Tips at Ports and Excursions

[Micki NJ]

Hi There,

I will be on a 4 night Dream sailing which includes Nassau & Castaway Cay.

We are planning on the ‘Atlantis Dolphin Cay Deep Water Interaction & Aquaventure’ excursion and so I wanted to know what the gratuity standards were for excursion operators and Atlantis employees.
I’d like to give the employees a little extra assuming they meet and exceed expectations, but just wasn’t sure what others have experienced. I read somewhere that some of the Atlantis employees kind of expect a tip – like the towel people. Just trying to make sure I get off the boat with all the right dollar amounts

Also – are there any places on Castaway Cay that I should expect to tip? I don’t want to assume it’s ok to leave the boat empty handed.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi There,

I will be on a 4 night Dream sailing which includes Nassau & Castaway Cay.

We are planning on the ‘Atlantis Dolphin Cay Deep Water Interaction & Aquaventure’ excursion and so I wanted to know what the gratuity standards were for excursion operators and Atlantis employees.
I’d like to give the employees a little extra assuming they meet and exceed expectations, but just wasn’t sure what others have experienced. I read someone that some of the Atlantis employees kind of expect a tip – like the towel people. Just trying to make sure I get off the boat with all the right dollar amounts

Also – are there any places on Castaway Cay that I should expect to tip? I don’t want to assume it’s ok to leave the boat empty handed.

Thanks in Advance!

Can't speak to Atlantis, but Castaway Cay is basically an extension of the ship. Any additional tipping you might do onboard (beverage servers, for example) are acceptable. But not required, as all beverage service charges include a 15% gratuity automatically. I can't really think of any other tip-able positions on CC.

 

[Quellman]

Can't speak to Atlantis, but Castaway Cay is basically an extension of the ship. Any additional tipping you might do onboard (beverage servers, for example) are acceptable. But not required, as all beverage service charges include a 15% gratuity automatically. I can't really think of any other tip-able positions on CC.

Would you consider tipping some of the excursion operators? Like the parasail or wave runners? Obviously you wouldn't really need to tip for a bicycle rental or tube rental. I don't know since I have not done anything besides snorkel and cabana massage at castaway cay during my times there.

 

[ladypiph]

At Nassau we just tipped the bus driver, ($2-$3 per person in your party is usually fine) he was very funny and informative. The towel person I did not tip they stand in front of the towel area and hand you a towel, theoretically you can get the towel yourself but I think they only allow 1 per person so they stand there to monitor how many towels are given out more than anything.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I think they only allow 1 per person so they stand there to monitor how many towels are given out more than anything.

Are you talking about Castaway Cay? We've always been able to get 2 towels each. I think the person handing out towels there is more of an "at your service" gesture than monitoring how many towels are handed out.

 

[ladypiph]

Are you talking about Castaway Cay? We've always been able to get 2 towels each. I think the person handing out towels there is more of an "at your service" gesture than monitoring how many towels are handed out.

At Nassau, CC as well as the ship has allowed me to grab as many towels as I can hold.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

We are planning on the ‘Atlantis Dolphin Cay Deep Water Interaction & Aquaventure’ excursion and so I wanted to know what the gratuity standards were for excursion operators and Atlantis employees.
I’d like to give the employees a little extra assuming they meet and exceed expectations, but just wasn’t sure what others have experienced. I read somewhere that some of the Atlantis employees kind of expect a tip – like the towel people. Just trying to make sure I get off the boat with all the right dollar amounts

I visit Atlantis annually, and have done Dolphin Cay activities three times. I've never tipped at Dolphin Cay nor the *towel hut attendants*. I don't think anybody does.

If you need a *pool attendant* to do something for you, like find a group of chairs together (at a busy time) or clean up a mess, you should tip them. I've tipped these people before in cash.

Also, there are servers who come around for drink or food orders...a 15% mandatory tip is included on those bills, and I usually add a few dollars extra. But not in cash, as all of the bar and dining venues by the pool are cashless.

For context of my tipping habits: I also leave a cash tip in my room on days when I get housekeeping services (I own at Atlantis' timeshare, Harborside).

The towel person I did not tip they stand in front of the towel area and hand you a towel, theoretically you can get the towel yourself but I think they only allow 1 per person so they stand there to monitor how many towels are given out more than anything.

You can get more than one towel per person. if they are low on inventory, they might say only one per person, but that's the exception, not the rule.

The attendants at the towel huts are mostly there to distribute Atlantis' Aquaventure wristbands....these towel huts are where Atlantis guests get those bands. At busier times, they will just put piles of towels on the counter while they give out the wristbands (which are scanned in a computer with a room key, and are custom printed per room).

 

[sdjen]

I've done the parasailing at castaway and IMO you should probably tip. They aren't DCL employees. When we did this excursion I planned to tip but then got off of the ship and forgot to grab my cash for them. I went back to my room after we did the excursion, put it in an envelope and left it at the hut where you check in. BTW - it was amazing!

Other than tipping cabana hosts and bartenders, I can't think of another place where you would tip.

 

[TimeAndTide]

At Castaway we tip our cabana host (but just by adding it to our beverage bill). We tipped cash to a nice CM who jumped in and carried our kids' trays back to the cabana for us. She clearly didn't expect a tip and my husband had to almost run to catch up with her to give it to her (our cash was in the safe so it took a minute). We haven't done excursions but would tip the guides/operators if we did.

At other ports we tip shuttle/bus drivers, waitstaff (obviously), tour guides, and other people who go out of their way to help us.

We usually try to take a bit of cash in small bills. Not only is it good for tipping, it is also good for small purchase (to minimize credit card exposure), and it can make bargaining a bit easier at times.