How much to tip in Roatan??

[DandyDon]

I'm going back to Fantasy Island, Roatan. Don't leave for three weeks, but I'm ready to pack now; can't wait!

I do want to be a courteous and grateful paying guest, and I wonder what should I tip the nice locals who take such good care of me? I know that poverty is bad there, and feel I should tip well.

When I was there - alone - for a week in Sept '01, I was new to diving and had no idea, so I left the room maid a buck every morning. The meals were all buffet, but the wait staff was attentive, and I left a buck after each meal. I tipped the dive boat skipper and dive master at the end of the week, but probably not enough; I think the skipper is still there (?), so I'll hit him again as soon as I recognize him! What about the others at the dive shop? Am I ignoring a need?

I am going with a group this time, sponsored by a Lubbock Texas dive club and a local dive shop, so I'll probably get suggestions, but I'd appreciate YOUR's...??

Thanks, Don:tree: :shades:

 

[DandyDon]

:boom: Boy - this is not a popular subject, huh...??


ldguy: Don

 

[JeffG]

dandydon once bubbled...
:boom: Boy - this is not a popular subject, huh...??


ldguy: Don

Nope...(actually I never saw if the first time)

Anyways..I was at the Bay Island Beach Resort and I paid....(hmmm memory at little hazy..)

(Guessing on the amounts, it was 7 months ago)

Around $125 US for a week
Split between

DM's - $75
Food Staff - $25
Cleaning Staff - $25

Jeff

 

[domino22]

$30 to divemaster $30 to boat captian $10 to one bartender $40 to another bartender $85 to the tip pool for the whole resort. $195 for a $850 trip. Next time if I know I will have the same divemaster & captian for the week I will tip them in advance,helps create more photo ops with another set of eyes pointing out the critters.

 

[Kaos]

At Anthony's Key Resort, March 2002:

DM's; 75
Waiters: 45
Cleaning staff: 25

Enjoy your trip

K

 

[DandyDon]

I wasn't sure about the names (a real disability for me) or whether it was the same ROBERT & WILLY, but I was hoping my old dive boat friends would still be there, as I'd long felt I'd under tipped them before?! I was delighted to see Willy running the dockside show as asst manager, and - he confirmed that Robert was still there, ill that day, but now the manager!

I told him that I had something of his and explained the above feelings - handing him $20: actually a small wad of one & two dollar bills in a paperclip. He explained that I was an "honest" man; I thought it was generosity after this much time, but I guess honesty was the more important part. Anyway, it felt good to make a small correction to an old, forgotten mistake.

Robert made it in after a few days, and I did the same with him. He was more humble in his enjoyment. Both great dudes, as different as day and night; glad to have them in charge!!

Anyway, I'm a self employed salesman, and I commonly pass out personal advertising ballpoints across several Texas counties, my nicest pens (use Cross refills) to significant customers, and even cute little calculators to selected few, and - during the week, I had some fun wit these little bonuses. Since each had my name on them, and were quite unusual on this poverty ridden island, they made a pretty good impact. We all enjoyed them.

Anyway, I left with little input, so this is what I settled on with regard to conventional tips:

$1 a day for 5 days for the room maid, cleaning for one, not too messy person, $2 a day the last couple of days;

$30 to split among the wait staff, who did a lot more for me;

$70 to split between the boat captain Moses and dive master Sherman (we called him Sharkfin);

$10 more for the dock crew, even though I had mutltiple problems wiht my Nitrox blend and 2,000 lb tanks; and

A few more $2 bills here and there. Total for one person = $125 to $135 plus little gifts. Maybe enough, certainly more than some higher paid professionals I pooled on the same trip.

 

[adjuster-jd]

I don't know about Roatan, but I generally try to tip the room cleaning staff more up front - perhaps all in advance when I will be staying somewhere for several days. That seems to at least be good for a couple extra mints on the pillows, etc.

 

[RicanDiver]

Thanks for the heads up. I will be at BIBR as of saturday and I want to make sure I take care of the people that take care of me. of course I am in the customer service business, so it come natural.

 

[jk507]

My girlfriend and I just returned from The Inn of Las Resort on Roatan. It was my second trip there this summer. The first trip I stayed at a friends house and just dove at BIBR. There I tipped as I went. I always do the same wherever I am and that is $10.00 a day for the dive boat plus a little extra the last dive. If at a resort where you get to know them then by the end of the week its pretty easy to know what kind of booze they like and get them a nice bottle of whatever.
At The Inn of Last Resort, which I reccomend highly, it was all inclusive. The idea of no money spent at the resort throughout the stay was made clear and made things much easier knowing that the staff wasnt wondering what they were going to get everytime they did something.
As luck had it...for us, not the resort....we were the only guests there that week. It accomodates up to 150 people at times, so this was quite a treat. When it came time to pay up the manager's were up front also about reccomending the tip amount. For there they had figured $95.00 per guest to be devided however they do it. We left $200.00 plus a bottle of good rum for the divemaster. I also left him with a spare computer of mine that he had to use for a few dives and brought back a couple of things to ship for the managers. My girlfriend is having business cards made for the divemaster and little things like that. Sometimes favors when in far away places are worth more for the "non locals" that are down there working.
enough rambling....go to Roatan if you haven't been..its worth the trip : )

Jon from Florida

 

[jk507]

I read above about nitrox problems...This was my first trip anywhere diving nitrox and the rule of always checking your mix was drivin home the first day. I went to check a couple of tanks out of a row of about20 tanks that were supposed to be 32's and none were over 24 or so. That wasnt so bad until I got to the one that was 40. Not a good thing to have on your back if you dont know about it.

Jon from Florida