How much do you tip your excursions?

[Deb in IA]

We did $10 to $20 for 3 to 5 hour excursions.


I was appalled to see so many getting off the bus/boats without tipping at all.

 

[BTSEN5]

We did $10 to $20 for 3 to 5 hour excursions.


I was appalled to see so many getting off the bus/boats without tipping at all.

I would assume that people do not know they are to tip. This is my first cruise, and although we did not book excursions I would have no clue that we were to do this. If I saw that people were not tipping, I would assume they did not know. Oftentimes, the people are in this situation for the first time ever. They may not know, or be prepared....they see others tipping, and then next time they will come prepared for that.

Of course there are others that have no intention of tipping, but we cannot assume who they are.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have a familiy of four if there has been a tour guide i tip them for all of us and tip the driver if its sightseeing, not a small shuttle. $10/$15

 

[Deb in IA]

I would assume that people do not know they are to tip. This is my first cruise, and although we did not book excursions I would have no clue that we were to do this. If I saw that people were not tipping, I would assume they did not know. Oftentimes, the people are in this situation for the first time ever. They may not know, or be prepared....they see others tipping, and then next time they will come prepared for that.

Of course there are others that have no intention of tipping, but we cannot assume who they are.

That may be true, but on our excursions, all of the guides and drivers announced very clearly that gratuities were accepted and appreciated. Several times.

We are also a family of 4.

 

[nordkin]

We did $10 to $20 for 3 to 5 hour excursions.


I was appalled to see so many getting off the bus/boats without tipping at all.

We usually tip in the same range you did, but there have been times we felt the tour guide was so bad and made our experience very unpleasant that we did not tip anything. This has only happened a couple of times in our many travels and it has to be extremely bad for us not to tip. I think many people do not tip because they feel the cost of the excursion should cover the tour guide and driver.

 

[lbgraves]

That may be true, but on our excursions, all of the guides and drivers announced very clearly that gratuities were accepted and appreciated. Several times.

We are also a family of 4.

We have not been on excursions yet and if we didn't frequent the boards wouldn't know that some people do...especially considering the incredibly high price for some of them per person. We also don't take alot of cash off the ship & wont use our CCs onshore when on the cruise. If the "tip talk" was made on the way back to the ship I would imagine that anyone who hadn't planned to tip didn't have the cash left after shopping to do so.

 

[triptaker]

You are supposed to TIP excursions? Why?????


Color me clueless!

 

[LadyZolt]

I would only tip for an excursion if they went above and beyond what they're supposed to do. One sure way to make me not tip is to repeat that "tips are accepted" more than once. If I hear it over and over, it makes me feel like I'm nothing more than a dollar sign. To tip, I want to believe that I was seen as a person and that they wanted to please me, and in return, I want to give them something extra above and beyond what I've already paid.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[cynjam]

OK, I admit, I never really thought about it, until now. I've never done an excursion before, so it wasn't me you saw not tipping. We have only taken a taxi to a beach in the past. We tip based on if he/she was worth it. This time I actually have tours lined up on our own at some islands. What I would like to know is...

...if the tour guide is the owner do you still tip? I know I've read you aren't supposed to tip the owners of some businesses, like hair salons and such. Does this apply to tour guides?

And if I am, is it based on a percent? Does it depend on the number in our group? the amount of the tour? or the time involved?

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

We did $10 to $20 for 3 to 5 hour excursions.


I was appalled to see so many getting off the bus/boats without tipping at all.

We usually put $20 in the tip bucket. We've been generally happy with the people on the DCL excursions. If there has been a particular employee who has done an outstanding job then we'll tip that person directly.