Tipping on excursions

[Klala]

This will be our first cruise coming up (Voyager - Dubai to Athens) and I am wondering what is the general opinion on tipping the driver and guide on the excursion (yes/no, and if yes, about how much?) We always tip our guide based on what the excursion cost on our other travels, but we usually just had a guide/driver in one. Thanks for all advice!

[OrpingtonT]

This will be our first cruise coming up (Voyager - Dubai to Athens) and I am wondering what is the general opinion on tipping the driver and guide on the excursion (yes/no, and if yes, about how much?) We always tip our guide based on what the excursion cost on our other travels, but we usually just had a guide/driver in one. Thanks for all advice!

 

Yes. It is normal practice to tip and it is normally, I think, shared between driver and guide. As to how much, this depends on how long the excursion is and whether they did a good job. Not everyone tips but most do.

[Hambagahle]

A small tip to the driver IF he drove well. And I always say, if that is the case "thank you for your good driving". The guide - that depends on how good he or she was. If we are taken to a cameo factory then NO tip... But for a good guide with good information and a nice personality we would tip about 5US. Certainly not 10pc of the cost of e excursion though we would tip that or more if it were a private tour. Ie not Regent.

[RachelG]

If we get taken to shopping when we should not be, no tip. If the driver gets lost and drives around aimlessly for an hour ( yes, this has happened to us), no tip.

[alexandra cruiser]

know nothing is FREE,,but in my fantasy,,all the drivers,guides,etc.would be paid a fair price AHEAD of time and not rely on US...half the time I forget to bring small bills.The first Regent cruise,,,I forget ANY money<crazily "assumed" it was included..yeah,,I know...PS>.just had a credit card.

 

Know this is very unlikely,,,BUT,,,,am I the only one that thinks its a hassle??:confused:

[poss]

We do not make an automatic practice of tipping on the group excursions. We always tip if we have a private guide, and we always tip if our group tour guide is especially good-- I'd say that's the case more than half the time. (We really have generally enjoyed the excursions on Regent cruises.) From what I've noticed in leaving the bus or whatever, I'd say that about half of the folks tip (very few tip the driver).

(I happen to do same in a hotel. I.e. I know that many people regularly leave a tip for housekeeping; we do when there's been noticeably good service, but not otherwise.)

(Yes, we do always tip servers in restaurants, though the percentage depends on the quality of the service.)

 

Adding to say that, like others, we do not tip if we're taken to stores, etc. Grrr! Also, in addition to tipping when we've especially appreciated an experience, we always mention the excursion's excellence to the tour desk people and of course to the guide her/himself. Have also on a few occasions actually written to the tour company to praise the guide.

[Hambagahle]

And we have, on occasion, contacted Destination Services to tell them about a really bad tour. Or driver. As well as to say when something is great.

 

An aside comment - in many countries in Europe, ours (Switzerland) included, service or tips are aways IN the price. We do not tip at home. We might "round up" or add a bit for exceptional service. But a guide or driver or even taxi driver. no. This policy varies from country to country, and if a guide is great why not show one's appreciation? But no one should feel obliged to tip...especially if services were not good!

[Mjflowers]

It never ceases to my wonderment that people affluent enough to sail with a luxury line such as Regent find it difficult at times to drop down with a couple of bucks now and then to tip the tour guide or driver. :confused:

[smilingcruiser]

We always tip them unless they are really bad.

[marinaro44]

We always tip them unless they are really bad.

Likewise. Amount varies with quality.

[Ontariotrekker]

It never ceases to my wonderment that people affluent enough to sail with a luxury line such as Regent find it difficult at times to drop down with a couple of bucks now and then to tip the tour guide or driver. :confused:

Amen!

 

I tip the guide with local currency if I can and, depending on what country I'm in, often some little thing from Canada like a pen or a pin if they have kids. As for the driver, if he or she gets off their duff to help people disembark the bus or have helped with luggage etc, then thay always get an extra tip too.

[cruzsnooze]

On ship excursions it's pricey enough so no tip from me unless they do something extra or special. If It's a private excursion I've arranged for myself then I tip.

[bissel]

The tour guides and drivers are not employees of Regent I don't believe and have no bearing on what you paid for your cruise. I agree that unless the guide(s) is terrible, a $5-10 bill and a $5 for the driver (pp) is appropriate. When I see pikers who do not tip I increase my tip to try to make up for such miserly acts.

 

Come on, people. Try to remember when you were doing service jobs that were reliant on tipping. Perhaps you never did this kind of work but it can be hard! Remember how good that felt to have a few extra dollar bills in your pocket when you tried so hard to give good service?

[Travelcat2]

I am disappointed to read that so many people do not tip on excursions. These drivers and guides make little money and are trying to support their families -- just like everyone else in the world. The tour company makes money from Regent - not the driver or guide.

 

Whlle I would like to tip in local currency, many times it is not practical. Before we leave home I always go to the bank and get a couple hundred dollars in $10's, $5's and $1's and use this money for the person who delivers our luggage in the hotel and for tips.

 

We do not tip heavily on these tours but have no problem giving $10 for a full day tour to the guide and half that to the bus driver. In many ports, they do not see cruise ships every day and really look forward to days when a cruise ships arrives.

 

Some people complain about some of the excursions offered. If no one is tipping, the tours certainly will not be getting any better. Regent will become known as a cruise company whose passengers don't tip. No wonder tour operators choose to work with Carnival, RCCL, etc. in the Caribbean over Regent. . . . their passengers tip well!

[Anna B.]

I am disappointed to read that so many people do not tip on excursions. These drivers and guides make little money and are trying to support their families -- just like everyone else in the world. The tour company makes money from Regent - not the driver or guide.

 

Whlle I would like to tip in local currency, many times it is not practical. Before we leave home I always go to the bank and get a couple hundred dollars in $10's, $5's and $1's and use this money for the person who delivers our luggage in the hotel and for tips.

 

We do not tip heavily on these tours but have no problem giving $10 for a full day tour to the guide and half that to the bus driver. In many ports, they do not see cruise ships every day and really look forward to days when a cruise ships arrives.

 

Some people complain about some of the excursions offered. If no one is tipping, the tours certainly will not be getting any better. Regent will become known as a cruise company whose passengers don't tip. No wonder tour operators choose to work with Carnival, RCCL, etc. in the Caribbean over Regent. . . . their passengers tip well!

 

Wholeheartedly agree!

[smilingcruiser]

I am disappointed to read that so many people do not tip on excursions. These drivers and guides make little money and are trying to support their families -- just like everyone else in the world. The tour company makes money from Regent - not the driver or guide.

 

Whlle I would like to tip in local currency, many times it is not practical. Before we leave home I always go to the bank and get a couple hundred dollars in $10's, $5's and $1's and use this money for the person who delivers our luggage in the hotel and for tips.

 

We do not tip heavily on these tours but have no problem giving $10 for a full day tour to the guide and half that to the bus driver. In many ports, they do not see cruise ships every day and really look forward to days when a cruise ships arrives.

 

Some people complain about some of the excursions offered. If no one is tipping, the tours certainly will not be getting any better. Regent will become known as a cruise company whose passengers don't tip. No wonder tour operators choose to work with Carnival, RCCL, etc. in the Caribbean over Regent. . . . their passengers tip well!

TC2 - for once, we totally agree.

[poss]

I tend not to repeat my point of view once it's made, but I happen to be in the middle of George Eliot's "Middlemarch" at the moment, and I especially noted a line from that fine novel: "It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view." With that prompt, and given the fact that I truly have learned many things from reading these boards (and of course from all sorts of other sources), I re-read this thread and tried to re-assess my position on the subject of tipping.

I considered and really tried to think about each of the viewpoints, but I find that I continue to feel comfortable (despite the appall of so many) doing things in our accustomed fashion. I.e., as I said, we have much enjoyed most of our Regent excursions. Thus, we tip I'd say about 3/4 of the time (on some cruises, it's been virtually 100% of the time; others not so much). And we do not tip in a "miserly" manner either. And in addition to giving $$, we always take time to try genuinely to let the guide know how much we appreciated his/her service (which I believe is equally important). If someone tries "so hard to give good service" (as another poster mentioned), we absolutely offer a tip and our verbal appreciation (and enjoy doing so). BUT: if the guide was lackadaisical or non-informative or inhospitable to people's questions or concerns, I'd feel silly (in fact I believe it would be a mistake) to tip this "service" person for what we considered less than good service. I understand that many of you feel otherwise, but I'm not sure that there's a definitive "right" and "wrong" in this matter.

Btw, this thread has also encouraged me to re-think the whole tipping thing in restaurants. We do seem to tip even if the service isn't especially good or attentive. I guess this is because I've always been aware that what servers take home is very much dependent on tips, i.e. that restaurant owners know that virtually 100% of restaurant-goers (in the States) do tip, and thus pay quite minimal wages.

I've never had the feeling that a guide's wages are similarly "figured." Indeed, the two people we know who've done that sort of work (one in Costa Rica, one in Italy) were paid well.

In short, I'm still open to being taught if my view of all this is misguided. I've appreciated hearing the various views.

[bissel]

Poss, I agree with you that when the guide gives a good tour then a tip is a must. In our experience this is almost all the time that the guide does a good to great tour. I would rather give the balance of the doubt than stiff someone.

 

I was trying to say that it really frosts me when a great tour is given and I see quite a few people keep their hands in their pocket at the end of the tour. I think George Eliot would agree.:)

[RachelG]

If the tour is good or great, I definitely tip. But if the guide seems disinterested or drags to a shop where he clearly gets kick backs, no way.

[WesW]

We leave a tip for the driver and tour guide (except on rare occasion as Rachel notes it turns into a shopping tour), if the tour guide goes above & beyond (besides the tip) then we make sure to let Regent Destination services know. Conversely, if something on the tour is egregiously awful, we tip accordingly and if over the top bad (e.g., like we experienced on our Cambodia tour last year when the Regent escort did absolutely nothing when a regent pax was missing), I then make a bee line for the GM's office (GM called in the Destinations Svc Mgr to hear our experience) then the GM/Destination Svc mgr takes appropriate action

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Poss, I still agree with you.

 

As for Middlemarch, I remember reading it a few years ago and bookmarking such a great number of astoundingly good quotes. What a great book.

[TWG_ag]

Also agree that Poss has made a well reasoned response. I like the line from Blue Heaven when the Steve Martin character says, "I don't tip I overtip". I start out assuming the servicer, guide, cab driver gives a good tip, it can go up or down. It is not guaranteed,and should be based on performance. good to average gets a good to average tip. Excellence is overtipped. Bad should not be reinforced, indeed the feedback is important if the behavior is to improve. Verbal is important too as others have noted.

[Mjflowers]

Also agree that Poss has made a well reasoned response. I like the line from Blue Heaven when the Steve Martin character says, "I don't tip I overtip". I start out assuming the servicer, guide, cab driver gives a good tip, it can go up or down. It is not guaranteed,and should be based on performance. good to average gets a good to average tip. Excellence is overtipped. Bad should not be reinforced, indeed the feedback is important if the behavior is to improve. Verbal is important too as others have noted.

 

That was the late but great Vinnie Antonelli. "I tip everybody"

[wristband]

Standard is $10 per person for the guide, $5 for driver - preferably in local currency. Unless the experience was dreadful.

 

Some nationalities & skinflints refuse to tip. I believe when one pays $10,000+ on a typical Regent cruise, giving out a few singles to gratefully acknowledge service employees (who rely on tips to eat) is a pretty simple proposition.

 

Those who skip the tip remind me of pax ferociously arguing over the asking price of crappy souveniers in Vietnam or Cambodia from four to three dollars. Whoopee! You saved a buck & made a huge difference in your life.

 

While I routinely offer tour feedback to the Excursions Desk, my comments have more often than not been received with a shrug or a nod (no notes taken).

[Suite Travels]

I agree with TC as well.