kittysoul Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 I am just letting youtube videos about cruises run in the background... it's what i do now instead of tv shows , at least part of the time..... lol This one lady, in her tips video, said that her family always makes up a gift bag gift to leave for their room steward on the first night.... does anyone else do this.... is it common...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDemuth Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 18 minutes ago, kittysoul said: I am just letting youtube videos about cruises run in the background... it's what i do now instead of tv shows , at least part of the time..... lol This one lady, in her tips video, said that her family always makes up a gift bag gift to leave for their room steward on the first night.... does anyone else do this.... is it common...? Not heard of that, but my guess is that cruise staff would appreciate cash tips much more than a gift bag. Baked Alaska, RickinSTL, kittysoul and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickinSTL Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 They love gifts of Green.. Crew usually don't have very much room to store things as they live in cramped quarters. Their pay is minimal. Many send most if not all of what they make back home. DDemuth, Baked Alaska, RWDW1204 and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 A good write up on your end of cruise survey will help the steward and will be greatly appreciated. Cash is always appreciated. kittysoul and Baked Alaska 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiel53 Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 There are passengers, mostly first timers, that think they want to give their stewards something as an extra. There is a running joke for years about someone's giving his steward a key chain with a John Deere tractor on it and thinking the steward was really happy with it. I have to say the crew is very polite, and will act like they love whatever is given to them. Their quarters are very small, so where would they put all the things given to them? If your boss gave you magnet from your/his home town instead of a bonus, would you be happy? Common sense is not always common. Having said that, we give extra cash to whomever we feel deserves it. I did give our extra cash to our steward on one cruise and wrapped it in KitKat bars. I thought he could eat them, share them, or throw them away and it would't matter to me. He said he loved them and I thought, yeah, and I knew that's what he would say as he was a very kind person. Later that night, I saw the empty wrappers on his cart, so maybe he really did like them, lol? I believe most of the crew have their paychecks sent home to feed, care for their families. I also believe that the cash they receive allows them to buy some things they may want/need. It's not up to me to decide what they need, so, for us, cash is king. kittysoul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 Agree with the comments of cash is king. Personally if wanting to give a gift I'd go for prepackaged and unopened edibles. Way I view it is I'm sure they could swap candy and such with crew members in return for something else. This is always in addition to some cash. Another example is sailing over Halloween I'll bring a "wholesale club" size bag of fun size candy/chocolate and put it out in a dish in the room. Then when meeting the stateroom attendant I'll tell them to help themselves. Most of the time the contents of the bowl dwindles down or favorites go missing. Of course when restocked it happens again. I've also done reverse trick or treat and went down the hall offering the attendants some goodies. kittysoul, cruisestuff and RWDW1204 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 IMHO- the thoughtful gifts are nice but what really makes a difference is cash. These folks work long hours away from their home countries & families so they can earn more money to better their lives back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsTryThisPlace Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 I agree with above about giving cash and not gifts. I used to work with Filipinos and Jamaicans who would send almost their whole pays to support their families back home and make sure their kids could go to a good school etc. We always try to give a little extra as a thank you. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 I agree with the others. I know the idea of a gift sounds more creative and personal, at the end of the day, cash is what they all want the most. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdixon22 Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 We always take a bag of assorted mini candy bars and fill a glass with a sticky note that says "Thank you" during our cruise. At the end of the cruise we add extra cash to the same glass. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 23 hours ago, CGTLH said: I've also done reverse trick or treat and went down the hall offering the attendants some goodies You're a good man Charlie Brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomWolf Posted July 28, 2019 Report Share Posted July 28, 2019 Cash is king but I've heard of people leaving phone cards before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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