Tips in foreign currency

[Packman1000]

We are US residents and will be on b2b cruises later this month that visit 9 countries in Europe that use six different currencies.  I don't want to get small amounts of cash in each country.  I plan to use credit cards everywhere I can.  Would it be acceptable to tip people like tour guides, bus drivers, etc. with US dollars in situations when a tour was pre-booked and pre-paid with USD?   We have done this in Mexico and Canada with no issues.  Thoughts? 

[ldubs]

We have done USD when we didn't have the local currency.  It probably isn't the ideal practice, but I suspect it is commonly done in most cruise port areas.  If you have Euros that might be preferable to shore based folks.  

 

Another thing is to consider if tipping is customary in those places.  Once you are identified as an American, you may be gently solicited for a tip.   If tipping isn't a normal practice, then don't.   

[jennybenny]

My guess would be USD or EURO would be ideal for a tip on the ship. The ship still uses USD. On shore, many places will not require tip, unless they realize you are American. You can round up there, if paying cash, but with a card, you usually won't be asked for one. 

 

[Crystaltipps67]

By tipping in your currency rather than the local one you are effectively pushing your currency conversion cost onto the recipient of the tip, who will lose a significant % when they convert back to their own currency.

[Cloudyrain]

The Euro is one of the most common currencies in Europe, and even in countries in Mainland Europe that don't operate on the Euro, it is often accepted in tourist areas (except the UK!). 
 

Europe doesn't tip like the US though, and honestly giving a tour guide or bus driver a $5 tip is pretty pointless to be honest. It would be like me giving a waitress in New York a £5 note: there isn't any conversion value.

Edited June 2 by Cloudyrain

[Mark_K]

6 hours ago, Packman1000 said:

We are US residents and will be on b2b cruises later this month that visit 9 countries in Europe that use six different currencies.  I don't want to get small amounts of cash in each country.  I plan to use credit cards everywhere I can.  Would it be acceptable to tip people like tour guides, bus drivers, etc. with US dollars in situations when a tour was pre-booked and pre-paid with USD?   We have done this in Mexico and Canada with no issues.  Thoughts? 

Sounds like a Norway, Sweden, Iceland, etc. cruise. Sometimes people in those areas are somewhat resentful about being offered tips. I wouldn’t plan on tipping at all there.

People in the UK seem more resentful about having to pay tips than they are about receiving them, so some pound notes might be good to have if you want to tip (which you don’t really have to do).

[Packman1000]

4 hours ago, Mark_K said:

Sounds like a Norway, Sweden, Iceland, etc. cruise. Sometimes people in those areas are somewhat resentful about being offered tips. I wouldn’t plan on tipping at all there.

People in the UK seem more resentful about having to pay tips than they are about receiving them, so some pound notes might be good to have if you want to tip (which you don’t really have to do).

You are correct in that it's a BI, Iceland, Scandinavian cruise. Seems like the Euro is not used in these places.  Thanks for all of the replies.  I kind of forgot that tips are not usually needed for these small amounts.

[Malleykatt]

I do not resent paying a tip and will for good service. However I won't tip if the service is slap dash and not up to par. It shouldn't be expected.

By the way we do not have "pound notes" any more.

[MyriamS]

Personally I would never a tip a tour guide in Europe, with the exception of the "free" walking tours where the guides are paid through tips.  

 

In fact, I don't tip anywhere in Europe. The service is either included in the price or there is a service fee/cover charge automatically added to the bill and I leave it in. 

[Torfamm]

55 minutes ago, MyriamS said:

Personally I would never a tip a tour guide in Europe, with the exception of the "free" walking tours where the guides are paid through tips.  

 

In fact, I don't tip anywhere in Europe. The service is either included in the price or there is a service fee/cover charge automatically added to the bill and I leave it in. 

I agree for the most part. I only feel a need to tip if a guide has gone out of their way to do something above and beyond normal expectations. Getting local currency for all of those countries isn’t at all necessary.

[ldubs]

59 minutes ago, MyriamS said:

Personally I would never a tip a tour guide in Europe, with the exception of the "free" walking tours where the guides are paid through tips.  

 

In fact, I don't tip anywhere in Europe. The service is either included in the price or there is a service fee/cover charge automatically added to the bill and I leave it in. 

 

We have been in a few European restaurants where we were advised a service charge isn't included.  When I ask what it is they say it is optional.   I suspect they ask because they know we are Americans.   I do not tip in Europe. That is based largely on feedback from European travelers that tips are not needed or expected because living wages are paid.    

[cr8tiv1]

7 hours ago, Cloudyrain said:

The Euro is one of the most common currencies in Europe, and even in countries in Mainland Europe that don't operate on the Euro, it is often accepted in tourist areas (except the UK!). 
 

Europe doesn't tip like the US though, and honestly giving a tour guide or bus driver a $5 tip is pretty pointless to be honest. It would be like me giving a waitress in New York a £5 note: there isn't any conversion value.

 

I haven't traveled to your side of the world in a very long time.  If there was a bus load of passengers (mostly American), wouldn't a $5 "tip" be more welcomed than nothing at all?  I am planning on taking with me GBPs so not an issue.  

 

I also come from Hawaii where giving is just part of the culture.  Would a small (food) representation from the islands be welcomed?

[Mark_K]

4 hours ago, Malleykatt said:

I do not resent paying a tip and will for good service. However I won't tip if the service is slap dash and not up to par. It shouldn't be expected.

By the way we do not have "pound notes" any more.

Pound notes, generically, not one pound notes.  I hope no one would tip a tour guide one pound.

 

 

Edited June 2 by Mark_K

[Cloudyrain]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I haven't traveled to your side of the world in a very long time.  If there was a bus load of passengers (mostly American), wouldn't a $5 "tip" be more welcomed than nothing at all?  I am planning on taking with me GBPs so not an issue.  

 

I also come from Hawaii where giving is just part of the culture.  Would a small (food) representation from the islands be welcomed?

$5 would probably be about £3 by the time the buy-back rate/comission is taken into account: and some exchanges will have minimum amounts that they accept, and will only accept notes not coins. Maybe a driver who has a lot of US passengers can save them up and cash them in, but in your average venue its pretty pointless. 

 

I used to be a waitress (many many years ago!) and was given a $1 note as a tip and that it just got pinned on the kitchen notice board 😂

 

I mean we don't really "do" tipping here: 10% is seen as pretty generous, £1 per customer is pretty average, although most people give nothing at all now they mostly pay contactless.

[cr8tiv1]

@Cloudyrain Thank you for sharing your insights about your country's culture.  Always nice to have an insider's view.  I will have an ample supply of GBPs with me and will probably also use plastic after I exhaust my supply.

 

So your advice (so not to offend your fellow citizens) is to round up if I find the service to be above average?  I'm at a disadvantage since your GBP is worth "so much more" than my US $.  I recently went to Japan and Canada where it was so much better for me.  lol