Tipping during a European river cruise

A friend of mine works in Europe for an American tour company as tour director. She is paid peanuts (very American) and depends on tips to supplement her income. I would suggest that you pay the suggested amount by your tour company in the currency of the recipient. I would.

IMHO, if the suggested tip amounts are in USD, then tipping with USD should be fine.

Wow. And now you know why some people pay more for all inclusive river cruise companies vs what you are going through. I've taken 4 River cruises with such a company. I'll do my best for you.

Bus drivers - generally $4 per day per passenger - double check with you tour manager on this. Also whether tour guides need to be tipped. They should have said.

Transport driver - we usually give a couple of Euros for the two of us - this might vary if it's a longer distance - some tip 15%

Currency - keep in mind that European banks are better able to change currency than ours are and workers in the tourist industry are used to getting currency that isn't the standard for their country. In fact your ship is likely to have crew members from multiple European and Asian countries. All of ours have. I'd charge it in euros and have your bank do the conversion not the ship. Otherwise euros.

Tour company employees - we've had ones who live in the US and Europe - again they are used to getting both US and Euros. We've even been known to tip in a combination depending on what was left over from the tour.

Where odd currencies like florints, etc are needed are shopping in that country, restaurants, public transport, etc IF paid in cash. Charging for everything possible is the easiest.I

Again, talk to the tour manager on this or contact the tour company directly. Have fun. River cruising is great.

Vicki, the reason you don’t tip the cruise director on the ship charge is that the director floats from ship to ship after the land based extensions are completed. The tips you put on your ships charge are shared among all crew members.
Excursions during the cruise are contracted out to local persons. The tour guide is paid almost nothing so we always tip them the most, usually 5-10€ Per couple depending on how long the tour is and how good we consider the guide. The bus driver receives union wage in most places so we tip him a Euro apiece of a little more if he has done a good job or worked especially hard.
Forget the part about tipping in dollars. Don’t do it. It’s a little disrespectful. If you have the local currency use that. If you don’t, use Euros.

Mike is absolutely correct. We are just off a Viking cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest. I view tipping as a part of the cost of the trip. We accepted the daily charge from Viking for staff, tipped local tour guides at least 5 to 10 euro for both of us -- always in local currency if the euro is not local. And a couple euro for the driver. Giving dollars or other non local currency is not rude but does put the burden on them to deal with the exchange rate and the conversion process. US dollars are better than nothing. This is a misconception floating around the US dollar is highly desired by the locals --- it is not.

I think they just give the suggestions in USD because you'll be more familiar with that in terms of the magnitude of the tip. Using USD just passes the burden of time and cost of exchange onto that working stiff. Use euro if you dont have anything local. I would expect that you'll want some local cash for small purchases anyway.

Do not tip in USD!!! It's more than a little disrespectful, for a local guide it's downright rude. You tip them $3, what are they going to with that? After exchange fees, they might end up with 20-30 cents or so. And contrary to what some people believe, the locals do not all want dollars. That might be the case in Latin America, but US-dollars are close to worthless in most of Europe. If you don't have any local currency use Euro, but it would be polite to acknowledge that it is an inconvenience and say something like "I'm sorry but I've used my last zlotys".

Also, don't tip the tour company employees in dollars, that would be borderline rude. Even if some of them are Americans, they still can't use them in most shops in Europe.

A carton of Luckies and some nylons used to be acceptable, along with USD. But nowadays, tipping in the local currency is polite.

We have traveled to 78 countries and live overseas for several years.

We have done four river cruises that included a land tour as well.

I disagree somewhat with those that categorically state that tipping in US dollars in a foreign country is wrong and an undue burden to the recipient.

I do agree that in some foreign countries tipping in dollars is not the best choice. However, in most countries outside the EU, in particular countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia as well as places like Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union, US dollars are fine. The reason for this is that the US dollar is used in those countries as a secondary currency. Example, Russia has had serious inflation since the SU collapsed and many people used US dollars to save and protect themselves from serious inflation. Places like Egypt, you will find if you want to tip the owner of the camel at the Pyramids of Giza after a camel ride that he will probably give you US dollars in change.

In most of the EU, I would agree that tipping in dollars is not the best. Euros would be the better choice. However, if you tip in dollars in a country like Germany and many of the others on your tour or cruise tip in dollars, going to the local bank to exchange for Euros won't be a huge problem.

Also, we always tip at or above the recommended amount if our river cruise was great. River cruises are close to all inclusive, except for the tipping. I always prefer to tip and reward great services.

I believe that the OP was inquiring about an European river cruise so all of the discussion about not tipping in US dollars is accurate and appropriate. When they do go to Asia or Russia then they might reconsider. However, I do remember being in Russia with a guide and being warned several times that it was illegal to make payments with US dollars. The street vendors were eager for dollars because there is a black market for dollars. Russia is one of those countries that I am eager to stay on the right side of the law.