Gift suggestions for cabin steward?

Has anyone brought a gift from their state or country to give to the cabin steward? I was thinking of bringing something for them but not knowing where they are from or what they would like makes it difficult. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :) I like to give out two dollar bills as tips sometimes also, would they think that as unsual?

Has anyone brought a gift from their state or country to give to the cabin steward? I was thinking of bringing something for them but not knowing where they are from or what they would like makes it difficult. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :) I like to give out two dollar bills as tips sometimes also, would they think that as unsual?

what the cabin steward would most like is a very large tip. Not gifts, whether souvenir, food, or anything else. Money. That's why they leave their families and go onto a ship for 6 months at a time. They are working for money. Not gifts of questionable value. Money.

They want and need money. If I were to add something to the tip it would be phone cards. But I would not give them less money.

On my first cruise I added a phone card on top of the tip, but these days everyone has a cell phone with International service, so the phone cards aren't really useful. On our last cruise I just gave extra cash.

If it's a Port Canaveral cruise, I know that a lot of the crew shop at Wal-Mart in Cocoa for items of a personal nature (toiletries, underwear, etc.) so that might be useful, but in reality, cash is even more useful as it can be spent anywhere.

we also gave cash - i thought they might prefer cash rather than that credit system you can use instead of cash.

although another poster claimed to me that the credit system is better for the crew, since they don't have to worry about theft (or in the case of the concordia - the ship sinking and taking their money with it).

but i still tip in cash.

does anyone know if they prefer cash or that credit system?

I always leave a generous tip to all the staff when I cruise because I know that some others don't and they work so hard to please everyone. I just didn't know if a token from my state additional to the tip would be nice.

The crew cabins are very small and they really don't have much storage room.

If you want to actually give them something, a thank you note with the tip is quite appropriate.

The crew cabins are very small and they really don't have much storage room.

 

If you want to actually give them something, a thank you note with the tip is quite appropriate.

What we did for our cabin steward, in addition to the normal tipping requirements, was leave a nice card with money in it on the bed with his name on it. We got to know him quite well, he was from Trinidad/Tobago and he was a family man with 4 children.

:D

He was very nice and we have lots of pictures of him as he was a part of our cruise adventure (and he always seemed to be in our room when we went there!). He even taught my son how to make towel origami, he didn't have to do that, he wanted to.

I added a photo to the card as well (there was film processing on board, this was in 2008!) with a thank you sentiment inside.

To me, it gave a more personal touch and he really appreciated it.

Has anyone brought a gift from their state or country to give to the cabin steward? I was thinking of bringing something for them but not knowing where they are from or what they would like makes it difficult. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :) I like to give out two dollar bills as tips sometimes also, would they think that as unsual?

As others have noted, room hosts really prefer cash.

I will point out that $2 bills, in some foreign countries, are looked at with suspicion. So, I would suggest staying with $1s and $5s for tipping.

Another good thing you can do for them is mention them by name in your end of cruise comment card. Those comments are used to gain extra time off and for promotion purposes.

:)

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I will point out that $2 bills, in some foreign countries, are looked at with suspicion. So, I would suggest staying with $1s and $5s for tipping.

 

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:)

A lot of domestic countries too. I once tried to use on in Burger King and the cashier refused to take it thinking that it was some sort of joke bill.

I did get my room steward a bottle of wine in Maderia. He really wanted to get off the ship to get some, but was scheduled to work all day. I got to know him pretty well on EBTA (14 nights)

They are allowed to receive it as long as it is under a certain %. He was very grateful.

cash

no discussion

cash

We bring small trinkets unique our home state. My wife is a knitter, and she has made scarfs and hats with Minnesota emblems attached. They always appreciate the gesture.

I did get my room steward a bottle of wine in Maderia. He really wanted to get off the ship to get some, but was scheduled to work all day. I got to know him pretty well on EBTA (14 nights)

 

They are allowed to receive it as long as it is under a certain %. He was very grateful.

But, gave him a nice cash tip, too.

OK, cash it is!! but not the two dollar bills. Glad to know that they are frowned upon in places.

Ripples... It is so kind of you to want to give something unique to your cabin steward. I do understand the cash only line of thinking and this is what we always do as well. But I just wanted to acknowledge how kind your gesture is .

:)

Indychristine;

Thank you very much for those kind words. It is not often that you hear them anymore. It made my day!:D

Ripples! You're welcome! It was nothing really.... I was just returning what I saw from you!

Your gesture was kind! :))

Have a great cruise!

In addition to all the tipping I do bring alond a gift for the cabin steward which I give him the first day. Yes, they do send most of their money back home and don't spend much on themselves.

I give a book from my little historic town, candy, toiletries, baseball hat, t-shirt, sweatshirt (all from my husbands business) and generally any other fun stuff I may find on my hunt.

It is really just a simple gesture of this is who we are and we appreciate your service. Keep in mind, in some of their cultures gift giving is a must when entering someones home. I view our cruise as entering their home and try to show the utmost respect for all they do.

And...what cabin stewrd does not want to be the talk of the town for one day in their hum drum boring daily routine of ship life!

In addition to all the tipping I do bring alond a gift for the cabin steward which I give him the first day. Yes, they do send most of their money back home and don't spend much on themselves.

 

I give a book from my little historic town, candy, toiletries, baseball hat, t-shirt, sweatshirt (all from my husbands business) and generally any other fun stuff I may find on my hunt.

 

It is really just a simple gesture of this is who we are and we appreciate your service. Keep in mind, in some of their cultures gift giving is a must when entering someones home. I view our cruise as entering their home and try to show the utmost respect for all they do.

 

And...what cabin stewrd does not want to be the talk of the town for one day in their hum drum boring daily routine of ship life!

While it is very kind, I suspect your local history book probably goes in the trash. The other items would be more use to them and it is a lovely gesture to give so much but I suspect $20 would go down better.

Actually, the book is mainly photos of our area. More than one cabin steward has then showed us personal pictures of their home, family, town, etc. Some of the staff are truly curious as to our lifestyle outside of the ports they visit.

Some have never seen fall, winter, snow, a log cabin, animals native to my area, trees/flowers native to my area. Just a simple gesture to them in addition to all the tipping we do, that's it.

We give a large cash tip along with the 'suggestive" tip. Also we bring along pints of our local Maple Syrup for all with whom we have as servers and room personal. We shrink wrap the syrup in those freezer type bags so 1. it won't leak in our suitcases and 2. it can travel with the C.M. if they bring it home. They loved it after we told the whole story about how it was made and of course the sweetness of it.;)

The best gift you can give outside of extra cash is mentioning them by name either on the survey card or in a separate letter to DCL. Praise like that gets them promoted and often other perks like extra time off etc. If they are working hard and making your cruise enjoyable let their superiors know it!

Excellent suggestion!

If we like the room host we usually provide double the suggested tip. Funny thing happened on the 2nd Alaska DCL cruise. Our host on the Wonder last 2011 was Dom from the Philippines. We loved him and he treated us well. He even changed my daughter's bed sheet (sofa bed) to a pink sheet. We were so surprised!! so every night her bed sheets were pink and not the regular white that we always receive. When we returned on the Wonder the following year we searched for him on the same deck and found him. He remembered us, hugged us and even asked if my Mom was joining us in this cruise knowing that she had joined us in 2011. At around 11 pm at the last day of the cruise I was surprised to hear a knock on our cabin door. He surprised us with a gift of candies from the Philippines. Man, that really made our cruise better than we had ever expected.