Hi All!
Personally, I think one of the best parts of the entire FE game is the fact that it is so open to interpretation.
Now I tend to fall firmly into the "crafty" camp and for the most part I will be making most of the FE gifts for our upcoming cruise (I do have over a year to go but I have already started production...) but I will probably be augmenting with some store bought items as well.
If you check the "Just For Fun" thread here on DISboards you will find a list of the DISigners offering their services for everything from name tags and door magnets to t-shirt transfer designs and sucker and candywrappers.
As was mentioned, candy for the shows is always welcome. You could also consider giving cruise survival kits which would consist of a few band aids, some zip ties, travel sized bottles or individually sealed packets of hand sanitizer, a highlighted a few safety pins and maybe an individually sealed packet of chewable Pepto.
You might also consider getting some photo frame mats from someplace like Michaels or Joann's crafts. Get one for each cabin participating and a set of colorful sharpies. On the first day of the cruise you can drop them off at guest services to have them signed by the characters. Since you will know the cabin numbers participating make sure that each frame has a cabin number attached to it. You can also put the first "autograph" on the frame before you drop it off like "Cruise Memories" and the date of the cruise or the catch phrase for your cruise meets thread group.
You can pick them up near the end of the cruise and then deliver them yourself. I don't know how many you can drop off for sure but I do know that the last cruise we took I did this for my group (four cabins) with no problems.
8 x 10 works great and they are not super expensive especially for plain white mats. If you do decide to try this one you might want to include some candy for the crew members and characters who are helping you out.
For kids crayons and coloring pages which you can download free make a good gifts.
Also check your local
Disney store (especially their sale or clearance section) fir trinkets. They also have cute reusable shopping bags for a couple of bucks each that would come in really handy on shore shopping excursions or to carry things to and from the beach or the pool.
Hope that helps!
Take care all, help lots of people and have a great day!