The all-inclusive tipping note -- Boats, DMs & Instructors

[cid90]

You do not need to tip the captain. He is paid.
%10 to however helped you get ready and/or got wet with you and showed you around under the surface.

 

[got4boyz]

cid90 once bubbled...
You do not need to tip the captain. He is paid.
%10 to however helped you get ready and/or got wet with you and showed you around under the surface.

Are you saying I should tip the dive master and the guy/guys who put my gear together and helped me back on the boat, etc???

 

[WreckWriter]

got4boyz once bubbled...


Are you saying I should tip the dive master and the guy/guys who put my gear together and helped me back on the boat, etc???

Don't forget the guy who did the dive for you and told you what you saw.

 

[notabob]

I usually tip the DM (or the captain if the dive is not a charter and he's the only crew on board) about $10 on your usual 2-tank dive. Of course, the crew's professionalism and helpfullness goes a long way. Also, on some boats with multiple DMs they have a tip-can that you put the $$ into and the DMs split it among themselves later.

-Roman.

 

[got4boyz]

WreckWriter once bubbled...


Don't forget the guy who did the dive for you and told you what you saw.

Wouldn't this be the dive master??? Every dive I've been on so far the dive master is the who took us down, pointed stuff out to us, and told us what we saw.

 

[cid90]

got4boyz once bubbled...


Wouldn't this be the dive master??? Every dive I've been on so far the dive master is the who took us down, pointed stuff out to us, and told us what we saw.

If you have more that one crew member(dive master, tank money, go-for, etc) a good and simple way to do this is to tip %10 of the cost of your trip and give it to the captain to hand to the crew. Any captain worth a darn will distribute the funds to his crew.
If you are not comfortable with this give the %10 to the person who was most helpful. It is common knowledge on a well run boat that all tips are distributed appropriately.
Think of it as if you were eating at a nice resturant. You leave the tip with the waiter and he/she gives funds later to the water guy, the bread guy, the wine steward, and the door person.

 

[Dee]

Beth....

We usually tip $10 ea. per 2-tank trip unless the DM has done something special for us.

You'll only pay the DM. On most of the dive boats I've been on, the DM and Capt' split the tips. Just pay the DM and he'll see that anyone else is covered.

You're going to have 2 young boys diving salt water for the first time. The DM will probably be keeping an extra eye on them anyway, so more than $5 per dive per person would not be out of line.

 

[WreckWriter]

got4boyz once bubbled...


Wouldn't this be the dive master??? Every dive I've been on so far the dive master is the who took us down, pointed stuff out to us, and told us what we saw.

Never mind. Yea, that would be the DM

 

[got4boyz]

I used to just tip the dive master about 10%, then in Xcalak last year someone told us we should tip the captain too, so we did. But I thought that a little strange to tip two different people on the same boat!

 

[Addict]

After taking my OW course, I felt a little weird. I think somebody tipped the instructor during our pool dives. I also felt like I was getting alot of 'extra' attention while I was shopping in the LDS after class - almost in a 'suck-up' sort of way.

After I left, I began to wonder if maybe I should have tipped my instructor. Personally, I am stingy when it comes to tipping EXCEPT for dining out. Wait Staff get paid well below minimum wage in most cases, and rely heavily on tips for income. But, c'mon tipping your instructor?

What is proper, and what is expected?