Do you guys tip excursion people ever - what is typical?

[Guitar1969]

I am curious if thisa is standard. Go you ever tip the company that organizes it for you, or the excurion guide themself.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

[hannahsmomtoo]

I am curious if thisa is standard. Go you ever tip the company that organizes it for you, or the excurion guide themself.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

 

I am not sure what is standard...

But

For my upcoming cruise, I had to pay the company that organized the excursions..so I figure they got their $$.. so the tip will go to the guide himself. ( If warranted.. not if he does a poor job obviously)

[Jasperdo]

I always tip the guide, usually between $2 and $5, depending on how long the excursion was, and how good a job they did. I usually give the driver a few dollars as well.

[househunter]

We usually tip around 10-20% depending on how good they are but never less than $5/pp/

[Rosefloater]

We tip the driver and the guide a few bucks each.

[Keith1010]

For a private tour we tip around 15%.

 

For a ships tour about $5.00 to $10.00 for the guide and a couple of dollars for the driver.

 

Keith

[cruisetmc]

I always book the guide based on experience and service received. I may just have good luck but I've always had wonderful guides, knowledgeable, professional. I've tipped as high as $15 on a $45 trip-Cabo Outfitters awesome snorkel trip. Usually stay around $10 per guide and $5 minimum for driver. Like I said, I go by experience and service received.

[lovevacadays]

I always tip the guide and the driver. The amount really depends on the experience. I would never think of tipping less than 15% to the guide and a few bucks to the driver unless the experience was really sub-par. I haven't had that experience so haven't had the problem of deciding whether or not to tip. The most I've tipped a guide was $20 in Roatan when a friend and I did a private tour with a guide there. We only paid $40 each for the private tour so my tip ended up being a 50% tip. I have never regretted it as it was one of my all time favorite days/excursions in a port. :):):)

[suezyq50]

We usually tip $7-$10 pp. It depends on length and and if the guide good.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Always tip the guide/driver. Like said above, depends on the tour, but we usually tip somewhere between $10-20 US. (Per couple).

[cb at sea]

Depends on the experience. If it's simply transportation, usually no tip. If there is an actual "guide" who give info and makes the trip fun, then we'll tip. One tip...it's up to the "team" to divide it as they see fit.

 

There is no rule about tipping on excursions. It's up to you and the value you feel you received.

[DizzyDallasDi]

If I had used the percentage method some have mentioned, the tip for my bear watching excursion in Alaska would have been almost $75.00 for one person. :eek:

[Walt fan]

We always tip, at least 10% per person in our party; yes, we paid for their tour, etc, but I feel they should get extra as incentive if we received good service, etc.; I have tipped even more when it was outstanding

[luvscruising2007]

I can't say we always tip on excursions but we do most of the time. Normally we give the guide about $10 and maybe the driver $5. It really does depend on their personalities and the information they provide. And, if they make the excursion fun.

[lcmslady]

I figure that unless the guide is the owner of the company, the guide isn't getting a lot of the cost of the trip.

 

Tip is based on the quality of service received

[How'sBartCruisin'?]

Yes...

 

$5 if it is a bus driver who is taking us to where the excursion starts from and tells us local history/story. (ex. bus driver who took us to Rhino Riding, but had nothing to do with the actual excursion, but told us St. Maarten/St. Martin history)

 

$10 per person (my wife and I = $20) for great excursion/tour guides

 

They work hard and don't get paid much, presumably, and take good care of us.

[Nebr.cruiser]

It varies with the quality and length/complexity of the tour, but I'd say we tip the guide an average of $10pp and the driver $3-5pp.

 

We definitely don't tip the excursion company! Of course, sometimes the 'company' is just the guide--a one-person show.

[wassup4565]

Yes, we always tip every staff person involved. Whether it was the Tundra Buggy driver and expert guide in Churchill Manitoba or the boat captain, cook and tour guide in the Dominican - we slipped every one of them a round-figure bill $5 or $10 or $20, depending on how much direct contact they had in making our excursion enjoyable. These people don`t get wealthy, the companies who employ them do. And the Cuban drivers and guides were not shy about accepting tips either.

 

We did have a moment recently where we saw the direct effect of the tip. We had signed up for a day boat trip in St V & G. As we embarked, the boat captain said his mate was new to the job and hoped we would understand. The kid was great. When I had to jump back onto the boat in the shallows and the swells were big, I said to the young man, `Don`t be shy, just grab me anywhere you can and get me back on that boat.` Let`s just say he got a big job done!

 

When the day was done, my hubby handed him a 10 US bill, and that boy`s face looked like the bright sun. I guess it never occurred to him he would get tips, he just thought he got a job for a day.

[How'sBartCruisin'?]

Tipping excursion operators definitely needs to be publicized more. It would probably make for a great article on the Cruise Critic non-message board website, if there hasn't already been previous articles. The only reason I knew to do it last year on our first cruise was because I saw my father-in-law do it the Summer before when he took his son, daughter (my wife), nephew, his girlfriend and I to West Virginia for a few days of adventure sports (tree tops canopy ziplining, whitewater rafting, mountain biking and rock climbing.) The only reason he knew to do it was because he read it somewhere by accident. Awesome trip by the way!!!

 

First time cruisers definitely need to know beforehand that it is appropriate to tip these hardworking men and women and sometimes boys and girls, because they don't make much. :)

[ducklite]

We tip guides between $2 and $20 per person depending on how much they added to our trip. If they just followed the script in a monotone through the entire tour and seemed as bored as they were making us feel, then I wouldn't tip.

 

Drivers we always give a small tip to, how much depends on the length of the tour and if they offered any other service such as assisting with a high step up or similar.

[cindyleigh]

Usually a few bucks for the driver and $5 for the guide,mwithout a few exceptions.

One river rafting tour, our guide apparently arranged a non-advertised stop at a Jamaican trinket souvenir shop. She was in cahoots with the owner to bring tourists in. We got back to the port over an hour late and could not shop for better quality items. No tip for her,

Same trip, river rafting guide told us at the end of the river trip if he didn't get a $20tip he would have to navigate his raft back up river, which is difficult, because the people with trucks who transport rafts charge $20. He and another raft guide were also suggestive with my 18 year old daughter. Everybody in jamaica has their hand out. You would easily spend more than the tour cost if they all got tips. For instance, on that one river rafting trip (booked through the ship for $70) there's an overall guide on the bus, a driver, a raft guide, a cook, a server at the open air lunch (nothing fancy), a host, a guy who demos banana growing, and a guy who demos how to make a piña colada. That's 8 people who all ask for tips. Yes, ask.

Our tour guide and bus driver asked for tips at Tulum, too. Gave a speech, like. We are sorry we have to ask this but we don't make much off of this tour, blah blah blah.