Typically 10%. The crew works long hours throughout the charter to ensure that you receive exemplary service during your holiday. It is customary to recognise the effort that the Captain and Crew have added to your experience by leaving a gratuity of between 10% and 15% of the charter fee. If you are happy with the service provided and you would like to appreciate your crew, leave an envelope with the captain, who will split it evenly.
Tips and gratuities on Charter boats and many other places have gone from being optional to expected. Many crew members work mostly for tips and will work as hard as they can to impress you. As with any gratuity, if you receive bad service, it is well within your right to withhold some or all of the crews tips. The customary gratuity is 10-15% of the price of a charter, just like a restaurant. In other words, on the high end $100 for every $1,000 you spend. If the crew has gone considerably out of their way for you, you may tip more and you my tip the Captain. Having said that, if you do not catch a lot of fish, it doesn’t mean that the crew wasn’t good or didn’t work hard to make your trip enjoyable. There are days where the fish just aren’t biting! That’s why they call it fishing and not catching. These things are not always the crews fault. If you don’t catch a lot of fish and are considering an appropriate gratuity, consider how far out of their way did the crew go to try and find the fish, or to entertain you in other ways. Did the captain move the boat around in search of fish? Did the mate try different techniques, perhaps with different equipment or bait? If the answer is yes, than the crew likely did everything they could, and may have even worked much harder than on an ordinary day. In this case it would be appropriate to give them a generous tip. If, on the other hand, you didn’t catch fish, the crew was sour, or didn’t do anything to try and find the fish, then you probably have a good case for withholding a gratuity. If this ever happens, we’d like for you to contact and tell us about it.
Posted in: Crew