Trinkets for Cabin Steward

[agavin]

We always bring some thank you cards that are local to where we are from (pictures of our location, or made locally), and then tuck tips inside them for the staff we feel went above and beyond the auto-tips. It's a little more personal than the Carnival envelopes, but they can still throw them out after reading.

[cmecruise1962]

Most of the posters got it right...cash is the way to go!! But a note sent to Carnival commending their service is another great way to say thank you, if you truly received great service. I work in hospitality, and I know how important it is to get those letters from past guests...promotions, rewards, celebrations based on the number of comments received, are all part of our program. However...and this has happened more than once...I hate it when they ASK me to write a letter. That would absolutely keep me from doing it!!

[NJmommyx4]

I know that cash is king so to speak but I figure that everything ABOVE the already pre-paid tips should be appreciated whether they have to throw it out or not. I give out extra goodie bags to crew that have been extra helpful. I do this for their benefit but also for the benefit of my children. We leave next week and my kids have been very busy making these goodie bags. They are putting in a picture they are coloring, some candies, an american flag keychain, a local postcard, a handwritten thank you and of course some extra cash. They absolutely delight in choosing which crew members they think should get one and then giving them out. A lot of times my kids are just ignored by service people in "real life" so when crew show them attention they like to reward them for treating them like little people. Its a great lesson for them and it makes them feel good. I have not yet met a crew member who didnt at least pretend that they loved the goodie bags and a few you could tell it really touched them.

[WooWooGirl]

my friend thanked her steward with some love making :eek::eek::eek:...

 

serious???!!!!!!!!!!

[FlaKrznNubie]

Consider me cynical but do you really think that your steward wants to have a relationship with you. He or she is doing a job and that includes keep your cabin clean and being polite to you. At the end of the week, you disappear and he/she has to deal with someone else who feels guilty about having someone serve him.DON

 

Well said. These cruisers who "imagine" they have a personal relationship with these employees are deluding themselves, period. Your personal relationship ends on Sunday, folks !

 

We all go to the grocery store, coffee shop, restaurant, etc every week but those folks are not your friends, they are performing a service. You do not go out evenings with them, go to shows with them or out to lunch with them (I know, there is always the occasional exception). Same applies to these cruise ship employees and we see them much less frequently.

 

And admit it or not, you give the "trinkets" because it makes you feel good. Giving cash will make you feel good also, and the person who receives it will also feel good about the cash. After all most cruise ship employees probably send 90% or more of their wages and tips home to their families.

 

Last I checked, you can't wire home a coffee mug or basket.

 

Last of all, most of the posters on this thread seem to finally understand these folks who work so hard want and need cash for service performed well. I applaud all of you who do that and understand the concept.

 

And to the poster giving little bags of candy with dollar bills. Skip the candy and give them $2 !!!!

[charlesjoy]

On our last cruise, we left our room steward a very generous tip plus a thank you note, also filled out the card for special service for him, left him a bottle of wine and 12 pk of cokes. Later I wondered if we should have left him the wine as maybe they are not allowed to have it in their quarters. What do you think?

[FlaKrznNubie]

On our last cruise, we left our room steward a very generous tip plus a thank you note, also filled out the card for special service for him, left him a bottle of wine and 12 pk of cokes. Later I wondered if we should have left him the wine as maybe they are not allowed to have it in their quarters. What do you think?

 

I have read where other cruisers leave their unused liquor. Not sure what the policy on crew drinking on ship is ??

 

 

 

Maybe one of the cruisers who have a "relationship" with the crew knows the answer ??? Sorry, I couldn't resist !!

[haley10594]

On our last cruise, we gave our waiters a mini candy bar wrapped with $2 bills, the last few nights. They were always very excited. Some of them said they could hardly wait til the next night to see what kind of candy we gave them. Maybe they were just being nice, but they seemed genuine. They CANNOT eat the candy they leave for the guests, could even lose their jobs. We also left a little goody bag for our room stewart each night, just a few candy bars, gum, life savers, $$ a thank you note etc. Our stewart hugged us and was so greatful. He said it meant a lot that people actually thought AHEAD of time and cared about him as a person.

 

Next time will do the ask them if they want anything from shore. Never thought of that. What a great idea.

[quickrate]

I would hope that you would do it as a token of good will, and not to get better service.;)

 

Like kjunea said, cask is king!:cool:

 

I leave some booze behind on most cruises, but not sure if they appreciate it or not.

 

After reading Cruise Confidential, I have a feeling the booze is very appreciated!:D

[dancindukes]

International prepaid calling cards so they can call home. So small it fits in their pocket. In addition to a picture of one of our US presidents, of course.

[PlanoDebbie]

I think their favorite "trinket" is money.

 

When we were on the Conquest last month, we made an animal towel and stuffed money in his ears and mouth. Looked really cute too. We found out steward and told him we had a small problem in our cabin and needed to show him something. He was very impressed to see our bunny towel, and even more excited to see it stuffed with cash.

[Luckysll]

In addition to the auto tip and a little extra cash at the end of the cruise, I usually give the cabin steward and my dining room waiter a small Canadian flag pin. They have always been received well.

[elliebelle]

We leave our autotips on and then depending on service we will leave a tip at the end.. and cash tip room service or if we ask for something , like empty the minibar or some extra towels.. the ususal

 

This year I am going to leave a bowl of those little mini candy bars and a help yourself note.. if they want them take them.. if not... I am quite sure we will nibble on them....

 

I just don't think they have room for all the little " trinkets" although it is a sweet gesture cash is always well recieved.

[sharonny]

I put funny quotes on envelopes before we go and put $5.00 in each one. I add the stewards name onboard so they know it's for them. I leave one out everyday. :)

[skylock]

International prepaid calling cards so they can call home. So small it fits in their pocket. In addition to a picture of one of our US presidents, of course.

 

Skip the calling card and give the cash.

 

You do not know if they even have phone service back home.

 

Not all "international" calling cards can be used everywhere even if they have somewhere to call.

 

Give them the cash and if they want to make a call home, they can buy a card that will actually work on the phone system they are using.

[suscruise]

A few years ago we had a cabin steward who had a young son at home who loved Scooby Do. He mentioned that he could never find Scooby items to give to his son in the ports he visited (Alaska). We had friends who were going on the same ship a few weeks after we did so we bought some Scooby Do items and had our friends deliver them to him. He seemed genuinly thrilled he had something special for his son. We corresponded via email for a while, but lost touch after a year or so. It made us feel good to do this. (Yes, we also gave cash before we left the ship.)

[MrPete]

Cash.

 

They want your cash.

 

Leave the trinkets home. Could you even imagine the clutter.

[TakeMeAway1001]

After reading Cruise Confidential, I have a feeling the booze is very appreciated!:D

 

I was just thinking the same thing, that was a great book :)

 

A few things that I have left for the room stewards in addition to cash and always at their request were over the door shoe hangers/night lights/unused toiletries. These are things I gladly leave behind since its less stuff for me to take home and apparently they do use these items :) We have in the past brought little thank you cards that we have delivered with extra cash to those who made our cruise a little more special, I think a hand written note letting the staff know how much you appreciate their hard work means a lot to them and the cash as we all know by now makes them very happy~

[Perfect Stranger]

Forget the $2.00 bills....they look fake.

[bluehenfan]

As I posted on another thread, I work with a large cleaning staff daily. Their "customers" are there year around, not just one week, so they get to know them fairly well. If you treat them with respect, if you thank them once in awhile (if you're not a slob it helps too), they will like you. I'm sure my staff's living conditions and pay are much higher then the staff on a cruise ship. When holidays roll around they are most excited and appreciative of the cards they get with cash in them. They actually have felt sorry for coworkers who got a pair of hand knit gloves or a plate of cookies and have been known to all throw a couple dollars from their cards in the pot for their less fortunate coworker. It sounds a little cold, but these people are doing work that most of us wouldn't choose for a career and for pay that isn't great, for a reason. They are doing it because they need the money, be it on a ship, a hotel or an office building. If you do leave a little exta $$ be sure to leave a note of thanks because they do like to know their work is appreciated. Even better, hand it to them yourself with a handshake, a smile and a thank you at the end of your trip. Money given earlier may be mistaken for "give me extra special treatment" instead of the Thank you it's meant to be.

[bluehenfan]

On our last cruise, we left our room steward a very generous tip plus a thank you note, also filled out the card for special service for him, left him a bottle of wine and 12 pk of cokes. Later I wondered if we should have left him the wine as maybe they are not allowed to have it in their quarters. What do you think?

 

You should pick up a copy of the book "Cruise Confidential" - it'll answer this question for you very quickly!! LOL

[sixgun8]

pencils, pens and notepads stuff they can write home on,

 

personalized stuff like with state logos on it. We gave our steward something every day.

[bluehenfan]

Forget the $2.00 bills....they look fake.

 

First thing they'll do is find a place to trade them for 2 $1.00 bills! Same goes for those golden dollar coins that were so popular a few years ago. They couldn't get rid of them fast enough!! LOL

[halos]

Cash.

 

They want your cash.

 

Leave the trinkets home. Could you even imagine the clutter.

 

No matter how often it's said, people don't get it.

 

Little trinkets from each passenger add up to thousands of passengers per week x how many months of the crew member's contract, which means they will have a ton of *crap* by the end of their contract IF they keep it. My guess is they toss it.

 

I know some of you are trying to be generous and 'cute' but in this case try to be realistic. The little gift that is so well recieved isn't really.

So many people say, "But my cabin steward loved this *insert item*!"

What are they going to say after you hand them something...that they hate it?? Of course they'll act happy about it.

And again, as far as the 'cute' factor...what's with the coins or $2 bills???? JEEZE! Are you happy when you get that stuff handed to you as change?

This is their JOB, they don't want cute gifts. They want money...good old regular (non cute) money. Giving trinkets on top of money isn't necessary and is likely not as appreciated as you would think...if you were the only person giving the little trinket it would be lovely, but if everyone gave their cabin steward a little trinket every day, think how that would add up.

Would you like to go home after a contract with 10,000 pencils?

It seems to me that this is treating these adults like little children.

 

I think a hand written note letting the staff know how much you appreciate their hard work means a lot to them and the cash as we all know by now makes them very happy~

 

EXCELLENT!!

 

And the most important gift is the COMMENT CARD!!!

[Frick_&_Frack]

While we will tip extra at the end since cash is always the best (and I do write individual notes to each person who receives a tip), we have given candy, etc. to room stewards who have enjoyed the bowl we always keep in our room (hey, they love the candy and why take it home - we'll buy more ;)).

 

On the Island Princess, the first night our assistant waitress remarked how much she loved my DelSol keyring bear - so, at the last port (Jamaica - the only one with a store), I made a special trip in to the shopping center to get her one. No biggie for me - but the look on her face when she clipped it to her vest that night at dinner - brings tears to my eyes right now. I've done similar over the years for some who like certain items they can't find. If I find it during my "shore" time, I pick it up. Simple as that.

 

We've run into many cabin stewards, waiters, etc. repeatedly, and have lovely times with them (even stopping to have sodas on shore as well if they have time).