How much do you tip?

[gitterdun]

Greetings all!

I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Cuba, and have a question about tipping. I am a new diver, so I am not familiar with how much is "kosher" to tip. The dive crew were wonderful - They knew their stuff, were wonderful to dive with, and the "Captain," also a DM, was great, too. The currency for tourists in Cuba, is the Convertible Peso - Its value is close to the US$, and takes 25 Cuban Pesos to = one Convertible Peso. There were two of us diving together, and we had 4 boat dives and 1 shore dive. We tipped the DM 10 Convertible Pesos per dive and the "Captain" 5 Convertible Pesos per dive. Of the 4 boat dives, I called one dive (many contributing factors), and my buddy had equipment problems on the same dive. We still tipped the same amount, as it was not their faults - they were still great. Due to these problems, our shore dive the next day, was free (in which we tipped DM 10 Convertible Pesos). So........... can anyone tell me what they think is a fair tip? TX!!

 

[redrover]

May I suggest searching? I ran across a lengthy discussion (possibly in the SoCal forum) about 6 - 8 weeks ago. (Could have been a resurrected thread though, I was still very unfamiliar with ScubaBoard and forums in general.)

 

[DiveMaster176493]

i dont know about pesos . i give 5 dollars american to each and 10 on my last day of diving. i tell them up front i do not want to touch my gear during the whole trip. i explain i do everybodys gear while assiting with classes in knoxville. during vacation i like complete service. sundivers in negril hauled and stowed my gear for 8 days, it was great. the dm even rinsed all my stuff every night and had me set up every morning.

 

[scubapro50]

Tipping depends on the quality of diving done. On a small boat (4 to 6 divers) I usually tip $5 or $10 per crew member (usually 2 or 3 crew) if the dive was good. On a cattle boat (20 plus divers) I toss $10 in the tip bucket if everything went ok. I have been known not to tip at times ........(1) was told we would be going to one wreck before I signed up and the crew changed locations on us after the boat left dock (2) had a bad experience with a member of the crew (dropped my gear and broke something) or gave me an empty tank for my 2nd dive (3) guided tour of the reef tunnel system ... guide got lost and surfaced 200 yards from boat .... long swim on surface ! (4) dive boat took for ever to find wreck .... come on guys ... you dive the spot every week and it took you an hour to find a GPS point 20 minutes off shore next to a float (5) boat broke down and took forever to get the engine running again on the way to the dive sight ..... broke down a 2nd time and had to get another boat to pick us up and take up back to shore .... at least we didn't have to towed in with the broken boat.

 

[Iruka]

Oh.....10 to 15 degrees, depending on how much I've been drinking. Just kidding...don't really drink.

A lot of times it depends on location as well.....here in Guam, Japanese (who comprise about 75% of our tourists)....very, very rarely tip. Tipping just isn't done in Japan, and most of them don't realize it's common in most of the world. (For that reason, nearly all of the restaurants here include a 10% "service charge" since the tourists rarely tip.) On the other hand, I believe the DMs & guides here generally get paid more than in other parts of the world, so aren't as dependent upon tips to make a living. I once did a private, day off beach dive (before I had my own shop) for a couple from the US....basically they just asked to tag along with me....and as I dropped them off at their hotel, I got a nice surpise. Since I wasn't really "working" I never discussed a price with them, so I was willing to take whatever they gave me...if anything. Ended up getting $300! If they'd have been non-English speakers, I'd have felt obliged to make sure they understood the money correctly.

By the way, Divemaster176493, I'm sure you're aware, from reading this message board, that there are divers who are polar opposite to your view on setting up gear....I actually expected to read "if the guide touches my gear, he/she doesn't get a tip!" I just tell my people "if you'd like me to take care of your gear, I'm happy to do so, & if you prefer to do it yourself, that's fine too." Had a couple of young American women diving with me last week (Hi Jen & Shiva, if you're reading this!)....they were REALLY nice....even tipped my dog with a bag of snacks...& fudgsicles for me!

Guides basically want to keep their customers alive & happy, and in this case, not everyone is treated equally....some prefer to "literally" have their hands held, while others just want the boat to get 'em to the dive site, and maybe have the guide point out the good stuff along the way.

 

[scubapro50]

I agree with not letting the crew set up your gear. There is a certain way I like it "rigged" and I spot check every piece before going into the water. One reason my 17 year old regulator looks new is I take really good care of it. I just don't trust anyone else to look after or set up my gear for me. Yes I'll hand up my fins and weight belt getting back on the boat but the rest of the time keep you hands off my stuff.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

10 bucks is what I tip.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I typically tip 10% to 20% (before taxes) of the cost of the dive trip, more if I feel there was additional value added in the dive excursion. Sometimes this is somewhat difficult to arrive at when purchasing 'Divers' Packages' trips, but I do my best and it always seems to work out OK.

I have tipped less than this on dive excursions I felt I received less value from.

The one time we stayed at Sandals (where I enjoyed scuba so much I took the plunge to get my OW cert), we didn't tip at all - it's forbidden!

 

[miketsp]

Greetings all!

I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Cuba, and have a question about tipping. I am a new diver, so I am not familiar with how much is "kosher" to tip. The dive crew were wonderful - They knew their stuff, were wonderful to dive with, and the "Captain," also a DM, was great, too. The currency for tourists in Cuba, is the Convertible Peso - Its value is close to the US$, and takes 25 Cuban Pesos to = one Convertible Peso. There were two of us diving together, and we had 4 boat dives and 1 shore dive. We tipped the DM 10 Convertible Pesos per dive and the "Captain" 5 Convertible Pesos per dive. Of the 4 boat dives, I called one dive (many contributing factors), and my buddy had equipment problems on the same dive. We still tipped the same amount, as it was not their faults - they were still great. Due to these problems, our shore dive the next day, was free (in which we tipped DM 10 Convertible Pesos). So........... can anyone tell me what they think is a fair tip? TX!!

In the specific case of Cuba, 10USD per dive is way over the required value.
The DMs basic salary is around 40USD/month.
We gave 15USD per head for a weeks diving and they were really happy.

 

[gitterdun]

Thank you for the advice! I am not disappointed that I may have overtipped, as the crew were really wonderful with me (I get seasick). I guess what I was concerned about was not tipping enough for great service. Thanks again!