I have used the Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Port book to book several private tours while on a Med Cruise with our entire family. Sometimes we are using English Speaking drivers and other times we are using a private tour guide. What is a reasonable tip for each of these persons? It does not seem reasonable to tip a % of the total fee. Should we tip the same as we would a tour guide or driver on a cruise line tour?
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Thorly.. never mind RS for crusiing advise.. sorry its not really his specialty although hes recently added it..
I STRONGLY suggest you go on cruisecritics.com forums.. far far more extensive.. people who have taken dozens and dozens of cruises will have some great advice /tips/ ideas. Their forums are divided by which cruiseline you are taking, which ports you are visiting, and discusses shore excursions, ships and private. etc.. so you can get SPECIFIC information..
I love RS forums and books.. but not for cruising.. ( and I have cruised 6 times now.. which btw puts me in a minority on this board as most posters, not all, have not cruised and would never cruised,, as evidenced by threads we have had on the subject)
Posted by
2539 posts
I do wonder how many regular RS's posters have cruised. In preparation for my cruises, the Cruise Critic website was a valuable source of information. A couple of comments though, postings sometimes have a fair amount of bragging...tiresome. Also, port information and advice about independent land activities were too often lacking. Many folks just take the very easy and often quite expensive route of booking excursions through the cruise line and don't mind wasted time while waiting and waiting and waiting to board and exit buses.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Bruce there are a few who cruise on here.. but not many .. we are definitely in minority here..
On cruisecritic you can actually find a forum for your actual sail date.. and sometimes people will post asking if others wish to share a private tour with them to split the costs.. ( since private tours are not cheap usually )..
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Especially for owner-operators who have set their own prices, large tips should not be expected. Whether the tour fee was €45 or 95 or 195, I wouldn't round it up more than €5, unless they really do something special for you.
I hope you'll find Rick's Mediterranean Cruise Port book to be useful. The city sightseeing content is of course drawn from the regular guidebook series (2014 editions), with modifications to address a shorter visit and port transportation. FYI, both Rick and his lead editor approached these destinations by cruise at least once each. In that capacity, they sampled shore excursions offered by a few cruise lines, but did not attempt to rate them all, nor the ships themselves.