Currency of tipping at the end of a cruise.

[millybess]

Our cruise will be ending in Vancouver. We tip out-front staff at the end. Given our disembarkation location, should we tip in Canadian $, U.S. $?

[OneSixtyToOne]

8 minutes ago, millybess said:

Our cruise will be ending in Vancouver. We tip out-front staff at the end. Given our disembarkation location, should we tip in Canadian $, U.S. $?

Anything will be acceptable. Our stewards were leaving and heading to Asia after our cruise so trying to match the currency to the destination is overthinking it. 

On our South American cruise we tipped with extra Euros from a previous trip. We asked our steward if it was OK and he said it didn’t matter. The crews often leave for somewhere else and they are happy to accept anything. 

[Jim Avery]

The ships operate on US$ so that is what we use.  Also if any unused asian currency we add that too.

[duquephart]

53 minutes ago, millybess said:

Our cruise will be ending in Vancouver. We tip out-front staff at the end. Given our disembarkation location, should we tip in Canadian $, U.S. $?

 

I can't imagine it would matter much. Are you talking over and above mandatory "gratuities?"

Edited March 25 by duquephart

[millybess]

5 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

I can't imagine it would matter much. Are you talking over and above mandatory "gratuities?"

Yes. 

[millybess]

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

On our South American cruise we tipped with extra Euros from a previous trip. We asked our steward if it was OK and he said it didn’t matter. The crews often leave for somewhere else and they are happy to accept anything. 

We have a lot of Euros, but we're giving them to one of our sons who is doing an extended European trip this summer.

22 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

The ships operate on US$ so that is what we use.  Also if any unused asian currency we add that too.

How about HKD or Yen?  What do you think?

[CDNPolar]

5 hours ago, millybess said:

Our cruise will be ending in Vancouver. We tip out-front staff at the end. Given our disembarkation location, should we tip in Canadian $, U.S. $?

 

I may receive some static from my Canadian friends on here, but I would not tip out in CDN funds.  

 

We always use USD even as Canadians as it is the most widely accepted currency in the world, in the sense that you can take it to a bank in most any country and they will exchange it.  

 

The Viking ships operate in USD as Jim mentioned so crew could also use that on the ship for purchases.

 

Giving someone CDN money would make it hard for them to convert in most countries.  I have had banks in some countries look at me trying to exchange CDN money to local currency and they ask "what is that", but you put USD on the counter and they take it.

 

That is why we use USD for all "hand gratuities" that we do.

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, CDNPolar said:

I may receive some static from my Canadian friends on here, but I would not tip out in CDN funds.  

Me either.  USD far more useful to crew in the longer term.

[millybess]

Hey, 🙂 I love off-topic discussions.  I think they can be very informative.  But before we get into that again, can I just get back to what @Jim Avery said about tipping in Asian currency once docked in Vancouver.  We will probably have both HKD and Japanese Yen.  Anyone else can chime in on this too.  Should we stick to USD?  Or go with Asian currency?

Edited March 26 by millybess

[Jim Avery]

I don't think I mentioned docked in Vancouver.  What I said is I tip in US$ and any Asian currency I might have left over I give in addition to the US$.  Primarily to our steward.  The crew come from many countries and do trade among themselves.  

[millybess]

1 minute ago, Jim Avery said:

I don't think I mentioned docked in Vancouver.  What I said is I tip in US$ and any Asian currency I might have left over I give in addition to the US$.  Primarily to our steward.  The crew come from many countries and do trade among themselves.  

Thanks much @Jim Avery.  My question was specific to docking in Vancouver and given the docking location, should we tip in Canadian or USD?  Thanks for bringing Asian currency into the discussion.  I'm not sure I would have pursued that.  But now going back to what @OneSixtyToOne said at the beginning -- this may be overthinking.  Thanks again for your perspective.  

[Mich3554]

We are on the Orion right now, and will be docking in Vancouver in May.  We try to tip out (only Viking staff, not guides) in USD in all but European cruises, where we tip in Eiros.  We will be doing it on this cruise.  

[Reuben's 3rd]

Thank you for raising this question, Millybess.  I have been pondering this as well.  In September, we will be on the Neptune, starting in Bergen and ending in Montreal.  If the Neptune was going to have a number of immediately subsequent stops in Canada, I too was pondering using Canadian $, which of course I always have and can easily top up in Quebec City, the second last stop.  If the ship was going within the next two ports to the U.S., then I was going to have to acquire sufficient  American $.  I was going to base my decision on the currency where the ship would be for the next while.  A crew member using American $ at the Shoppers beside the Halifax port would be unlikely to get the best rate of exchange!

[millybess]

33 minutes ago, Reuben's 3rd said:

Thank you for raising this question, Millybess.  I have been pondering this as well.  In September, we will be on the Neptune, starting in Bergen and ending in Montreal.  If the Neptune was going to have a number of immediately subsequent stops in Canada, I too was pondering using Canadian $, which of course I always have and can easily top up in Quebec City, the second last stop.  If the ship was going within the next two ports to the U.S., then I was going to have to acquire sufficient  American $.  I was going to base my decision on the currency where the ship would be for the next while.  A crew member using American $ at the Shoppers beside the Halifax port would be unlikely to get the best rate of exchange!

All very good points!  And you are right, a crew member might well be going to Shoppers in Halifax.  In our case, the ship is turning around and headed north, so U.S. $ it is then.  Thanks much for your perspective.  

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, Reuben's 3rd said:

Thank you for raising this question, Millybess.  I have been pondering this as well.  In September, we will be on the Neptune, starting in Bergen and ending in Montreal.  If the Neptune was going to have a number of immediately subsequent stops in Canada, I too was pondering using Canadian $, which of course I always have and can easily top up in Quebec City, the second last stop.  If the ship was going within the next two ports to the U.S., then I was going to have to acquire sufficient  American $.  I was going to base my decision on the currency where the ship would be for the next while.  A crew member using American $ at the Shoppers beside the Halifax port would be unlikely to get the best rate of exchange!

Same logic we use!

[wolfie11]

I always tip in US$.  Even if they end up taking it home with them, it is a viable currency pretty much anywhere.  I almost never tip guides in anything but the local currency unless they really want US$ (Argentina, for example). As for the crew going to Shoppers, they will pay with their credit card just like they do most places they go in the world to get a decent exchange rate.