Tipping for Tours in Port

[RocksGal]

Hello! We are going on a caribbean cruise next month. We are doing tours on the islands that we have set up ourselves after getting recomendations on the CC boards.

 

What I need to know is, what is the generally accepted tip percentage for the tour guides? 15-20%?

 

Do you pay for the tour before or after it is over?

 

Thanks!

[GORDONCHICK]

As far as paying before or after, depends on who you booked with. And we tip according to how we think the tour went. Guides can make the difference. Just keep in mind that there may be more than one person doing your tour. When our tour is about $35, we will tip between $5-10pp depending on the experience we had with them.

[RocksGal]

As far as paying before or after, depends on who you booked with. And we tip according to how we think the tour went. Guides can make the difference. Just keep in mind that there may be more than one person doing your tour. When our tour is about $35, we will tip between $5-10pp depending on the experience we had with them.

 

If there is more than one person doing the tour, do you hand out tips separately, or do they separate it out between the guides that did your tour?

[G'ma]

Hello! We are going on a caribbean cruise next month. We are doing tours on the islands that we have set up ourselves after getting recomendations on the CC boards.

 

What I need to know is, what is the generally accepted tip percentage for the tour guides? 15-20%?

 

Do you pay for the tour before or after it is over?

 

Thanks!

 

Suggested tips for tour guides is 10-20% of the total cost of the tour....and a coupla $$ for the driver. Good tipping guidelines can be found on the internet. Here is a lift from "About.com":

 

 

Stevedore

Tip $2-5 dollars per bag. You want your luggage to get on and off the ship, don't you?

Limousine Driver

Tipping 15-20 percent is standard, unless a service charge is included. You will be expected to pay for any tolls, but you don't have to factor their cost into the total price. Tour Guide

As you depart from the tour, reward a good guide by tipping 10-20 percent of the cost of a ticket.

[GORDONCHICK]

If there is more than one person doing the tour, do you hand out tips separately, or do they separate it out between the guides that did your tour?

 

We've only had tours with one guide who also did the driving (with the exception of one in Alaska), so we just had the one person. But I know that if you book cave tubing through Yhanni in Belize, there's him and other guys. I know he doesn't drive. I don't know what you do in that situation, I just know it's out there.

[Treven]

What I've usually done in the past is given the driver/guide $5 at the end of the tour; this is what I've also seen most of the people in the group tours give as well.

[cruiselover57]

Hello! We are going on a caribbean cruise next month. We are doing tours on the islands that we have set up ourselves after getting recomendations on the CC boards.

 

What I need to know is, what is the generally accepted tip percentage for the tour guides? 15-20%?

 

Do you pay for the tour before or after it is over?

 

Thanks!

 

Definitely no need to tip that high! You're probably already paying a lot for the tour itself. A few bucks per person; maybe $5 is more than enough - at least that's what I've seen.

[trooper 1]

(Edited) Hello! What I need to know is, what is the generally accepted tip percentage for the tour guides? 15-20%? Thanks!

 

Our personal "rule of thumb" is to tip $5.00 for a half day tour and $10.00 for a full day tour to the guide and 1/2 that to the driver. That would be for the two of us. Not each. It would be rare for us to go down any from that amount but not unusual to go upward for excellent service.

[cb at sea]

Tipping will depend on what we get! If we get what we paid for (and that's usually a pretty penny), but nothing extra, we don't tip at all! (These "tour operators are not minimum wage employees, like a waiter!!!!) If the guide goes out of their way to do something special, or is extremely personable, then we'll tip between $5-10 for the 2 of us.

There is no need to tip everyone you encounter on a cruise!