I'm not sure I've seen a good exploration of this topic recently, so here goes. What do you think is a reasonable tip for the crew on a crewed sail in the BVI for a week? I hear everything from 5% to 20% of the charter fee, but I'm not really sure what that is based on. If you were staying in a hotel for a week, I wouldn't tip a large percentage of the nightly rate (although in the BVI they automatically add 10% to the hotel bill as a service charge, which seems strange to me). In the States tipping of waitstaff is high because everyone knows that they are paid less than minimum wage and it is expected that the customer is supposed to make up the difference in their salary. In Europe tipping is not considered part of salary, and is more of a thank you gesture for making the meal a pleasant experience. The people that I know that work on private yachts are paid EXTREMELY well by the owner (I know crew members that easily make six figures a year, plus have no living expenses), so if the owner decides to loan or rent out the yacht for the week I don't think that the crew salary is dependent on tips. My question is, I am already paying a good amount of money for the charter, I am already responsible for provisioning fees (that often are used to also feed the crew for the week, and I'm certain that set provisioning fees include a hefty cushion that is often not needed or spent). Large cruise lines tell you $10 or $11 per passenger per day is sufficient tip, and that acts as the salary for the non-officer crew members. So, I guess the question is how much of a crew tip on a BVI charter is considered necessary income for the staff (and in the BVI tips are not included in income for tax purposes, unlike US waitstaff), how much are they already being paid to work, how much are they keeping from the provisioning fees, etc. Do you think a percentage of the charter fee is a fair measure, or a set dollar figure per day, or what? I'd love to hear from people with experience in this area.

Be sure to take your query to the BVI forum on www.traveltalkonline.com. You'll be sure to get a spirited discussion.

As for me, when I've done crewed sails in the Caribbean, we've always paid at least 10% of the charter fee as a tip to the crew, and that's the lower end of what I've heard suggested (10-15%). Unlike some of the people you know who crew, most of the crews I know don't make 6-figure incomes, and living on a 50-foot sailboat that you share with charter guests isn't exactly luxurious. Having served as hostess/first mate on my own boat when entertaining guests (especially "paying" guests, when we offer up trips as auction items at charity auctions and are therefore held to a higher standard than for family and friends), I know it to be hot, hard, thankless work, often in a cramped space, and sometimes for people whose company you don't enjoy. Good crews can't possibly be paid enough.

You are expected to tip the crew on a chartered yacht. The general amount is 10% to 15%. I think I'd probably vary that depending on how good things went.

Since the "crew" of a charter yacht generally consists of two people, who are often the owner and his/her spouse, the tip traditionally reimburses the crew for the cost of the broker fee. Or if they are employed by a large company like the Moorings, then they need the tip to help make up their salary.

It's a different world for the crew of a privately owned yacht. In that case, you give a gratuity (you generally tip the staff if you stay over in a private residence that has a staff, but usually only the maid, or in the case of a ship the steward, who serves you directly). Well, that's going back to Edwardian days. Today, you tip because it's considered polite, and I'm sure $10 per day is sufficient. But the people who make a lot of money on the private yachts are the professional staff, not necessarily the stewards who make up the beds.

Doug - thanks for the insight. I've read some articles that say that American crews are skewing the tip expectations for the entire yacht charter industry, because they EXPECT a much larger gratuity than crews of other nationalities. American customers have a horrible habit of overtipping in many parts of the world because they don't understand that salaries are higher in other cultures for professions that they have been taught must be supplemented by the customer because the US salaries for those professions are artificially low. So I guess my question was, in the BVI, are crew members paid a living wage or is it expected that a large percentage of their "salary" will be paid through tips?

As I said, the vast majority of crews on crewed yacht charters are actually the owners (usually a couple). But the cost of operating a yacht (even a sailboat) is high, and the cost of living in the BVI is also high. Crews are often US, British, Australian, or New Zealanders. But the tradition of tipping the crew of a charter yacht is a long one, and I don't think Americans have skewed the cost levels here.

For those who are employees of larger companies like the Moorings, I just don't know enough about the salaries to tell you what you want to know. But the tip is still expected and at the same level as when the crew are the owners.

But unless you are going on a very large motor yacht, the crew will almost certainly be no more than 2 people ... though occasionally there is a hired mate. I was on a boat in the Grenadines once that had a mate ... the owner and his fiancee were the hosts (she was the cook). So in that case I suspect you still tip closer to 15% and the bulk of the tip goes to the mate. At least that would be my guess.

So here's a question - If the "vast majority of crews" are the owners wouldn't it be logical to assume the rates they set for the charter would cover both their "high operating costs" and "high cost of living"? If so, why should they expect a tip of something in the neighborhood of 15% to 20% of the charter?????

If I hire a owner/contractor to paint my house we usually agree on a fair price. He does the job and gets paid and no tip is required. It would seem to me that the owner/crew on a sailboat sets the price they think is fair and they get paid that price. Again, no tip required. Same if I go to a Bed & Breakfast for a vacation. The owner of the inn sets a daily rate which is gladly paid and no tip is expected not paid. In this case one might choose to leave a small gratuity to the chambermaid (who is an employee) for cleaning the room but that amounts to on;y a few dollars per day not 15% to 20% of the room charge.

Tipping 15% to 20% of the boat charter fee seems excessive to me.

Roamie - I understand what you are saying. I have always been told that you do NOT tip an owner of a company - that it is considered rude. Maybe this gets into the whole philosophical discussion of what is the purpose of a gratuity?