Gifts for Room Steward

I am looking for ideas of gifts to give to the room steward when we board or during the cruise. We always give them a cash tip every evening and at the end of the cruise in addition to the automatic tips. I just thought it might be nice to bring something.

Any ideas?

I am looking for ideas of gifts to give to the room steward when we board or during the cruise. We always give them a cash tip every evening and at the end of the cruise in addition to the automatic tips. I just thought it might be nice to bring something.

 

Any ideas?

Cabin stewards want cash. Period. If you want to give something more, give more cash. And a personal heartfelt thank you for a job well done.

I spoke with a friend who worked for a cruise line. She said " believe it or not they like to receive smelly soaps and toiletries". Hope this helps

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They have tiny staterooms and often shared. I understand wanting to give something special, something extra, but they simply don't have the room. Perhaps learn a simple origami fold, i.e. a swan and create for him/her a Cash Animal. They will get a smile and the cash they want all in one.

I don't bring "gifts" since they have such a small area on the ship. What I do is bring nice thank you cards and write a personal thank you note in it and include the extra tip that I am giving. Remember their full name and be sure to go on the website after the cruise and send in a note to guest services telling them about the service you received. I have also seen posts on John Heald's Facebook page telling about great service from those on ships. He usually posts back that he will forward the note on to the ship.

I believe that these things are more helpful to them in the long run. You never know what tastes they have to bring candy or things like that. You could also ask them if they need anything particular if you are going to be shopping when onshore.

The best thing to do, if you really want to give a gift beyond an extra tip, is ask them if there is anything they need. The staff and crew are limited in their days off and most do not get off of the ship beyond 1-2 times in a month. The room steward may like toiletries, a phone card, etc. I was fortunate that I got 1 day off a week when I was singing on cruise ships, but that is not the norm:)

Honestly, what they really want and appreciate most is CA$H!

LuLu

~~~

Cash

I do not understand this urge to bring gifts to employees on ships?? Some people talk about giving out candy as if these people were little children at Halloween!

These are adults who make their living doing honest work and want to get paid and tipped for it!

IF you wouldn't bring a "little gift" to a hotel employee in your home town then don't bring it on the ship either.

It is quite different if you have a relationship with the same people over time but to just bring some random doodad is to me just patronizing!

Cash. I like the origami idea, that's a cute way to do it.

NOT the gold dollar coins or $2 bills, though. They are hard to spend and not readily accepted at most of the places they shop. I don't know how hard it is for them to cash in a casino chip, since the casino is strictly off limits for crew -- they can't be there unless they're working, and definitely can't play.

Never a t-shirt or magnet or other item that doesn't have a significance to them... they simply don't have room to store the random items.

They have tiny staterooms and often shared. I understand wanting to give something special, something extra, but they simply don't have the room. Perhaps learn a simple origami fold, i.e. a swan and create for him/her a Cash Animal. They will get a smile and the cash they want all in one.

One cruise I made small origami "wallets" to put the cash in.

Don't forget to mention them in your post cruise survey as well.

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Calling card.

The best thing to do, if you really want to give a gift beyond an extra tip, is ask them if there is anything they need. The staff and crew are limited in their days off and most do not get off of the ship beyond 1-2 times in a month. The room steward may like toiletries, a phone card, etc. I was fortunate that I got 1 day off a week when I was singing on cruise ships, but that is not the norm:)

I cringed when I saw the title of the post. Thank you so much for a constructive idea.

Aside from giving an extra tip to your room steward, there is something else that you can do that would be far more appreciated than anything else you could give him/her. Get the full name of your room steward and write a letter to Carnival's Guest Services and let them know what an outstanding job your room steward did. Promotions are based on job performance, and letters of praise can mean a lot when it's time for job evaluations.;)

Aside from giving an extra tip to your room steward, there is something else that you can do that would be far more appreciated than anything else you could give him/her. Get the full name of your room steward and write a letter to Carnival's Guest Services and let them know what an outstanding job your room steward did. Promotions are based on job performance, and letters of praise can mean a lot when it's time for job evaluations.;)

THIS!!!! Time and time again, when asked what I could do for them above and beyond an extra cash tip, they all say to write a letter or note or fill out a job well done card or use their full name on the end of cruise survey if they have done a really great job. It helps them earn promotions and raises. And that is what they really want.

I am looking for ideas of gifts to give to the room steward when we board or during the cruise. We always give them a cash tip every evening and at the end of the cruise in addition to the automatic tips. I just thought it might be nice to bring something.

 

Any ideas?

More cash.

The best gift you can give anyone for good service is to write a letter to their boss or supervisor.

Long term, that's a gift that will go much, much further than an envelope with a $10 bill stuffed inside. ;)

Give the gift of friendship. Exchange e-mail addresses and keep in touch for life. Nothing better than that.

I am looking for ideas of gifts to give to the room steward when we board or during the cruise. We always give them a cash tip every evening and at the end of the cruise in addition to the automatic tips. I just thought it might be nice to bring something.

 

Any ideas?

Additional cash. They only want the green stiuff. Anything else will most likely get thrown away, with a smile..

Just think of it like at you job on bonus day, your boss hands you a stuffed elephant.

A card with cash in it. They love it and will never forget you.

Definitely more cash. I do like the idea of a calling card too. that's nice. I made sure to get the full names of anyone who did a really good job or went above and beyond. Then I wrote a nice email and mentioned each of them. Hopefully they will get recognized in some small way...they work hard. I can't imagine doing that work.

On our last cruise we met a nice bartender in the casino bar on the glory she was so sweet. Mentioned she worked 2-11pm almost every day and her husband worked upstairs at the iguana bar. So when we were up there we went up to tell him how nice she was and how friendly she was. He liked that. It's the little things.

I agree that cash is probably the best idea for the stewards, etc. And just as important, maybe even more so, is an email to their supervising department mentioning them by name and explaining how much their work contributed to your enjoyment of the cruise.

Thanks for everyone's input. I guess I have been doing the right thing all along. Cash and an comment/letter on the excellent service will continue.

Happy sailing all.

Calling cards are. to universal and sometimes cannot be used in whatever port they are lucky enough to have the day off in. Also, they often skype and FaceTime and rely less on calling cards.

Cash. It's what they send home to the families, just like we provide for our families. The farthest I've gone is to change dollars for euro in Halifax for a waiter who was ending his contract and going home to The Ukraine in a couple of weeks. He said he was changing his dollars to euro before he left the US.

Hershey's kisses and gifts from your home state are not wanted. It's great that people want to be creative and show their appreciation but cash is what they want.