Christmas gifts (tips) to crew

[alwayscruisetime]

We'll be on a Holland America ship over Christmas.  It's a 22 day cruise, so we'll be with our room stewards and concierge for quite some time both before and after Christmas.  It's our first time on HAL, and our first time in a suite anywhere.  Not sure how many crew members we might become familiar with and might want to give a little something extra to acknowledge their working for us on the holiday.  Can any of you give me some guidance about how many individuals that might be (servers in Pinnacle at breakfast, Neptune Lounge staff, etc.) so that I can go prepared with cards and small bills?

 

Thank you in advance.

[oakridger]

Take into account that I'm American and am programed for tipping!  For me, on any cruise I have daily contact with my cabin steward/s and usually end up with a favorite bar ("Where everybody knows your Name..") and its bartender and waiter.  I give extra at the end of the cruise to those selected staff that really have a more personal and daily contact with me.  If I had fixed dining, I would probably give extra to them too, but I don't so no extra to any other food servers.  I of course keep the daily 'Crew Appreciation" in place for all the others.

 

If I didn't feel like I had any more than the normal great service from all the staff, I wouldn't give extra. You will get answers all over the place so just follow your gut.  Was service from any individual really personal and extra?

 

That's me,

~Nancy

 

P.S. - If someone did something really special, I give a note to "Tell Us" on the Navigator app telling the ship management about that individual.  

Edited December 1, 2022 by oakridger

[crystalspin]

Everything that Nancy said!

 

I'm lazy so I don't pack notes and envelopes, but make sure that I have crisp $5 and $10 bills. I may print some 1/8 sheets of paper that declare that I have kept the Crew Appreciation in place, so that the individual tips can go to the ones I compensate.

 

It is something of my last day's ritual, that I wander the decks looking to press my appreciation into the hands of those that made my cruise more special. I have even waited while they fetched a Lido server up from the bowels of the ship to bestow my humble $5 upon.

 

Haven't cruised since the Navigator became as useful as it (apparently) is now, but look forward to using it to applaud individual's contribution, rather than trusting my memory to the email survey at the end!

[0106]

I always tip my special crew members extra. I will always tip extra if deserved but if I could bring them something they can’t get on the ship that would be an additional treat.  I have read on CC about some providing gifts.  How do you know what the crew is missing from home or what type of gift you should bring them?

[Florida_gal_50]

I always like to put my extra tips in envelopes.  I’ve been able to get them from the front desk luckily because I probably wouldn’t remember to bring them.  I’m speaking people like cabin stewards, cabana stewards, the laundry not people that I may tip extra in a restaurant for instance.

[alwayscruisetime]

Thank you all so far. 

 

Crystal, I'm glad you said something about documenting that this tip/gift shouldn't count against the overall gratuity.  I hadn't thought about stating somehow that this wasn't in lieu of Crew Appreciation, but guess that I can hand-write that in the Christmas card?  ("Please know that our Crew Appreciation is pre-paid in full, so this cash gift is just for you, to thank you and to wish you a Merry Christmas")? 

 

Is there some legal-ese that's necessary to keep them from having to report it or turn it in?

[crystalspin]

18 minutes ago, alwayscruisetime said:

Crystal, I'm glad you said something about documenting that this tip/gift shouldn't count against the overall gratuity. 

Is there some legal-ese that's necessary to keep them from having to report it or turn it in?

No I came up with this on my own! Attaching your room number/name lets them or their supervisors check the source (YOU) against the gratuity list. I have no inside knowledge about the enforcement of this widely disseminated practice of tips of pax that cancel the Crew Appreciation having to be pooled.

[ScottishMaid]

Please be aware that the Indonesian crew are not Christians so don't celebrate Christmas.

The Filipinos are Catholic.

[san diego spartan]

We always regardless of holiday or not bring extra dollars $5 and $10 to tip throughout the week and ar the end for special service.  We have in past brought gifts but I think money is probably better appreciated as we don't know what they need.or want.

 

If I find a good bartender or waiter I tip along the way and a bit extra at the end of the week.

 

Cabin steward I start the week with an extra $10 or so and end with an extra $20. Maybe tip along the way for fresh ice etc. 

 

[Loreto]

9 minutes ago, ScottishMaid said:

Please be aware that the Indonesian crew are not Christians so don't celebrate Christmas.

The Filipinos are Catholic.

Thanks for pointing that out!  Some have said they want to give the room steward candy...cash is most appreciated.  The front desk staff and bar staff are Filipino.  We always give our hardworking stewards extra, and write the room number and our names along with a thank you on the outside of the envelope.

For dining stewards we write the dining time and table number.

[0106]

@Loreto Why don’t you hand the cash directly to your cabin stewards and MDR servers?  That is what I do.  Am I doing something wrong?

[oakridger]

@0106I always hand it to them in person.... folded up discreetly though!  I will wait until no other guests or crew are near to do so while offering my thanks.  On the rare occasion I can't do so for my cabin stewards, I have left a note with the $$ for them in my cabin with their name clearly on it.  

 

99.8% of the time I have received very good/excellent service on HAL even without extra tipping to a bunch of people!  That's a big reason I have kept sailing on them!!  😊

 

~Nancy

Edited December 1, 2022 by oakridger

[Jldevlin]

I go to the dollar store and get blank thank you cards that come with envelopes that I can write a quick note inside and put our tip into. 

[Mary229]

There are crew tip envelopes at the front desk, they have them in abundance.  A good word on the app can go a long way 

[kazu]

34 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

There are crew tip envelopes at the front desk, they have them in abundance.  A good word on the app can go a long way 

 

LOL, Mary - they sure weren’t in abundance on the Oosterdam (fabulous crew so maybe people were tipping a lot before our cruise?).  They were running out and had a limit of 5 envelopes per cabin until they ran out.

 

I am assuming they restocked when we arrived in Miami?

 

Completely agree - the feed back on the Navigator app is very appreciated by the crew.

[rodndonna]

Are these 'envelopes' special?

 

On our last cruise, we decided to book a specialty dining so would not be going to our fixed MDR on the final night, but wanted to tip our MDR waiters. We went to guest services and asked about an envelope to leave them a tip (as I had heard from here  on CC that could be done).

 

We were handed a plain envelop and just put the bills in it and wrote  for MDR waiters, their names and our dining timeslot. Would that have worked? Honestly, it seemed a little dubious, and I though we probably should have went to the MDR to hand it to them instead.

 

 

[Mary229]

Just now, rodndonna said:

Are these 'envelopes' special?

 

On our last cruise, we decided to book a specialty dining so would not be going to our fixed MDR on the final night, but wanted to tip our MDR waiters. We went to guest services and asked about an envelope to leave them a tip (as I had heard from here  on CC that could be done).

 

We were handed a plain envelop and just put the bills in it and wrote  for MDR waiters, their names and our dining timeslot. Would that have worked? Honestly, it seemed a little dubious, and I though we probably should have went to the MDR to hand it to them instead.

 

 

They are discrete and small and are recognized by the crew.  I think your system does work though we generally hand our dining staff theirs directly.  I use envelopes mainly for last tip to stewards as I don’t want to try to chase them down together.  

[Bubbleswvwa]

Check with your stewards to make sure you will have the same one for the entire trip, sometimes they get swapped during a longer crew.

 

And make sure that you call out by name the amazing staff in the navigator app as  HAL uses the feedback in their reviews and for promotions and pay raises. 

[lcand1923]

I normally give my “extra” tips on the second or third to the last day/night of the cruise.  If it is a 14 plus day cruise, I’ll divide it into two parts.  Several times the crew has changed and I want to make certain the proper person gets the extra.

 

Who do I tip?  The Cabin Steward/Assistant Cabin Steward, favorite bar tenders and servers in the MDR/Specialty Restaurants.  I do not normally tip on the first/second day of the cruise and/or each time I dine in a Specialty Restaurant. 

 

Do I ALWAYS tip?  No.

[riffatsea]

We never wait until the end of a cruise to express thanks with a tip

We also don't use envelopes and just discretely hand out money

Not sure why one needs the formality of envelopes and cards??

[RuthC]

2 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

Not sure why one needs the formality of envelopes and cards??

A 'Thank you' note is always a thoughtful gesture. You can mention something specific the person has done for you during the cruise that you found especially helpful, and express your gratitude, and hopes to see them again while sailing. 

You can also let them know that this is in addition to the crew appreciation fee, so they know they don't have to turn it in, and can keep it. If you write your name and cabin number, or table sitting/number, on the note, they have information they can check against the list of those who did remove tips. 

[BetsyS.]

On my last cruise, I went to ATM at ports and was given big bills.  The people 

at Guest Services exchanged the foreign currency to US dollars in smaller amounts

for tips.

         I agree that on a longer cruise, it is best to ask room stewards and MDR 

waiters if they will be on entire cruise.  Sometimes their schedules change 

and they might be going on vacation.

            

         

[riffatsea]

We enjoy direct communication with the crew soo we thank them directly as they serve us

 

[Loreto]

14 hours ago, 0106 said:

@Loreto Why don’t you hand the cash directly to your cabin stewards and MDR servers?  That is what I do.  Am I doing something wrong?

I do give the envelopes directly to the cabin/dining  stewards!  I always do it the day before disembarkation.

[JeffElizabeth]

11 hours ago, rodndonna said:

Are these 'envelopes' special?

 

On our last cruise, we decided to book a specialty dining so would not be going to our fixed MDR on the final night, but wanted to tip our MDR waiters. We went to guest services and asked about an envelope to leave them a tip (as I had heard from here  on CC that could be done).

 

We were handed a plain envelop and just put the bills in it and wrote  for MDR waiters, their names and our dining timeslot. Would that have worked? Honestly, it seemed a little dubious, and I though we probably should have went to the MDR to hand it to them instead.

 

 

I tip our MDR people before our final dinner in a specialty restaurant.