Tipping on Excursions

[david63]

I know that this is not only a contentious but subjective subject but when on included excursions what currency do you use to tip - is it USD or local?

[Texas Tillie]

Local except in places where the locals actually prefer the US dollar as it is more stable than their local currency.

[canderson]

You may find this site helpful:

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/tipping-etiquette-around-the-world/

[Mahogany]

I just returned from 24 days on the Dawn. I was surprised at how few passengers tipped the excursion guides. Is tipping mainly an American thing (I am American)? I always tip in local currency if I have it, but often it's not worth buying local if you're only visiting the port for a day.

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, Mahogany said:

I just returned from 24 days on the Dawn. I was surprised at how few passengers tipped the excursion guides. Is tipping mainly an American thing (I am American)? I always tip in local currency if I have it, but often it's not worth buying local if you're only visiting the port for a day.

 

I think people assume if the excursion is included, the tip is included. I don't see it that way, but others do. Also, there are people who are just down right cheap, spend $20,000 on a cruise but think $5 or $10 for a tour guide is too much.

[david63]

2 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Is tipping mainly an American thing

In some situations I would say that tipping is an American thing but not being an American I will, and do, tip where I deem it to be appropriate AND I have had good service.

 

I will normally tip on an excursion but only if I have had a good guide.

[cotto22]

We have almost always tipped our tour guides, and in local currency whenever possible. I do remember one time when the guide was very poor and actually offensive that we did not.

 

[machotspur]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

In some situations I would say that tipping is an American thing but not being an American I will, and do, tip where I deem it to be appropriate AND I have had good service.

 

I will normally tip on an excursion but only if I have had a good guide.

 

I agree with your comments.

 

The American thing of wishing to tip on a 'gratuity inclusive' cruise is alien to me - and many others onboard I suspect.

 

However - I believe that it it is clear that guides on excursions are not included in 'this deal' and to this end we always tip the tour guide - unless the experience has not been good.

[ronrick1943]

8 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

I think people assume if the excursion is included, the tip is included. I don't see it that way, but others do. Also, there are people who are just down right cheap, spend $20,000 on a cruise but think $5 or $10 for a tour guide is too much.

Think you are 100% right……..

[gnome12]

I think that it depends where in the world you are travelling. If the country does not have a tipping culture, because everyone is paid a fair wage, I would only tip for exceptional service. However, if the country has a tipping culture, then, unless told that tips to guides were included (i.e. paid by the cruise line), I would tip.

[Lonedaddy]

You can Google tipping guides in most places.  Some places it is not expected and in some like Australia it is frowned upon but some Americans still tipped even though the guide was nothing special.  But if a guide goes out of their way 5-10 extra is a nice gesture. Some places like Stockholm the taxi driver refused a tip.   In countries like israel and Egypt (ports on our next cruise) usd or euros are gladly accepted.  Just depends and worth looking up prior.

[drron29]

I wouldn't say tipping in Australia is frowned upon but most don't tip. We pay fair wages.

Some time ago it was not uncommon to dislike US tourists because of their tipping habit which was not our culture at all. These days we just shrug our shoulders and forget about it.

 

Also I do admit I did dislike US tourists in Asia which in the 60s and 70s did not have a tipping culture but now do because of those tourists.

[drkitkat123]

do you tip guides differently if it is their private business or they are an employee? I remember once that a private business guide got very upset with me because we did not add a tip for their quite expensive services. I would gladly have paid the extra upfront if he had just quoted me an all-inclusive cost for the day. For the life of me, I can still not understand why he would want a tip for a service he quoted for and was paid for. This was in Israel BTW and the cost was like $500 for the day and I would have gladly paid say $550 if that was what he wanted to be paid for the day

Edited September 17, 2023 by drkitkat123
addition

[david63]

16 hours ago, Mahogany said:

I was surprised at how few passengers tipped the excursion guides

I suspect that one of the reasons could be that with being on a cruise that some passengers did not have local currency to tip with.

 

Tipping is becoming a problem these days because many people, myself included, do not use cash and to the best of my knowledge tour guides do not have card readers!

 

So this brings me to my next question. As this will be my first SS cruise can you get small amounts of local currency on board the ship? If not then I may be joining the "non tipping" group.

[roaming_kiwi58]

We have just come off a B2B Silversea cruise in Canada/USA. I noticed on the shore excursion documentation we received onboard that it stated tips on shore excursions are expected, and not included. That may have been included in the paperwork before embarkation as well - I don't remember. We did not tip all our guides, as we thought some of them were very poor, but we did tip the good ones. Mostly other cruisers were tipping - but then they were mainly Americans, so that was no surprise.

We are NZers, and not used to tipping. It is always a conundrum to us, when and how much to tip. We would certainly not always tip - only in places where we know it is expected - such as the USA for one example. 

We got Canadian and US dollars before leaving home.

[jollyjones]

The issue of having cash in small denomination bills is becoming a nuisance.

 

Travelling for me these days is almost entirely cashless. When cruising, I do expect to tip excursion guides unless they were not good at their job but I now have to plan ahead and equip myself with 'small' cash because it's the only time I'll need it.

 

I used to tip about US$5, euro 5, or GBP 5 but have moved up to about 10 in those currencies because it's really hard to get smaller notes (and the cost of living has gone up too so it's not an unreasonable increase) - I use whichever currency (I make a guess at it) may be most accepted in countries with different currencies.

 

So far no guide has ever refused cash - I console myself that they probably are well used to having to deal with many different currencies.

 

But having enough small money is still a nuisance.

 

And David63, no, you need to bring small money with you - I'd suggest you equip yourself with a number of five pound notes before you travel, that'll get you through. Or 5 euro notes if you can be bothered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by jollyjones

[Tudorcruisers]

When we first did the Silversea excursions a few years ago a lot of passengers tipped the guide at the end of the tour.  Last year and again this year very, very few have tipped the guide at the end despite the tours in my opinion mainly being very good indeed.    I’m not American,  just feel it’s the right thing to do if someone has given good service.    

[toseaornottosea]

We were on a recent Silversea cruise that stopped in Palermo, Sicily, where we hired a private guide.  We chatted about a lot of things and asked him if he had been to the United States.  He said he had.  He told us he often was tipped in US dollars and would save them and over time he had saved enough to cover the costs of his trip to the US.  

[gcornell]

I don’t tip on the excursions unless the service was exceptional.  I always tip restaurant wait staff in the US as they are not paid a fair wage.  Not sure why tips would be expected if paid a fair wage. 

[5waldos]

On 9/16/2023 at 1:03 PM, machotspur said:

 

 

The American thing of wishing to tip on a 'gratuity inclusive' cruise is alien to me - and many others onboard I suspect.

 

Thank you. I could not agree more, and I am an American. For exceptional service (for example, my cabin mate was ill nearly an entire trip and out butler took amazing care of her- she tipped him generously) I choose gratuity inclusive cruises to avoid the entire tipping experience. I tip generously when in cultures where it is expected, but avoid doing so where it is not. 

[CruisinPashmina]

Perhaps I am lazy, but I always tip in US dollars and no one has ever said a thing but thank you! As part of preparing to leave home, I go to my bank and get a bunch of $5.00 bills.Usually a five is adequate but sometimes a guide gives a very special tour and I will tip $10.00. Like another person posting earlier I am surprised and a little sad when truly wonderful guides aren’t tipped….and I spite of knowing that this is none of my business, I do get a little embarrassed.

[Lois R]

I always bring Euros with me when I go to Europe and I make sure I have plenty of 5's for tipping.

Maybe I am just an odd ball (been called worse)....but it is very easy to get Euros locally and why would I give someone a US $ dollar if they live in Europe. I don't think someone here in the states wants a Euro as payment for something. 

Now, I just came back from a cruise that ended in Copenhagen......they have the Krone but I was only there for 1 day and did not get any of that money. I went on a tour and I asked the guide if they accepted Euros and they said yes so I was able to tip him. (I paid for the tour with a Credit card).

 

Anyway, I always tip a good guide.

[ropomo]

4 hours ago, CruisinPashmina said:

I am surprised and a little sad when truly wonderful guides aren’t tipped….and I spite of knowing that this is none of my business, I do get a little embarrassed.

I understand your thoughts, but I can give a personal experience that could explain it "sometimes". We were on an excursion in Helsinki where the guide was always narrating with "we just passed" or "behind those trees" and never actually describing anything we were actually seeing. In some cases it was "if you were here last week". We didn't feel that we gained anything from her but frustration. One if the worst excursions we have ever been on. On getting off the bus, we were surrounded by others that thought the tour was great and were tipping. One of the rare occasions we didn't tip the guide but did tip the driver. Opinions, perceptions and expectations differ. Not commenting on your opinion or perceptions, but others may not have been of the same. Also, not to say, they just weren't cheaping out. Just saying that in some cases it may not be as it seems. Happy sailing!

Edited September 19, 2023 by ropomo
Originally said Stockholm, meant Helsinki

[Lois R]

11 minutes ago, ropomo said:

I understand your thoughts, but I can give a personal experience that could explain it "sometimes". We were on an excursion in Helsinki where the guide was always narrating with "we just passed" or "behind those trees" and never actually describing anything we were actually seeing. In some cases it was "if you were here last week". We didn't feel that we gained anything from her but frustration. One if the worst excursions we have ever been on. On getting off the bus, we were surrounded by others that thought the tour was great and were tipping. One of the rare occasions we didn't tip the guide but did tip the driver. Opinions, perceptions and expectations differ. Not commenting on your opinion or perceptions, but others may not have been of the same. Also, not to say, they just weren't cheaping out. Just saying that in some cases it may not be as it seems. Happy sailing!

When I feel the way you did on the tours I don't tip either. It depends on the guide, no doubt about it. If I am unhappy I certainly don't tip. Or I should have used the word dissatisfied.

[CruisinPashmina]

I may have been a little misunderstood. When a tour and the guide were not at all good, I have had zero qualms about not tipping, But in my quite extensive Silversea experience, unsatisfactory tours are rare. Sometimes there is a language problem and sometimes there just isn’t anything interesting…at all…to see. But if I think the guide is giving it his/her very best shot, then I separately tip both the guide and the driver. 
And sometimes I don’t give a hoot and I embarrass myself.