made ours!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCruise Posted September 11, 2014 #2 Share Posted September 11, 2014 So other than tipping extra, has anyone ever done something nice for your cabin steward? On our last cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, we had an excellent cabin steward. He took such good care of us in every manner. We chatted with him every chance we could. The morning we were docked in St. Thomas, we were leaving our cabin to go for breakfast and we ran into him. He was so excited to be able to leave the ship and have lunch with a friend in St. Thomas. But he had to get all his rooms done before he could go. At the same time, my husband & I both said, " Well, you don't have to clean our room today." He was so happy I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He said we were the third couple that told him not to clean their room. My husband went back into our room and gave him a $20 and told him to have lunch on us. He gave us both a big hug. We made his day and he certainly made ours!! Nice story! Some times it is the little things that makes their day. For example, we always tell our steward "no towel animals--enjoy your time off rather than making towel animals for us." The stewards we've said this to always say, "no, no" until we insist, then they are so happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_trisha Posted September 11, 2014 #3 Share Posted September 11, 2014 So other than tipping extra, has anyone ever done something nice for your cabin steward? On our last cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, we had an excellent cabin steward. He took such good care of us in every manner. We chatted with him every chance we could. The morning we were docked in St. Thomas, we were leaving our cabin to go for breakfast and we ran into him. He was so excited to be able to leave the ship and have lunch with a friend in St. Thomas. But he had to get all his rooms done before he could go. At the same time, my husband & I both said, " Well, you don't have to clean our room today." He was so happy I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He said we were the third couple that told him not to clean their room. My husband went back into our room and gave him a $20 and told him to have lunch on us. He gave us both a big hug. We made his day and he certainly made ours!! I once had a dining room waiter tell me how he used to be XXXXXXX and it was three different professions. I didn't give him extra money nor ask him to not serve me dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted September 11, 2014 #4 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Our best cabin attendant was one we never, ever saw! Don't know if it was a man or woman, but our cabin was always perfect! Extra tip there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julesbeara Posted September 11, 2014 #5 Share Posted September 11, 2014 We brought a pull up Christmas tree last year on the Jewel for our B2B. I had planned and did leave it for our Room Steward. She was going to hang it from the ceiling in her cabin since they don't have a lot of room. A few years ago we had an excellent Room Steward named Karen on the Allure. We were in a Crown Loft Suite (upgrade) and she did an amazing job. Asked and got her favorite cupcakes as a special treat for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addictedtocruising Posted September 11, 2014 #6 Share Posted September 11, 2014 We just had an awesome attendant on our 5 night Explorer cruise a couple weeks ago! 3rd day I gave him $5.00 tucked inside a WOW card, the last day we gave him an extra $20. I also made sure I gave him a "10" on the survey and mentioned him by name in the comments. On another cruise we offered our attendant a donut in the hallway and he said he couldn't accept it there, so we left a plate of them in the stateroom for him the next day :) They don't get the "luxuries" like we do. When we used to get chocolates on the pillows, we had a great barmaid in the pub and I asked if she wanted them. She was overjoyed when I brought her a whole bag at the end of the week :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petel Posted September 11, 2014 #7 Share Posted September 11, 2014 So other than tipping extra, has anyone ever done something nice for your cabin steward? On our last cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, we had an excellent cabin steward. He took such good care of us in every manner. We chatted with him every chance we could. The morning we were docked in St. Thomas, we were leaving our cabin to go for breakfast and we ran into him. He was so excited to be able to leave the ship and have lunch with a friend in St. Thomas. But he had to get all his rooms done before he could go. At the same time, my husband & I both said, " Well, you don't have to clean our room today." He was so happy I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He said we were the third couple that told him not to clean their room. My husband went back into our room and gave him a $20 and told him to have lunch on us. He gave us both a big hug. We made his day and he certainly made ours!! IMHO: Besides extra $$tip one of the nicest things you can do for your attendant is keep the room picked up. Some rooms look like a bomb went off with stuff thrown on every horizontal service. :eek:Another consideration is to put the make up room sign out whenever you are gone so he/she will know you are out. :cool: We always ask if there is anything we can pick up for them in port. Sometimes we actually get an answer. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_trisha Posted September 11, 2014 #8 Share Posted September 11, 2014 So other than tipping extra, has anyone ever done something nice for your cabin steward? On our last cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, we had an excellent cabin steward. He took such good care of us in every manner. We chatted with him every chance we could. The morning we were docked in St. Thomas, we were leaving our cabin to go for breakfast and we ran into him. He was so excited to be able to leave the ship and have lunch with a friend in St. Thomas. But he had to get all his rooms done before he could go. At the same time, my husband & I both said, " Well, you don't have to clean our room today." He was so happy I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He said we were the third couple that told him not to clean their room. My husband went back into our room and gave him a $20 and told him to have lunch on us. He gave us both a big hug. We made his day and he certainly made ours!! Hmm, my first story (2nd was about our multi-career waiter) went poof so here it is: We have done similiar. We have had a few really good to great stewards and told them to either take the day off or just give us fresh towels. They certainly seemed to enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirl Posted September 11, 2014 #9 Share Posted September 11, 2014 We were on the Jewell for Easter this year I took a bag of chocolates along and gave to the room attendant on Easter. he made a point to thank us and was very appreciative, he also said they remember the guest who do special things for them. We will be cruising on the Liberty in 11 days! As a perk from our travel agent we will be receiving a bottle of champagne as we don't drink and don't know what to do with it I'm thinking about giving it to the room attendant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LMaxwell Posted September 11, 2014 #10 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Depending on our plans for the day, if we are just walking around a port area, I will ask if they need a toiletry type of item that we can pick up from a local store or pharmacy. Their time off ship is very, very limited and some weeks may not have any time off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinman66 Posted September 11, 2014 #11 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I've given them gifts and alcohol I've bought in port or on board That's always gone down well Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberTag Posted September 11, 2014 #12 Share Posted September 11, 2014 These are some great ideas! Thanks so much for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsjosh Posted September 11, 2014 #13 Share Posted September 11, 2014 While not a room attendant, we had a couple bartenders(who happened to be roommates) that treated us very well all week. Well it turned out that Cozumel was their day off the boat and we ran into them at Carlos and Charlie's. Needless to say we returned the favor and then some. One didn't make his shift that night and the other should have skipped his. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderousBlue Posted September 11, 2014 #14 Share Posted September 11, 2014 following for some more great ideas :)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnative Posted September 11, 2014 #15 Share Posted September 11, 2014 If you tell the cabin attendant not to clean your room, be sure to leave the "Do Not Disturb" sign in your door. Otherwise the cabin can be inspected and it will look like he wasn't doing his/her job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windjamming Posted September 11, 2014 #16 Share Posted September 11, 2014 IMHO: Besides extra $$tip one of the nicest things you can do for your attendant is keep the room picked up. Some rooms look like a bomb went off with stuff thrown on every horizontal service. :eek: I agree. Our stateroom attendant on the Explorer last week thanked us for keeping our room so neat. It made his job a lot easier, as he had 15 rooms. He was awesome. Quick, friendly, and remembered little details like taking out the suitcases on the last day that he had placed under the bed earlier in the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guemmerzeng Posted September 11, 2014 #17 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I also made sure I gave him a "10" on the survey and mentioned him by name in the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leisuretraveler223 Posted September 11, 2014 #18 Share Posted September 11, 2014 He was so excited to be able to leave the ship and have lunch with a friend in St. Thomas. He was so happy I thought I saw a tear in his eye. Sorry to be cynical, but sounds like he oversold it to me. It's not like these guys are locked on the ship for months at a time. They get regular days and times off. He said we were the third couple that told him not to clean their room. So rather than do the job he signed up for, and is paid for, he was guilting paying guests into allowing him to skip out on his duties? I might get flamed for this, but I just don't think this is suitable in any kind of vocation. DO YOUR JOB. Do it to the best of your abilities. And don't bring your personal "baggage" into play. Sounds to me like he just didn't feel like working that way and knew how to get out of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slyster Posted September 11, 2014 #19 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Sorry to be cynical, but sounds like he oversold it to me. It's not like these guys are locked on the ship for months at a time. They get regular days and times off. So rather than do the job he signed up for, and is paid for, he was guilting paying guests into allowing him to skip out on his duties? I might get flamed for this, but I just don't think this is suitable in any kind of vocation. DO YOUR JOB. Do it to the best of your abilities. And don't bring your personal "baggage" into play. Sounds to me like he just didn't feel like working that way and knew how to get out of it... It never surprises me what I see on these boards. I just don't get sometimes what goes through peoples heads. You don't know how hard this guy works, in fact you don't know this guy at all. Not only cynical, but wow...the assumptions...Judge and Jury. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayehall Posted September 11, 2014 #20 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Just suck the life out of me!!!! Where is the world going when having the pleasure to be kind to someone, gets that response???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slyster Posted September 11, 2014 #21 Share Posted September 11, 2014 where's the like button!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCruise Posted September 11, 2014 #22 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Sorry to be cynical, but sounds like he oversold it to me. It's not like these guys are locked on the ship for months at a time. They get regular days and times off.So rather than do the job he signed up for, and is paid for, he was guilting paying guests into allowing him to skip out on his duties? I might get flamed for this, but I just don't think this is suitable in any kind of vocation. DO YOUR JOB. Do it to the best of your abilities. And don't bring your personal "baggage" into play. Sounds to me like he just didn't feel like working that way and knew how to get out of it... Another WOW. Either you do not travel much at all or you never have any interaction with crew on a cruise ship. There is no other answer for your horribly misinformed post. Yes, they do get regular time off. Usually 12-14 hours a day or so. They usually work the other 10-12 hours a day. every day. Yes, they get regular days off. When they leave the ship at the end of their contract. They do NOT have days off during their contract, which can last 7 to 9 months of those 12 hour days. I'd love to know the day that your steward didn't clean your room because it was their day off. Or your waiter didn't serve you dinner because he was enjoying his day off. Doesn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakemurraykid Posted September 11, 2014 #23 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Yes, we have done something similar but on Holland America. On our last Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam, my hubby and I had arranged to renew our wedding vows. I had bought a new and beautiful necklace and earrings to match to wear just for this occasion. Our suite attendant was fabulous and he had mentioned that after this particular cruise he was going home to get married. The day before the cruise I wrapped the necklace/earrings, got him to come to our suite, and gave that to him to give to his fiance. He was overjoyed and said there was no way she could afford to purchase anything like that. He gave me a big hug and couldn't stop thanking me. It was such a wonderful feeling to be able to do something for someone less fortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucks724 Posted September 11, 2014 #24 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Sorry to be cynical, but sounds like he oversold it to me. It's not like these guys are locked on the ship for months at a time. They get regular days and times off. So rather than do the job he signed up for, and is paid for, he was guilting paying guests into allowing him to skip out on his duties? I might get flamed for this, but I just don't think this is suitable in any kind of vocation. DO YOUR JOB. Do it to the best of your abilities. And don't bring your personal "baggage" into play. Sounds to me like he just didn't feel like working that way and knew how to get out of it... I signed up to sit at this desk from 7:30 - 4 Monday through Friday, but if my boss comes around and says "we're closing the office at 2", bet your a** I'm grabbing my stuff and hitting the door. Yes, I signed up for a 5 day, 37.5 hour per week job, but if someone gives me a "pass" on it once in a while, I'm snatching that pass and hitting the deck. What is WRONG with you? And these people work harder than we could ever imagine. Cleaning up after US! Maybe you should stay home - and do the job YOU signed up to do. Gosh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted September 11, 2014 #25 Share Posted September 11, 2014 That sounds like a nice gesture. Many times when this topic comes up, people mention actual physical gifts and we get reminded how little storage space each crew member has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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