Types of gifts for room stewards?

[Cinderelli]

What are some good gifts for the room stewards? I have heard phone cards predominantly -- but are there any other good suggestions?

 

I would love to bring them clothings (as I work for a clothing company) -- but what size would you bring???

 

Thanks!

 

9 days away for me!:p

[tef43]

CA$H

[MrNobody]

They always seem to appreciate good old fashioned U.S. Currency...then if they choose to use it to buy clothes they can buy the clothes that appeal to them and in their size also!...but it's kind of you to be thinking of the room stewards...no one else you'll meet during your cruise will do more for you than your room steward.

[pungo3]

I have to agree with tef & MrNobody. CASH. I've talked to many and they've all said they have very little room for personal items.

[DebBrown]

They always seem to appreciate good old fashioned U.S. Currency...then if they choose to use it to buy clothes they can buy the clothes that appeal to them and in their size also!...but it's kind of you to be thinking of the room stewards...no one else you'll meet during your cruise will do more for you than your room steward.

Jake I couldn't agree more. Plus, if they want to buy phone cards they can. Some of them would much rather have the extra money than anything else.

[pholter]

We usually do a combination of International Phone Cards and CASH.... Alot of times we can get much better deals on the phone cards at Sam's Club than the crew can get in a port.

[BADBUOY]

I think we'll stick to cash. I hear that they perfer the cash to even getting the slip from your sign and sail cards.

 

Buddy

[llanning]

Cash and favorable reports on the comment cards. Be specific and use their names.

[dustyroad]

how about a one-size-fits-all shirt. but good old cash is the best inside a nice thank you card.

[momofmeg]

There was a tread like this in the questions asked board at cruisecritic-several months back-someone posted-where they had inserted part of an article from a travel magazine which had interviewed a cruiseline employee-he basicially said many foreign banks were afraid of $2 bills-suspious that they were counterfeit and would not take them.

 

He also said cash was appreciated much more then phone cards-yes they love to call their families but sometimes they were given so many of these phone cards much more then they could use and often their families depend strongly on their support and need the money much more then frequent phone calls. The same for other gifts-take the money you would spend on them and add it to your tip.

 

Makes sense to me-just think about all those christmas gifts you get that were lovely picked out-but weren't necesarily what you needed or wanted but when cash is given you get what you realy need or want-the same goes for these guys. If you want to do something more personal just give them a card or note.

[serene56]

I once gave phone cards to my waiters....both didnt have phones at home- Now I felt stupid.

 

Well- did you know they have to pay for their own uniforms and upkeep for those clothes. Notice your cabin steward wears two sets of clothes a day- and on formal nights its a different jacket...

Wait staff too== two outfits daily.

 

They can also find better deals for phone cards then any of us could.

 

Remember their cabins are smaller then what we have and most share them with 1 or two other people. So space is limited.

 

Wanting to do something personal we take pictures of our wait staff all week as they are doing their job. Using a disposable camera we get those pictures developed next to the last night. I include these pictures in a thank you card. THey can mail the pictures to their families.

[dolfinmusic]

We gave our cabin steward $20 and a gift bag of small things like:gum, candy,mints, toothpaste, toothbrush - things they can use and may not be able to get and that do not take up a lot of room.

[dan40]

They really like a few pictures of Lincoln, or any long dead Presidents.

 

Dan

[llanning]

Why wouldn't they be able to get candy, mints, gum, and toothbrushes and toothpaste?

[kwpatel]

Give cash... And please think twice about phone cards. I used to work for CCL and could get international phone cards at the crew center... There is no room in crew cabins for extra stuff

[IBEEMOM]

I have had some of the crew members tell me that CASH was appreciated the most from the guests. Many of the send it home to their families. This is what I give them.

[btrtigerfan]

I agree that cash is the best way to thank your steward. We wanted to do something extra in addition to cash. We recieve several magazines at home through subscription. We usually toss stacks of them in the recycle bin. While packing for our 7 day cruise, I packed the most recent 7 months of a particular magazine. Begining on day one of our cruise, I left the January edition with a little cash tucked in it. On the final day on ship, I left the current issue we purchased in port.

[dolfinmusic]

Why wouldn't they be able to get candy, mints, gum, and toothbrushes and toothpaste?

 

Maybe I should have worded it as : a different or special kind. Maybe they do not have their choice of all candy on the ship - and if you get something different it might be nice. And if they have to pay for that stuff - it's nice to get if free!!! :)

[momofmeg]

Why wouldn't they be able to get candy, mints, gum, and toothbrushes and toothpaste?

 

 

On the travel channel the show about Voyager-it shows the crew have their own litle "store" and it said these things were at cost that RCCL did not make a profit on these things. It also said they had their own internet e-mail area-and they were not charged for e-mails.

[airgirl]

Cinderelli -

 

If you work for a clothing company and you want to be nice to people who are needy, and are going to ports like Belize and Costa Maya you can give clothes to them.

 

If you are going to any of the other ports forget it.

 

As far as the room stewards, I once bought a box of candy in Alaska for him and as I was leaving he ran after me and insisted the candy be given to my grateful pre teen son saying he had no need for it.

(it then dawned on a somewhat embarrassed me that they get to eat all they want - why would they want candy?)

 

Last cruise I admired a fancy colorful pen that a waiter was using. He insisted that I take it saying for some reason, eveyone keeps giving him pens and he gets all he wants free from Carnival. I didn't accept the pen, feeling funny because I knew some well intentioned soul had given it as a momento.

 

Bottom line, lesson learned - no matter what the intention is - they just want CASH!

[serene56]

Ever price a candy bar onboard a ship. I ws so taken back with the price of a cadbury bar...the one with the fruist and nuts-- 6 bucks. I can get those at home for 75 cents. Next time whenin the ships store just check out a few items/

[Decali]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

and positive mention on comment card.

[yarlenna]

I have always believed in folding green. One size fits all and it the thing they went to sea to get. A little more is appreciated a lot.

[travel-gal]

My daughter looked into applying for a job with Carnival. Some of their staff make as little as $50 per month. Basically all of their salary comes from the tips they receive. The staff has a much better store on board the ship than the ones the cruisers ever see. This is one of the ways they make life on board more tolerable because they work very long hours and are away from their home for months at a time. They have their own store, bar, internet, film developing, game area and these are all at or below cost. They get their stuff at better prices than Sam's Club or Costco. I know that people who think of giving extra little gifts, shirts, candy, phone cards or whatever do it with the kindest of intentions and aren't the type of people who are skimping on the tips but I can't help but wonder if the recipient doesn't look at the stuff and think "instead of $25 of these gifts I would rather have just had $10 or $15 in cash". Believe that's what I think when I open half the Christmas gifts I get from my in-laws.

[Cruising89143]

Cash and favorable reports on the comment cards. Be specific and use their names.

The best answer yet IMHO. I have talked to crew members about this and they would much rather receive cash over anything else. The crew members have a small general type store on board that sells things such personal items so there is no need to bring them along. I look at this way. I would not want to be paid in clothing, phone cards or personal items. I like good hard cash so I may purchase what I like.

 

Also giving the crew members high marks on their comment cards by mentioning their names goes a long way. Sometimes crew members receive extra time off from work for this action.