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Tipping abroad


cruzbug
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Hi everyone...we are cruising from September 19th to the 28th on the Voyager out of Civitavecchia and have a question about tipping after excursions. Do you normally tip in U.S. dollars or Euros? It's been a few years since we cruised abroad and we can't remember what we did at that time.

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Hi everyone...we are cruising from September 19th to the 28th on the Voyager out of Civitavecchia and have a question about tipping after excursions. Do you normally tip in U.S. dollars or Euros? It's been a few years since we cruised abroad and we can't remember what we did at that time.

We always try and tip the excursion guides (and drivers, too) in local currency if other than Euros, but if we don't have local currency we'll tip in Euros or Dollars. I know it's probably not ideal for them but if I'm a guide I'd rather get a tip in a different currency than not get a tip at all. :D

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Not trying to hijack the thread (this actually pertains to the thread title, although not so much the original post), but what's the currently accepted tipping rate for servers, taxi drivers, etc. in Europe these days? My wife and I had some discussions about this earlier this year and we never really did come to a solid conclusion. I believe there were some discussions about this on the boards a while back but I didn't find them anywhere...

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Tipping is an American oddity.

Whilst i might occasionally tip a waiter after an excellent meal, that's about it.

So if you've an American accent then pepole wont be surprised if you tip (countries own currency or if a poor country then US $).

As the tip is non obligatory make the amount worthwhile for tour guides and just round up for taxi drivers.

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In most(all?) of Europe service is included in the cost of the meal. If paying cash I round up to the nearest Euro. If I use a credit card I just sign it. I think last time I was in Europe there was not a place to write a tip on credit card receipts.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Since all the ports on your cruise are in Europe, I presume you will be equipping yourself with Euros.

 

It is courteous to tip local guides etc in the local currency (in this case Euros).

However Europeans do not expect the high level of tipping that you will be used to in the U.S.

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To me tipping is a personal thing, one should tip depending on the service you get. If you get more than you excepted why not. Just because I'm American doesn't play into what I do. In Countries that really don't tip, I don't-but they are few. Also I tip after the service, never before. This goes for Tours, Restaurant, Hotels and yes on the Ship. Rick

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I am Swiss and travel a lot in EU countries. There is no "blanket rule" for tipping.

 

In Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France the service charge is included in the menu or bar price (and hotel prices too) However it is customary to leave a little something. In the UK (and I suppose Ireland) tips are not included for the main in the menu price and 10% is normal. Some restaurants have started to include tips so it pays to read the menu more carefully than usual - it will be mentioned there.

 

Adding 15-20% to a meal bill is NOT appropriate anywhere in Europe although your server will love it.

 

US travellers need to understand that our service staff are paid a decent wage which includes all benefits - social security, health care, 1 month or more vacation etc. They do not depend on tips to give them a living wage. ALL the money that goes towards their benefits is in the published price.

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Hi everyone...we are cruising from September 19th to the 28th on the Voyager out of Civitavecchia and have a question about tipping after excursions. Do you normally tip in U.S. dollars or Euros? It's been a few years since we cruised abroad and we can't remember what we did at that time.

 

In my experience, it is fully acceptable to tip in either US dollars or Euros when in Europe. I have seen both given depending on where the passenger originates from. North American passengers will often tip in dollars and European passengers (including us Brits) will use either euros or US dollars depending on what we have.

 

I have visited the US a couple of times recently and I also did a Caribbean cruise earlier this year, I was ever so tempted to tip in euros and see what happened but did not fancy taking the risk as to my personal safety. Therefore, I think it is therefore acceptable to tip europeans US dollars but not the other way round!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Neil

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The simple

way is to not tip, it's an American anachronism, not needed or expected in Europe.

I like Neil's idea of giving small tips in US in a foreign currency, it would show the absurdly of this US approach to wages. Pay a proper price which allows non-slavery wages to staff and then the hand out culture to top up.

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Not trying to hijack the thread (this actually pertains to the thread title, although not so much the original post), but what's the currently accepted tipping rate for servers, taxi drivers, etc. in Europe these days? My wife and I had some discussions about this earlier this year and we never really did come to a solid conclusion. I believe there were some discussions about this on the boards a while back but I didn't find them anywhere...

I always go with 10%

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garyb(uk) - please don't travel in France, Italy Switzerland etc and give 10% tips. WAY too much and anyway the service charge is already in the price of the food or drink item on the menu so you just effectively add 10% to an existing 15%! That is huge. And not good for those of us who live here and understand the system.

 

For tour guides and drivers: We tip the guide €10-20 at the end of the tour depending on how good s/he has been. A bit more if we have had a private guide - which we do sometimes. Driver gets a €5 tip IF he has driven well. If not - €1. If really badly (can happen!) Nothing.

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I think the tour guides expect a tip if the tourists are American. I'm just back from a MSC (nearly all European passengers) and at no time did I feel any of the tour guides expected all tip.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Forums mobile app

 

Sorry to hear that - especially if people from certain countries are all judged to all be the same. I did see some of what you are discussing in Fiji. They get many people from Australia there but much prefer people from the U.S. because Australians tended not to tip. IMO, this affected the service that they were receiving (while this definitely should not be the case, it was pretty obvious). Some locals expressed their feelings to us.

 

On the other hand, when people from the U.S. tip in countries where it is not expected it can actually be consider rude, I shake my head due to their lack of respect for other cultures. So, IMO, respecting the culture (including tipping) is of the utmost importance. If you are in a country where tips are expected the person's livelihood probably depends upon receiving tips, you should tip - regardless of what country you are from.

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