Alaska Luxury private whale watching.

[Stelkp]

Question: we are taking the luxury private whale watching excursion on NCL Bliss in Juneau Alaska. The cost comes to $3000. I know that tips are usually given to the captain of boats, but I’m curious to know if anyone has any experience in this and how much was given. I understand that tipping is subjective and some can give more or less-I just want to know what others have done. Thank you! 

[SoloAlaska]

My experience comes from working in adventure tourism not from chartering a private whale watching tour. Unless the tour was marked “tips included” I would expect a tip in the US to be at minimum 15% if the tour was ok. Somewhere around $500 would be decent but for a really good tour you can definitely tip $800 or more.

 

Thing to keep in mind is that the season of tourism especially with wildlife is short and hit or miss. Prices and tips are there to reflect that.

[Stelkp]

1 hour ago, SoloAlaska said:

My experience comes from working in adventure tourism not from chartering a private whale watching tour. Unless the tour was marked “tips included” I would expect a tip in the US to be at minimum 15% if the tour was ok. Somewhere around $500 would be decent but for a really good tour you can definitely tip $800 or more.

 

Thing to keep in mind is that the season of tourism especially with wildlife is short and hit or miss. Prices and tips are there to reflect that.

Ok thank you so much. We were prepared with $500 but will bring more. I appreciate the response. 

[SoloAlaska]

34 minutes ago, Stelkp said:

Ok thank you so much. We were prepared with $500 but will bring more. I appreciate the response. 

Your welcome. I try to make sure I have enough cash for the biggest tip I could imagine giving and if I give a more normal tip then I just have some spending money in my pocket. There’s probably no ATM at the edge of a dock so be prepared for what your comfortable giving.