Ship excursions tipping?

What if any is the usuall tips for a guide or driver. How much for a 3 hour, and a 6 hour tour?

For me, it depends upon the quality and friendliness of the tour guide. For a 3-6 hour tour, a good guide probably would earn a $2-$5 gratuity from me. A bus driver may or may not receive a gratuity from me. If the tour involved challenging driving conditions/traffic, he/she would receive some amount TBD at the time.

For what it's worth, on my most recent cruises, I have witnessed many on a tour offering no gratuities to the guide and even fewer to the bus driver. This is quite a change, in my opinion, from what used to be SOP.

Agree with RKA.

We do normally tip but how much depends upon the quality. We do tip the driver if they are not splitting.

Same on private tours.

One thing I have seen on HAL tours is many people not tipping. On private tours, most people do - but it might be connected to the quality they got ;)

Agree -- we tip according to how good the tour guide and/or bus driver have been.

There have been times when the bus driver was also our tour guide.

Since I had to start using a Rollator in 2012, we tip a little more as either the tour guide or bus driver (usually bus driver) have to store away my Rollator and help me off the bus.

I've given from $5 to $50. It varies on size and quality, and personal attention.

I agree with what has been said about tipping amounts, we might tip a little more but not by much. On this past year's world cruise I would say that most people DID tip the guide and sometimes the driver.

On the other hand, we don't tip at all if the guide is awful. We took a 4 hour tour of LA after a cruise (dropping at the airport) and the guide was terrible. Honestly as Americans we were embarrassed by his constant talk of how much people made and his life, his divorce, etc...The driver on the other hand was great and helped everyone with their luggage. He got a tip, the guide did not.

We tip ... how much depends on so many things. ;)

If it's a good 3 hour excursion, we tip $10 to the guide and $5:to the driver. If it's a good 5-6 hour excursion, we give the driver $5 and the guide $20. However, if the driver was exceptional, we'll give him $10 instead of $5.

We usually tip both the guide and the driver UNLESS the guide mentions that tips or gratuities are accepted and welcomed ... Then we do not tip either one. Asking for tips is begging, pure an simple. Anyone who asks for a tip clearly does not deserve one.

We've had fun, personable guides...and total duds. The tip depends on that, for the most part. And I agree...those that mention tipping more than once are unlikely to get anything.

In Alaska this summer I was surprised that it seemed most people did not tip.

My recent experience in Europe on HAL excursions is that many do not tip but I have also noticed many of the guides walk away from the bus immediately and are not available to tip. It appears the guides do not expect a tip.

We have always thought that for the ridiculous prices charged for most cruise line excursions...the shore excursion folks should tip the cruise ship passengers :).

Hank

In Alaska this summer I was surprised that it seemed most people did not tip.

Huh - we tipped as did most people when we were in Alaska last month.

My recent experience in Europe on HAL excursions is that many do not tip but I have also noticed many of the guides walk away from the bus immediately and are not available to tip. It appears the guides do not expect a tip.

I wonder if its because Europe is more of a tipless culture (although they do add a service charge on the bill in many restaurants). Then again, in many tourist towns, they seem to have adopted tipping.......

If it's a HAL excursion, many people might presume that the daily ship gratuity covered all services including the excursion; and, if not, that the cost of the excursion included a shared gratuity. I would be more likely to tip on an independently arranged excursion (even though the lower cost of the independent tour plus the gratuity might equal the cost of the HAL excursion in the final analysis).

Huh - we tipped as did most people when we were in Alaska last month.

 

 

 

.

We were very surprised. We did a land/sea tour and rarely did we see anyone tipping.

If it's a HAL excursion, many people might presume that the daily ship gratuity covered all services including the excursion; and, if not, that the cost of the excursion included a shared gratuity. I would be more likely to tip on an independently arranged excursion (even though the lower cost of the independent tour plus the gratuity might equal the cost of the HAL excursion in the final analysis).

That's interesting. We never tip on an independently contracted tour. We figure it's their business, they set the price and we pay it...sort of like a plumber coming to your home and charging you a fee, we wouldn't tip them.

If however the tour is actually a large business where the tour guide is just an employee, that might be different.

It probably depends on where the cruising passengers are from.

If it was an Alaskan or European cruise there may be many Australians on the ship and as a rule we don't tip. DH and I try to follow the custom of the country we are visiting.

If it was a Carribean cruise - I doubt there would be many Aussies on the ship. I only know one Aussie who has been cruising to the Carribean.

We always tip the driver and guide according to the service provided. It takes a lot for us NOT to tip someone. About the only thing that would cause us not to tip would be hearing about tip being welcomed, etc. more than once. With many people not tipping, I don't mind if they mention it ONCE.

Typically, I tip about $5 for a half-day tour, and $10 for a full day tour, assuming the guide was at least all right. I did not tip the guide who managed to lose several of us in Israel, and wouldn't accept responsibility for it.

And I don't tip when in countries where it is not the custom to tip. For example, in Japan it is considered an insult.

If the driver has been helpful to me boarding and leaving the bus, and storing my rollator, I give him an extra tip, too.

... We do normally tip but how much depends upon the quality. We do tip the driver if they are not splitting...

How do you determine (and verify) whether or not driver and guide are "splitting"?

One thing I have seen on HAL tours is many people not tipping. On private tours, most people do - but it might be connected to the quality they got ;)

Our experience is exactly opposite yours. Or it might be because people on HAL tours (a) do not want to offend/embarrass fellow passengers from countries that do not customarily tip and/or (b) are less ostentatious in their tipping and don't feel the need to impress their fellow passengers ...

We tip $5 if the driver stands by when we get on/off the vehicle, giving impression that they are ready to help when needed,

Sent from my iPhone using Forums