Question about tipping guides in Norway

[dickinson]

We will be on a seven day Norwegian fjords cruise in the summer.  Our ship departs from Southampton.  Do we need to purchase Norwegian Krone?  We have booked three private excursions and one through the ship.  

 

Thanks!

[ontheweb]

We had a private tour in Alesund, Norway. I had some Euros left over so tipped our guide with Euros. If my Euros were all gone, I would have used dollars.

[hallasm]

It is not customary in Norway to tip and therefore different than in the US - the price you pay for the excursion already includes a service fee equivalent to the tip and guides are paid in full for their work.

It's fine to tip a small amount, but certainly not as much as in the US.

Be aware that US$ cannot generally be used in Norway and exchanging currency in Norway is very expensive. Immediately, tips should be in local currency.

[kaisatsu]

Everyone in Norway should be earning a living wage from their salary alone. Tipping is a contentious issue, because there have been increasing cases where foreign seasonal workers are not being paid an acceptable amount, with the expectation that foreign visitors will provide tips. This is actually a violation of local labor practices, but one that is very difficult to crack down on.

 

You should absolutely not be expected to tip. If you feel an inescapable urge to do so, kroner would be best, followed by euros. Norway is a largely cashless economy at this point, and spending cash often requires going to a dedicated till. Currency conversions are challenging, and most Norwegians traveling abroad just use ATMs at the train station and airport that dispense foreign currency (if they don’t want to wait to withdraw it on arrival).

[dickinson]

Thank you all for your responses.  I appreciate it.  We will be in Norway for four ports so we would not need a lot of Norwegian Krone.  Knowing that tipping is not generally expected helps.  We would not want to insult anyone by either not tipping or tipping in US dollars if tipping was expected.

[JHCruiser123]

I was also wondering the same.  We are going on a private tour in Olden with just the four of us in our party.  It was pretty costly.  Does that include tip for the guide who is traveling with us or should we bring Krone with us?  I'm not sure if a private tour is different.  And if we did tip how much would be appropriate?

[John Bull]

Tipping isn't the norm. in Norway, but neither is it regarded as an insult.

@JHCruiser123 - if you do tip, not at anywhere near American levels - just a few k to show your appreciation for excellence.

 

Elsewhere in the world you need to check whether payment by card is accepted.

In Norway you need to check whether payment by cash is accepted. 

 

Last year, at our final port-of-call and with too many k still in our pockets, we stopped for a coffee. When it was presented I got out my cash, only to be told that the establishment doesn't accept cash.

There was no notice to that effect, so we said "sorry, we don't have cards, only cash". and left the server to drink the stuff for herself. In the absence of any notice I rate that as reasonable in an establishment which deals primarily with foreign visitors

We managed to spend all our k elsewhere, and in an extra tip for our cabin steward (it was early-season for the ship).

 

Having a few k would be sensible, but you could probably get by with no cash at all.

 

JB 🙂

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, JHCruiser123 said:

I was also wondering the same.  We are going on a private tour in Olden with just the four of us in our party.  It was pretty costly.  Does that include tip for the guide who is traveling with us or should we bring Krone with us?  I'm not sure if a private tour is different.  And if we did tip how much would be appropriate?

A service fee is always included in price of excursion - no additional tips necessary. Does apply to any tour operated in Norway/ Scandinavia.
‘Kroner’ not necessary- use credit/debit card for purchases. Learn from John Bull’s experience and recommendation for tipping.

Just note that all Scandinavian countries and Iceland are using different type of ‘Kroner’.

[BnCTadventures]

We are also going on a Fjords cruise in the summer (June). I ordered a small amount of Kroner through my bank for tips as that is what I am used to doing after a tour or excursion.  I plan on saving some of it for scrapbook purposes but will take the rest back to my bank when we return to exchange.  

[BuckeyeMark]

Just got back from Norway. Never saw a tip jar. Never had a guide plead for tips. Did tip (in NOK) and it was always gratefully accepted but there was a kind of "uh, well, oh ... okay" look on the guides' face when we handed him some NOK! It is certainly not expected like here in the US!

[dickinson]

Thanks for sharing!

[mlbcruiser]

I read this thread with interest because I have noticed on some of the tours and excursions available online through certain tour providers mention the cost of the actual tour, plus any taxes or entrance fees, yet still state tips are not included in the price. This, to me, sounds like they are basically telling you to tip.  No mention at all of service fees as part of the tour cost. 
 

Thanks for all of these informative posts.

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

I read this thread with interest because I have noticed on some of the tours and excursions available online through certain tour providers mention the cost of the actual tour, plus any taxes or entrance fees, yet still state tips are not included in the price. This, to me, sounds like they are basically telling you to tip.  No mention at all of service fees as part of the tour cost.

Norway does not have the same tradition of tipping as in the USA - salary for the guide and tip are always included in the advertised price.
Mentions that entrance is not included but since tips are not mentioned they are included. It will be fine with an appreciation in the form of a smaller amount, but not at all at the level of the US.
Completely different cultures regarding payment in service professions. In Norway, service employees receive a good salary.

[Sucellos]

7 hours ago, hallasm said:

Norway does not have the same tradition of tipping as in the USA - salary for the guide and tip are always included in the advertised price.
Mentions that entrance is not included but since tips are not mentioned they are included. It will be fine with an appreciation in the form of a smaller amount, but not at all at the level of the US.
Completely different cultures regarding payment in service professions. In Norway, service employees receive a good salary.

 

Yeah, the good salaries in service professions is probably the main reason why we see an increasing amount of migrant workers in the service professions and the Norwegians looking for other jobs... (If you didn't get it, please read it again with the word sarcasm in mind). 

 

Salary for the guide is included in the advertised price as all other operating expenses are. Tips are not. However, nobody will chase you down for tips, nobody will yell at you for not tipping and the waiter, guide or whatever will be able to provide food for the family based on the original salary even if you don't tip. They are simply used to the fact that not everybody leaves a tip. But there's most certainly not an included service fee or tip in the price that will be paid/resdistributed payment to the employee in addition to the salary unless that is explicitly stated.

 

Tipping culture is definitely different than the US. Here 10 % in a restaurant is nice appreciation if the service was good. A little somehing based on group size for a tour guide likewise. However; and this is a major difference: If you think the service/performance was below expectations or outright bad; Tip less, or even better, don't tip at all!

 

But by all means, it's absolutely true that quite a few Norwegians/Danes/Swedes never ever tip in their home country, but I'm sure most of you have that one friend in the US as well, the one tipping so scarcely that you're almost tempted to ask for separate checks when you go out together. 

[kaisatsu]

13 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

I read this thread with interest because I have noticed on some of the tours and excursions available online through certain tour providers mention the cost of the actual tour, plus any taxes or entrance fees, yet still state tips are not included in the price. This, to me, sounds like they are basically telling you to tip.  No mention at all of service fees as part of the tour cost. 
 

Thanks for all of these informative posts.

I would pay attention to “Tips are appreciated” as is often the case for free tours.

 

If the tours are through any kind of international tour booking site, I’d just assume the “Tips not included” text is just standard. Or added as a disclaimer so that people can’t complain later and ask for a refund due to misleading information.

 

If the tip information is included on a Norwegian company’s website, I’d probably side-eye it as a money grab. Maybe I would be prepared to offer a small tip if the guide was really great, but I don’t think I’d tip more than 50 NOK per person for a full day tour. And since I don’t carry cash ever, I wouldn’t feel at all guilty if tipping wasn’t possible. I definitely wouldn’t bother finding currency for it.

[mlbcruiser]

Several years ago, we went to French Polynesia. Once we landed in Tahiti, we took a taxi to the ferry port to catch a ferry over to Moorea. I did a lot of reading before our trip and read that it was not customary to tip in French Polynesia. It even said that some would be offended if you tried to offer a tip. However, we had noticed a sign in the taxi cab that said tips appreciated. 
 

Once we got to Maria, we had a driver waiting for us to take us to our resort. I asked him about the tipping custom there. He said Americans were ruining the natural desire of French Polynesians to give excellent service and hospitality to tourists. He himself was born in France, but spent a tour of duty in Tahiti in the French military. After going home, he decided to move back to the Island of Tahiti. he said not to tip. That he never ever tips.  We therefore stopped automatically giving tips in that country. However, we did periodically go into a restaurant and there would be signs indicating tips, appreciated or signs that said please feel free to leave a tip.  
 

To those who like to overt, especially, I like to say you are the ones that have helped keep service wages solo in the US.  There are many professions where an individual must spend a lot of time with a customer. Even in a department store, a sales person could get someone that wants to try on numerous clothing items or hogs someone behind the jewelry counter because they want to try on about 15 different watches with other customers waiting. Or perhaps they have you call another store and have an employee there find something you want and hold it for you. Do you tip that person? No. For one thing they wouldn’t be allowed to except a tip. do you tip a flight attendant who maybe went an extra mile for you for some reason? No, you’re not supposed to. So why should I tip someone scoop of ice cream on top of an ice cream cone when that is their job? I’m not going to complain that Norwegians don’t expect tips. I’ll follow the advice above.
 

Thanks for the replies.