Gift suggestions for cabin steward?

[ticktoneer]

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.

Double the suggested tip - I'm shocked !

 

A lot of people on CC must have enough money to burn. I wish I was that well off

[moki'smommy]

The two best things you can give are a generous tip and a personalized comment on the comment card.

 

As to cash vs. charged tips, I asked our favorite server. He prefers charged tips as his home country has no income tax and it is easier for him to just get the check from DCL and send it home. He said that he always gets plenty of cash for his limited needs while on board.

[coldflame]

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.

 

Could not have been better said. +1

[LDVinNC]

I'll echo that the sentiment that giving a gift is a lovely thought, but imagine if every passenger did that. Every crew cabin might look like the houses on the TV program Hoarders! Cash is what they want and need,

[ducklite]

The only time we've given a "gift" was to a crew member in a non-tipped role who mentioned that she had been given a bottle of wine by a fellow crew member but didn't have a corkscrew in her cabin. The next day while in port, we bought her one. Otherwise, it's cash, cash, and cash.

Edited April 30, 2013 by ducklite

[PennyAgain]

On most cruise lines gifts of things (shirts, hats, books, knitwear etc) have to be accomplied by a card from the passenger listing the items so that the crew member is not accused of STEALING.

 

Don't put your room steward, host, whatever in the situation where he or she may have to depend that what you gave was a real gift.

[Susieq0102]

I have a headache, lol. There are so many opinions on tipping and I respect each and every one. However, my confusion is greater than ever. :confused:

This is my first cruise and have no idea what I am doing. How many people should be included in extra tipping? What is an average for each one? I am all for the tipping but it really is a personal decision on my part.

[Shmoo here]

I have a headache, lol. There are so many opinions on tipping and I respect each and every one. However, my confusion is greater than ever. :confused:

This is my first cruise and have no idea what I am doing. How many people should be included in extra tipping? What is an average for each one? I am all for the tipping but it really is a personal decision on my part.

 

No need for headaches. DCL will add gratuities to your onboard account. At the amount of $12.00 per day for each person on your reservation. That $12.00 breaks out to $4.00 per guest per day to your room host; $4.00 per guest per day to your dining room server; $3.00 per guest per day to your assistant server; and $1.00 per guest per day to your head server.

 

These gratuities are generally all that's expected. You can tip additionally to those amounts whatever you feel the "extra" service was worth to you. Really, that's what tipping extra is about. If you feel those participating in the auto-gratuity have done their job without any extra service, no extra tipping is required.

 

Other places where there are auto-gratuities are bar/beverage service (15% added) and the spa/salon services (18% added).

 

Those people who are not part of any auto gratuity are the porters in the terminal, and tour guides/bus drivers. Those you may tip as you see fit, also.

 

To expand a bit, if you feel the service you've received from those participating in the auto-gratuity (room host, servers) isn't up to standard, you can go to Guest Services once onboard and change/remove any tips you wish.

[moki'smommy]

I have a headache, lol. There are so many opinions on tipping and I respect each and every one. However, my confusion is greater than ever. :confused:

This is my first cruise and have no idea what I am doing. How many people should be included in extra tipping? What is an average for each one? I am all for the tipping but it really is a personal decision on my part.

 

There are 4 people who are expecting a tip--the head server, server, assistant server, and stateroom host. They are all covered in the "suggested" $12 per guest per day. That is the expected.

 

If you are unhappy with the service you can go to Guest Services and reduce or eliminate this charge. If you wish to increase it, you can go to Guest Services OR add some cash to the envelope you will give to each of these people. The envelopes and the "ticket" showing your charged tips will be provided to you.

 

That's truly all you need to worry about.

 

There is an automatic tip added to any bar purchase and at the spa...you can tip more, but you certainly don't need to (especially since the spa already gets 18%).

 

DO NOT bother trying to give a cash tip to anyone in a non-tipped position. If you give one, they must turn it in and it is either used for a staff party or donated to charity (depends on the department). Bottom line, the person you gave it to does not get to keep it and will lose their job if they are caught doing so.

 

If a porter handles your luggage in the terminal, he expects a tip. Most tour guides/bus drivers have a sign up to the effect of "gratuities appreciated for exceptional service." That's exactly how I choose to tip them or not. I have already paid their company a large amount for their expected services. If they go above and beyond, I'll give a small tip. If they render the usual service, no. What I mean is that if the bus driver took me from point A to point B on an excursion or from airport to ship I don't tip. If he loaded and unloaded my luggage, I'll tip...probably not as much as he'd like but reality is that he spent less than 2 minutes on my luggage and was being paid for his time.

 

Don't worry about people on the boards who post things like tipping double or whatever. One place I do feel strongly about that is in a concierge suite. There, the "suggested tip" is the same as in the smallest inside cabin on the ship BUT the host has 2 full bathrooms, a kitchen area, etc. as well as the increased square footage of the sleeping/living areas. Any mom knows that the cleaning time and effort is in the kitchen and bathrooms! I do feel that they deserve double the standard tip or more...but then, if you can afford to cruise concierge, you can afford to take care of the people who serve you.

 

For the others, if you can afford to be generous, do so. If you cannot, the standard $12 per guest per night of cruise is the expected. If one cannot do that, perhaps one should wait a year to cruise and save some more money or forego an excursion or adult dining experience in order to pay those who worked for them. Rather like in a restaurant--if you don't have tip money, drink water and at least leave the cost of a beverage for the server OR go to a fast food joint rather than a sit down restaurant.

[Hvnfuninmn33]

For my upcoming cruise I saw a great suggestion on another post and I am planning on doing this. I purchased 12 King Size Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin bars which I will wrap dollar bills around to hand out to our cabin steward, bar tenders, etc. Just a little something extra and also a seasonal product that they may or may not have seen before. ;):rolleyes::o

[Shmoo here]

For my upcoming cruise I saw a great suggestion on another post and I am planning on doing this. I purchased 12 King Size Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin bars which I will wrap dollar bills around to hand out to our cabin steward, bar tenders, etc. Just a little something extra and also a seasonal product that they may or may not have seen before. ;):rolleyes::o

 

Sounds like a nice idea, as long as they don't have any nut allergy issues, or other dietary problems that would preclude them actually being able to eat them.

[Susieq0102]

Thanks everyone for your help. It has taken some of the uncertainty out of what I am doing. :)

[Tonka's Skipper]

Yep.....cash would be the best!

 

 

AKK

[Loonbeam]

I echo the cash suggestion. Yes, its not the most personal thing, but given that the vast majority of workers are either trying to save money up or send money home...

 

That said, there are 2 things you could do in ADDITION to cash that might help. If you are doing a B2B for example with the same steward and taking a break in Ft. Lauderdale, ask them if they could use any supplies and hit a CVS or Walmart on the way back. They get very little off time, so time saved for a shopping trip might mean more time on wi-fi with the family. You could do the same in a port if bored (esp in Alaska). Plus you help with the cost of said supplies.

 

The second (and ASK first) is find out if they do like a particular treat at a given port. Again, time off is limited, if any, so time saved can equal sleep. Their space is very limited so unless you have established a relationship and are sure they want something skip it.

 

Non tipped positions are a little different - for example, I think bringing local candy from home the kids clubs counselors could share would be a nice touch. I've also sent stuff to the laundry (not chocolate for obvious reasons) for them to share.

 

The other big thing you can do is give them a formal compliment. If someone truly impresses you, make sure management knows about it (I bring thank you cards in addition to the standard cruise forms). Notes in their file can lead to better (and better paying) positions like being bumped from Assistant to Server or getting a better block of rooms.

[cb at sea]

Why do you work...for "gifts"? Cash is why folks work...give money.

[IResQU]

Along the same lines.. Top at beginning of cruise for hopeful better service. Or after for service received?

[Shmoo here]

Along the same lines.. Top at beginning of cruise for hopeful better service. Or after for service received?

 

We've always tipped additionally at the end of the cruise.

 

Tipping before service seems like a bribe, to me.

[moki'smommy]

Tipping at the end is the tradition. Our service on DCL has always ranged from good to great.

 

The only time I mentioned a tip before the end was when I told our guy to not do the room because my teen was sleeping late...and I said that I understood it was MY issue and he would of course see his full tip. Bottom line there--kid on vacation might sleep till noon and I didn't want to mess up host's routine or make him work late.

[Shmoo here]

Tipping at the end is the tradition. Our service on DCL has always ranged from good to great.

 

The only time I mentioned a tip before the end was when I told our guy to not do the room because my teen was sleeping late...and I said that I understood it was MY issue and he would of course see his full tip. Bottom line there--kid on vacation might sleep till noon and I didn't want to mess up host's routine or make him work late.

 

Yes, a tip up front for special services I agree with.

 

We've always had very good to excellent service on our cruises. If I had tipped beforehand, how would I know whether that was the norm or extra?

[Susieq0102]

How much should I give?

[tinybiny]

How much should I give?

 

You will automatically be billed for the suggested amount. If I think my cabin steward is excellent, I'll usually give another $20 - $40.

[Susieq0102]

You will automatically be billed for the suggested amount. If I think my cabin steward is excellent, I'll usually give another $20 - $40.

 

Thanks for the info. :)

[moki'smommy]

When talking about extra tipping, it helps to remember length of the cruise. $20 extra on a 4 day cruise is $5 per night. On a 14 night cruise, it is a whole lot less.

 

However, ANY extra is certainly appreciated.

[Susieq0102]

When talking about extra tipping' date=' it helps to remember length of the cruise. $20 extra on a 4 day cruise is $5 per night. On a 14 night cruise, it is a whole lot less.

 

However, ANY extra is certainly appreciated.[/quote']

 

 

Thanks, that gives me a good guideline.