Tipping on a private yacht

I'm anxious to hear this one too. We compensate our crew extremely well, as we also do our staff at our home, and wouldn't consider allowing guests on either to tip. We consider our boat a home and we invite you into our home, you don't pay. Pay, presents, bonuses are all our responsibility. However, if your crew pay is temporary or otherwise reflects expectation of tips, then I'd understand tipping.

We do encourage our crew to tip generously where indicated so they fit in as tippers, not tippees.

I disagree. I have worked full time on several yachts early on. Got paid very well. One of them I worked 2.5 days a week in 2004 as a mate and was paid $750 a week plus plus plus. Plus the owner took care of us financially from time to time as well. That being said, EVERYONE thanks you profusely for a nice day, trip etc...… It becomes yeah, yeah, ok. Once in a while a guest would slip us a tip without anyone else seeing and it felt nice because then you really felt appreciated, and even if the owner tells them it's not necessary, it means they really DID have a good time and care.

As for the OP, without stating the size of the boat, it's hard to say what should or shouldn't be appropriate. What size vessel? What type of trip ie day fishing, day cruising, week long trip with guests? How physically demanding are the guests? How many crew are splitting it? Another thought is present the scenario to your own friend about a buddy of yours just bought a similar yacht and was asking you that question and see what his reaction is.

Our crew is all full time employees and they are not allowed to accept tips. Up to each owner, just we don't want our guests to be tipping. Knowing our guests it would soon get way out of hand.

You bring up another question of whether the tips are individual or split among the crew.

Nearly all our guests are people who have cruised with us many times.

It's traditional but one could argue whether fair or not. Waitresses and waiters in restaurants would certainly say not. I'd say often on a boat it isn't, but you want your crew to work as a team. On a charter, knowing it's to be split evenly, is a way of having crew members apply pressure on those they feel are not pulling their weight. They're likely to push them to work harder knowing it impacts their pay.

I'd still agree with splitting it and only allowing it to be handed to the captain at the end of the trip.

We do make it clear that it's a big difference between working for us and a charter and the reason we pay much more than if we were a charter boat.

On three privately owned yacht I've worked on the owners did not want their guests to feel obligated to pay for anything. The trip was a gift to them. Two boats asked that the guests pick up the tab for a group dinner that included the crew and the other asked that the crew tip to be no more than $100 per person. Most guests were not wealthy like the owner. On a corporate owned boat with business clients as guests, tips were not allowed. All boats paid industry standard wages or slightly above.

My family never tips me......

I have mainly worked on private yachts. Over the years I have been tipped a few times, always with prior permission from the owner.
Normally it was a group that was outside our normal guest rotation, that came aboard for a week or so of cruising.
Every now and then, a guest will leave a small token in the room for the girls, but very unusual. In this case I leave it for the girls to share.
Any significant tips are always left with the Capt. and divided between the crew evenly.

My circle is full of tips being dished out. Never ending supply. They seem to print them, and never green.

Yeah those kids of tips.... bad stock tips being the worst.

Hopefully you got more than just the tip!