Candy for the Crew

[sjinnj]

In addition to the cash tips, I plan to give, is it OK to also give the crew candy?  My sister, who is a frequent cruiser says she does, and now my wife wants to do the same on our upcoming cruise, so I wanted to see if other folks do the same.  Just to be clear, this is in addition to giving a cash tip, not instead.  

[Gabrielle R.]

I’ve given locally made gifts along with the tip.  Every time I’ve done that they really appreciated it.   I think anything given as an extra gift is appreciated 

[neverbeenhere]

Tim Tam 

or

Cloud 9 bars

 

 

if they fit my bag. 

 

[mets07]

My personal opinion... they would likely appreciate a little extra cash even if it is $5 extra vs. candy or anything else. 

[Doug S]

I don't think the crew has much interest (or room to store) miscellaneous gifts. Perhaps a bit of candy as long it is window dressing for CASH. They will always act grateful but may not value or keep other items.  My only venture outside of cash tips was for a favorite bartender on our regular Galveston cruises. We asked in passing what he missed from home and found it odd that he missed turkey. We cruised again a few months later and brought a big bag of turkey jerky from Bucky's. He hoarded it and ate some all week. Drinks were exceptionally good that week... I consider that more of a 'friend' thing than a tip.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Doug S

[OCSC Mike]

45 minutes ago, sjinnj said:

In addition to the cash tips, I plan to give, is it OK to also give the crew candy?

 

Of course it's OK.

[RD64]

39 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Of course it's OK.

Of course it’s ok but give them $$$ so that they can buy their own candy. Put it in perspective - if somebody offerred you a bag of candy or a $5 bill, which would you choose?

Edited July 17, 2023 by RD64
Additional

[teddie]

1 hour ago, sjinnj said:

In addition to the cash tips, I plan to give, is it OK to also give the crew candy?  My sister, who is a frequent cruiser says she does, and now my wife wants to do the same on our upcoming cruise, so I wanted to see if other folks do the same.  Just to be clear, this is in addition to giving a cash tip, not instead.  

Last cruise, I brough along gift baggies I put together filled with snacks from the Phillipines.  They were so appreciated! 

 

Teddie

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, sjinnj said:

In addition to the cash tips, I plan to give, is it OK to also give the crew candy?  My sister, who is a frequent cruiser says she does, and now my wife wants to do the same on our upcoming cruise, so I wanted to see if other folks do the same.  Just to be clear, this is in addition to giving a cash tip, not instead.  

Yes, that is a thoughtful gift.   

During the restart of cruising alot of passengers were bringing crew various items they couldn't get onboard.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

I always have the drink package so I accumulate beers at the end of the cruise with my diamond drinks for the room steward in addition to my tip.  I let them know i left them behind for them to take & they have always said that they can take them & appreciate the thought.

[Mum2Mercury]

42 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Of course it’s ok but give them $$$ so that they can buy their own candy. Put it in perspective - if somebody offerred you a bag of candy or a $5 bill, which would you choose?

I think the real question is, would you rather have 

- Your tips 

- Your tips + a candy bar  

[smokeybandit]

Depending on our ports of call (and the types of stores at those stops) we ask crew members if there's any snacks we can bring them from X port.

[time4u2go]

2 hours ago, Gabrielle R. said:

Every time I’ve done that they really appreciated it.

 

1 hour ago, teddie said:

 They were so appreciated! 

In all honesty, do you really think they would let you know if such gifts were not appreciated?

[Husky1987]

Yes, I'm sure a crew member would rather have $20 and a couple Butterfingers than $20.  But I'll bet they'd also rather have $25 than $20 and a couple Butterfingers.

[Coralc]

They like snacks. We had a bartender that we chatted with quite a bit. At the last port, he mentioned that he was getting off at the last port to get snacks. On the last night we asked if he had gotten his snacks? He said no, he got busy. 

 

We always bring a lot of snacks. We had unopened Pringles, bags of Peppermint Patties, I think Reese's, KitKats and some other stuff. Unopened or individually wrapped. He was delighted. Comment was "I love chocolate!" 

 

We don't bring snacks for them specifically. But if it works out, it does. We also tip generously. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Coralc

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, Husky1987 said:

Yes, I'm sure a crew member would rather have $20 and a couple Butterfingers than $20.  But I'll bet they'd also rather have $25 than $20 and a couple Butterfingers.

I don't believe that's been suggested as a possibility.  

[joeyancho]

My wife likes to buy large chocolate bars,  like Cadbury or Ghirardelli.   She hands them out to whoever she wants.   Waiter, headwaiter, washy washy girl, Stewart. They are always surprised and genuinely appreciative.  Stewart told us he was going to save it to take home to his daughter as he was heading home the following week.   So yeah,  chocolate is great. 

[teddie]

3 hours ago, time4u2go said:

 

In all honesty, do you really think they would let you know if such gifts were not appreciated?

Look.  I made the gesture, and appreciation was expressed. It was a friendly and fun interaction.  I am not understanding your comment—do you feel I shouldn’t have bothered, since I’ll never really know if the crew truly appreciated my gift?  My intention was to make a kind gesture, and If it made even one person happy, I’m good with that.  

Teddie

[md80fan]

Can I first say I do not mean to disrespect the OP or come across as negative as that is not my intent as I am just asking questions. What is the fascination with giving employees on cruise ship gifts. This topic comes up from time to time. Can I ask do we give chocolate bars when we go to the local Chilis, TGI Fridays or Perkins. Do we give bags of chips or candy when we stay at a Holiday Inn or a Comfort suites. I promise you the waitress at the Applebees and the maid at the Days Inn is struggling, living pay check to paycheck just like the people working on a cruise yet we never ask gee would they like a snickers bar in addition to a tip. I know the majority of us have a soft spot for these workers on cruise ships when you hear about their difficult and poor living conditions back home. That is why it is even more important to just give them cash. That is why they spend 6 to 8 months away from their families is for cash. Like it was said above if they had a choice between 20 bucks and a candy bar or 25 bucks they would choose the 25 bucks. They have to always say thank you and seem appreciative they cannot say gee what a useless gift or I wish you got me something else. I know it gives everybody a warm fuzzy feeling like we are going that extra mile to give them something extra but in reality they just need and want cash. I am not telling anybody what to do and if you want to give them a bag of skittles or m and m then that is your choice. The only time I could see getting them something is if you were on a B2B or a B2B2B and you had the same person and got to know them and they said hey I could really use this. Otherwise all they care about is maximizing their money to support their family back home.

Again I do not mean any disrespect to anybody but lets be realistic just like your waitress or maid here at home they need cash not candy

[jean87510]

give them cash.  If everyone gave items, where would they put it?

Edited July 17, 2023 by jean87510

[Scottdalfonso]

3 hours ago, md80fan said:

Can I first say I do not mean to disrespect the OP or come across as negative as that is not my intent as I am just asking questions. What is the fascination with giving employees on cruise ship gifts. This topic comes up from time to time. Can I ask do we give chocolate bars when we go to the local Chilis, TGI Fridays or Perkins. Do we give bags of chips or candy when we stay at a Holiday Inn or a Comfort suites. I promise you the waitress at the Applebees and the maid at the Days Inn is struggling, living pay check to paycheck just like the people working on a cruise yet we never ask gee would they like a snickers bar in addition to a tip. I know the majority of us have a soft spot for these workers on cruise ships when you hear about their difficult and poor living conditions back home. That is why it is even more important to just give them cash. That is why they spend 6 to 8 months away from their families is for cash. Like it was said above if they had a choice between 20 bucks and a candy bar or 25 bucks they would choose the 25 bucks. They have to always say thank you and seem appreciative they cannot say gee what a useless gift or I wish you got me something else. I know it gives everybody a warm fuzzy feeling like we are going that extra mile to give them something extra but in reality they just need and want cash. I am not telling anybody what to do and if you want to give them a bag of skittles or m and m then that is your choice. The only time I could see getting them something is if you were on a B2B or a B2B2B and you had the same person and got to know them and they said hey I could really use this. Otherwise all they care about is maximizing their money to support their family back home.

Again I do not mean any disrespect to anybody but lets be realistic just like your waitress or maid here at home they need cash not candy

I get your point, and I mostly agree- I think the gesture is nice, and I think the difference is that the waitress at Applebee's goes home at night, can walk to CVS and grab a snack or toiletries, These guys can't. Yes they have an on-board store, but I think the gesture is to try to make them feel more appreciated. I'm all for just leaving  them money, but if someone feels better by adding a snickers bar to the tip, what's the harm. I don't think they want rubber ducks or knick knacks from your hometown, but a snack or two will always get eaten even if its not by them. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Scottdalfonso

[Bloodgem]

31 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

 I'm all for just leaving  them money, but if someone feels better by adding a snickers bar to the tip, what's the harm. I don't think they want rubber ducks or knick knacks from your hometown, but a snack or two will always get eaten even if its not by them. 

The cabin steward may have a food allergy or a medical condition like diabetes. Diabetics can eat chocolate but they have to be careful about how much they eat and how often they eat chocolate.

 

As we mainly cruise around Europe we leave our usual tip in $ and if we think the cabin steward deserves extra we leave some Euros, so the next time they go ashore they can buy what they want without having to get some Euros.

[OCSC Mike]

Way too much overthinking and judgment in this thread, IMO (shocking for CC, I know). If you want to give a non-cash gift along with your cash tip, go for it.

 

The recipient may prefer cash, may be thrilled with the gift, may be allergic to it, who knows? It's a nice gesture regardless. If it's something they don't want or can't have, surely they have a friend onboard who will enjoy it.

 

If you prefer to just give cash like most do, then do that.

 

The OP's question was "is it OK to give candy along with the cash?"

 

The answer is yes, it is OK to do so.

 

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[Mum2Mercury]

6 hours ago, teddie said:

My intention was to make a kind gesture, and If it made even one person happy, I’m good with that.  

Just realize this question won't make anyone happy here on the boards!  

3 hours ago, jean87510 said:

give them cash.  If everyone gave items, where would they put it?

First, "everyone" will never give items. 

Second, candy would go in the stomach.  

2 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

The cabin steward may have a food allergy or a medical condition like diabetes.

It's unlikely that the cruise line would hire a staff member with an ongoing medical condition, but -- if so -- do you think it'd be hard to give away a bit of candy in the crew area?  

[superduper123]

12 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Way too much overthinking and judgment in this thread, IMO (shocking for CC, I know). If you want to give a non-cash gift along with your cash tip, go for it.

 

The recipient may prefer cash, may be thrilled with the gift, may be allergic to it, who knows? It's a nice gesture regardless. If it's something they don't want or can't have, surely they have a friend onboard who will enjoy it.

 

If you prefer to just give cash like most do, then do that.

 

The OP's question was "is it OK to give candy along with the cash?"

 

The answer is yes, it is OK to do so.

 

 

Totally agree. I love how these threads get so far off track. 

CC is where I go for my reading entertainment. 🤣