Gifts for the crew?

[Alaska777]

I was just reading a trip report where she brought a gift for one of the crew members. And then I also just learned that the crew can’t leave the ship. Any thoughts on what I could bring for small gifts for people?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I was just reading a trip report where she brought a gift for one of the crew members. And then I also just learned that the crew can’t leave the ship. Any thoughts on what I could bring for small gifts for people?

Really, they don't need gifts. If you want to show appreciation to the crew, additional tips, as well as a mention on the comment card (by name) as to how they made your trip magical work the best.

Remember, they don't have that much space in their rooms for stuff that they didn't personally bring aboard.

 

[Intr3pid]

Prepaid SIM cards are their favorite. Getting in touch with family back home is very expensive on board.

Additional tips and name dropping on the comment card are good too - even if that takes a bit of time to work through the payroll system.

 

[Chemist]

Money.

Money can be turned into phone calls and anything else crew members would like.

That and positive comments on the evaluation cards.

 

[Alaska777]

I will do extra tips and comments, of course. I was thinking something to eat.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I will do extra tips and comments, of course. I was thinking something to eat.

You have no way of knowing what any particular CM would like to eat, or what their eating habits/issues may be. I would stick with extra tips and excellent comments.

 

[godde8ss]

Amazon gift cards...which again is money

 

[cvjw]

Cash. And then they can buy what they want or need. Or send to their families back home.

 

[dcassetta]

Money and comments. Although there are limits to crew leaving the ship, our bartender told us that DCL is currently offering a shopping service for crew members. They can make a list of what they need and items are purchased when in port.

 

[Lizgistix]

Can you bring homemade baked goods with you on the ship? I didn't think that was allowed.

My preferred method is cash, that way they can buy what they need, not what I think they need.

 

[anricat]

Can you bring homemade baked goods with you on the ship? I didn't think that was allowed.

You are correct, this is not permitted.

 

[dreamer17555]

Can you give cash to the kids club (teen club) coordinators? I thought they couldn’t accept it so my son was thinking of making pixie dust gifts for them…

 

[Geomom]

Can you give cash to the kids club (teen club) coordinators? I thought they couldn’t accept it so my son was thinking of making pixie dust gifts for them…

You are correct, they cannot take cash. I know pre-covid, they were happy to take some newer used magazines, hard candies, and chocolates to share.

 

[dreamer17555]

You are correct, they cannot take cash. I know pre-covid, they were happy to take some newer used magazines, hard candies, and chocolates to share.

That’s what we were thinking of! Thank you

 

[dhutchin12]

You are correct, they cannot take cash. I know pre-covid, they were happy to take some newer used magazines, hard candies, and chocolates to share.

We brought boxes of Girl Scout cookies once and handed those out to the kids clubs CM's.

 

[71 Truck]

We also do the extra tipping and the names of cast/crew members who go that extra mile on every cruise.
We will add an extra tip to the tip already on our drink bill, that extra tip goes directly to that cast member.
We bring cash to go on top of our prepaid tips for the room steward,the restaurant head server,server and the assistant server.

We will also bring bags of the small Hershey chocolate bars.

 

[Freeman867]

Really, they don't need gifts. If you want to show appreciation to the crew, additional tips, as well as a mention on the comment card (by name) as to how they made your trip magical work the best.

Remember, they don't have that much space in their rooms for stuff that they didn't personally bring aboard.

Exactly this. Don't give them crap they may not want or need. Give them a larger tip and make sure to provide feedback to them through the official DCL channels. Their bosses likely use those comments to inform ongoing raises/schedule preferences/ship preferences/a lot of other things, so that's the best way you can show someone appreciation.

 

[lunaland]

We asked on our last cruise (1/24 on the Wonder) if they would like any specific items since we had heard they could not leave the ship to buy them. Everyone we asked said that they placed Amazon orders and could order whatever they needed. When pressed, a few basically said that extra $$ was great because they lost a lot of income while cruising was shut down. As a result, we simply tipped more.

 

[FastPasser.]

Having been a long time CM at WDW, I threw away any edible gifts ASAP and never kept non-edible gifts. Nice thought but I wouldn't bother.

 

[bbel]

As an ex crew member - snacks! Especially at the moment. Yes they have the crew store, but it’s so limited an over priced.
the ‘experts’ always say no to snacks, but those of us who have lived with the crew mess for meals, would never say no to snacks. If they don’t like it they’ll swap it, Someone will have it. Very few crew have allergies (very few are American ) A bag of snacks in the office lasted 10 seconds.
sure, the rooms are small, but they don’t live in a shoe box, there’s enough space to store stuff for future use.
Hand sanitisers, mints, gum (yes, it’s not allowed, but we all had some haha), coffee sachets, all greatly appreciated if anyone wants to give stuff.