Candy for CM's?

[kerri714]

Im new here....Please help!

Who are we supposed to bring candy/goodies for and why?? lol

Thanks!!

 

[Yvette563]

Im new here....Please help!

Who are we supposed to bring candy/goodies for and why?? lol

Thanks!!

Hi Kerri714.. People (myself included) will give small or big (in my case ) bags of candy or treats to cast members for different reasons some for no reason at all, as a way of saying "thank you" for all the hard work they do.. If you are getting something signed such as a pillow case, photo mat or anything else, its customary (not requiered tho) to give Guest Services (who signs the souvenier) a bag of candy/treats as a thank you for taking the time to do it. Guest Services are not able to receive monetary gifts so people decided to start presenting them with treat bags. Cast members have to spend their own money to buy treats (candy, chips, popcorn etc) so they absolutely love receiving them as gifts. On our last cruise in Jan. we gave Guestes Services a huge bag of assorted candy (twix, snickers, m&m's, butterfinger, gum, Microwave popcorn, chips and pretzels) I also gave smaller bags of the same things to our room host, server team and a few of the maintenence people. They loved it!!! They all work so hard to make sure you have an awesome cruise if feels really nice to give back! But again it is NOT required...

 

[mgroshans]

We gave a candy bar and snack bag of cookies to our stateroom host each day and he thanked us every day!! It's a nice surprise when he came to make up the room in the morning.

 

[Majik]

Crew in the kids clubs are also not permitted to accept cash so any treats are appreciated.

 

[fatfish]

On our Dec Dream cruise, Chocolate was by far the favorite.

I literally had 8 bags of candy to hand out. I had full size bars and the fun size as well, and packs of gum. I would let the Kids Clubs CM's choose what they wanted, and the Snickers & Milky Ways were by far the favorites. I think only one or two CMs wanted gum. As several of the CMs told me, since they are not allowed to chew gum while working, and there is no place to buy gum onboard, they simply got out of the habit.

Our stateroom host preferred the chocolate as well, but he seemed to like everything (we gave him fruit, cookies, a chocolate-covered strawberry and gum). We had several occasions to visit Guest Services to get something "handled", so I started bringing the full size bars there. The favorites there were Kit Kats and Hershey bars. You would not believe how happy these CMs were to get the candy! Something so simple can make a big difference in their day.

 

[Disney Dreams]

We do assortments of Twix, M&M's, Reese's, etc. and also always do salty snacks like Cheez-its, Pringles & pretzels - that way there is something for everyone's taste!
We also randomly hand them out to crew that we see around the ship. Maintenance guys LOVE to get snacks & are always so happily surprised!
Next cruise we're sending a bag of goodies down to the engine room!

hehe, I did something similar. I always had some selection of candy from the variety packs I mentioned above on me while walking around the ship or going to activities. I would just randomly give them to staff, crew, whomever. They LOVED it.

I would make a special point to go over to the people cleaning the windows, the restrooms, polishing the rails, etc... They always seemed sooooo surprised. Of course they would say, "no thank you," at first, but after a second or third offer, they would accept with a huge smile.

It became a source of fun throughout our cruise for me, seeing as how much they enjoyed it.

- Dreams

 

[chllywlly911]

Those guy's will really appreciate that you thought of them and appreciate it so much!

Ex Techie

How could I get candy down to the engine room? maintenance?

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Easiest would be to just drop it off at GS marked for the attention of what ever department you would like to send it to

Ex Techie

 

[WhitGB]

Our kids wrapped the tips around packs of gum and handed them out when we ordered room service. They would fight over who got to answer the door and give the tip/gum.

We also brought the bags of mini oreos (lunch size) for thgtose who signed our autographed stuff.

 

[dbarker]

I gave out bags of individually wrapped LifeSavers. We travel during the summer and was afraid of chocolate melting.

Now, I just need to figure out some of the "unsung heroes" departments.

So far, I have a very short list:
Maintenance
Laundry
Engine Room

BTW, I make up treat bags w/ candy, gum, etc and sample packs of Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets for all of the tipped positions (along w/ their monetary tips).

 

[MartDM]

I just got one of those jumbo assortment bags of fun sized candy they have at places like Target & Walmart (I think they are 3 or 3.5 lbs). They always have 4 or 5 different types of name brand candy in every bag. Never thought of including salty type snacks as well; will remember this for next time!

And PP's thought to send one to maintenance staff as well is terrific. I will be doing the same; thanks for sharing a great idea to acknowledge the "forgotten" crew who probably seldom receive treats.

 

[patman2011]

wow, great idea, yet something else for me to plan for!
I like the idea though, I have printed up "calling card" type things that I would have my kids draw/write thank yous to people before( we live in Texas, manners are very big down here). will think about doing this as well!

 

[Yvette563]

I gave out bags of individually wrapped LifeSavers. We travel during the summer and was afraid of chocolate melting.

Now, I just need to figure out some of the "unsung heroes" departments.

So far, I have a very short list:
Maintenance
Laundry
Engine Room

BTW, I make up treat bags w/ candy, gum, etc and sample packs of Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets for all of the tipped positions (along w/ their monetary tips).

I also gave out treat bags along with their monetary tips to the "tipped" CM's... However I NEVER thought to include the 3 in 1 laundry sheets!!! I absolutely LOVE that idea! I will borrow that idea for my next cruise if you don't mind!

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

I gave out bags of individually wrapped LifeSavers. We travel during the summer and was afraid of chocolate melting.

Now, I just need to figure out some of the "unsung heroes" departments.

So far, I have a very short list:
Maintenance
Laundry
Engine Room

BTW, I make up treat bags w/ candy, gum, etc and sample packs of Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets for all of the tipped positions (along w/ their monetary tips).

The Laundry dept is predominately Asian so flavored noodles in packets that just require hot water would probably be a hit if you wanted an light weight alternative to candy as well!

Ex Techie

 

[kenzie212]

This is such a great idea and I never would have thought of doing this.

For those that have done this in the past how many snack bags do you think you need to get through an 8 night cruise? My daughter would love putting together snack bags and handing them out.

 

[ppiew]

Room steward (a friend) on DREAM cruise said they receive so much candy they give it away if possible, or throw it out. Some can't have sugar and they receive just plain too much. We were told that on one cruise he filled a LARGE garbage bag with the candy given to them!!!! I would keep this in mind while searching for alternatives. Trust me, they like cash better than anything!!!! Maybe a kind note in an envelope with an additional tip would be well received.

 

[Minnie Monellen]

Room steward (a friend) on DREAM cruise said they receive so much candy they give it away if possible, or throw it out. Some can't have sugar and they receive just plain too much. We were told that on one cruise he filled a LARGE garbage bag with the candy given to them!!!! I would keep this in mind while searching for alternatives. Trust me, they like cash better than anything!!!! Maybe a kind note in an envelope with an additional tip would be well received.

I gave the coupons + additional cash to the four tipped positions (room steward and dining room staff). In addition I gave a box of PUREX laundry detergent to the room steward who was very happy to receive it and gourmet candy bars to the dining room staff. The dining room staff seemed surprised to get the candy bars, but not that excited about them. They too probably had more than enough candy given to them during their cruises. They all were very happy about the extra cash!

 

[sissy_ib]

As far as laundry soap and things like that....It really is a nice gesture, but I am with others and think just save the $5 it cost to buy the soap and put it in a tip envelope. Now if you brought laundry soap with you and didn't want to take it home, I could see leaving the extra. As far as food, you just never know what peoples tastes are. Again, I say save the $$$ it would have cost and add it to the tip. Even if it is just $2. That is $2 they can buy a candy with.

 

[sissy_ib]

Post I replied to was deleted.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

In regard to the Laundry Room guy's, they are mostly Chinese national's working for a Vendor, who speak very little english if at all.
They work so hard in a incredibly hot and smelly environment, dealing with your soiled bed lining and undergarment's.
They send all their money back home to their families, you will never never see them in the crew bar, and eat white rice and soup etc 3 time's a day, for 8 months at a time.
The maybe leave the ship for the morning every couple of month's for a trip to the mall.

So some noodles, (if you want to bring them ) might be a nice gesture! (and they don't need refrigeration as they are sealed so pose no pest problem.)

HTH's!

Ex Techie