How much should you tip on a diving liveaboard?
Use the named boat’s published guidance rather than a single worldwide percentage. All Star Blackbeard’s and Aqua Cat both describe a 15% gratuity as customary. That is a useful starting point for these Bahamas trips, not evidence that every liveaboard in the Red Sea, Maldives or Indonesia expects the same amount.
Keep the gratuity as a separate discretionary budget line. A marine park charge, government tax or separately booked private guide is a different expense. If an invoice includes a compulsory service charge, establish what it pays for before assuming you should add another full crew tip.
All Star Blackbeard’s: recommended gratuity and paymentWhat the operators actually publish
Swipe or scroll sideways to compare every column.
| Your decision | Blackbeard’s | Aqua Cat | Emperor liveaboards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published guidance used here | 15% customary in its FAQ | 15% customary in its FAQ | The No Hidden Extras article leaves gratuities outside the included operational charges; it does not set a percentage |
| Payment information | Crew gratuity can be charged to the cabin account; Visa, MasterCard and Discover listed | Crew gratuity can be charged to the cabin account; Visa, MasterCard and Discover listed | Use the boat’s pre-trip payment instructions; the article does not establish a fleet-wide gratuity payment method |
| What not to infer | A tip includes a pre-booked private guide fee | A tip includes a pre-booked private guide fee | No Hidden Extras means the crew tip is already paid |
Blackbeard’s: allow for the tip as well as port spending
Blackbeard’s lists crew gratuity in the spending-money section and says 15% is customary. It also says you can charge the crew gratuity to your cabin account and lists Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Its FAQ accepts US dollars without a currency exchange into Bahamian dollars.
For planning, use your per-person cruise fare as an initial calculation base, keeping airfare, hotel nights and unrelated land spending separate. If your agent has bundled the holiday into one total or you received a discount, get the boat’s intended base clarified; the FAQ does not resolve every package or promotional-fare case. A percentage of the whole family’s invoice is not a per-person gratuity.
All Star Blackbeard’s: spending money, cards and currencyAqua Cat: a higher fare changes the cash budget
Aqua Cat publishes the same 15% custom and permits the crew gratuity on the cabin account. Its FAQ lists Visa, MasterCard and Discover. It also identifies Friday dinner ashore as your own expense, so keep that meal and other port spending separate from your tipping allowance.
The same percentage produces a different amount on a more expensive cabin. Compare the full per-person outlay when choosing between Blackbeard’s shared accommodation and Aqua Cat’s cabin-based trip; the headline price difference does not tell you the final budget difference.
All Star Aqua Cat: gratuity, cabin accounts and port-night spendingWorked example: calculate per person, then total the party
For an illustrative US$2,000 per-person cruise fare, a 15% planning allowance is US$300 per person. Two people using that same base would set aside US$600 together. This is arithmetic using an example fare, not a current Blackbeard’s or Aqua Cat quote.
Do not automatically apply the percentage again to park fees, flights, equipment rental or a private-guide invoice. Establish the fare base and any compulsory service charge first. Record the planned crew gratuity once in your total budget, rather than including it in both a daily spending allowance and an end-of-trip payment.
No Hidden Extras does not mean gratuities are included
Emperor’s No Hidden Extras article includes marine park fees, port fees, fuel surcharges and Nitrox for certified divers in its promise. The same article explicitly leaves personal extras such as gratuities, equipment rental and travel insurance separate. It is therefore misleading to interpret the slogan as an all-spending-included holiday.
The article supplies no tipping percentage, so this guide does not transplant the Bahamas 15% custom onto Emperor’s fleet. Use the departure’s own joining information for the suggested amount, currency and collection procedure.
Emperor Divers: what No Hidden Extras includes and excludesPay once, and raise problems during the trip
Before settling the account, establish whether the quoted crew gratuity is collected as a shared pool and whether dive guides are included. The cited FAQs establish a crew gratuity but do not document every distribution rule; there is no basis here for inventing a mandatory separate captain, chef and guide percentage. Likewise, a card listed for the cabin account is not proof that another fleet accepts card tips.
Both All Star FAQs advise telling the captain promptly if service disappoints so it can be addressed. Do that while the issue can still be resolved rather than saving it only for the final payment. Give the amount you choose through the stated collection method, and keep any compulsory charges identifiable on the account.
All Star Aqua Cat: gratuity guidance and resolving service problems