Christmas on the High Seas

[WNYCRUISER]

We will be sailing on the Noordam for the Christmas Holiday. It was brought up as a question on the roll call board about getting small "gifts" for the stewards. My only suggestion was to keep it small, as the crew have little room for a lot of extras. I indicated that I would start this thread to ask the seasoned HAL and or Christmas cruisers if this was typical, and what suggestions would you all have for small gifts. The first thing that came to me was international calling cards.

Also, for the seasoned Christmas cruisers, other than the decorations, what other types of special things can we expect? Hoping for a magical time. Will Santa make his way down the Funnel????

[AlohaPride]

Hi, Hi,

I think Ruth would be proud of me, because I am thinking about bringing small boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. I figured that giving the staff something from where I live would be nice...and they aren't too big. I also like your idea about the international calling cards!

Thanks for starting this thread! :D

[RuthC]

I think Ruth would be proud of me,
You have done well, little grasshopper. Your idea for a gift is thoughtful, takes up little space, and is consumable. It would work for me. :D
I agree the idea of calling cards is a good one, too.

Please keep in mind when giving these gifts that many---if not most---of the stewards are not Christians, and therefore don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday.
They will always be gracious and thankful for the gesture, though.

[Sea King]

X_mas on board is really a treat

oh yes: chances are Santa will be spotted on radar and will make a "touchdown" some where in the vicinity of the Sports Deck on Christmas Day

gifts for the crew?

really a personal decision .. remember, the cultural differences: the vast majority, if not all, Indonesians don't celebrate Christmas since I believe they are Hindu or Muslim

those from the Phillipines,for the most part if not all, are Catholic by religion

IMO: wish the crew Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday with warmth and sincerity

they'll appreciate that as much as a "small present"

save the big present for when you leave:)

[jessemon]

We will be sailing on the Noordam for the Christmas Holiday. It was brought up as a question on the roll call board about getting small "gifts" for the stewards. My only suggestion was to keep it small, as the crew have little room for a lot of extras. I indicated that I would start this thread to ask the seasoned HAL and or Christmas cruisers if this was typical, and what suggestions would you all have for small gifts. The first thing that came to me was international calling cards.

Also, for the seasoned Christmas cruisers, other than the decorations, what other types of special things can we expect? Hoping for a magical time. Will Santa make his way down the Funnel????
Befor a Christmas cruise we took two years ago another discussion like this started...it was great. The ideas were numerous.
One of the best ideas is to purchase international calling cards in the first port you visit. Ask one of the crew and they will tell you where to get them. They are cheap ($10.00) and give the crew a way to call home...on your "dime". They love it.
Decorate your cabin door with wrapping paper and ribbon and a bow...and you will be the talk of the ship. It's fun. Always do it.
As far as offending any of the crew, Indonesians were mentioned, don't worry. (Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world.) Wish them a Merry Christmas they have no problem wishing one back to you. Remember...99.99999% of the people in the world want the same thing. Raise the kids, roof over their head, feed them, educate them and hope they do better than we did. They are as tolerant as most of us.
Have a Merry Christmas:)

[refman]

i say tell them happy hollidays and not worry about the religious preference but by all means a small token gift such as calling cards,thanks to ruth some sort of chocalate as it is the international dessert and my daughters all tine favorite, the two dollar bills(several) they really did appreciate them so much, also happy birthday to you while on your cruise.

[WNYCRUISER]

Thanks refman, you had to dig for that one!!

[rburns44]

Can I buy the the international calling cards here in the states before I leave home? I mean the ones that really "do work" for the crew. Thanks!

Becky

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we used to sail at Christmas, we didn't give the stwards anything special - because of their religions - didn't want to offend them.

[AWOL]

We have been on the boat for the last 4 Christmases /New Years and will be will be on the boat this year at that time also. We have never brought the crew presents. There are over 500 crew members and just do not have the room or the money to buy them all a gifts.

Regards
Roger

[AlohaPride]

The point isn't to buy the entire CREW gifts...just your room steward and maybe a few extras for staff who are extra special to you. Even if you don't call them Christmas gifts, practically every religion has a special holiday around this time of year. Not to mention that a good portion of the crew is Filipino, and Christianity is the main religion in the Philippines.

I think even if it weren't a holiday I would still bring something from my home state for my room steward (macadamia nut chocolates, plumeria soap, kona coffee, etc.).

[hrhdhd]

Also, for the seasoned Christmas cruisers, other than the decorations, what other types of special things can we expect? Hoping for a magical time. Will Santa make his way down the Funnel????

Last year, we were on the Westerdam for Christmas, and our stop was HMC. Santa arrived by parasailing around the ship; he landed and went in to one of the lounges to give the kids little presents. We saw him later on shore; he Jet-Skied and rode a cart up and down the beach yelling, "Ho Ho Ho." It was a hoot.

[Cracker Ken]

We were on Ryndam back on Christmas of '03. Very nice. There was no doubt that it was Christmas on board, not a "Holiday", but "Christmas." No political correctness going on. Lots and lots of traditional (green and red) decorations everywhere. The atrium was decked out nicely too. Capt. Consen gave a very nice Christmas Eve message to the crowd in the show lounge during the Christmas Eve program, which was quite nice and well attended. For those familiar with Capt Consen, his rich and booming voice, with his passionate Christmas message, was quite touching and sincere. Even the Jewish community on board came to the Christmas program and a great time was had by all. The Jewish people had their Hanuka (forgive me if I spelled that wrong) celebrations and a Menorah was set up on the front desk during the cruise. For the Christians on board, they had a special midnight religious service on Christmas Eve. Santa showed up on Christmas morning with gifts for the many kids on board (and pictures, of course). This was a very enjoyable and memorable Christmas for us. If you want to see a lot of the Christmas decorations, go to my photo album page with the Yahoo link in my signature and check out the Ryndam album.

Ken

[scopewest]

Last year we did Carnival at Christmas and gave our room steward a non-religious happy holiday themed card with some cash in it (in addition to the regular tip at the end). He made a point of finding us to thank us. We plan to do the same on the Oosterdam this Christmas. Cash takes up very little space in their cabins! But for all I know what the room steward really appreciated was the card itself since it's the thought that counts to quote a card company.

[jessemon]

We were on Ryndam back on Christmas of '03. Very nice. There was no doubt that it was Christmas on board, not a "Holiday", but "Christmas." No political correctness going on. Lots and lots of traditional (green and red) decorations everywhere. The atrium was decked out nicely too. Capt. Consen gave a very nice Christmas Eve message to the crowd in the show lounge during the Christmas Eve program, which was quite nice and well attended. For those familiar with Capt Consen, his rich and booming voice, with his passionate Christmas message, was quite touching and sincere. Even the Jewish community on board came to the Christmas program and a great time was had by all. The Jewish people had their Hanuka (forgive me if I spelled that wrong) celebrations and a Menorah was set up on the front desk during the cruise. For the Christians on board, they had a special midnight religious service on Christmas Eve. Santa showed up on Christmas morning with gifts for the many kids on board (and pictures, of course). This was a very enjoyable and memorable Christmas for us. If you want to see a lot of the Christmas decorations, go to my photo album page with the Yahoo link in my signature and check out the Ryndam album.

KenHey Ken,
Last year on the Veendam the word of the day from the entire crew was Merry Christmas. I especially liked the Christmas show. That is when the crew sings. The best of all the groups were the members from Indonesia. Their performance was wonderful. No one even thought too ask what their religous background was...and no one cared.;)
The ship was decorated to the max. All the crew was happy and great. The calling cards we gave were appreciated.
Jeff/Jessemon