Porter Problems

[MalaysianSunbear]

After reading the tipping threads and someone mentioning porters I was reminded of an experience on my last cruise this year.

We were going out of Lauderdale and arrived at the port about 10:30 am. As I had received e-docs for the first time I needed to request luggage tags. This took a few minutes but then I needed to hand the luggage off to a porter. As an aside I am a very generous tipper but had travelled this day with mostly very large bills. I went to give my luggage to a young gal who told me "You know, I am the one who is responsible for making sure your luggage gets on the ship" My daughter and I were shocked but I decided that I had tipped her a reasonable amount (normally would have been more) but I was also upset about her not-so-veiled threat. We hung around long enough to be sure that our luggage at least made it close to a bin and didn't remain at the curb (15 minutes) and then decided we were being paranoid.

Long story short, my daughter's luggage arrives at the cabin at 2:30. Mine arrived 45 minutes past sailaway. NEVER had something like that happen.

Have other people been presented with such outward threats from porters?:confused:

[BroncosFan2010]

I have never experienced anything like that, but I have learned that the earlier you get on the ship, the later your luggage arrives.

[yogimax]

Something needs to be done about this.

 

Can you imagine your waiter saying at the beginning of your meal... "you realize I am the one responsible for bringing food to your table."

[Happy ks]

We just cruised out of San Diego this past week and the porters weren't allowed to accept gratuities...nice change.

 

But the porter who took your luggage is wrong, she is not the one responsible to get your luggage onboard. She merely puts it into a bin, the bin is loaded by another person operating a forklift, offloaded by even a different person, sorted and eventually taken to your cabin by a room attendant (or others helping the attendants). The sorting may take place before loading onto the ship, I have no idea, but she is definately not personally delivering your cases to the ship.

 

That your luggage arrived at different times is not a surprise since it gets handled by so many different people before it finds its way to your cabin. We typically board later than most and surprisingly our luggage arrives quite soon, once even before we got onboard.

 

My own personal feelings are that the dockside porters are getting paid a fair amount of money and giving them gratuities is unneccessary. When they are accepting gratuities, we do tip $1 per bag, just so we aren't jerks, but just think of the cash these few people are dividing that day! I'd much rather give the cash to the cabin attendants who really handle your bags...both embarking and disembarking.

[Sue L]

We just cruised out of San Diego this past week and the porters weren't allowed to accept gratuities...nice change.

 

But the porter who took your luggage is wrong, she is not the one responsible to get your luggage onboard. She merely puts it into a bin, the bin is loaded by another person operating a forklift, offloaded by even a different person, sorted and eventually taken to your cabin by a room attendant (or others helping the attendants). The sorting may take place before loading onto the ship, I have no idea, but she is definately not personally delivering your cases to the ship.

 

My own personal feelings are that the dockside porters are getting paid a fair amount of money and giving them gratuities is unneccessary. When they are accepting gratuities, we do tip $1 per bag, just so we aren't jerks, but just think of the cash these few people are dividing that day! I'd much rather give the cash to the cabin attendants who really handle your bags...both embarking and disembarking.

 

 

while she is not directly responsible for that bag getting on the ship, if she wanted to she could "misplace" it so it didn't make it in those bins.

 

this sort of extortion shouldn't be allowed to take place but unless they were heard by others it would be a he/she said type of thing.

[MalaysianSunbear]

We just cruised out of San Diego this past week and the porters weren't allowed to accept gratuities...nice change.

 

But the porter who took your luggage is wrong, she is not the one responsible to get your luggage onboard. She merely puts it into a bin, the bin is loaded by another person operating a forklift, offloaded by even a different person, sorted and eventually taken to your cabin by a room attendant (or others helping the attendants). The sorting may take place before loading onto the ship, I have no idea, but she is definately not personally delivering your cases to the ship.

 

That your luggage arrived at different times is not a surprise since it gets handled by so many different people before it finds its way to your cabin. We typically board later than most and surprisingly our luggage arrives quite soon, once even before we got onboard.

 

My own personal feelings are that the dockside porters are getting paid a fair amount of money and giving them gratuities is unneccessary. When they are accepting gratuities, we do tip $1 per bag, just so we aren't jerks, but just think of the cash these few people are dividing that day! I'd much rather give the cash to the cabin attendants who really handle your bags...both embarking and disembarking.

 

 

In the past when I sailed with Princess I am pretty sure that the porters were not supposed to accept tips....it even seems there might have been signs posted as such? And some sailings were also out of Lauderdale.

[TEXASMUNK]

#1 Porters are not the employees of any cruise line. They are employed by the local Port Authroity, in many cases they are unionized workers.

#2 There is no relationship between the time your bags arrive at your cabin based on the porters. They are loaded into bins and moved onboard. They are not always put into the same bin and therefore will not be off loaded on the ship together! It is possible to have three or four different deliveries to your cabin on the day of embarkation.

[Happy ks]

In the past when I sailed with Princess I am pretty sure that the porters were not supposed to accept tips....it even seems there might have been signs posted as such? And some sailings were also out of Lauderdale.

 

I was across the street, DH walked over there to drop off the bags. He tried to tip the porter, the guy just pointed to where he should leave the bags. Another person told us they specifically said they weren't supposed to accept tips.

 

Sue L: A person who would intentionally make sure a bag doesn't make in onto the ship should definitely not be a porter. It's their job and to do that sort of thing would be failing their position and should be fired. I think a pax would have to be more of a jerk than just not tipping to have their bag not show up onboard. If that were true, I've witnessed many people not tipping, but have seen their bags in the bin, on the way into the terminal.

 

We have had the experience of a bag delivered to our friends cabin in error. Our friend was kind enough to take the bag to the proper cabin, I'm sure there are some who would just leave it out in the hall and not say anything. Or, give it to the cabin attendant hours later. It could be the reason a bag takes longer than others to be delivered.

[Sue L]

I was across the street, DH walked over there to drop off the bags. He tried to tip the porter, the guy just pointed to where he should leave the bags. Another person told us they specifically said they weren't supposed to accept tips.

 

Sue L: A person who would intentionally make sure a bag doesn't make in onto the ship should definitely not be a porter. It's their job and to do that sort of thing would be failing their position and should be fired. I think a pax would have to be more of a jerk than just not tipping to have their bag not show up onboard. If that were true, I've witnessed many people not tipping, but have seen their bags in the bin, on the way into the terminal.

 

We have had the experience of a bag delivered to our friends cabin in error. Our friend was kind enough to take the bag to the proper cabin, I'm sure there are some who would just leave it out in the hall and not say anything. Or, give it to the cabin attendant hours later. It could be the reason a bag takes longer than others to be delivered.

 

I totally agree with you, but the threat was implied to the the OP. Most porters would not even contemplate something of this nature, but unfortunately it only takes one bad apple....

[MalaysianSunbear]

#1 Porters are not the employees of any cruise line. They are employed by the local Port Authroity, in many cases they are unionized workers.

#2 There is no relationship between the time your bags arrive at your cabin based on the porters. They are loaded into bins and moved onboard. They are not always put into the same bin and therefore will not be off loaded on the ship together! It is possible to have three or four different deliveries to your cabin on the day of embarkation.

 

I do understand that the porters are not employed by the cruise lines - hence my questioning the difference between cruises where porters "requested" tips and those where tipping was specifically discouraged. I have travelled extensively and I have learned to trust my gut and taught my girls to do the same. My 20yo daughter came to the same conclusion about this porter independantly of my concerns and "felt" that my luggage "may just not make it into the bin". I have also had luggage arrive in stages in the past but 7-8 hours difference was a new one. Sailing away without luggage was definitely a bit of a stressor:eek:

[Happy ks]

Unfortunately it is history. Too bad you didn't get her name and report her, or did you?

 

I agree, one bad apple can ruin it for many. One person who would experience this and report it can make many more think it is the norm when it just isn't. We've never had a bag go missing and have never had a really late bag, I suppose we've been lucky. They do arrive at different times.

[norcalal]

We just cruised out of San Diego this past week and the porters weren't allowed to accept gratuities...nice change.

 

 

I got out of the cab on the 4th at San Diego, gave my bag to the porter, tipped him and went my way...no different than any other time....the only thing that I noticed was that there were many many people there without tags....I had tags and would advise others to have them filled out and attached...just imagine how long it takes to fill out and attach tags to 4000 bags. Even if you get E-Docs, you can request the tags and be good to go....:)

[G'ma]

After reading the tipping threads and someone mentioning porters I was reminded of an experience on my last cruise this year.

We were going out of Lauderdale and arrived at the port about 10:30 am. As I had received e-docs for the first time I needed to request luggage tags. This took a few minutes but then I needed to hand the luggage off to a porter. As an aside I am a very generous tipper but had travelled this day with mostly very large bills. I went to give my luggage to a young gal who told me "You know, I am the one who is responsible for making sure your luggage gets on the ship" My daughter and I were shocked but I decided that I had tipped her a reasonable amount (normally would have been more) but I was also upset about her not-so-veiled threat. We hung around long enough to be sure that our luggage at least made it close to a bin and didn't remain at the curb (15 minutes) and then decided we were being paranoid.

Long story short, my daughter's luggage arrives at the cabin at 2:30. Mine arrived 45 minutes past sailaway. NEVER had something like that happen.

Have other people been presented with such outward threats from porters?:confused:

 

Nope. I approach the longshoreman with my suitcase and the money visible with the same hand......I hand it to him and continue on my way to checkin.

 

My luggage has always arrived intact and in a timely manner.

 

BTW: They aren't "porters"...they are stevedores or longshoremen who work for the Port Authority.

[massfriends]

I cruised out of Port Canaveral on Sept. 20th. About 10 of us arrived at the terminal in a shared van from one of the car rental agency's. The luggage was unloaded and the porters, 2 of them, where checking them for luggage tags, I just assumed they were making sure they all had them....:rolleyes: About a minute or 2 into this another porter shows up and very softly says "We accept donations"...:eek: He actually was looking us in the eyes and saying this....at least 3 or 4 times.

 

I had read here on the boards that this was happening at Port Canaveral and sure enough it happened to us! I tried to get the guy's name from the badge hanging from his shirt but, my darn old eyes couldn't read the small print on it...:o I was so mad! I waited around the area for about 5 mins. to make sure the bags got into a bin.

 

So, ya right, now it's history and I did get my bags, as did everyone else but, I am mad at myself for not doing something about it. At the time I couldn't figure out what to do. I still don't know how or where one would complain. Some of those guy's are a little scary looking, Yes, the one who said "we take donations" was scary looking to me....:o If I had to guess, of all the porters standing around that morning which one was incharge, it would have been him....:eek: Absolutely NO WAY was I going to say anything.....

 

Yes, I did tip as I always do even though there are signs saying something like "No tipping" posted on the cement columns at the drop off area. If it makes any difference this happened at the far end of the drop off area away from the terminal building.

[cb at sea]

We've had our bags make it on before we got to the cabin, and have had the bags arrive at different times....once, one of my bags didn't get there until AFTER late seating....

It just depends what pile they're in, and how fast the delivery folks go!

We tip if we actually encounter the porter....once (on a shuttle), the bus driver handled the luggage...we never saw the porter!

[whirlybird3]

This just frustrates me as they are taking advantage of us... knowing that we have our pockets full of vacation cash. We should take note & names, then write or e-mail a complaint. We should not have be worried about our personal luggage.

[kc320]

We had a similar experience last week at Ft. Lauderdale..we arrived on the hotel shuttle & the driver had unloaded all of our bags & placed them on the curb.. as I was tipping him, along came the "porter" and told me...I'm the guy who will be taking care of your luggage, so make sure you take care of me...he got his tip...but it was considerably less than he would have gotten if he had not been so pushy... we had arrived about 11:00 and by 1:30 or so all of our luggage was in the center area of our floor..so we asked the lady who was sorting it if it was ok for us to take our bags..she said sure...

[Guest maddycat]

Extortion........

[Gonzo70]

There are no porters at the Florida cruise terminals - they are unionized longshoreman earning $60 to $90 per hour (with great benefits too) to put your luggage on a cart and roll it a short distance. There is no need/expectation to tip them; they are being generously paid by their employer to take your luggage. The Florida ports all have signs saying either not to tip them or that tipping is optional (depending on the port). The port authorities are trying to crack down on porters extorting bribes and request that you get their name (they all wear badges) and notify security or the port authority if they do not act professionally. If you do not believe me, call customer service at the port (that is where I got this information from). People often mistake these people as being like skycaps at the airport or bellhops at hotels; they are not like them in the least.

[Esmerelda]

Most definitely we were lucky enough to experience this...and it was even our honeymoon. :D (this was port of Miami) I just so happen to have my camera in my hand and I snapped his face right after he made that same stupid crack. I politely said "just remember, I have a lovely photo of your face if it doesn't make it onto the ship" :) (all said with a smile keep in mind) I do not take threats very well and I did NOT tip this guy. I think that is simply pathetic that anyone would say that to a traveler.

 

I will say, this last time we went out of Miami in August, it wasn't quite that bad. I believe I did tip but the porter didn't make a stupid crack at me either. I mean really, they only carry the luggage to the bin which is right there in front of me? It's not a major chore to carry a suitcase 2 feet. We don't tip the guys that load all of this stuff onto the plane and their wages are waaaay less than they guys you see at the port.:rolleyes:

 

I have worked at a hospital for years and I don't recall any of my patients ever tipping me and I give fabulous care. :) Imagine saying to a patient; "Gee Mrs. Smith, remember I'm the last person that will see you prior to your surgery, you want to wake up right?....:eek: (that' s just how idiotic the porter's line sounds to me)

[just4kixx]

Most definitely we were lucky enough to experience this...and it was even our honeymoon. :D (this was port of Miami) I just so happen to have my camera in my hand and I snapped his face right after he made that same stupid crack. I politely said "just remember, I have a lovely photo of your face if it doesn't make it onto the ship" :) (all said with a smile keep in mind) I do not take threats very well and I did NOT tip this guy. I think that is simply pathetic that anyone would say that to a traveler.

 

...

 

I LOVE this!!! And I may just have to get out of the cab with my camera in hand (yes, the same hand that is holding the 'potential' tip! ):p

 

A~

[lakette3]

I have cruised many times and have never had a porter be rude. If anything very helpful . A few days ago we disembarked from the Enchantment and a piece of our luggage was not in the section along with the rest of our luggage. The porter helped my husband look for it for 15 minutes. It was in the wrong section and another piece of luggage was leaning against it so it kept being missed. He assured us that it was probably just misplaced and he was right. In that 15 minutes he could have got other tips from passengers but he was determined to help us find it.

 

I tip the hairdresser, nail person, cab driver, etc etc. Why not the porter. I don't feel they are taking advantage of me. I would never be able to easily get my luggage to the car or cab on my own.

 

Hats off to all the nice/helpful porters that helped me.

[houlacruiser]

I've only had one rude porter. We always sail from Cape Liberty and this past February we had disembarked and I was looking for my luggage along with my mother's bags. Apparently I took too long wading through the endless bags, and while I was bent in half looking through a sea of luggage I heard the porter say "In a minute I'm going to throw all these f*ck*ng bags off this cart" to another porter. I stood up and looked him dead in the eye and said, "Excuse me, I must have mis-heard you. What did you just say?" He instantly became a non-hearing person and stood there leaning on the luggage cart staring straight ahead. I did tip him *sigh* but I was shocked at the experience. Oh and BTW, I did include the details in every RCI survey I received for that sailing. Just wish I would have gotten his name...

[slyster]

It's too bad that the ports don't have a "central area" where Porter supervisors are. I'm seeing the same theme here...couldn't get the name...couldn't read the name, etc. If there was someone you could go to immediately to make a complaint, I BET it wouldn't happen.

 

I think alot of us would tip when a sign says "tipping is optional" especially if the service is timely and courteous.

 

I have never had a bad experience but I am always on guard...and feel I'm at the whim of the porter.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Something needs to be done about this.

 

Can you imagine your waiter saying at the beginning of your meal... "you realize I am the one responsible for bringing food to your table."

 

Isn't that a given?? :p

 

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