Gratuities
- Thread starter bdbrown4764
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To a certain extent, it depends on if you are day-tripping, or if you are spending a week at a dive resort. But in general, $5/dive is considered the minimum/usual. Usually given to the captain at the end of the week, if you are on a dive vacation. Or given to the captain at the end of the day if you are on a day trip. If you are doing 5 days of 3 tank diving that would be $75. 5 days of 2 tank diving would be $50.
Most single-day-trips are 2 tank dives. This would be $10. But some people think that is too low and will give $15 or $20.
For land-based dive vacations, it also depends on whether you are assigned to the same boat/crew every day, or have a different boat/crew each day. In the latter case, you may want to reevaluate your tipping formula to make sure everyone gets a reasonable tip.
Thanks to all of you for the input. We run trips to Mexico all of the time and I get the tipping question all of the time. It helps to hear first hand from DM's and Crew what is customary. As for the Dive Shop Owners getting rich?? NOT!!! I/We do this because of the love of the sport. We both have day jobs (if you will) to support the shop and our "hobby".
Happy Bubbles!!
Kelly
Happy Bubbles!!
Kelly
mike_s
Contributor
The Agressor "fleet" is all independently owned. The boat owners have the Agressor name on their boat, but as part of a "Franchise".
You will rarely see a complaint about Agressor or their boats though.
You commented above as to when to tip. End of day or End of week?
often, you change boats at a resort, or the crew changes boats, or the crew has off days. Tipping at the end of the week complicates who gets what. So ask the crew "will you be here all week" and if no, it might be easier to tip at the end of the day.
Just something to think about....
Speargirl
Contributor
I agree with Mike you should tip at the end of your trip. This is how I tip only because I don't go out on dive boats that often, due to I have my own boat.
But when Grandma comes she has issues about BIG boat LITTLE boat. So dive boats it is to make her happy. I look around and see who is working to make sure everyone is happy and has what they need. And I am also looking for that one person who will make a point to come over to say hi to my small group and how well they get along with my two boys (very important). At the end of our trip I ask my boys who they want to tip they tell me and they give them the envelope with $100 in it. We always make sure it is done back on land and off the boat we take them aside and give it to them, what they do with it is there business. I'm not saying the boys don't tip the boat because they do, they love ringing that bell we always give $20 to the crew just so they can ring the bell. So I guess it depends on you and how you want to tip.
But of course I am only out on a dive boat maybe 4 times a year and the rest is on my own boat.
But when Grandma comes she has issues about BIG boat LITTLE boat. So dive boats it is to make her happy. I look around and see who is working to make sure everyone is happy and has what they need. And I am also looking for that one person who will make a point to come over to say hi to my small group and how well they get along with my two boys (very important). At the end of our trip I ask my boys who they want to tip they tell me and they give them the envelope with $100 in it. We always make sure it is done back on land and off the boat we take them aside and give it to them, what they do with it is there business. I'm not saying the boys don't tip the boat because they do, they love ringing that bell we always give $20 to the crew just so they can ring the bell. So I guess it depends on you and how you want to tip.
But of course I am only out on a dive boat maybe 4 times a year and the rest is on my own boat.
diver 85
Contributor
$5 a dive and let them do the math.....I'm not interested in helping them retire @ age 35.........
Richesb
Contributor
You go to a resturant and tip anywhere from 10% - 20% for service.
Workers (yes DM, Capt are workers) should be tipped the same way. Obviously their courtesy & help should govern the size of tip.
It's not done for the love of the sport. It is a job. Tips is one of the reasons it is not the best paying jobs. The entire crew as rule splits the tips regardless of who you give it to.
As has been said, a tip is for service received, not hoped for.
Workers (yes DM, Capt are workers) should be tipped the same way. Obviously their courtesy & help should govern the size of tip.
It's not done for the love of the sport. It is a job. Tips is one of the reasons it is not the best paying jobs. The entire crew as rule splits the tips regardless of who you give it to.
As has been said, a tip is for service received, not hoped for.
No need to worry about that!
Let's see....
We carry 18 divers. If every trip is full and if each diver tips $10 that's $180. Split three ways, that's $60 each. Less $25 for gas, tolls and air fills, that's $35 a day.
So if I worked both Sat and Sunday that'd be $70 bucks a week. (and my wife would kill me for being gone the whole weekend)
We go out from May-November; 7 months X 4 weeks = 28 weeks (and my wife would kill me again for being gone EVERY weekend)
That'd be a $1960 a year.
So in just 510 years I will have amassed a million dollars!
Of course if everyone tipped TWENTY bucks then it would only take 255 years.
(Either way I'll be WAY older than 35 by then.)
gee13
Contributor
LOl at the logic.. 4years on and are you any closer to your grand figure?
knfmn
Contributor
I tip people who work for tips as well as I can possibly afford. If you're helping me by being a DM (or in the case of my wife, snorkelling with her), then I tip $20 for a two tank dive for the workers in the water with me. I got so aggravated when I was diving in the cenotes in Playa Del Carmen last month. A husband and wife were with, she was a neurosurgeon, he was a software engineer at a BIG company. They were both generally obnoxious and at the end of the days diving, they gave the DM $10. I was like, come on! You can definitely do better than that! These are folks that make probably 5-6 times as much as I do in a year. It makes me nuts that they don't know how to tip right.
Kristopher
Kristopher
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