Tipping on Excursions

[ravinblue]

We haven't cruised Windstar since 2002 - since then we have been on Celebrity, Viking, HAL, and Princess and tend to do mostly independent excursions and generally tip the tour leader at the end. We will be cruising French Polynesia soon and doing all Windstar excursions (Covid!), which are all quite pricey. In addition, many of them are snorkel trips where I was not planning on taking a wallet. Do most people still tip?

[6rugrats]

Tipping in French Polynesia is not customary.  I don’t tip there.

[Strenz]

Hi, Since we were on the first WS trip in Tahiti 2014, we took all WS excursions. We are tippers, we tipped, we have lived in France, we have traveled, I do not know of any place where a gratuity is not appreciated or not customary. My belief is that if you can not afford to at least show some appreciation in the form of a gratuity you should not go. We are not at all wealthy, gratuities are part of my travel expenses like the care for my cat or travel insurance. In this day and age with all the inequality it is simply  about good  will and politeness. Glorious Sailing in Tahiti. 

[6rugrats]

I see no correlation between the ability to tip and traveling.   You are showing appreciation by patronizing business and spending money.  Tips are considered an insult in some countries.  Gratuities are not customary or even accepted in many places, such as Japan, South Korea, French Polynesia, China, Malaysia, Thailand and on and on.  

I suppose this will all change as Americans travel more and leave gratuities where none were expected or accepted in the past.  Who knows?

[Strenz]

Hi, I have not been to Japan, S. Korea, China, Malaysia or Thailand. I have been and lived in Europe, almost in every country, traveled to South America, French Polynesia, and Central American, Canada, US. I have a friend that has lived in Tahiti for 40 years. Before I visit a country I research the tipping policies, yes gratuities are welcome in French Polynesian. I believe a fair gratuity is simply fair and correct in acknowledging an experience  well done or good service well appreciated. It is simply how I live. Happy Sailing.

[sb44]

We generally book our own excursions and always tip. Just part of our anticipated expenses when we travel. When we take Windstar excursions the same applies. We tip about 10% of the excursion price.  If there is bus transportation involved we tip the driver as well, usually $5 pp. It's just a gesture of appreciation that they got us to our destination and back comfortably.  If we are fortunate enough to be able to spend thousands of dollars traveling I think it's important to show gratitude. We have traveled to many countries and never felt that anyone was insulted by showing a monetary appreciation for services.

[ravinblue]

Thanks for the opinions. I will say that that similar questions have been asked before and there are always answers from those who  always tip even where it is not customary and that is fine. But I was actually more concerned with the mechanisms of tipping on a snorkel boat where everything tends to get wet. I don't remember anyone ever tipping on scuba boats when I used to dive in Hawaii and the Caribbean. But, I think I have some sort of water-proof wallet lying around here somewhere.

[minidonuts85]

48 minutes ago, ravinblue said:

Thanks for the opinions. I will say that that similar questions have been asked before and there are always answers from those who  always tip even where it is not customary and that is fine. But I was actually more concerned with the mechanisms of tipping on a snorkel boat where everything tends to get wet. I don't remember anyone ever tipping on scuba boats when I used to dive in Hawaii and the Caribbean. But, I think I have some sort of water-proof wallet lying around here somewhere.

We did some scuba diving and snorkeling recently in the BVI and we have a dry bag with cash and a credit card we keep on the boat while we are in the water. We usually tuck it under the seating area or if there’s a cubby for dryitems, we place it there. We’d tip our dive master/captain in cash. 

Edited October 12, 2021 by minidonuts85

[swiss]

When we were there last December, we tipped.  They have been a long time without many tourists coming in and they really appreciated the extra money

[CruiseOrLand]

As it happens, on our day in Bora Bora with WIndstar, everyone else (well, it seemed like it) booked "Shark's Breakfast". As a result, we were the ONLY couple on the (locally run) snorkel trip. It was the best snorkeling we've ever had, and the guide carried our surf shoes for the point where he told us (!) to get out and walk on the reef (!) we were next to right then. He also coaxed out a moray eel for us. Anyway, he was a superb guide (if a bit fast-paced swimming for anyone less capable than I am, which is not a great swimmer. My wife swims very well.)

 

I regret very much that I did not put any money in my bathing suit pocket with which to tip him. There is no question that he deserved/earned a tip. I still think of it with a touch of shame. (Although I don't like the idea of adversely affecting local culture, I think it is naive to believe that primarily American cruise-ship passengers will surprise, startle, or shame locals anywhere by tipping them. I believe they expect to be tipped.)

 

OTOH, we tipped a local guide in Panama as he dropped us off from the bus, but it turned out that he should have gotten off the bus and delivered us all the way to the tenders, which were at a different place than they delivered us to. (I think Windstar was forced to use local tenders there. Not positive.) It was a huge mess in the marina (army crew cleaning up a fish kill), and he did not earn the tip because of that fiasco. We got back aboard within one hour of weighing anchor.

 

BTW, most currency, especially Americanski, is waterproof.

Edited October 17, 2021 by CruiseOrLand

[Petoonya]

Whenever, wherever tipping brings good karma.

[ducklite]

On 10/11/2021 at 7:11 PM, ravinblue said:

Thanks for the opinions. I will say that that similar questions have been asked before and there are always answers from those who  always tip even where it is not customary and that is fine. But I was actually more concerned with the mechanisms of tipping on a snorkel boat where everything tends to get wet. I don't remember anyone ever tipping on scuba boats when I used to dive in Hawaii and the Caribbean. But, I think I have some sort of water-proof wallet lying around here somewhere.

We did tip on one shore excursion because it was a full day and included lunch which they had gone above and beyond to work around my food allergies.  

If you are taking Dr. Poole's dolphin excursion, he doesn't accept tips but instead asks you to make a donation to his research.

But to answer your specific question--use a dry bag.  You can get them in a variety of sizes.  Plus when you are snorkling the boat stays with you, so you can leave things on board.  I put my dry bag in the bottom of a beach bag that I had dry towels and sun screen in.  

[baloothecat]

I just returned from French Polynesia and did tip on both Independent and WS snorkel excursions. The guides I encountered went above and beyond to make sure we had a good experience. They have been hard hit by the pandemic and the excursions were also going out with lower capacities.

 

The dry bags that other posters talk about were very helpful. I used it to store a little, cash, cabin key and face mask which had to be worn on ships tenders and to/from excursions.

[Mocamps]

It was very interesting to read people’s views on tipping. In the UK the tipping culture is not quite so prevalent as in America but we’re getting there! And I have to admit that my husband and I do tend to tip, but having had a lengthy discussion with my daughter (who’s travelled widely in less affluent Asian countries where tipping is NOT the cultural norm) she gave me a different perspective. She thought it could be actually quite harmful as it can raise expectations of prices charged and indirectly lead to inflation. It also increases the gap between those who work in the service industry and those who don’t. And it can impact on wages as employers then start to take into account what tips workers may receive. I believe that happens in America? So workers aren’t paid appropriately in the first place. And there was a whole lot more!! Suffice it to say, it caused me to think!! We may think we’re doing everyone a favour by giving hefty tips. But in the long run we may actually be doing them a disservice!!

[Pudgesmom]

I second the comment on waterproof money. I have slipped cash in my swimsuit when the beach situation seemed a bit iffy with no one to watch our stuff. 
 

Not for a snorkel/diving excursion, but on beach days I occasionally bury my things in the sand.