Holiday gifts for staff

[Blacksmith112]

I know I've seen threads for this topic before but can't seem to find any now :/ anyways, if cruising close to Christmas and we'd like to give a small gift to the staff members assigned to us, what would be a good gift idea? I know in the past people had said pre-paid calling cards, I'm not sure if that is still appropriate? Ideas anyone?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I think the last time this topic came up, the consensus of opinion was to increase the crew/cast members' tip, and compliment them on your comment card. Compliments go a long way to their getting a raise. They have very little space for gifts in their rooms, so a gift would need to be something that gets used up or eaten rather than stored. Not sure about a calling card -- a lot of the crew use skype when they're in port.

 

[Blacksmith112]

Yeah the calling card idea was pre-widespread use of Skype/internet on board. Good suggestions, thank you!

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Portraits of dead presidents

 

[bumbershoot]

Money to the CMs and written compliments using their names turned in to the cruise line.

 

[bbel]

Things like a hand-written note (they make our way back to us and we get to keep them, and you get more recognition then a the usual name on a comment card.)! But if you want to be different and actually give something which we really don't expect but are always very much appreciated: simple things like candy! Last year around Christmas there was a couple who always had candy canes with them and handed them out to every crew member they saw. Ive come home from contracts with things like pens, keychains, wristbands, bracelets, lip balms, pins (mainly from the bottle-top pin couple!) pictures, magnets...Even after three years I keep them all in a memory box with other things I've collected.

 

[Skittlesmom]

We've cruised a few times with a couple boxes of girl scout cookies and given them to the staff (host/waiter). They can keep them or share them with others. Maybe something unique from where you live. Increased tips are great too. Name recognition for great customer service is highly desired by DCL staff as it helps with recognition, bonuses, internal promotions, and future contracts with DCL.

 

[Bishoparc]

We just returned from a cruise on the Dream and we gave our dining team and stateroom host one of those candy cane shaped things with a different candy in it each night (Reece's, Skittles, Hershey's kisses). They all seemed to appreciate it very much.

We also heard, and maybe @bbel can confirm this, but a lot of them love Nutella and apparently it is hard to get it onboard so we have some of that to our team as well. (We were told that by a previous DCL employee.) But as others have said, don't let this replace a better tip but it's a great little addition.

 

[bbel]

We just returned from a cruise on the Dream and we gave our dining team and stateroom host one of those candy cane shaped things with a different candy in it each night (Reece's, Skittles, Hershey's kisses). They all seemed to appreciate it very much.

We also heard, and maybe @bbel can confirm this, but a lot of them love Nutella and apparently it is hard to get it onboard so we have some of that to our team as well. (We were told that by a previous DCL employee.) But as others have said, don't let this replace a better tip but it's a great little addition.

Yes Nutella! It's not available in the crew mess or crew store and can be difficult to track down in port. I'm not a fan, but I know a lot of crew members who would love you forever if you gave them even just a spoonful!