Dive boat etiquette - list

[Tigerman]

Then maybe RJP you actually present a service that is worthy of gratuity and not just a bare minimum?

You probably have NO idea what most guests attitude towards tipping is just based on the fact that you get one..

 

[JamesK]

This thread started as a decent thread. You all have turned it to more of a bitch fest the split fins/DIR/deep air/and PADI all rolled in to one big ole hot microwaved burrito. If you don't want to tip, don't tip. If you want to tip, tip. I feel like I am reading a conversation between atheists and Baptists. You are not going to convince the other side you are right.

So drop it, shake hands, and don't forget to tip you servers.

 

[RJP]

Then maybe RJP you actually present a service that is worthy of gratuity and not just a bare minimum?

You probably have NO idea what most guests attitude towards tipping is just based on the fact that you get one..

I spend far more time all over the world each year as a dive boat CUSTOMER than I do as a dive boat crew member. I have a pretty good idea what the average diver's attitude is towards tipping. Happy to report that the average diver "get's it" when it comes to dive boat etiquette all the way around. Those that are new divers or are diving in a new area want to understand and follow local customs. They ask for info, they appreciate guidance. On everything from "do I need a dive flag here" or "which bucket is for cameras" to "what's the deal with tipping."

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

I have done some editing to various posts on this thread to bring them in line with ScubaBoard Terms of Service. Like censor avoidance, for starters. While you may disagree on a number of points, please keep your posts civil and friendly. Thank you.

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[cbm32]

No RJP, those things wouldnt make me rethink the notion one iota.

I currently spend about 7 months a year standing in the hot sun coaching high school kids for three hours a day five or six days a week and sometimes more if it is a big invitational or state meet we compete at. Three days a week I spend another hour or two in the weight room with them. I drive a 40 foot bus to the school every day and to every single meet they participate in with the exception of the out of state meets. Last year that was Wichita Kansas and this year it will be Baltimore, Maryland and Arlington, Texas. Those I fly to and pay my own air fare as well as my own rental car and my own hotel room.

I am retired and dont have to get up in the mornings, but for big weekend meets I often have to get up at 5 am to get there on time and during the summer I transport the kids ten miles each way to practice and back five days a week. I also bring water, fruit and fiber bars to every practice and every meet. During a typical season I will pay for team dinners for 15 to 18 athletes at least 4 times during the season and a couple more times during the summer program. I have purchased easy ups for the team twice in the past four years at $200.00 a pop and I have also purchased throwing shoes for several of them that come from families that can not afford to do that for them.

I have also spent countless afternoons and evenings listening to their problems because they trust me and respect my opinion. I have discovered that some of them have enough issues in their lives that they resort to cutting themselves and then I get to discuss that with them and then have a chat with their parents to make sure they know about it and are taking steps to help their son or daughter.

These things are just the tip of the iceberg. And for all of this, what do I get? Well this year, for the first time ever, the booster club gave me a check for $600.00 (which I chose to use to purchase new implements for the team). I also get a thank you card from my athletes, a team picture (this years was huge because our girls were league champions) and usually gift cards from the kids at the year end banquet that total up to about $150.00 most years. Oh and I dont have to pay to eat at the banquet.

Five or six times a year I get invited to a BBQ at one of my athletes homes.

I also get to see the faces of these kids when they are successful, when they get calls from recruiters, and when they get college scholarships based on their performance on my team.

Mostly what I get is the respect, gratitude, and love of my athletes and most of their parents.

I do NOT ask for, seek, or accept cash tips in any way for any of this.

For your information, most of the time I DO tip on dive boats. But I dont when the service is not at least average or when there is a blatant request for tips (unless one particular crew member has gone way above and beyond and is NOT the one soliciting tips).

Now, THIS, is the kind of cheapskate I am and if you know of anyone that needs help on a dive boat in tropical waters during the fall and/or winter, just have them contact me.

 

[Tigerman]

I spend far more time all over the world each year as a dive boat CUSTOMER than I do as a dive boat crew member. I have a pretty good idea what the average diver's attitude is towards tipping. Happy to report that the average diver "get's it" when it comes to dive boat etiquette all the way around. Those that are new divers or are diving in a new area want to understand and follow local customs. They ask for info, they appreciate guidance. On everything from "do I need a dive flag here" or "which bucket is for cameras" to "what's the deal with tipping."

Have you asked them all in person? Do you know if they tip on boats where you dont see them or not?
If you dont then no, you DONT have any idea what their attitude towards tipping is other than them doing it atleast occasionally and that does not mean their attitude is that everyone should be tipped unless they screw you over or that nobody should be tipped..

 

[Slmason.72]

As long as were getting nautical, the floor is the deck.



And on behalf of every waiter in New York City, please stay away.

The dives were in Jamaica, with an independent operation out of a resort. The guys truly went out of their way to make the trip incredible. I think it started when I pitched in and helped load tanks and other gear on the boat rather than watch them work. They treated me like a member of the crew, not a resort guest. They made the whole experience much more than the sum of the dives. At the end of each day, I didn't feel obligated to tip, the hotel actually discourages it, but I WANTED to let them know how much I appreciated the experience.

The point I was making about the waitress, seeing her twice to that point, once to order and once when I flagged her down for another beer, is that minimal service begets minimal gratuity. If that's the level of service I would get from a NY waiter, thats what I would return in thanks.

That said, I really do agree with PhillyDave's main point... In any service industry, you should tip. How much is up to you, though knowing what's customary is also good information to have. (mandatory tipping is no different from a fuel surcharge though)

 

[vladimir]

Fortunately, in the time I've been crewing on a dive boat, I've never met anyone with that attitude anywhere other than on ScubaBoard.

I have been on both sides of the always-impassioned tipping debates here, and not to play devil's advocate. I genuinely enjoy tipping when I feel it is appreciated, just as boat crew probably enjoy their jobs when they feel appreciated. The problem arises when people campaign for (or against) tipping, adding an extra burden of obligation and, perhaps, resentment. Nobody likes being told that they have to do something.

If the bi-monthly tipping discussion confined itself to what is customary, it might be more informative and less likely to get bogged down in the usual arguments and passions.

For my part, I have been tipping $5 a tank in Bali lately, and $2 to tank porters. That seems to be in excess of the norm. I am happy to tip the same for solo dives as well, since I want everybody's interests aligned, as we say on Wall Street.

I tip 10-15% on liveaboards, though it's been a while, and that seems to be in excess of the norm as well.

 

[nimoh]

I have been on both sides of the always-impassioned tipping debates here, and not to play devil's advocate. I genuinely enjoy tipping when I feel it is appreciated, just as boat crew probably enjoy their jobs when they feel appreciated. The problem arises when people campaign for (or against) tipping, adding an extra burden of obligation and, perhaps, resentment. Nobody likes being told that they have to do something.

If the bi-monthly tipping discussion confined itself to what is customary, it might be more informative and less likely to get bogged down in the usual arguments and passions.

For my part, I have been tipping $5 a tank in Bali lately, and $2 to tank porters. That seems to be in excess of the norm. I am happy to tip the same for solo dives as well, since I want everybody's interests aligned, as we say on Wall Street.

I tip 10-15% on liveaboards, though it's been a while, and that seems to be in excess of the norm as well.

well said

 

[Panorama-S]

In Egypt we always remove our shoes when we get on the boat. Make sure your feet are CLEAN! If they are not, go to the head and wash them before leaving dirty smear marks all over the Captain's clean deck. The deck is usually white and will be spotless when you arrive. Don't go into the salon whilst wearing your dripping wet suit or whilst still soaking wet from the dive. If you must smoke be sure the cigarette is out before you wander away from the ash tray, even if there IS water in it. Put all rubbish in the bins provided and if they are full a member of the crew will happily take your rubbish and dispose of it once he/she has emptied the bin. Never put toilet paper in the head, it goes into the bin provided..otherwise it goes straight under the boat and into the water. Unfortunately the fish eat it or it ends up stuck to you when you get out of the water...YUKKKK!