Yet another tipping question for Alaska excursions...pilots, etc?

[colbybug]

So I am not opposed to tipping tour guides on shore excursions (and have done so on previous cruises) but I am conflicted about whether or not to tip the pilots, etc. We cruise Alaska in two weeks and we have the dog sledding via helicopter in Skagway with Temsco helicopters, Harv & Marv in Juneau and Anan Creek Bear Observatory via seaplane in Ketchikan....oh and the excursion by small boat in Tracy Arm/Endicott. All of these excursions are almost costing me as much as our cruise fare!!! Do people tip the pilots? And the guides and the boat operators? Bus drivers? I want to do the right thing but I'm not sure where tipping starts and ends on some of these. Just looking for opinions FROM THOSE WHO HAVE DONE THESE TYPES OF EXCURSIONS. What has your experience been?

I really don't need any lectures on tipping and how if I can't afford to tip, then I shouldn't go on a cruise etc. I know that tipping is a personal decision - especially how much - but I would appreciate kind opinions from those who have been on similar excursions. I try to tip generously when I have been given great service but I always feel guilty not tipping well...even when the service is so-so. Please no flames!

Thanks!

 

[ohMom]

We did a seaplane excursion, and if memory serves correctly we added a tip to our payment at the end of the day. Covering both the pilot and the bear watching guide

 

[poison ivy]

We did the Temsco dog sledding excursion out of Skagway. We did not tip the pilots. It's a big commercial operation and they are employees. We did tip our dog musher. They are seasonal self employed individuals who own their dogs and camp on the glacier all season. They only rotate one day a week into town if weather permits a chopper. Since this excursion gets cancelled more than any other, it's a very bad work day for them when the choppers don't fly.

We tipped the bus driver who drove us down from the chilkoot charter white pass rail excursion.

We tipped our private charter host for whale watching - thru harv and marv. Again our captain was a self employed seasonal worker subcontracted by the company.

We tipped our Juneau cab driver who drove us to mendenhall glacier, the marina and came back to drive us to town later - a great guy, native Alaskan, born and raised in Juneau, working for the local cab company. He too was provided thru our whale watching charter.

Finally, we tipped our private fishing charter Captain. He ran his own business, has a family to support and owned the boat. We negotiated our fee directly with him and he personally took us out all day. He was a local who lives in Skagway thru the tough off season. We had a great day, a great catch and he deserved every penny!

 

[MUN]

So I am not opposed to tipping tour guides on shore excursions (and have done so on previous cruises) but I am conflicted about whether or not to tip the pilots, etc. We cruise Alaska in two weeks and we have the dog sledding via helicopter in Skagway with Temsco helicopters, Harv & Marv in Juneau and Anan Creek Bear Observatory via seaplane in Ketchikan....oh and the excursion by small boat in Tracy Arm/Endicott. All of these excursions are almost costing me as much as our cruise fare!!! Do people tip the pilots? And the guides and the boat operators? Bus drivers? I want to do the right thing but I'm not sure where tipping starts and ends on some of these. Just looking for opinions FROM THOSE WHO HAVE DONE THESE TYPES OF EXCURSIONS. What has your experience been?

I really don't need any lectures on tipping and how if I can't afford to tip, then I shouldn't go on a cruise etc. I know that tipping is a personal decision - especially how much - but I would appreciate kind opinions from those who have been on similar excursions. I try to tip generously when I have been given great service but I always feel guilty not tipping well...even when the service is so-so. Please no flames!

Thanks!

Tip your excursion pilot the same amount you tip your commercial airline pilots. Enjoy your cruise!

MUN

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We had all private excursions. We tipped one person for our Chilkoot Tour in Skagway, two for Harv and Marv - the captain and the guide (I can't remember how we divided the $100 between the two), and our pilot in Ketchikan for our float plane. There were 10 of us, and we tipped $10 for each person for each excursion.

 

[poison ivy]

We did not personally tip our guide for Harv and Marv. She happened to be the owner's daughter. I don't know if the Captain split it among them, though.

 

[Imedley200]

To us a tip = above & beyond service, no matter who you are or what you do. We had Captain Steve from Harv & Marv, he was excellent and made our trip so we were generous. Bus/shuttle driver maybe? In Ketchikan we used Island Wings for our float plane. We tipped the van driver as she was super helpful and our pilot Michelle (who owns the business) because she was amazing.

 

[dugthetalkingdog]

Last year when my DD and I went to Alaska, we did tip our tour guides. We did the dog musher camp by helicopter Juneau, DD went snorkeling in Ketchikan, and in Skagway the
White Pass Railroad. Yes, it was somewhat costly, but the guides did great job and deserved the tip.

 

[gotomu212]

We did not tip our pilots, bus drivers, or boat captains on our similar excursions. We did tip a special guide at one Location that was devoted to just us and spent several hours showing us different sites.

 

[colbybug]

Thank you so much for your responses. I appreciate hearing everyone's opinion on tipping for their experience. I want to plan accordingly so I guess I will be prepared with some extra cash in case we feel that the service and experience warrants it. Unfortunately I remember once when we were in Jamaica at the Blue Hole and I gave all our extra money to the guides there and forgot to save some for the actual tour guide that was with us all day. I nearly died of embarrassment. Luckily he was very gracious and didn't make me feel stupid. I did remember to bring a belated tip to him the next time we went (same tour, same tour company, same guide....it was awesome!)