Do you tip on Excursions?

[Mattypies]

I asked specifically in the port of call boards but didn't receive any feedback.

 

When you go on an excursion is it customary to tip?

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Heather

[Clarea]

I usually see people tip at the end of excursions.

[lady_cruiser]

Yes we do tip and like clarea we tip (bus driver, tour guide, helpers) at the end of our excursion.

[jennywren46]

We always do , the driver and the guide .

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Yes, it is customary to tip on an excursion. You will probably get all sorts of answers on this topic, but as a guideline I usually tip a minimum of $5 pp for a half day tour and $10 pp for a full day tour. That will vary a bit according to the level of service and price of the tour.

[jo24]

Some of the excursions I have been on were really fantastic - brilliant guides who were funny and informative - they definitely got a tip. I have had a couple of bad experiences where guides have been rude, uninformative and the tour has not been good and then I haven't tipped.

 

This is based on excursions from cruise ships and land based holidays.

 

Jo :)

Edited January 24, 2014 by jo24

[rednancy1]

Yes, it is customary to tip on an excursion. You will probably get all sorts of answers on this topic, but as a guideline I usually tip a minimum of $5 pp for a half day tour and $10 pp for a full day tour. That will vary a bit according to the level of service and price of the tour.

 

That's exactly what we do. $10 pp for a full day and $5 pp for a half day.

[Smallfamily]

We tip $10-$15pp plus $5 to the driver

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Mattypies]

Thanks for the quick replies! I really appreciate the advice and the $5 & $10 guidelines.

[summersigh]

Some of the excursions I have been on were really fantastic - brilliant guides who were funny and informative - they definitely got a tip. I have had a couple of bad experiences where guides have been rude, uninformative and the tour has not been good and then I haven't tipped. :)

 

Ditto for us :)

[willing292]

We also tip the bus driver if there is one, although less for him than the tour guide.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Desertbelle]

We do tip, but we tip according to what the person actually did for us. A driver who gets us through traffic quickly is valuable to us and we tip well for that. A guide who speaks clearly, gives us interesting information and who gets us to the front of lines is going to get a very good tip from us.....a guide who says little, seems uninterested and can't be understood will not get much.

 

In our many years of cruising and taking excursions, the guides make or break the experience and we appreciate those who work hard to give us great memories!!

[DrD]

Yes, 10-15% of the price of the tour but never less than $20.

 

I guess if I received bad service I'd tip less but that's never happened in 14 cruises.

[keishashadow]

We tip a minimum of 10%, usually more for decent tour, but never less than $10 pp.

[NMLady]

I asked specifically in the port of call boards but didn't receive any feedback.

 

When you go on an excursion is it customary to tip?

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Heather

 

We always tip the driver and also the tour guide.

[cb at sea]

It's up to you....if you feel you got more than your money's worth, tip! If you feel it was basically transportation, there's no need to tip.

[helpthejuggler]

Depends on where in the world since different customs apply.

 

Transport only - Not normally add I got what I paid for. Nothing to pay extra for.

[ithaca gal]

We always tip extra for the tour guide and bus driver. It if it just transportation and there is a little "bucket" or "box" for tips, we will throw in a dollar. Why not? Doesn't make that much difference to us but might mean a lot to the driver. :)

[wwcruisers]

We do tip, but we tip according to what the person actually did for us. A driver who gets us through traffic quickly is valuable to us and we tip well for that. A guide who speaks clearly, gives us interesting information and who gets us to the front of lines is going to get a very good tip from us.....a guide who says little, seems uninterested and can't be understood will not get much.

 

In our many years of cruising and taking excursions, the guides make or break the experience and we appreciate those who work hard to give us great memories!!

 

Well said -- that's our philosophy too. :cool:

[mistshar]

On the excursions that we have been on, they normally have a tip jar that is very visible for you to put tips in. So there is no question whether you should tip or not. They also usually say "If you enjoyed your excursion, a tip would be appreciated" or something like that.

[Erik101]

I always tip BUT the only time I didn't was at the Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios. The guy who was leading us to the top of the falls demanded we tip him. We told him that our money was back in our lockers. He tried following us back to the lockers but he got lost in the crowds. And we left!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have tipped the tour guides and bus drivers about 99% of the time.

A couple of times we had some very bad guides.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I always tip BUT the only time I didn't was at the Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios. The guy who was leading us to the top of the falls demanded we tip him. We told him that our money was back in our lockers. He tried following us back to the lockers but he got lost in the crowds. And we left!

 

That's scary! Was he a guide for the entire day, or just at Ocho Rios? It almost sounds like a mugging!

[Nebr.cruiser]

Yes, it is customary to tip on an excursion. You will probably get all sorts of answers on this topic, but as a guideline I usually tip a minimum of $5 pp for a half day tour and $10 pp for a full day tour. That will vary a bit according to the level of service and price of the tour.

 

This is about what we do, depending on length, complexity and quality of the tour. So far we've never had a tour (we do almost all independent excursions) that was so bad we didn't tip.

 

Since we haven't done a ship tour for literally years, I don't know what's expected on them anymore, but I would think tipping would be the norm.

[CowPrincess]

We usually tip. I can remember only one excursion (done through the ship) that we withheld a tip. With good reason ;)