Liveaboard Tipping

[Wookie]

I've often wondered just how the liveaboards split up the tips and if all the tip money goes to the captain and crew or does some go to the company. If it all goes to the captain and crew then you can make a really nice living working on the right liveaboard.

Last year I went to Cocos Island on the Okeanous Aggressor. The trip was priced at $4300 per person for 10 nights or call it 11 days. There were 20 guests on the boat. So if everyone tipped 10% then 20 folks are giving $430 for a total of $8600. There was a crew of 8 on board. Divided out that comes to $1075 for each crew member. When you figure that on a weekly basis, that comes to right around $700 a week. Now for a single person who would be living on the boat for much of the year not having to pay for food, lights, all sorts of bills etc., that would be one heck of a living.

Now carry a similar example over to Indonesia although those liveaboards typically have a larger crew and maybe not as many as 20 on board. But even if the totals were diluted somewhat and it came out to be half of the above example, I have read on other threads that an average of $350 per week would be way more than teachers, nurses, or even some doctors would make there.

We figure that if each crewmember gets $100/day of charter in tips that we have done an excellent job. If that is split up on a full boat, 8 crew on a 3 day trip (Retail $875) is $2400 in tips from 22 passengers. That's $110/passenger, or about 15%. The company gets no tip share except a cc fee of 2.3% if paid by cc.

 

[beautybelow]

I've often wondered just how the liveaboards split up the tips and if all the tip money goes to the captain and crew or does some go to the company. If it all goes to the captain and crew then you can make a really nice living working on the right liveaboard.

Last year I went to Cocos Island on the Okeanous Aggressor. The trip was priced at $4300 per person for 10 nights or call it 11 days. There were 20 guests on the boat. So if everyone tipped 10% then 20 folks are giving $430 for a total of $8600. There was a crew of 8 on board. Divided out that comes to $1075 for each crew member. When you figure that on a weekly basis, that comes to right around $700 a week. Now for a single person who would be living on the boat for much of the year not having to pay for food, lights, all sorts of bills etc., that would be one heck of a living.

Now carry a similar example over to Indonesia although those liveaboards typically have a larger crew and maybe not as many as 20 on board. But even if the totals were diluted somewhat and it came out to be half of the above example, I have read on other threads that an average of $350 per week would be way more than teachers, nurses, or even some doctors would make there.

Granted, if you are on the right boat...AND...do the job right, you can make excellent money, all things considered.

But...after you do your math don't forget to break that into an hourly wage and see if you couldn't do just as well at a 7-11 if they let you do the hours. IJS

Let's see...wake up at 6 am to clean the deck or whatever your responsibility is...continue with little or no breaks until lets say about 9:00 pm after the night dive.

Now toss in a crossing or two or three that can last until 2 am.

Then don't forget, you are basically always on call.

Repeat.

Turnover day is the worst day.

I will do the math for you...it's about ten bucks an hour if you are on a good boat doing well. Most have "down weeks" that really water this down too...

That's ten bucks an hour (if your'e lucky) to give your life up basically.

Until your time off...then you spend everything and start over

Oh, and before you say "that's ten bucks an hour to do what you love", remember that only about 2 to 3 hours a day max is that part.

 

[jar546]

I struggle with when to tip. I think that asking for or shall we say "expecting" tip in the US has become a little too much. Let me explain.

In the US, waitresses make below minimum wage. Usually in the $2+ and hour range. They live almost exclusively on tips which is why tipping a waitress in the US is so important provided you received tip worthy service.

I go into a Dunkin Donuts where they make minimum wage and there is a tip jar. Really? My daughter works at one so I understand, but, really? I driver there, wait in line, pay you and walk out the door and I need to tip you, why?

Same for most donut shops, pizza shops, ice cream stands, sandwich shops, etc. I truly look at these places as think that unless you are making waitress wages, too bad for you. The tip jar craze in the US is out of control. The intersting this is, however, that I do tip in these places, usually with the change from my order. At buffet style places I leave a nominal tip since I know they bring me drinks and clean up between trips to the trough.

I am not anti-tipping by any sense of the imagination and I usually over-tip waitresses most of the time. I understand they are working for very little per hour.


Next is the dive boat. I tip on dive boats, usually $5 per tank or so. Sometimes more, OK usually more, depending on what I have in my wallet. If I am there for a 2 tank trip, I usually leave $20. If I am there for a few days in a row, I wait until the end of my trip then tip about $25 a day. It appears to be appreciated and I am comfortable tipping in this range. Especially since I am changing my own gear between tanks and I am not using a guide. You want to swap my tank for me, bring me something to drink, then I will tip more.

That brings me to the liveaboards. They (most) certainly do a lot for you. I don't know what or how they are paid but I will tip accordingly. Just seems like 10% can add quite a bit to the cost. I am an inspector and when I leave someone's home after doing my job, I don't expect a tip. I am also not sure that an electrician wants to tip me after I just failed his work. That is another subject though.

So do we have to tip every person in the service industry? Where do we draw the line. Did you tip the rider operator for helping you will your harness on the roller coaster?

I always thought in my 46 young years that tipping was for waitresses because they are paid less than minimum wage and for those times when someone who was doing their job went above and beyond for you.

Was I suppose to tip the captain of a cruiseship for getting is to and from the ports safely? Again, where do we draw the line, rewarding people for simply doing their job?

 

[BDSC]

Again, where do we draw the line, rewarding people for simply doing their job?

It really has gotten out of hand hasn't it.

 

[BDSC]

I will do the math for you...it's about ten bucks an hour if you are on a good boat doing well.........That's ten bucks an hour (if your'e lucky) to give your life up basically.

But even $10 bucks and hour, in some areas of the world, is huge. But like you implied, some weeks those boats won't be full but you still have to put in the hours no doubt so that "hourly wage" probably takes a big hit.

 

[beautybelow]

But even $10 bucks and hour, in some areas of the world, is huge. But like you implied, some weeks those boats won't be full but you still have to put in the hours no doubt so that "hourly wage" probably takes a big hit.

It is really all relative...if you are qualified you should make the money in any part of the world.

If you put out the effort.

 

[Lorenzoid]

So, nobody tackled my question above of how to "educate" people who come from countries where there is no tradition of tipping that liveaboards are apparently based on the American model and not on the model of countries such as some in Europe where all employee wages and benefits are already built into the price advertised and paid? If a liveaboard really does expect divers coming from countries all over the world to leave an American-style "tip," then the information on the liveaboard web site might as well just say that a 15% service charge (or however much) will be added to the customer's bill.

Not to pick on any particular nationality, but just as an example, can a dive operator from the Dutch-speaking Caribbean chime in here about the expectation of receiving a tip from divers from, say, the Netherlands or Belgium, who make up a large portion of their customer base? I would venture to guess that the dive ops there generally don't expect to receive much, if anything, in the way of a tip from customers from such countries. I have to believe the dive ops know that that's just how it is back home for those people. My point is not to pick on anyone but rather just to point out that expecting uniformity in "tipping" from people coming from all over the world seems ambitious.

 

[RJP]

If I am there for a few days in a row, I wait until the end of my trip then tip about $25 a day.

I would recommend tipping at the end of each day, to ensure that the tip gets to the people who provided the service. Tips are usually split at the end of that day and boat crew often changes from day to day. There's really no way for a lump-sum tip given at the end of the week to be equitably distributed if there were crew changes. Even if there weren't crew changes planned (some resorts you get assigned to a boat/crew) I would still suggest settling out daily in case of unplanned switch. Lastly, since boat crew often work solely for tips
there could well be situations where a crew member might need that money that day/night to buy food, pay the rent, etc. I can't think of any good reason not to settle-out at the end of each day. If you were going to eat in the same restaurant for breakfast everyday for your week long trip... you wouldn't wait until the last day and leave one lump-sum tip.

 

[RJP]

So, nobody tackled my question above of how to "educate" people who come from countries where there is no tradition of tipping that liveaboards are apparently based on the American model and not on the model of countries such as some in Europe where all employee wages and benefits are already built into the price advertised and paid? If a liveaboard really does expect divers coming from countries all over the world to leave an American-style "tip," then the information on the liveaboard web site might as well just say that a 15% service charge (or however much) will be added to the customer's bill.

Not to pick on any particular nationality, but just as an example, can a dive operator from the Dutch-speaking Caribbean chime in here about the expectation of receiving a tip from divers from, say, the Netherlands or Belgium, who make up a large portion of their customer base? I would venture to guess that the dive ops there generally don't expect to receive much, if anything, in the way of a tip from customers from such countries. I have to believe the dive ops know that that's just how it is back home for those people. My point is not to pick on anyone but rather just to point out that expecting uniformity in "tipping" from people coming from all over the world seems ambitious.

Most liveaboards I've been on have been very clear about the tipping customs. Not in an "asking for tips" way, but in a very informative way that I believe is welcomed by folks who don't know what the customary tip is. And I find that most passengers from non-tipping countries/cultures are very good about asking fellow passengers for guidance as well. The good thing is that divers - like most people in the world - want to "do the right thing" for the most part.

 

[RJP]

I agree, and that's what I've done. The way I viewed it, the company got my extra 50%—which it deserved—and the crew got a little bit lighter workload out of the empty bunk, plus my usual tip.

Truth be told, the work load is probably not "lighter enough" to offset the missing tip for the passenger who isn't onboard because you prevented the other bunk in your cabin from being sold. Not saying you should "overtip" to make up for it, just pointing that out.

That said, I was on a boat once where there was only 8 passengers out of the 18 spots. If the boat is not full - and the service warrants it - I usually tip somewhat more generously than usual because I felt badly for the crew... it was not their fault that the boat wasn't full. In factr on this particular trip several of us who were singles willingly bunked together to reduce the number of cabins/bathrooms that needed to be serviced each day. The service we got that week was insanely great. In some part because the boat was more than half empty, but for the most part because the crew was genuinely touched by that simple gesture of respect and kindness.