When on a cruise there are typically two members of the crew that will forever occupy a place in your memory; your dining room waiter and your cabin steward. These are the guys who will address you by name (usually preceded by a Mr. or Miss), you will interact with them more than any other member and usually you will either thank or blame them for your onboard experience. While all of them receive extensive training, their abilities will usually range from average to spectacular. If you cruise enough I guarantee there will even be some that you talk about years after you have left them. A great cabin steward or waiter can indeed leave a lasting memory. This leads me to the question what is the best way to thank them?

Cabin stewards and waiters both get tips and while I will always encourage you tip add a little something extra when it is warranted, some cruisers go a bit further by giving a special gift to these crew members. These gifts very in size, shape and utility but are they even appropriate? My belief is that they really are neither useful nor practical.

While I usually do leave a bottle in the room for my cabin steward this is usually done for my own reasons rather than for their benefit; sometimes you just don’t feel like lugging that fourth bottle of rum back home with you. While this goes against what I am about to say, I do know that deep down in the bowels of the ship there are usually raging parties going on so I know those bottles will get used. Even if the crew member doesn’t drink they can give it away or trade it to someone who does drink. However, most non-consumable gifts really are more of a burden than a gift.

Crew members stay in small cabins with up to three other roomates making space a limiting factor. Due to this space issue giving away knick-knacks isn’t the best course of action. You all know how small cabins are on a cruise ship. Now imagine having to live in that cabin with 3 other people for a period of 9 months. While it doesn’t seem like a souvenir t-shirt would be that big of a deal imagine if a couple of passengers gave them away on each sailing. You could easily be looking at over 50 t-shirts added to the already scarce closet space; not a good scenario. The same could be said about knick-knacks such as magnets, snow globes, scale models of the Sears tower or just about anything else you can think of;  the gesture will be appreciated but in the end its really just more clutter.

What gifts are okay to give a crew member?

There are some things that crew members will find useful that do not occupy much space. Things like pre-paid phone cards, personalized notes and of course cash will always be useful and appreciated. Best of all they take up hardly any space and will be used. My personal preference is cash wrapped in a personalized note. While anyone can open up a wallet and hand someone a wad of dough, taking the time out of your vacation to write a personalized note really goes a long way to showing just how much you valued the memories they helped to create.

Remember the bulk of the crew members signed on to make enough money to support a family back home or at the very least earn enough money to provide a better life for themselves. The thought behind giving someone a “gift” is great but in the end unless its something they can sell on eBay it really doesn’t help them accomplish their end goal.