Tipping luggage handlers

[txmd2b]

Being a Brit, I think its obsene, reason, well here goes. On a Caribbean trip from FL a few months ago, we spent the previous night in a hotel in Miami before boarding the coach(bus) to take us to FL where we boarded the ship. On arriving at FL, a big baggage handler boarded the coach and told us that the handling rate for the bags was $3 per bag and they would deliver them to our state room, to which I replied when you arrive at our state room, we will give you the tip. We all know the score, they take them off the bus, put them in stillages which are wheeled to the ship and fork lifted on. I screwed up a $1 and was out of sight before he had unfolded it. I am not tight, but I hate that sort of attitude, a great advertisement fro your country.

 

 

If you are ever solicited for a tip get a name and let port management know. This is an unacceptable practice that some porters do and needs to be brought to someones attention. These are union workers making union wages that are doing their job.

[chrispb]

Tips are intended for people who do a job well. I do not have a problem with tipping when that bag arrives at my room. I do NOT tip beforehand - that smacks of bribery and corruption at worse and an assumption that the bag handler would somehow damage/lose your luggage at best.

[Megan_Strick]

quote They are friendly and dont expect a tip for light bags that they hardly have to put any effort into getting it in the bin. Our bags arrive early at our ]

 

I don't believe that at all. Yes they do expect to get tipped.

[tiyana4]

I recently sailed from Vancouver, B.C. and for the first time in our cruising history, we were informed that tipping was not necessary! I did a double take considering I literally had to chase the handler to give him the tip (we had 4 bags, mind you!!!). OK, I was really chasing him because he was a hunk;) (fireman-type). But I think that Vancouver got it right!

 

At $1/bag, it is a relief to get rid of those dreaded bags and it is cheaper than the cruise line's Bags program. I don't find it necessary to tip any more than that.

[mamasue]

Tips are intended for people who do a job well. I do not have a problem with tipping when that bag arrives at my room. I do NOT tip beforehand - that smacks of bribery and corruption at worse and an assumption that the bag handler would somehow damage/lose your luggage at best.

 

 

I've never seen a bag arriving at my room!!

They just appear outside the door... never seen anybody bringing them..... still don't know who brings them!:confused:

[donaldsc]

If you tip them $1 per bag and you have 3 bags, that is $3.00 per person. If they do 20 bag sets per hour (5 minutes per bag set), that is $60 per hour on top of their salary. How many of you make anywhere close to $60 per hour.

 

BTW, if you assume that they work a 40 hour work week which is not correct, $60 per hour comes out to $120,000 per year - for a longshoreman.

 

We are all in the wrong business.

 

DON

[FLAHAM]

A dollar was a standard and fair tip for handling a bag....in 1970.

[Arwenmark]

Tips are intended for people who do a job well. I do not have a problem with tipping when that bag arrives at my room. I do NOT tip beforehand - that smacks of bribery and corruption at worse and an assumption that the bag handler would somehow damage/lose your luggage at best.

 

What you obviously don't understand is that the person who takes your bags at the car and puts it into the luggage loader carts Is the one you tip and you are tipping him for that and that only.

The person who delivers the bag to your door is an NCL employee not a Dock employee, and you will likely never see them to tip them anyway, granted THEY are doing more than the guy at the street but that is still who you tip and is the guy determining how your bag gets handled at that point. and yes tipping Stevadores is bribery.

 

The going rate is $2 a bag in most cruiseports.

[LHT28]

At Port of Miami there is a sign NOT to tip the porters ..so what do you do when they are standing there in front of the sign with their hand out:confused:

 

I usually tip a couple of $$ but object to being blackmailed

[Senoj84]

I guess I'm a sucker for tipping. I do tip them $1 for each bag, which is only $2 for myself. When I see them there sweating bullets in the hot sun, handling bags and the majority of folks just walk off w/o tipping I just go ahead and tip them a few $. Their tip money is already calculated in my spending money for the cruise.

[Almost Packed]

tipping for me is NEVER assumed, expected or the same.

 

i can tip very generously when it is deserved. If you do not speak to me, acknowledge me, offer advice etc, no tip for you. PERIOD. if you wait tables, work in a bar, a porter, a cab driver etc. your attitude determines what i give you.

 

for good service, a smile, a warm greeting etc, you'll get about 1$ per bag. not welcome, acknowledgement etc. you will get ZERO $'s from me. Why reward bad behavior? why encourage it?

 

Shuttle drivers who do nothing but drive, offer no assistance with my luggage etc, get the same, nothing from me in return! I work in the travel industry...i travel too much to just give away my $'s to people who have done nothing to deserve them. tipping is one of my biggest pet peeves and some people on these boards drive me crazy. you earn a tip...tipping is not a guarantee. just like your pre paid gratuities onboard. if your service did not warrant that tip amount, change it!

 

and it doesn't matter if you tip big, tip nothing, the porter has a job to do and is paid to do that job. there is nothing wrong with rewarding kindness, but to think tipping the porter will get your bags to your room sooner is silly. he doesn't personally run YOUR personal bags to your room leaving others behind.

[FLAHAM]

$1.00 per bag was a standard tip in the 1960s. In 2009, $2.00 per bag is a minimal tip.

[G'ma]

tipping for me is NEVER assumed, expected or the same.

 

i can tip very generously when it is deserved. If you do not speak to me, acknowledge me, offer advice etc, no tip for you. PERIOD. if you wait tables, work in a bar, a porter, a cab driver etc. your attitude determines what i give you.

 

for good service, a smile, a warm greeting etc, you'll get about 1$ per bag. not welcome, acknowledgement etc. you will get ZERO $'s from me. Why reward bad behavior? why encourage it?

 

Shuttle drivers who do nothing but drive, offer no assistance with my luggage etc, get the same, nothing from me in return! I work in the travel industry...i travel too much to just give away my $'s to people who have done nothing to deserve them. Astounding! I don't know what part of the "travel industry" you work in...but having retired after 32 years in that business, I can tell you that you should know about tipping, about the protocol, the customs of the practice, etc. You should also be advising your clients about these things..if you are in retail. tipping is one of my biggest pet peeves and some people on these boards drive me crazy. you earn a tip...tipping is not a guarantee. just like your pre paid gratuities onboard. if your service did not warrant that tip amount, change it!

 

and it doesn't matter if you tip big, tip nothing, the porter has a job to do and is paid to do that job. there is nothing wrong with rewarding kindness, but to think tipping the porter will get your bags to your room sooner is silly. he doesn't personally run YOUR personal bags to your room leaving others behind.

 

Tipping is just another part of the travel budget. Hotel bellmen, skycaps at the airport, waiters at a restaurant and others are tipped for their service rendered. If they handle your bag, serve your meal, clean your room or perform other services for you, they deserve a tip.....

 

Unless someone is a complete clod, rude, incompetent or inattentive, tip 'em...

[KULPN]

We don't have a lot of money but we are generous tippers..maybe that is why we don't have a lot of money.

[zstell]

I have honestly NEVER encountered anything other than a warm smile welcoming me to the port and that alone is worth a few bucks. It sets the mood for the day and I think they deserve the tips, just my opinion.

 

My daughter who is only 21 and works very hard reminded me the other day that an extra $ to a server at a restaurant meant a lot more to her than it was going to mean to me.

 

Now, the porter when we're leaving, they get tipped well because they have to stay with us for a while depending on the customs line, they've even walked to the parking deck with us and that definitely deserved gratuity. Yes, he was still "on the clock" but it was a very nice gesture and made our morning MUCH easier.

[Almost Packed]

Tipping is just another part of the travel budget. Hotel bellmen' date=' skycaps at the airport, waiters at a restaurant and others are tipped for their service rendered. [b']If they handle your bag,[/b] serve your meal, clean your room or perform other services for you, they deserve a tip.....

 

 

 

Unless someone is a complete clod, rude, incompetent or inattentive, tip 'em...

 

you stated it yourself...IF THEY HANDLE MY BAG! if they sit on their butt and do nothing...they get nothing....

 

they get nothing for doing nothing! that's how tipping works....

OF COURSE I KNOW HOW TO TIP!

Edited November 7, 2009 by Almost Packed

[uwishufish]

We had the experience of the porter coming onto the bus and asking for a $1 a bag or they might get lost. we were told to give him the $1 and point to our bag. I gave him a dime and pointed to someone elses. Tipping is one thing extortion is somthing else. %&$# them. This Tn redneck thought have fun on my dime you New York Longshoreman extortionist .

[txcruserServiceDogMom]

Is there any correlation between the amount of the tip (or lack thereof) and how quickly your bags make it to your room? We tipped $5 for three bags in JAX and they were at our door when we were able to go in our room (about 1:30 or so.) I have another friend who has cruised several times, and until the last time had never tipped the porter, and thought she was lucky if her bags showed up before dinner. The last time she and her BF tipped the same as we had, and had their bags at 2. Is this a coincidence?

 

Hello, I will be doing first cruise in January. I have mobility concerns and must travel with a Service Dog. I have always traveled well by tipping well. I have never had problems getting assistance with my bags when I fly etc. The travel agent for this cruise said to only pack what you could handle because getting help was rare. Will there really be no help with bags? Sorry to reply to a question with a question. I wasn't sure how to start a new thread.

Edited August 2, 2016 by txcruserServiceDogMom

[erinmarie424]

Hello, I will be doing first cruise in January. I have mobility concerns and must travel with a Service Dog. I have always traveled well by tipping well. I have never had problems getting assistance with my bags when I fly etc. The travel agent for this cruise said to only pack what you could handle because getting help was rare. Will there really be no help with bags? Sorry to reply to a question with a question. I wasn't sure how to start a new thread.

 

You will drop your large bags off outside with a porter and they will be delivered to your room, ideally by the time of the muster drill, but sometimes later. Whatever you choose to keep with you will be yours to manage until you are able to get to your room and drop it off. If we knew which cruiseline you would be on someone might be able to offer more specific help, or you might want to look on the Disabled Cruise Travel board.

 

I'm the one you quoted - and have a few more cruises under my belt now! We usually tip $1 per bag and have gotten our bags as early as 1:00 and as late as dinner time. We've also used FTTF and got them right away the first two times but after dinner last time (they refunded our money)

Edited August 2, 2016 by erinmarie424

[txcruserServiceDogMom]

Thanks I'm going on Royal Carribbean.

[disneygirl]

I have been in the travel business for over 20 years and have been on over 30 cruises. I was taught to tip well for service rendered. I have never not tipped anyone, they might have only been give $5 if the service was horrible, but I always leave a tip.

 

I have never been asked for a tip by any Porter and I have sailed out of San Juan, New York, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, Port Canaveral and Ft. Lauderdale oh and Bayonne.

 

I do feel that if you tip well, it does matter, and I always smile and say hello and even ask their name. I feel it should be a sign of respect, sometimes it is 100 degrees out and these guys have to put all of my heavy suitcases somewhere and make sure they get on the ship. I also think of how many people don't tip and I have watched it first hand. So you might think they are getting at tip but most times they are not.

[thedeadman]

Tipping the porters is an insurance policy so they don't remove your luggage tags if you dont tip depending upon the porter.  Some are just mean.  I know for a fact.  If you can find a nice one...go ahead and tip.  At long beach the porter made it clear.  If you want your luggage on the boat....pay up.  Did that in front of my family.  We took the luggage on board ourselves.

 

Dont take a chance.  Pay the porter the protection money.  Its not a tip.  Its an insurance policy that they wont rip your tags off.

 

How do I know....they took our tags off.  Apparently despite the signs saying do not tip...that did not work for this porter.  I dragged my own luggage right in front of the bins.  I thought the no tipping sign was a cruise thing since I did prepay tips...apparently not.

 

Unless I see a happy porter or  can see enough cruise folks that are supervising the porters...I have to drag my luggage on board.

 

 

[Seadog & Sea Hag]

And that’s why you don’t tip. Absolutely ridiculous 

[Stmar]

How about when you are disembarking, how much do you tip? The porter loads  the bags, takes your party through customs and to your transport. We had 5 people and 5 or 6 bags. I gave him $10, thought the other guy was going to pony up but he did not, and the porter looked like somebody kicked his puppy. 

[thedeadman]

I never see any porters in the luggage area .  I just grab my luggage and go.  Last time I brought my luggage on board and off the ship myself since the porters were demanding payment before I boarded.  

 

I will not tip any demanding porter or porter with a bad attitude enough to screw with ur luggage.   Perhaps porters could wear arm bands.  Red means they need 5 dollars per bag. Green would be 3 dollars per bag and yellow for 1-2 per cruise line recommended bag tip.  You can of course give more.  That market forces.  Maybe the yellow and green bands get more business.  Seems fair.  Then no porter could complain about tips. Problem solved.