Tips on tips

Hi guys-
I'm going on a liveaboard trip in August, and I was wondering what was appropriate for tipping the crew? Do you give it to the captain and he splits it with everyone? What's a fair rate? Thanks for any info!

H2O Gal:

Hi guys-
I'm going on a liveaboard trip in August, and I was wondering what was appropriate for tipping the crew? Do you give it to the captain and he splits it with everyone? What's a fair rate? Thanks for any info!

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it really depends on the trip location.
Tip is paid at the end of week, when you settle up the rest of your bill usually. Some boats give you an envelope, some just have you add it onto your credit card bill. Most companies have a letter telling you what they consider a tip to be, something like 10% - 20% of your trip liveaboard price (minus your airfare, of course). They also usually give you a comment card or form to fill out with your opinions on the trip, crew, food, dives, etc. That is where you tell them why you gave them the tip you did, or why you cut them short. Also, you can specify a certain portion to a particular person you think went over and above what was expected. If you want to give something special to a crew member, I would do it discretely the last day.

I understand that in Fiji and Australia, tips are considered insulting, so they do it.

Tips for a live aboard shouldn't depend on location, but the booking rate for the boat. Without opening up a can of worms, tips are just that, tips, for good service. I think to many people have come to just expect them and can give whatever crap service they want; that goes for any industry, not just live aboards. How much to give has been disused at length in other threads, but as a rule of thumb, it should be in the area of 10%-15% of the charter cost; to the lower end or less if the service was bad, to the upper end or more if it was exceptional.

Usually, individual tips are declined as they are almost always pooled...

Gtoph:

Tips for a live aboard shouldn't depend on location, but the booking rate for the boat. Without opening up a can of worms, tips are just that, tips, for good service. I think to many people have come to just expect them and can give whatever crap service they want; that goes for any industry, not just live aboards. How much to give has been disused at length in other threads, but as a rule of thumb, it should be in the area of 10%-15% of the charter cost; to the lower end or less if the service was bad, to the upper end or more if it was exceptional.

Usually, individual tips are declined as they are almost always pooled...

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I wasn't saying the amount depends on the location, I meant that how the tips are handled may depend on location.

Tips are still accepted in Fiji, but they call it a contribution to the Christmas fund. It is never a good idea to hand the tip directly to a staff member. Always hand the envelope to the cruise director or boat captain. If a particular staff member does especially well and you want him or her to get more, just make note of it, but still give it to the captain. This way he gets the tip, plus the recognition too. On a $3000 charter a 10% tip of $300 is more than generous. I do at least three live-aboard trips a year and seldom see people tip more. I was once told by a friend who was a cruise director on a boat in Indonesia that the engineer would make as much money in tips in one month as a doctor would make on land. Americans tend to over tip, some Europeans don't tip at all. Tips should reflect your satisfaction with the service you received, not what is expected, but it is kind of a personal thing too.

We generally tip 15% of the booking fee; In regards to an upcoming trip however, we booked early and paid full price. Evidently not all slots were filled, so they are offering last minute deals for almost half of what we paid. If you follow this guideline, then the crew would only receive half the tip from someone booking last minute, yet they will be providing the same amount of work and service.

Gtoph:

Without opening up a can of worms, tips are just that, tips, for good service. I think to many people have come to just expect them and can give whatever crap service they want; that goes for any industry, not just live aboards. How much to give has been disused at length in other threads, but as a rule of thumb, it should be in the area of 10%-15% of the charter cost; to the lower end or less if the service was bad, to the upper end or more if it was exceptional.

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By way of context, folks I know who crew on liveaboards are paid approx $100 a week by the boat. Also keep in mind that they work 16+ hours a day doing everything from filling tanks and leading your dives to emptying your trash cans and cleaning your toilets. They work hard and I think if the service has been good and you can afford to be generous those guys earn every penny you might send their way!

Just wanted to lend the perspective of someone who worked on a liveaboard for the better part of a decade. Tips are usually 10%-15% of the cruise fare. On our boat, tips were pooled and split evenly among all crew members. If I ever received a personal tip (and I received many) I put it into the pool with the belief that it was often other crew members who allowed me the opportunity to provide the extra service (covering my galley rotation so I could buddy up with a newbie or watching the divedeck for me so I could do a camera or equipment repair). Salaries are indeed low (unless you are a chef, engineer, mate, or captain which are still low, but much higher than DMs or instructors), so the crew does depend on tips for most of their income. The 10-15% tip you leave covers the service you receive on the dive deck, cleaning your cabins, laundering your towels, cooking & serving your meals, washing your dishes, doing night watches (we always had a crewmember up, 24 hours a day), carrying your luggage, etc. If the service was not up to par, decrease the tip, BUT by all means let the captain AND the corporate office know. If the service exceeded expectations, tip higher. Cash is always appreciated more than check/charge, as checks and charges go through the corporate office, they are taxed, and frequently take a couple of weeks to be included in the crew's paychecks.

katieva:

We generally tip 15% of the booking fee; In regards to an upcoming trip however, we booked early and paid full price. Evidently not all slots were filled, so they are offering last minute deals for almost half of what we paid. If you follow this guideline, then the crew would only receive half the tip from someone booking last minute, yet they will be providing the same amount of work and service.

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An interesting point, but the truth is that these slots being filled at the last minute would have otherwise been empty, so even 10-15% of a reduced fare is better than nothing.

My favorite trips were when we only went out with 5-6 guests. We might have only made $100 in tips (approx. $200/guest divided by 12 crew), but the personal service we could provide was outstanding. It wasn't great for the company's bottom line, but those cruises were super enjoyable for the guests and the crew.

This is certainly off topic but Cappyjon has just made the point I've tried to make about liveaboards many times. The number of guests does a make a difference. There is a huge difference between being on a boat with 10 or 12 guests and one with 30 guests. Thanks for the honesty from an actual boat captain.