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Gifts for crew?

JF - retired RRT

By JF - retired RRT,
in Princess Cruises

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PrincessLuver

PrincessLuver

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

And how do you think a crew member would react if they did not like, or even had an allergy to chocolate? They would still pretend to love the gift.

 

I agree they are not going to show disapproval.....it is not in the DNA of cruise ship crews.....money I am sure is the most genuinely appreciated because it shows REAL value....a piece of chocolate comes off like you are giving your pet a treat....

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Roberto256 Holiday Sharing Rare

Roberto256

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

And how do you think a crew member would react if they did not like, or even had an allergy to chocolate? They would still pretend to love the gift.

They have a roomate, and presumably friends on board.

 

I guess if one is truly worried about a food or other allegeries,

or being offended by a alcohol, a new iPhone would be a nice gift.

Edited by Roberto256
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Thrak

Thrak

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, voljeep said:

... a carton of cigarettes ... banner year for John Bender ..

 

lots of room to barter with a carton of smokes in hand ...

 

Perhaps but... I simply can't condone being a "tobacco pusher". It's a nasty habit and a nasty drug that is terrible for one's health. Nope, nope, nope.

 

I watched the Chris Wong video and, while he did mention socks, I was stuck by the idea of a sim card with data. What a freaking huge thing to receive for folks who are far from home, friends, and family. Also, he mentioned that actually naming crew members in the post-cruise survey or comment cards is huge for the crew. On one cruise (ahhh... 28 days Hawaii and South Pacific... YES!) I was amazed by several crew members who were far and away the most amazing folks I have encountered as far as crew goes. I filled out the "made a difference" card for them individually (I hear that is no longer a "thing" which is sad) but also tried to mention them in the post-cruise survey. There simply was not enough room to mention them all. I sent a fairly long note to customerrelations@princesscruises.com and not only mentioned them by name but gave specifics. At the time I didn't know if it would really make that much difference but... I received a reply from Princess that effusively thanked me for my comments and assured me that my letter would be forwarded to the individual managers for each crew member. At that point it kind of hit home how important it is to do something of this nature. As I said, I not only named the crew members but gave specific (as well as general) praise for their conduct as far as making our cruise even better than it would have been without them. These folks really did make a big difference in our cruise experience. This "cost" me nothing but a bit of time and, I believe, likely made a big difference. I not only took pictures but made sure to get the names, spelling, venues, and home countries while on the ship so I could be sure to have all info I needed.

 

I have done this on a couple of cruises where one (or more) crew member really stood out head and shoulders above the "normal" service - which is pretty darn good to begin with. It's relatively easy and painless to do and, in my opinion, is the "right" thing to do. (I do like that idea about the sim card with data though... I'll have to keep that one in mind in case we actually ever get to cruise again. (Cruises keep getting cancelled and we are both having "health issues" these days so being on future cruises is not a given at this point.)

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jimbo1683

jimbo1683

Posted
Posted (edited)

Cash is in fast decline in europe and asia. I understand not so fast in the U.S. In the UK less than 15% of transactions are cash. That is forecast to halve again within 2 years. In some european countries - scandanavia in particular - it is forecast that less than 0.5% of transactions will be cash within the next 2 years. Alongside this is the decline of the high street bank and the ATM machine meaning not only that people won't be using cash much but also it's hard to get your hands on in the first place.

 

Where are you all planning to get your wads of tipping cash in the future, particularly if you're not in a position to hand out high value notes every 5 minutes?

Edited by jimbo1683
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PrincessLuver

PrincessLuver

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

Cash is in fast decline in europe and asia. I understand not so fast in the U.S. In the UK less than 15% of transactions are cash. That is forecast to halve again within 2 years. In some european countries - scandanavia in particular - it is forecast that less than 0.5% of transactions will be cash within the next 2 years. Alongside this is the decline of the high street bank and the ATM machine meaning not only that people won't be using cash much but also it's hard to get your hands on in the first place.

 

Where are you all planning to get your wads of tipping cash in the future, particularly if you're not in a position to hand out high value notes every 5 minutes?

 

A wide variety of gift cards are out there and they are much more convenient to carry than cash anyway.....

they will still be much more appreciated I am sure than a little piece of wrapped candy or other snack foods....

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pms4104

pms4104

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't get the gift cards concept ...

 

if a crewmember is on an Asian or European rotation, actually anyplace where the official currency is not USD, is the card spendable?  How about delivery fees? 

 

Is this just a seemingly generous way to get rid of gift cards gifted us that we have no interest in using?

 

Trumps cash how?

Edited by pms4104
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c-boy "Live from...." Rare

c-boy

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

Cash is in fast decline in europe and asia. I understand not so fast in the U.S. In the UK less than 15% of transactions are cash. That is forecast to halve again within 2 years. In some european countries - scandanavia in particular - it is forecast that less than 0.5% of transactions will be cash within the next 2 years. Alongside this is the decline of the high street bank and the ATM machine meaning not only that people won't be using cash much but also it's hard to get your hands on in the first place.

 

Where are you all planning to get your wads of tipping cash in the future, particularly if you're not in a position to hand out high value notes every 5 minutes?

well don't leave us hangin' if you have the answer.

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iancal

iancal

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 10/31/2021 at 8:33 PM, brisalta said:

 

Giving Hershey's Kisses to someone that is not from the USA could be considered an insult due to the strange taste of them.

Plus, Hershey's chocolate kisses are not exactly the best quality choc that your would want.  The opposite is true.  It may be iconic in the US but that is about their only attribute IMHO.

 

Some foods have ingredients that those of other faiths do not eat.  It is as simple as that.

Edited by iancal
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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

Alongside this is the decline of the high street bank and the ATM machine meaning not only that people won't be using cash much but also it's hard to get your hands on in the first place.

 

 

I think that many of the tipped Princess crew want to send money home when they can. They can deposit cash of almost any kind into their on board account from which they can send money home if they wish.

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voljeep

voljeep

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I think that many of the tipped Princess crew want to send money home when they can. They can deposit cash of almost any kind into their on board account from which they can send money home if they wish.

I guess, "IF" they had previously declared those 'cash tips' ...

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Mary Ann 2

Mary Ann 2

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, brisalta said:

 

Exactly how are they going to get goods from Amazon delivered?

I can't tell you how exactly, but there is a system set up so they can get Amazon delivered.  I think it is delivered through the port authority to a ship's officer and they distribute it.  

 

I actually had to order a power cord for a CPAP on one cruise and had it delivered to St. Thomas.  I spoke to Passenger Services and one of their officers picked it up from the port authority (Princess gave me the address to FedEx it).  

 

I gave an Amazon card (and also cash) to our favorite head bartender last week on the Majestic and she was thrilled.  She just recently discovered how convenient and easy it was to order from Amazon and was appreciative as many things they can't get at a port and may not get the day off even if there is a port that might have it.  Plus they can use an Amazon card to sent things home for loved ones very easily (with Christmas coming up).  She also loved the treats that we got for her that had been made in her homeland.

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JF - retired RRT

JF - retired RRT

Posted
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10 hours ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

I can't tell you how exactly, but there is a system set up so they can get Amazon delivered.  I think it is delivered through the port authority to a ship's officer and they distribute it.  That's also my understanding for how it works.

 

I actually had to order a power cord for a CPAP on one cruise and had it delivered to St. Thomas.  I spoke to Passenger Services and one of their officers picked it up from the port authority (Princess gave me the address to FedEx it).  

Ah, power cord...don't leave home without it.😉

When I worked in DME in California, I'd have CPAP users on vacation at least once a month who came in to buy a power cord (that was left at home). I usually explained that (at least at the time), the power cord was the same as used by most electronics and could be purchased cheaper at places like Radio Shack. I had to charge $10+, Radio Shack was way cheaper.

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