Tipping on PNG Livaboards ?

[Comfortably Numb]

No I'm not talking about having too many Fosters and going overboard.

I'm looking for advise on what is common practice and what is expected by the Dive Masters and Crews of the livaboards.

I don't want to disappoint anyone but I don't want to break the bank either.

Thanks

CN

 

[Mike Veitch]

10-15% of charter price, that is the standard practice on liveaboards.

 

[caymaniac]

No I'm not talking about having too many Fosters and going overboard.

I'm looking for advise on what is common practice and what is expected by the Dive Masters and Crews of the livaboards.

I don't want to disappoint anyone but I don't want to break the bank either.

Thanks

CN

While we were in Australia, we were asked by locals not to tip. The people don't want the USA form of pay in their country, they felt that the waiters and waitress made enough and they didn't want the outside influence to change their system. PNG is governed by Australia so it probably would apply as well. On the other hand when we left, we did tip on the liveaboard in PNG. I used some local dollars and some other gifts that I took along. I gave them some Kina, tee shirts, two small flash lights, and a bunch of duracell batteries (AA's,C's and quite a number of D's-very hard to get in PNG)

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

I agree with Mike that usually you tip 10-15% of the charter price (if you were happy with the service). However, on the Deep Blue in PNG earlier this month the travel agent that we booked through recommended each customer tip $100 for the divemaster and an additional $60 for the rest of the crew. This was definitely less than 10-15%.

 

[Allison Finch]

While it is NOT customary to tip in most businesses in PNG, it IS expected to tip on a liveaboard. 10.00-15.00 dollars a day is normal.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Great advise here! The 15% is significant, for the two of us (wife & I) that's about $840. That's huge in my book. I like Allison's advise. Seems to be close to what debersole is saying as well. Thanks

CN

 

[mjh]

We tip 10-15% even for land ops if we have been with one Captain and Guide for a week and they have met or exceeded out expectations. It is a cost you should just plan into your trip like airfare.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

We tip 10-15% even for land ops if we have been with one Captain and Guide for a week and they have met or exceeded out expectations.

Hi mjh, We do too when we go to land based resorts and use a local dive operator. For a weeks worth of diving, guided 11-12 dives we usually spend about $300 each for the diving. At the end of the week we usually give a $50 -$60 tip from each of us. Glad to pay it. With a live-aboard at a substantially greater cost, that 15% is exponentially much harder to justify.

CN

 

[boxcar]

Great advise here! The 15% is significant, for the two of us (wife & I) that's about $840. That's huge in my book. I like Allison's advise. Seems to be close to what debersole is saying as well. Thanks

CN

I agree with you here. $800+ in tips at the end of the trip would keep my wife and I off the boat...its hard enough to scape the $$ together for one of these trips...If its choice between going of one of these trips or not, I'm comfortable with being labelled a bad tipper after leaving something more around the $100-200ish mark...

 

[mjh]

I think the live aboard folks earn it. You are diving a lot more than most shore ops, they are making up your room, doing slide shows at night, etc... They are expensive trips and in the end we all have a budget.