Tipping excursion tour guides??
Paul Johnson
tipping excursion tour guides and/or bus drivers. What is the general
thought on this? I have always tipped in US dollars with the amount sort of
based on the length of the tour and the quality of the tour. I see some
people not tipping at all and others being much more generous. We are
booked on Oceania's Insignia Med cruise next month (Barcelona, Rome, Naples,
Sicily, Tunisia, Morocco, Seville and Lisbon) and I'd like to be better
prepared this time.
Thanks,
Paul Johnson
Rosalie B.
For the ship excursions, if the driver/guide is a really good one, Bob gives
them maybe $5.00 for each of us ($10 altogether) for a half day excursion. If
they are not good I don't tip and I'm less likely to tip if they are pushy about
needing tips. If they are sorta OK, maybe $1.00 each. If they don't seem to
expect a tip, I will often give them something unless I know that tipping isn't
done in that particular culture.
For actual excursions that I arrange myself (i.e. not just hiring a taxi driver
at the pier), I tip 5% (more or less) of what I paid. I don't tip this much for
the ship arranged excursions because I think a lot of what I pay goes to the
ship.
So when I arranged for a driver for a whole day in Rome, and he was good, I gave
him a bigger tip. For the same in Naples where the driver kept yawning and
having a hard time staying awake because he'd been out late the night before (on
the Almalfi drive), not so much of a tip but still a good bit. If I arranged it
on the internet, I also write a note to them afterwards telling them how much I
enjoyed it (if I did)
FWIW, I hired a car and driver for two people in Rome and Naples and paid
$1345.00 (which was then 960 Euros) for both days from RomaLimo
:http://www.romalimo.com/ I paid in dollars and sent it to a NYC address by US
mail. ROMA...@aol.com was the email address. This was 480 Euros per day, and
we had a private car with a driver who spoke English and was also a guide for
two people.
For Rome it was Pick Up Time : 08:30:AM 2 Passengers at the Port of
Civitavecchia. The driver took us from the port to Rome and we toured the
Vatican and the Colisseum, and some places of the driver's choice which were
quite interesting. He returned us to the dock in plenty of time before the ship
sailed. In addition to the driver's tip, we paid for the Vatican guide and
entrance fee, the Coliseum entrance fee and lunch. I didn't have enough cash to
pay for the Vatican guide, so the driver took our traveler's checks and cashed
them while we had the tour, and then we paid the guide afterwards.
For Naples it was Pick Up Time at the DOCK AT 8 AM and we went right to Pompeii
(arriving before the crowds) and then went to Sorrento and the Amalfi Drive -
BACK BY 4,30/5,00 PM. We paid for lunch and the entrance fee for Pompeii in
addition to the tip for the driver
In Barcelona, I just did the Turistico Bus which was quite satisfactory. (Note -
there are two of these bus companies in Barcelona)
I'm sure some people will think this is cheap and some people will think this is
too generous.
John Sisker
Our general advice is, we always tip in a situation like this. An average of
$5 for each of us in on a ship/cruise sponsored tour. More if we opted for a
personal driver to select sites. It naturally all depends. However, we try
not to stiff anyone, even if they were not that good. We will at least give
them them something for their effort. We know some people, no matter how
good and/or informative the tour guide and/or bus driver was, will tip
nothing. We have to look in the mirror, and certainly don't want a cheap
bastard staring back at us.
Happy sailing...
John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY (sm)
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID: 714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com
"Paul Johnson" <thejo...@frontiernet.net> wrote in message
news:IkbIk.5480$jv1...@newsfe07.iad...
Dillon Pyron
Don't bother tipping in dollars on your Med cruise. Start buying
euros, now.
What I tip in the Caribbean is different from what I'd tip in Europe
but closer to what I'd tip in Africa. The European tour guides tend
to be paid much better, Europe being, um, "developed".