Tip question (for port excursions)

[summercruisin']

What is a reasonable amount to tip for an excursion? What do most people do or what is expected? I'm not trying to get out of tipping, for the record, in any way. Just packing! :D

[rwpneon]

Some excursion guides steer you towards site vendors and others openly solicit tips. When tip solicitations are made we tend to give at least $5.00. I am sure some will give more or nothing at all so it will be interesting to see the replies.

[tnincy]

depends on the duration of the excursion and how the guide was. some go above and beyond and make your excursion very memeorable. others just do their job. we always tip a minimum of $5.00.

[LarAndShar]

depends on the duration of the excursion and how the guide was. some go above and beyond and make your excursion very memeorable. others just do their job. we always tip a minimum of $5.00.

 

per person?

[cwiggy]

tipped a couple bucks to our hosts on the boat going from mainland Nassau to Paradise Island ... each way ... they definitely solicited it and we figured if everyone on board threw in a couple bucks they were getting paid pretty decently for the repetitve entertainment they provided :o

[JohninDC]

for good and friendly service I tip $5.00 per person or 10% of the tour cost, whichever is largest. Good luck!:)

[tnincy]

per person?

 

not usually. $5.00 total. but our excursions have only lasted a few hours. we are also a party of 2. we have tipped slightly more on several occasions as our tour was lenghty and we felt the guide deserved a bit more.

[Calker]

We usually tip $10.00 to our guide/tour leader.

 

We have only deviated from this once when we were told that we were expected to give $10.00 per person to the tour guide who would walk - point and say - "that's the port" - "that's the grade school" - "that's the (fill in the blank) - no history, no expression, - no tip.

[golfadj]

It depends upon what the guide added to our tour.

 

Last year in Saint John we had an awesome guide and gave him $ 20 for me and DW.

 

If the guide is just going thru the motions we will not give a tip at all.

[P.A.]

We are on a fishing tour in Alaska and I was wondering the same thing. Our tour is over $500 (private boat) so was wondering how much on somthing like this?

[morrieb1]

If it's a Carnival sponsored excursion - they cover it in their FAQ

"Tipping is a discretionary matter. However, it is customary around the world, if you are pleased with their excursion, to tip the tour guide. A general rule of thumb is one dollar per person for a half-day excursion and two dollars per person for a full-day excursion.

"

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Shore_Excursions_FAQs/shore_ex_faq_ShouldITip.aspx

 

 

I treat that # like I would the onboard gratuities - it's a starting place so I generally tip more.

 

Em

[truchattycathy]

I usually tip $10 if there is more than one guide on board; however, I tip $20 when I go on a small excursion and have great service from two guides.

 

It is really up to the individual. I do a lot of excursions solo and usually get really great service.

 

J:)Y

[NoniLynn]

We always tip a minimum of $5.00 per person...more for exceptional service.

[boaterette]

We tip a minimum of $10 per person. Even the shuttle dirvers we tip a dollar per person. That is how they make their living.

[gtouch]

We have always tipped in the past. But most of the others don't tip. Do what you want. If you don't your in the majority. We have always had good excursions and YES I know we have already paid but we felt an additional tip was warrented. But it is really up to you. And watching what few tipped in the past we tipped on the high side most of the others just gave a dollar or nothing. It is a personal decision.

[Cruisin'Lovebirds]

for good and friendly service I tip $5.00 per person or 10% of the tour cost, whichever is largest. Good luck!:)

 

We agree. Service workers who give you great service in a tourist-based economy survive on tips. When they go out of their way, they should be rewarded. We start with $5/person and add more if it's a long excursion or the history and culture discussion was great.

[TifffanyD]

We had no idea how much to tip and did 3 excursions at $80 per person per excursion. We tipped about $20 for the 2 of us on each of the first 2 excursions (the first had one guide and the 2nd had a few but they shared everything). On the 3rd we tripped $15 to our main guide, $5 to the guide who was with us half the way, and $5 to each of the boat captains. It was an awesome tour and I didn't mind giving it - esp when you see what a lot of people live in and how they are working so hard to make your vacation great! I will say I was surprised when I gave our tip that I saw some people just giving a couple of dollars per group - just cause I thought the grats were more in the 10-15% range (altho I was just guessing).

 

For the next excursion we are planning it is $120 per person so I might tip more than $20 for the 2 of us, not sure!

[cb at sea]

If the "excursion" is simply transportation, a tip really isn't needed. If the guide goes "above and beyond" to give you a great experience, the tip what you feel it's worth. It's not necessary to tip a "percentage"....these excursions are waaaay too expensive to do that, IMO!

It's really up to you if you feel tipping is warranted.

We've had some superior tours that we still remember, and tipped well for. Others....not much to write home about, and no tip was forthcoming....

[foreverleanna]

always tip the divemaster!!!!!!!!