Posted by Max on September 18, 2004 at 16:59:55:
In Reply to: Crew Tipping posted by Randy on September 16, 2004 at 22:18:23:
Tips are included, when the boat has all inclusive packages(charter price + $25 a head for food and air). If you look at what it cost the boat to pump air and to feed you, the boat should be paying the tip. Two air fill (less then $1), drinks (pennys), Food from Sam's club (pennys), some ice cream (pennys). That leaves a $24 tip (but the crew will never see any of that because of the greed of the boat owners).
It cost $100 to go to Catalina today on a charter boat. Five years ago it cost $45. You can go to Avalon for $47 on the CE, $37 with discount tickets. The question is how can CE go to Catalina for 37 dollars and it cost $100 + on a Southern California dive boat? The answer is price fixing and GREED. The boat owners have got together and fixed the price of the charters(that why you have almost the universal charter price +$25 a head for food and air). There are only a few charter companies that are not part of this price fixing scam.
I have stop chartering boats that are all inclusive. And I tip the crew with the $25 that the boat owner would have got.
Max