Gifts for Crew

[Cruise4DaBooze]

We are sailing with MSC next week on the Seashore. I wanted to get some gifts for the housekeeper and other crew and was hoping to swing by our local international grocery store and pick up something from their home country. Does anyone know where a majority of the crew are from? I know it is a big ship and they have people from all over the world but generally speaking, did any ethnicity stand out when you cruised on the seashore recently?

[GA Dave]

Bring them cash. Most of the crew work to support their families back home and they get all the food they need from the multiple crew restaurants onboard.

[bucfan2]

8 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

Bring them cash. 

It's that simple.  They don't want/need/desire our snacks/trinkets/junk/etc. Space is limited in their rooms, and they have a pretty good idea what they prefer to buy....with cash. 
Welcome to cruise critic.  This topic will come along about as often as a tipping thread/chair hog thread, so you'll get to enjoy them for years to come. 

Edited June 6 by bucfan2

[GA Dave]

If you want to see how the crew live, watch this video. It shows how the regular crew live starting around 48:00 into the video.  The Secret Life of the Cruise

[GPPhilly]

We always give cash.  The only time we did cash and gift items is just after they started sailing again after the lockdown.  The crew could not leave the ship.  At our stop in the Cayman Island, we went to the large store there and bought toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and other items to give to the crew in the YC.  They were so grateful and thankful.  But in normal times, cash is king 

[CruisnDeb]

2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

If you want to see how the crew live, watch this video. It shows how the regular crew live starting around 48:00 into the video.  The Secret Life of the Cruise

Thanks for this—I’ve always been curious. Looks very much like the crew quarters on the show Below Deck. 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Cruise4DaBooze said:

We are sailing with MSC next week on the Seashore. I wanted to get some gifts for the housekeeper and other crew and was hoping to swing by our local international grocery store and pick up something from their home country. Does anyone know where a majority of the crew are from? I know it is a big ship and they have people from all over the world but generally speaking, did any ethnicity stand out when you cruised on the seashore recently?

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

There is no way to pre-determine the nationality of your crew. You don't want to give someone with an gift that would be offensive to them. The crew have very limited/no space in their sleeping quarters for "gifts". It is always best to show your appreciation with cash. They can use that to get what they want and need (whether a tube of toothpaste or a snack from home). 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, GA Dave said:

If you want to see how the crew live, watch this video. It shows how the regular crew live starting around 48:00 into the video.  The Secret Life of the Cruise

And remember that the entertainment staff have more space than a lot of other crew members who may be 4 and 6 to a room. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

My room stewards of late have been from the Philippines or Indonesia.We also recently had one Thai national. But there's no way to know and as mentioned above, give them a cash gratuity at the end of the cruise. The daily charges for tips all get pooled and each housekeeping member will get their pro rata share. But anything extra you give directly to your room steward or stewardess goes directly to them and is greatly appreciated.

[PTC DAWG]

CASH

[perakcruiser]

10 hours ago, Cruise4DaBooze said:

I wanted to get some gifts for the housekeeper and other crew and was hoping to swing by our local international grocery store and pick up something from their home country. 

Ignore what others say, basically this is a great idea. I for myself know very well how tough it is to stay in the European winter for many months, never having a durian or other nice fruit from home. Not even a dragon fruit. But here is the point, I don't think your grocery store, even it's called "international", can provide this.

 

 

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

...never having a durian or other nice fruit from home. Not even a dragon fruit. But here is the point, I don't think your grocery store, even it's called "international", can provide this.

 

Dragon fruit and for that matter durian are not hard to find in European food stores, even Costco sell them in many countries, but I'm sure you wouldn't suggest anyone tried to travel to a cruise with fresh durian 🙂 

[bucfan2]

3 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

Ignore what others say, basically this is a great idea. I for myself know very well how tough it is to stay in the European winter for many months, never having a durian or other nice fruit from home. Not even a dragon fruit. But here is the point, I don't think your grocery store, even it's called "international", can provide this.

 

 

Terrible idea to suggest bringing fruit/vegetables/nuts on or off a ship, depending on the port.

[DaKahuna]

 Doesn't MSC, and almost all other cruise lines, prohibiting bring fresh fruit and vegetable aboard their ships?  

 

 I am with all the others that say give Cash.  That way if the person wants to go buy something that reminds them of their home country they can.  

 

 We have almost always asked certain crew members if there was anything we could bring them from the ports we visited. 

 

[ray98]

Cash is the only acceptable gift.  The crew doesn't want trinkets anymore than the bartender at your local restaurant.

[oceans.calling]

48 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We have almost always asked certain crew members if there was anything we could bring them from the ports we visited. 

 

When the crew couldn’t get off the ship at any port, we always ask if they need something we could pick up for them. Most requests were magnets of the port so they can have memories of where they go. Since their cabins are shared and small with limited storage and the walls are metal, it’s the perfect solution for them. We pack a few from our city just in case someone would like one. 

We tip generously at the end of the cruise in cash. 

[eagletwo]

It is interesting that this topic comes up almost weekly on Cruise Critic. I’ve never worked on a cruise ship because I could never work 10 hour days, 7 days a week with limited days off. I have held a good job working 40 hours per week for years, then on Friday afternoon, go pickup a limo and work until 2-4 am, get home at 5 am, sleep a couple of hours, go back out and do a couple of weddings until 1 am. 25 hours plus on a weekend.
 

I did this for 14 years to support our family and 2 new children. As a driver, my biggest disappointment was the client giving me tickets to the show, a nice meal or back stage passes to Prince, Billy Joel, Cher, Jimmy Buffet, ZZ Top, Elton John and the list goes on. I’ve driven most of the major stars. I can’t pay my bills or feed my family on free food at the venue and back stage passes. Cash, cash, cash. Remember that when you want to give your room steward a nice personal gift you brought from home that you think is so cute and perfect. Give them the cash you would have spent on your “special” gift. 

[Reds4life]

We usually give the room attendant my wife's free bottle of champagne from being Diamond. We don't drink and MSC won't give us Diet Coke instead so it goes to waste unless we donate it. They have always appreciated it 

[Mark_T]

11 hours ago, Reds4life said:

We usually give the room attendant my wife's free bottle of champagne from being Diamond. We don't drink and MSC won't give us Diet Coke instead so it goes to waste unless we donate it. They have always appreciated it 

... or at least they have always said they appreciated it and probably returned it to stock.

 

The crew are very good at being positive in all guest interactions, but they are also going to be very careful about receiving 'gifts' of ship stock items and may not even drink alcohol anyway.

 

$$ are always the best gift (only real exception was during Covid when they were unable to leave the ship).

Edited June 9 by Mark_T

[BirdTravels]

18 hours ago, Reds4life said:

We usually give the room attendant my wife's free bottle of champagne from being Diamond. We don't drink and MSC won't give us Diet Coke instead so it goes to waste unless we donate it. They have always appreciated it 

You realize that it just gets left for the next guest. The crew can not have alcohol in their rooms. 

[Reds4life]

11 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

You realize that it just gets left for the next guest. The crew can not have alcohol in their rooms. 

That would be even better. As long as someone gets some use from it. Hate to see it go to waste. Like I said we would appreciate a few cans of Diet Coke instead and probably cost MSC less.

[shipgeeks]

FWIW, we offered to provide a beer, soft drink, or beverage of choice to our servers, at the end of every evening, to take back to the cabin, and all of them said they only drink water. (We were glad they were honest about it, instead of "Oh, thank you so much, you are so kind".)

[Greg8371]

While it's true that the crew on MSC Seashore come from all over, there are some common nationalities you might encounter. On most MSC ships, you'll find a good mix of staff from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and some from Eastern Europe too. 

[publicpersona]

If you feel the need, cash. Other than that, the crew are taught to be polite and appear appreciative of whatever you do, so you can't go by that.

 

I say that because inevitably in one of these threads someone who believes the crew actually wants and has room to keep some worthless tchotchke will argue "I brought a rock with 'Ohio' painted on it and our stateroom attendant loved it!".

[Cruzinforpeace***]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:07 PM, BirdTravels said:

And remember that the entertainment staff have more space than a lot of other crew members who may be 4 and 6 to a room. 

I had plenty of room for trinkets in my cabin but I was an entertainer. I did live in the crew area, inside solo cabin below the water line but it was plenty big enough for me and some knick knacks.  I actually cherished some of the items I acquired on my contracts.  A fellow cast member crocheted me a bookmark that I still have to this day.  The most impactful gifts I received from passengers were good comments or personal notes. This was also very important for my job as well.  Good comments are a big thing you can gift any crew member in addition to cash (non entertainment staff).