Question about tipping guides in Norway

[dickinson]

We will be on a seven day Norwegian fjords cruise in the summer.  Our ship departs from Southampton.  Do we need to purchase Norwegian Krone?  We have booked three private excursions and one through the ship.  

 

Thanks!

[ontheweb]

We had a private tour in Alesund, Norway. I had some Euros left over so tipped our guide with Euros. If my Euros were all gone, I would have used dollars.

[hallasm]

It is not customary in Norway to tip and therefore different than in the US - the price you pay for the excursion already includes a service fee equivalent to the tip and guides are paid in full for their work.

It's fine to tip a small amount, but certainly not as much as in the US.

Be aware that US$ cannot generally be used in Norway and exchanging currency in Norway is very expensive. Immediately, tips should be in local currency.

[kaisatsu]

Everyone in Norway should be earning a living wage from their salary alone. Tipping is a contentious issue, because there have been increasing cases where foreign seasonal workers are not being paid an acceptable amount, with the expectation that foreign visitors will provide tips. This is actually a violation of local labor practices, but one that is very difficult to crack down on.

 

You should absolutely not be expected to tip. If you feel an inescapable urge to do so, kroner would be best, followed by euros. Norway is a largely cashless economy at this point, and spending cash often requires going to a dedicated till. Currency conversions are challenging, and most Norwegians traveling abroad just use ATMs at the train station and airport that dispense foreign currency (if they don’t want to wait to withdraw it on arrival).

[dickinson]

Thank you all for your responses.  I appreciate it.  We will be in Norway for four ports so we would not need a lot of Norwegian Krone.  Knowing that tipping is not generally expected helps.  We would not want to insult anyone by either not tipping or tipping in US dollars if tipping was expected.

[JHCruiser123]

I was also wondering the same.  We are going on a private tour in Olden with just the four of us in our party.  It was pretty costly.  Does that include tip for the guide who is traveling with us or should we bring Krone with us?  I'm not sure if a private tour is different.  And if we did tip how much would be appropriate?

[John Bull]

Tipping isn't the norm. in Norway, but neither is it regarded as an insult.

@JHCruiser123 - if you do tip, not at anywhere near American levels - just a few k to show your appreciation for excellence.

 

Elsewhere in the world you need to check whether payment by card is accepted.

In Norway you need to check whether payment by cash is accepted. 

 

Last year, at our final port-of-call and with too many k still in our pockets, we stopped for a coffee. When it was presented I got out my cash, only to be told that the establishment doesn't accept cash.

There was no notice to that effect, so we said "sorry, we don't have cards, only cash". and left the server to drink the stuff for herself. In the absence of any notice I rate that as reasonable in an establishment which deals primarily with foreign visitors

We managed to spend all our k elsewhere, and in an extra tip for our cabin steward (it was early-season for the ship).

 

Having a few k would be sensible, but you could probably get by with no cash at all.

 

JB 🙂

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, JHCruiser123 said:

I was also wondering the same.  We are going on a private tour in Olden with just the four of us in our party.  It was pretty costly.  Does that include tip for the guide who is traveling with us or should we bring Krone with us?  I'm not sure if a private tour is different.  And if we did tip how much would be appropriate?

A service fee is always included in price of excursion - no additional tips necessary. Does apply to any tour operated in Norway/ Scandinavia.
‘Kroner’ not necessary- use credit/debit card for purchases. Learn from John Bull’s experience and recommendation for tipping.

Just note that all Scandinavian countries and Iceland are using different type of ‘Kroner’.