2016 Cozumel Tipping Etiquette?

[mmmbelows]

Curious as to why you would bother to post this?

To publicly announce that he officially refuses to publicly announce his tipping

 

[mmmbelows]

$200 per two tank dive - always daily.

 

[mediumone]

$ = US Dollars
$ = Mexican Pesos
With the exception of paying the op for our diving, I use pesos in that I'm in Mexico.

Cute picture.

 

[jonhall]

Curious if anyone else has increased their tip amount? If so what are you tipping?

Good question. Headed to Playa del Carmen later this year. Not sure if I'm going to ferry across to Coz or just dive along the coast. I have not increased my tipping, but have observed that some dive ops have increased their rates, albeit, by only a few dollars. Glad to see some others still tip as I do, $10 for a 2 tank dive.

And I agree, $20 is for exceptional service which my current def delivers vs my old ops lol!

Sounds like many have regular dive ops. There's only one place I go where I use the same dive op because it is close to where I stay. Anyplace else I've traveled to, Coz and PDC area for example, I try different ops that I have first researched. Wish I could try them all, which means I would have done a lot of diving. Not sure what exceptional service means to everyone. I expect certain things no matter who I dive with (safe day to dive, clean boat, safe dive site, full tank, pre-brief of site and expectations, knowledgeable dive guide, gear storage for multiple days, if available.) Does exceptional mean the extras (setting up gear, snacks/drinks, towels, gear storage for multiple diving days, a special connection with the DM/crew) or should some of these things be expected (although I prefer to set up my own gear) from any dive op?

10% to the divemaster

Between 15-20% of the total cost of the trip(s). I round it off to whatever currency I have hence it's somewhere between 15 and 20%.

My problem with percentage tipping with diving: In Coz, a 2 tank dive ranges between $80-94. If you dive several more days, you get a discounted rate for each day, so the tip would go down each day even for the total cost of the trip! Also the crew of a cheaper dive may provide a better experience than one that costs more, but would receive less of a tip. Not saying it's wrong, just pointing out what I was thinking about.

This post isn't that unusual but I'm wondering just how our tips get shared. We all suspect the DM & boat captain / crew get a share but maybe it gets shared by all the staff who help get us diving. After all, many ops look after our gear between trips, get the tanks filled etc, so hopefully the better dive ops spread it out right across the crew.

Of the 4 shops that we've dove with, it's always been 1/2 DM, 1/2 Captain.

Varies wherever one goes. I put my tip in my dive guide's or boat captain's hand to be split between the two, or in the tip jar on the boat, or in the tip jar in the dive shop (where I imagine it may be split between more than those on the boat) and do it daily.

To publicly announce that he officially refuses to publicly announce his tipping

It's sometimes funny at the end of a dive, when one divers pulls out some cash to tip and others start fidgeting around like "Am I supposed to tip?" and you know they want to ask "What are you tipping?"

 

[ggunn]

Curious as to why you would bother to post this?

This same old thread comes up every year or so, and it nearly always turns into oneupsmanship over who tips the most, who is being stingy, etc. The amount someone tips should be, IMO, a personal issue between tipper and tippee.

 

[cvchief]

This same old thread comes up every year or so, and it nearly always turns into oneupsmanship over who tips the most, who is being stingy, etc. The amount someone tips should be, IMO, a personal issue between tipper and tippee.

Well it isn't bad to revisit. I watched some Canadians last week who got some personalized service walk off the boat with no tip. When I see that, I tend to say something about tipping, like 'hey I am going to tip at the end of the week' to maybe clue them in, in case they don't know how it works there. I didn't catch it in time to say something. Anyway, I think it is a good to hash it out a bit.

I think you will find the great part of the crews income is from tips, so it doesn't hurt to chat about it. I think one of my earliest trips through SB was to learn about that. I didn't know tipping was a 'thing.'

 

[imoto]

Those you don't see tipping one day may be tipping at a later time.

 

[cvchief]

Those you don't see tipping one day may be tipping at a later time.

Sure, except in my case, I said, 'hey, did they just leave without tipping' and the answer was 'yes.' It was their last day. Some people don't tip. It isn't necessarily rare.

 

[Christi]

Thanks for all the replies. And I agree, $20 is for exceptional service which my current def delivers vs my old ops lol!

And I am looking forward to sharing a dive or two with you this trip

 

[Christi]

This post isn't that unusual but I'm wondering just how our tips get shared. We all suspect the DM & boat captain / crew get a share but maybe it gets shared by all the staff who help get us diving. After all, many ops look after our gear between trips, get the tanks filled etc, so hopefully the better dive ops spread it out right across the crew.

I give my crew complete autonomy with their tips - they are theirs after all and I don't get involved unless the clients give me the tips at the end of their trip, then I will divide it up based on who their crew was for the week. Other than that, I don't get involved mostly because it's none of my business, but also because I've never had to (except when an Instructor I used to help out a few years ago tried to keep all of the tips for herself). My crew does a great job of managing it and tipping out our behind the scenes guy - Santos. I cannot speak for how other shops handle this.