Tipping

[Doc]

That being said; I was quite concerned with the tipping at CCV... However; by the end of the week, I was feeling that the effort the crew from top to bottom was second to none and felt a very good tip was not out of the question... I ended up giving our DM (from the wife and me) 125.00 and our boat operator 100.00. Housekeeping and other staff another 100.00. Gave Robert an additional 20 on the side... Could not have been a better trip and felt fine, actually good about the tips...

Yeah, after reading this long thread about tipping, I was wondering when someone was going to mention how simple the process has been at CCV for 25 years.

At the end of the week, along with the dreaded "eviction papers", they hand you an envelope with a tip explanation. You can do the communal tip if you like, you can tip any way you wish, but the tip jar gets extended to all of the "hidden staff" that you might not otherwise see.

The tip envelope comes with a suggested tip of 10% of your ground package price, if you feel that the service warranted such. So that is roughly $120 per diver, if you look at the highest season rate. We usually throw in $100, and also mark the envelope that we have "taken care of" the DM and Captain separately ($50 each). They provide check-off boxes so you can easily convey your wishes.

This allows the tip to be spread around, and even to the Dockmaster, the guy that fills the tanks, the yard boys- people you never might notice.

And about the $50 each to the DM and the Captain? The Captain always lends a lot of assist to divers when entering and exiting, making the most dangerous part of the dive... walking on the boat- a lot safer. I almost always tip them the same. There is very little difference in the quality of the Captains or DMs at CCV, they are all first rate and very helpful.

Tipping might be an American affectation, but a huge portion of the dive travelers in the Bay Islands are from the US, so that's how their systems work at most of the AI's (FI, AKR, CCV), although some AI's cater to other nationalities as a rule.

$200 for tips to the quality of staff that I get at CCV for getting in 27 dives and 21 meals, well- that's not too hard to voluntarily cough up.

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, I've wondered about the posters who said they gave more to the DM than the Captain. I tipped mine equally. The skipper offered to do more for me, but I thot he did plenty.

I still don't care for "tip jar gets extended to all of the 'hidden staff' that you might not otherwise see" as that's too much like the value added tipping to replace salaries for those who do not directly serve me, but if that's how they do it - ok, fine. I'm sure it works. Nice that you can "also mark the envelope that we have 'taken care of' the DM and Captain separately" and such.

My daughter is taking the two boys and her mom on a 6 night cruise to Mexico is a couple of months. I asked if the cruise line had advised on suggested tipping? "They add $10/night each to your bill." That's the worst in added value tipping to me.

And I'm too much of a cynic to believe that all the tips get fully distributed, especially with some companies.

 

[jlevine]

Yeah, I've wondered about the posters who said they gave more to the DM than the Captain. I tipped mine equally. The skipper offered to do more for me, but I thot he did plenty....And I'm too much of a cynic to believe that all the tips get fully distributed, especially with some companies.

I usually tip the DM and captain equally. I feel their roles are both important.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on the matter of distribution. I wish it weren't so.

 

[Doc]

And I'm too much of a cynic to believe that all the tips get fully distributed, especially with some companies.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on the matter of distribution. I wish it weren't so.

I do know that at CCV, several worker-level employees are present when the tip box is opened after guest departure on Saturday.

 

[morecowbells]

I think this is rare, if not even imagined, altho the DMs will work harder to please when you tip daily I think - in Coz.

Definitely not imagined! I remember that it was a very slow time in Coz for travel and it was just my husband and I on the boat. The DM worked his butt of pointing things out to us. While he was not a jerk about it, he certainly seemed put out by not getting a tip.

I do agree with the opinions that tips are to be earned and not expected. There have been times that I should have only tipped the captain. One example was a cattle cart operation, the DM was completely disinterested. He did not point out a single critter and swam so far ahead of everybody without ever looking back that a diver had to catch up to him to notify him of a diver who was getting low on air. Alas, I am a total wuss. I still tipped because I feel bad about the poor pay scale in some of these countries. In retrospect, I wish I handled things much differently. Undercurent has a great article addressing the issue of tipping :
Dive Trip Tipping Nearly Universal: Undercurrent 01/2002

 

[CajunDiva]

Definitely not imagined! I remember that it was a very slow time in Coz for travel and it was just my husband and I on the boat. The DM worked his butt of pointing things out to us. While he was not a jerk about it, he certainly seemed put out by not getting a tip.

I do agree with the opinions that tips are to be earned and not expected. There have been times that I should have only tipped the captain. One example was a cattle cart operation, the DM was completely disinterested. He did not point out a single critter and swam so far ahead of everybody without ever looking back that a diver had to catch up to him to notify him of a diver who was getting low on air. Alas, I am a total wuss. I still tipped because I feel bad about the poor pay scale in some of these countries. In retrospect, I wish I handled things much differently. Undercurent has a great article addressing the issue of tipping :
Dive Trip Tipping Nearly Universal: Undercurrent 01/2002

I like the way you think and I think it all boils down to humanity. Of course, by definition, gratuities should be earned - not expected. If everybody behaved as they were supposed to, we would have crews hustling to make our dive trips great because they knew we would be tipping them for their hard work. Unfortunately, that's not how it always works. Those who are cheapskates and don't tip can give the rest of us a bad wrap, but by the same token those crews who don't earn their tips are a bad influence for their group. It all boils down to expectations. I do my best to form a nice relationship with any divemaster and captain I dive with. To me, communication is the key to many situations in life. Before my trip is over they will know exactly what I expect from them and they will know that they can depend on me to take care of them when we're done. It's a mutual respect that forms as you dive together and get to know one another. That's why I enjoy diving time and again with a crew that has truly earned my respect and I honestly can't wait to make sure they are tipped handsomely !

 

[BettyfromToronto]

Great article. Thanks Morecowbells

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks Cowbells. Yeah, some DMs don't deserve the opportunities they have. You're going to meet one now and then, brother-in-law of someone maybe; thankfully it's rare for me anyway. I remember a skipper I had in Belize once I shouldn't have tipped for the entire week, and I nearly didn't - just the DM, but I thot about all the times I've been wrong about things and did. I learned more about him later to feel glad that he didn't kill anyone.

Sometimes I feel obligated in a way to compensate for the local economy, checking into a hotel with more stuff than most families have to their entire life. On one hand, I know that the country natives migrate from the mainland to Cozumel or Roatan specifically because working the tourist industry is so much more appealing even with more costs, and then I study the history of the country learning about how they got to where they are - putting the real problem onto the various greedy political entities, churches, entrepreneurs, etc. and think it's not my fault their life sucks and they wouldn't let me fix it if I tried. But on the other hand, while I am whining about having the end room and poor WiFi, many of them are walking from the village to the gate, then onto the cay, past my room, and going to work with a smile so I can enjoy my relative decadence. So while I don't think I owe anyone a tip to make up for their life and poor wages, I do like to reward those who are nice to me - and then adding some because I was lucky to be born a healthy American (Texan even ) doesn't hurt.

I probly tip some less than some y'all, have no interesting in tipping cooks or gardeners - those wages should be sufficient and covered by resort fees, but I probly tip more than some who wouldn't post here and I try to be open to a little more.

Very good article too...!!

Diva has a very nice approach. She's a pretty cool gal, with a nifty husband. Hope to fly in with them sometime...!!

 

[ronski101]

We typically do a 60/40 split for the DM and boat captain. Our justification is the DM is more responsible for our safety and a good one will point stuff out for pic taking especially since if I am really bad at spotting stuff unless it got a tag on it. tipping is one of the most subjective things out there and you can justify anything if you try hard enough.

 

[CajunDiva]

(Texan even )

We won't hold that against you DD