Tipping for Excursions

[Nevada Jen]

How much do you generally tip for excursions and how do you tip?  I was thinking $20 a person for a day long excursion.  Is that about right or do I tip based on the price of the excursion?  I am never sure I have it right.

[havanadaydreaming]

i remember my first excursion, a catamaran snorkel thing, long ago.  I was flabbergasted the staff and captain put out announcement for tips, that expectation literally never crossed my mind and I left all cash on ship.  ugh!

 

we usually tip about $10 now. 

[silvercrikhix]

We tip based on the guide, excursion, service & attitude.  
Usually something $10, sometimes $20.
Maybe once or twice $0 since the guides were jerks, crass &/or greedy acting. 

[Nevada Jen]

I'm not looking to get into a tipping debate.  I am going to tip unless the service is horrible.  So it sounds like for those who chose to tip, it is generally based on the number of people in the party not on the cost of the tour.  I guess that makes sense.  I tip hotel housekeeping based on number of nights stayed, not the cost of the room.

[momof3cruisers]

51 minutes ago, silvercrikhix said:

We tip based on the guide, excursion, service & attitude.  
Usually something $10, sometimes $20.
Maybe once or twice $0 since the guides were jerks, crass &/or greedy acting. 

We almost always tip between $5 and $10 pp for tours. For five of us to a beach in St Thomas, I tip $10 total. The shuttle ride is $50 each way for us. If it’s a day long tour, I would do more. 
 

We did have a terrible tour guide to the Everglades from the port and then to the airport. He decided to go on a political tirade about Trump buying up too much land and...I don’t know what else as I stopped listening. The last thing I want to hear about on vacation is politics.  He also made some really derogatory remarks about the poor areas we passed by.  He didn’t get a tip from hardly anyone as far as I know. People were talking about not giving him anything on the way to the airport. Apparently, he shoved one of the passengers at the airport because the guy told him WHY he wasn’t giving him a tip and told another one he was an a#*#$(& for only giving him $5. We heard about those incidents from a lady who was on our flight and got off the bus after we did. 

[joepeka]

For us, it's usually 10-20% of the total tour cost, if the service warrants it - less otherwise, more if we're blown away by the guide's attention, knowledge and friendliness.

Edited December 17, 2019 by joepeka

[Doggielover68]

We usually tip $5-$10 on an excursion. We almost always have a fantastic time and the crew goes out of their way to make sure we are having fun, are safe, etc especially on tours that involve snorkeling. 

 

If we are are going somewhere with additional staff, singles are helpful. For example, we went to Passion Island in Cozumel and there are tons of people working there. The bartenders are grateful for any tips received and it also encourages better service. Most people did not tip for their included drinks so the bartenders often served us first. 

 

It's best to check what the customs are wherever you are going. In the Caribbean and US, tipping is everywhere (and can get excessive). In Asia, tipping can be considered as being rude. In Europe, it's hit or miss. 

[coscab]

We always tip 10. to 20. on excursions. 

And about "avoiding decadence" If a crew member is in the ladies room cleaning when I am in there I always give her a 1.00 or 2.00 it seems to make their day.  We tip bartenders, room steward, waiters, we are not wealthy people but we feel blessed to be cruising and know that we will be returning to our home, our family and friends after the cruise is over, the crew spend many months away from home, it gives us joy to let them know we appreciate them.  So I guess I won't be avoiding decadence any time soon.

[pe4all]

We usually tip $5 per person.

[beachbum53]

Tipping, in any amount, is at your discretion, regardless of who or what it's for. Don't worry about whether someone else  has given $1.00 or  $20.00. Give as much (or as little) as YOU feel is appropriate.

[Joe817]

21 minutes ago, beachbum53 said:

Tipping, in any amount, is at your discretion, regardless of who or what it's for. Don't worry about whether someone else  has given $1.00 or  $20.00. Give as much (or as little) as YOU feel is appropriate.

^^^^^This! Let your conscience be your guide. 

[K32682]

Depends where I am but usually USD$10-20.

[George C]

We also normally tip 10 to 20

[NLH Arizona]

21 hours ago, Nevada Jen said:

How much do you generally tip for excursions and how do you tip?  I was thinking $20 a person for a day long excursion.  Is that about right or do I tip based on the price of the excursion?  I am never sure I have it right.

I think it would be appropriate based on the excursion.  I usually tip the bus driver, if there is one, $5 and the guide $20, if the service on the excursion was very good.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We usually tip $10 per person for a tour, depending on length and quality.  Maybe more if it is a full day tour and the guide is great.  For just 2-3 hours, maybe $5 pp.

 

If I did not leave a tip I might try to explain to the person why, if they seemed reasonable; for instance, bad attitude, too many or too long shopping stops, or just general unpleasantness.

 

Luckily we have very rarely had guides that bad.

[bonsai3s]

3 hours ago, beachbum53 said:

Tipping, in any amount, is at your discretion, regardless of who or what it's for. Don't worry about whether someone else  has given $1.00 or  $20.00. Give as much (or as little) as YOU feel is appropriate.

 

Agree with beachbum53.....no need to read further....thanks beachbum53.

[nascarcruiser]

In most cases we tip 10% of the bill in restaurants give or take depending on the service.   One of our local restaurants we don't tip other than at Christmas as we know the owner and knows he pays a living wage.  Neither do I tip mu hair dresser or massage therapist except at the holidays. Tours we are likely to leave behind what local currency we have as the tip as long as it's not an outrageous amount.   Tipping is controversial and I do wish businesses that employ people who most feel require tipping would pay a livable wage. 

[navybankerteacher]

3 minutes ago, nascarcruiser said:

In most cases we tip 10% of the bill in restaurants give or take depending on the service.   One of our local restaurants we don't tip other than at Christmas as we know the owner and knows he pays a living wage.  Neither do I tip mu hair dresser or massage therapist except at the holidays. Tours we are likely to leave behind what local currency we have as the tip as long as it's not an outrageous amount.   Tipping is controversial and I do wish businesses that employ people who most feel require tipping would pay a livable wage. 

In a field where the quality of personal service is important, it is recognized that incentive pay makes sense:  the better service earns the higher compensation. 

Many companies give bonuses to their most productive workers - certainly in sales, where commissions represent a major part of compensation, everyone does not get the same “living wage”.

[George C]

We also tip a dollar or two with drinks to waiter or bartender in bar or suite lounge , I l bring about a hundred in singles ( I like to drink😁) 

[MicCanberra]

For me it depends on how the excursion is organised, and who organised it. Some that I have organised have the tip (service charge) already built in, others don't, ship's shorex usually do. As some said, sometimes it comes down to your feelings as whether you want to reward the tour guide with extra.

[flyingron]

On our European stops, a half day tour was 2 Euros for the guide and one for the driver.

 

[sanger727]

19 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We usually tip $10 per person for a tour, depending on length and quality.  Maybe more if it is a full day tour and the guide is great.  For just 2-3 hours, maybe $5 pp.

 

If I did not leave a tip I might try to explain to the person why, if they seemed reasonable; for instance, bad attitude, too many or too long shopping stops, or just general unpleasantness.

 

Luckily we have very rarely had guides that bad.

 

This is typically what we do as well on a group tour. On a private tour we aim more at a percentage of the tour price. 10-15% usually, depending on how expensive the tour was in the first place.

 

I think that most people on here can agree that tipping in the Caribbean is different than tipping in Europe. You may say that that's not your problem, but my experience has been that shore excursions are also  cheaper in the Caribbean than in Europe (we typically do independently arrange excursions as opposed to cruise excursions). It seems fitting to me that if I"m paying $60 pp for a full day excursion instead of $100, that a $10 pp tip isn't unreasonable decadent. 

[NLH Arizona]

It seems that not only patrons, but servers like the tipping system.  

 

Joe's Crab Shack had a no tipping test in eighteen restaurants a few years back.  They raised the price of their menu and the wages of their servers.  It didn't last long, as their research showed that around sixty percent of their customers disliked the policy.  The said that their customers and staff spoke very loudly about the policy and a lot of them voted with their feet.  The restaurants lost eight to ten percent of their customers because of the change.  In the end only four restaurants stayed with the non-tipping policy.  

 

What I find is that those that disagree with tipping and won't tip at all, are the first ones to complain if the price of services, salaries, etc. are raised.  An example was when NCL included in the fare the DSC for some countries.  They had always said that the cruise line should pay proper wages and when the cruise line raised the fare to include the DSC, they complained so loud that their fare price went up. 

Edited December 19, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[ldubs]

I don't know about cruise ship staff, but motivated restaurant workers would prefer the current system in America because if they work hard and provide excellent results they will make a lot more money.  

 

Anyway, back to the topic, we generally tip $5/person for excursions.  

Edited December 20, 2019 by ldubs

[RocketMan275]

4 hours ago, NLH Arizona said:

What I find is that those that disagree with tipping and won't tip at all, are the first ones to complain if the price of services, salaries, etc. are raised.  An example was when NCL included in the fare the DSC for some countries.  They had always said that the cruise line should pay proper wages and when the cruise line raised the fare to include the DSC, they complained so loud that their fare price went up. 

I'm firmly convinced that those who complain that they have to tip to make up for employers don't pay enough, don't really want employers to increase prices so they can pay the employees more.  These complainers are looking for a free lunch to save themselves money when the employers pay more but do not increase prices.