Just returned from the Ryndam 3/23 to 4/2 cruise to Mexico. I wrote a note and gave extra compensation to 4 crew members who provided excellent service. I did not tell them that this was in addition to the mandatory amount deducted from our ship board account. My question is...will these crew members know that we paid the mandatory $10.00 per day and the evelope money was extra? Or will they think that the extra amount was the only gratuity that my wife and I provided? And to make sure, if you sail on the Ryndam please find I.G., who is an Assistant dining room manager (a tall, handsome young man with a 10,000 watt smile) and please tell him that he, Sur, Alip, and Cabin Steward Joko should get our mandatory plus the extra money that I gave them in the evelope on April 1, from Mr and Mrs. Ruby who sat at table 160, second seating.
Thanks for the information. I had a lot of fun with the dining room crew, especially Sur, who is one of the very best waiters we have had. He is also a truly nice person, and very competent.
It has been many years since I was on the Ryndam but I was wondering if a gentleman from Holland still works on that ship. His name was Georges Caas. Very handsome. Tall with reddish blonde hair. I'm not sure what he did as far as a job on the ship. Maybe a host or something....Anyways, he was very nice!
As I noted in another posting somewhere, per the Purser's office on the Zuiderdam, any gratuities over and above that already on the shipboard account, is still to be added to the "gratuity pot" for all staff. If you really want to help your staff, a note or letter of praise is greatly appreciated. Staff seemed to be extra alert and sensitive to any seeming mis-steps or problems, with some commenting as to repercusions on poor or bad service. Next cruise, we will be sure to hand our cash directly to the person we want to have it - and let him and/or her know how much we appreciate their hard work (especially on HAL - they have to have the hardest working staff at sea!)
