Important Tipping Question

[bswartz]

We are cruising on 9/28 to Canada and New England on the Regent Mariner which has stops in Quebec, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Should we tip our tour directors in each port in Canadian or US currency? What is a suggestion amount to tip them? Thank you in advance for your response.

 

Bryan

 

[Mudhen]

While I'm sure Canadian currency is nice for them, they will readily accept US. The amount depends on all the variables like were they excellent? How long was the excursion, did they make your tour special in any way? That's too hard to put a price on, but you'll figure it out. We also give something to the driver, who is just as important as the guide!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, bswartz said:

We are cruising on 9/28 to Canada and New England on the Regent Mariner which has stops in Quebec, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Should we tip our tour directors in each port in Canadian or US currency? What is a suggestion amount to tip them? Thank you in advance for your response.

 

Bryan

 

Well they won't mind U.S. at all, although it would be nice, especially in small ports, to give them CDN.

[RetiredandTravel]

We generally tip in the local currency.  At least $5 each to the tour guide & driver.  Maybe more.  I'm always surprised at the number of people who don't tip.

[Lonedaddy]

12 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

We generally tip in the local currency.  At least $5 each to the tour guide & driver.  Maybe more.  I'm always surprised at the number of people who don't tip.

It depends on the location whether I tip and if they did something special or was enthusiastic  ….usually 10-20 bucks I assume the guide and driver share.  Some trip where the bus is just transport to another venue with a different guide, not so often or as much.  

Edited September 3, 2023 by Lonedaddy

[RetiredandTravel]

4 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

It depends on the location whether I tip and if they did something special or was enthusiastic  ….usually 10-20 bucks I assume the guide and driver share.  Some trip where the bus is just transport to another venue with a different guide, not so often or as much.  

 

Agree, if the tour guide isn't engaged (rarely happens) I'm not going to leave a tip, if exceptional I'll leave more.  My NY Strip Steak has gone from $14 > $20/lb, so I should probably consider more than $5 in the future. 🙄

 

[rcandkc]

I never assume the guide shares. If we want to tip driver (usually), we tip him/her directly.  We used to assume they shared but then got skeptical. 

[RELS]

4 hours ago, rcandkc said:

I never assume the guide shares. If we want to tip driver (usually), we tip him/her directly.  We used to assume they shared but then got skeptical. 

 

I generally give the driver $5 (or 5 Euros) directly. There have been times I've tipped the driver and not the guide.

[ysolde]

On our (altogether awful) excursion to Cadiz last spring, DH tipped the guide and driver 20 Euros each. He was out of cash and gave them an extra $10 each for their assistance in getting my wheelchair out from under the luggage area of the bus at the end of the the excursion (it was the driver who assisted, the guide just stood around looking annoyed).  When DH gave them each the extra tip, the driver said, "Thank you," while the guide spat out, "And what are we supposed to do with this currency? Wait until our next vacation in America?"  We would have been shocked, but it was par for the course with that gem of a guide.

[Techno123]

5 minutes ago, ysolde said:

On our (altogether awful) excursion to Cadiz last spring, DH tipped the guide and driver 20 Euros each. He was out of cash and gave them an extra $10 each for their assistance in getting my wheelchair out from under the luggage area of the bus at the end of the the excursion (it was the driver who assisted, the guide just stood around looking annoyed).  When DH gave them each the extra tip, the driver said, "Thank you," while the guide spat out, "And what are we supposed to do with this currency? Wait until our next vacation in America?"  We would have been shocked, but it was par for the course with that gem of a guide.

I would have taken it off him/her (and probably not given the first tip if they were that bad!)

[ysolde]

3 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

I would have taken it off him/her (and probably not given the first tip if they were that bad!)

Shockingly terrible excursion.  Really bad.