Currency for tipping tour guides

We are sailing on Voyager Dubai to Rome in May. Wondering what currency we need for tipping guides. Will we need to get different currency for each port.

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I use the new, crisp dollars that I get from Regent reception. A woman bartender in Belize asked "do you make these on the ship."

No need to tip anyone. Just try and leave that mindset at home.

I would suggest that US dollars would be OK in the Middle East but Euros would be more acceptable in Europe.

No need to tip anyone. Just try and leave that mindset at home.

I don't want to get into a tipping argument but tour guides and drivers depend upon tips for their living - particularly in developing countries where the wages are incredibly low. Regent does make a point to let passengers know that tipping is not included in excursions.

In general, local currency is preferred so they don't have to pay to convert money. However, since we are sometimes only in port for a few hours, we don't have local currency and tip with U.S. dollars which is appreciated most places in the world.

Note: When we are traveling to any country, we look up tipping practices as well as what is accepted and/or frowned upon in the country that we are visiting so I looked up tipping in Dubai. Tipping is "not expected" but is appreciated. What is also appreciated just as much is being polite, saying thank you and giving a nice smile.

Here is a link to an article that speaks not only to tipping in Dubai but shopping as well. Enjoy your cruise https://www.currencyfair.com/blog/uae-tips-cost-of-living/

Oh Boy! We are about to descend into that tipping rabbit hole. Not going to venture there except:

Yes, we do tip Tour Guides--and separately, usually, the driver. Use crisp American dollars recently "minted" aboard whatever Regent ship we are on.

Now, await the whirlwind.

GOARMY!

Oh Boy! We are about to descend into that tipping rabbit hole. Not going to venture there except:

 

Yes, we do tip Tour Guides--and separately, usually, the driver. Use crisp American dollars recently "minted" aboard whatever Regent ship we are on.

 

Now, await the whirlwind.

 

GOARMY!

Don't think that there will be any heavy discussion (unlike tipping in other places). This has been discussed very politely in the past and this should be the case now. There are just some people from countries where tipping is either not permitted or not usual. The old saying "When in Rome............" applies here.

In Europe and the Med always Euros. Then Middle East, both Euro or Dollars are usually ok. Most US bank ATM cards work in European bank ATM's so it is easy to get money locally. Many US banks and brokerage ATM are "Fee Free" and will pick-up any local banks ATM fee.

J

If you do tip I would use Euros as we would expect people traveling to the USA to tip in USA dollars.

Jut one piece of advice. Each country has different customs when it comes to tipping so I would research what the customs are. Sometimes that can be challenging as from time to time there are conflicts on the information. One thing we try to do on our travels is asks those guests from the respective countries what the customs are and we try to follow those customs. For example just returned from Australia where tipping is not expected except maybe a small tip in a higher end restaurant.

Again when you tip I would tip in the local currency in Europe and in this case it would be Euros.

Have a great cruise.

Keith

Please do not tip in Australia, not even in top end restaurants. The prices charged and the wages paid cover all this.

Please do not tip in Australia, not even in top end restaurants. The prices charged and the wages paid cover all this.

I wanted to clarify that the tip that the person mentioned to us was at high end restaurants and more of a rounding up. He wasn't speaking about how those in the USA are accustomed to tipping and he emphasized if we were very please with the high level of service.

But like most things in life I suppose even the Aussies have different views. :)

It was nice on our recent trip to Sydney not to worry about tipping and since we had the family with us with two small grandchildren we didn't dine at any high end restaurants anyway. ;p

Keith

I’m Australian and we tip at restaurants if we are happy with the service.

Yesterday we had dinner that was $55/ head for a casual 3 course dinner at winery. A few glasses of wine on top of it, the bill came to $150. We left $10 tip, which isn’t much but sufficient.

At a high end dinner that is more expensive we tip much more. If service isn’t satisfactory, we don’t tip.

Most of our friends do likewise.

Cafes we don’t tip.

On cruises we tip the tour guide and driver. Regent says the tips are not covered in their included tours.

Thank you everyone for your help. I was not concerned about tipping in general just how to tip tour guides and drivers. For other purchases we’d use a credit card. Will take the suggestion to check on customs in each country we will visit. Excellent idea. Thanks for the always helpful advice.

My rule of thumb with respect to private guides: tip in the same currency as requested for payment.

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Please do not tip in Switzerland should you ever be here. At least not 15%. A franc or two left on the table if the service has been good is all that's needed. Since 1971 ALL service charges are included in the published price - by law. However tour guides and drivers are different and even here I would tip one if I took a tour (am more likely to be leading the tour here though!). In the Middle East, Russia, Asia I tip in USD if I am not in a country where tips are offensive...like Japan. In Europe, always in Euros. In the UK - only in GBP.

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I generally try to tip excursion guides and drivers in local currency, but will tip in dollars or euros if that's all I have. There have been a few times I've tipped in mixed currency but that's usually just to use up any local currency I have left over and then a few bucks to make up any difference.

Of course, tipping is a personal choice and I try to follow the local tipping customs - but oftentimes the guides and drivers count on the tips. So I tip.

I generally try to tip excursion guides and drivers in local currency, but will tip in dollars or euros if that's all I have. There have been a few times I've tipped in mixed currency but that's usually just to use up any local currency I have left over and then a few bucks to make up any difference.

Of course, tipping is a personal choice and I try to follow the local tipping customs - but oftentimes the guides and drivers count on the tips. So I tip.

To me this is common sense, UNNetBill said it all. So +One. Rick

Thank you. Love these boards everyone is always full of useful information. One more question. Do taxi cabs in Dubai take credit cards.

Thank you. Love these boards everyone is always full of useful information. One more question. Do taxi cabs in Dubai take credit cards.

Yes, CC gives a lot of useful opinions based real experiences but I find the internet to be very helpful as well. Just asked Google "will taxis in Dubai take credit cards" and found this very interesting response - definitely worth reading:

https://www.quora.com/Do-taxis-in-Dubai-take-credit-cards

And, while I do not know how authentic this site is, sometimes it is better to know of possible scams:

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/02/09/dubai-airport-taxi-scam/

Thanks TC2. Someday I hope to be as knowledgeable as you are.

We were on a land trip to the Baltics. At the hotel in Estonia, Lativa, or Lithuania (not remember which hotel) we got ice for our room from the bar. No charge for the ice. We "tipped" the bartender $1 US. The next night we got ice and when we tipped the different bartender she was excited because she got the USD. She told us the bartender from the night before was framing her dollar and she would also frame hers. They had never seen a USD. My husband showed them a $100 dollar bill. They took pictures of it.