How much to tip dive masters and boat crew in Cozumel?
- Thread starter Siljesyl
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I've gone as low as $5 per cylinder and as high as $10, depends on the service just like everything else....
The operator may have a "Tipping Guideline" available.
The operator may have a "Tipping Guideline" available.
Skittl1321
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$5 per tank would be the minimum, IMO.
Ive never seen a tip jar on a boat. At the current exchange rate, I do 200 pesos for the day, minimum.
Ive never seen a tip jar on a boat. At the current exchange rate, I do 200 pesos for the day, minimum.
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I've never seen one there.
I hate "expected gratuities" but they have become so customary. If the DM & skipper do their jobs well, take care of me & my safety, I'll go along with the suggested $15 for 2 tank trip - and I'll hand it to the DM openly with my verbal thanks, just in case others observing hadn't thought about tipping. The DM will split with the skipper.
If it was a one tank night dive, I'd go for $10 for good service.
The reality is that service can vary much from boat to boat, and DM to DM. I suggest that there is no minimum, nor maximum. IF you just got the dive of your life, give freely. If the DM was inattentive, leave nothing. By convention the DM is supposed to share the tips equally with the Capitan, but in many cases the DM is the dynamo and the Capitan is THE problem. IN that sort of situation I'd quietly slip the money to the DM.
The good news for us is that it is not much of problem but I know it is elsewhere.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
PS Be sure to tip everyday, if you choose, as the dive crews have to move around. And again, there is no "minimum" or "Maximum". IF they deserve nothing, leave that!
The good news for us is that it is not much of problem but I know it is elsewhere.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
PS Be sure to tip everyday, if you choose, as the dive crews have to move around. And again, there is no "minimum" or "Maximum". IF they deserve nothing, leave that!
Pelagicsal
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Dave,
What about a hardworking capi and a half-assed DM? Been known to happen...
And yes, I'm in TOTAL agreement on the tip daily routine! Even if you have the same crew all week, personally delivered daily tips may help the crew and will definitely let them know you appreciate their work.
I tip 200 pesos per two tank, unless there is a major disconnect with crew. They work hard.
What about a hardworking capi and a half-assed DM? Been known to happen...
And yes, I'm in TOTAL agreement on the tip daily routine! Even if you have the same crew all week, personally delivered daily tips may help the crew and will definitely let them know you appreciate their work.
I tip 200 pesos per two tank, unless there is a major disconnect with crew. They work hard.
DjDiverDan
Contributor
My personal rule of thumb is that $15 or 200 Pesos is standard for a 2-tank dive, with $20 or 300 Pesos for an outstanding dive. I typically tip the DM at the pier at the end of the trip, usually in Dollars, Pesos if I have plenty for my other needs (taxis, restaurants, etc.) My standard for restaurants has been 20% for quite a number of years now. I typically pay for all meals in Pesos because of the favorable exchange rate, so I'll tip in Pesos as well, unless I'm low on Pesos or have several $1 bills I want to get rid of.
i think the only time I ever did NOT tip the DM was years ago - early 1990s, maybe '94 or '95 - when I made the mistake of going with Del Mar Aquatics when it still ran a cattle boat. Big boat, 21 divers, 2 DMs, everybody in the water at once with one DM taking the lead and one following. Those dive were complete clusterf^#ks, divers piling up on each other, and the lead DM running a race to see how fast he could finish the dive. No tip for DMs, and no more bookings with Del Mar Aquatics. Thankfully, that kind of operation is no longer allowed by Marine Park rules.
i think the only time I ever did NOT tip the DM was years ago - early 1990s, maybe '94 or '95 - when I made the mistake of going with Del Mar Aquatics when it still ran a cattle boat. Big boat, 21 divers, 2 DMs, everybody in the water at once with one DM taking the lead and one following. Those dive were complete clusterf^#ks, divers piling up on each other, and the lead DM running a race to see how fast he could finish the dive. No tip for DMs, and no more bookings with Del Mar Aquatics. Thankfully, that kind of operation is no longer allowed by Marine Park rules.
And it has been quoted as such for almost 20yrs... even as the cost/price of everything else in the world has tripled or quadrupled in the same time frame.
I'm not raising this point as part of an argument for/against tipping. I'm simply fascinated by the fact that, while no one expects to get a can of Coke out of a machine for 50 cents or pay less than a dollar for a gallon of gas today, the $5/tank rule-of-thumb seems frozen in time.
By the same token, something i often hear is that the traditional 15% is out of date and that service people deserve a "raise". Never mind that that 15% has tripled or quadrupled in absolute value over the same interval of time of which you speak. Personally, I'd prefer that tipping were illegal and merchants simply charged what their goods and services are worth and paid their employees fairly.
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