Who's responsible for theiving porters?

[waldocruiser1]

Why would you 'carry on' an airplane or a boat?

 

I like to lower my boat from the lido deck and run it around while we are on sea days, The real challeng is to get it all the way around the ship without getting caught in the wake, or under the ship.

[redridinghood]

When we arrived at Brooklyn port to board the QM2 in November, the porter did not take all of our bags out of the taxi boot. As the taxi drove off and I shouted after him (husband ran after him!) to come back, the porter just laughed with all of his co-workers. Nice.

 

We asked for help from the Cunard people, they rang security to stop the cab leaving the main gates, security didn't pick up their phone. They then rang the cab company who put a call out to all cabs to get our driver to return to the port, we waited 3 hours until the ship sailed and the case was not brought back to the port until 11 hours later. Cunard held onto the case for me at the port and whilst onboard I was told that they would help me arrange to get it flown back to the UK after the cruise, I spent 7 days chasing the purser to get it sorted and by the last day still nothing had been done. I had to arrange a luggage courier service to collect the case from the port and fly it to England, at my own cost as no one would take responsibility for it. It was further held up as the hotel manager decided to take the case back on-board the ship with him rather than leave it at the port, so we had to wait for another fortnight for the ship to dock again at Brooklyn.

 

I was grateful for the kindness that was shown to me on-board as I had no make-up or toiletries with me (and I was on a TA, so nowhere to buy things except on-board) but I very much doubt we will cruise with Cunard again after this experience, it did pretty much ruin the cruise for us.

 

We will be trying to take our cases as far as we can on any future cruises and will not trust ANYONE.

[klmorg]

Dan... where are you??? It's your turn. :D

[xerenthar]

The porters at the port are also paid by you indirectly, from your cruise fare (CCL pays docking fees).

Dock workers make around $40k a year before taxes, $100k with tips (which are untaxed). Now, you feel that despite their getting a good salary, and doing minimal work which requires no thought or education, you feel that they are providing an important service and should be tipped. Great.

If you have ever flown on a small commuter type plane, the pilot, low on the food chain, could be making $30k a year or less. Now, the pilot has a job that requires a lot of skill, training and if he flubbs up, everyone in the plane can die. Tell me, why do feel the porter at the port is more worthy of a tip than this pilot?

 

why is an nba player more worthy of millions than charity workers who work to help TB sufferers in africa?

 

have any more irrelevant strawman questions?

[CptSticky]

When we arrived at Brooklyn port to board the QM2 in November, the porter did not take all of our bags out of the taxi boot. As the taxi drove off and I shouted after him (husband ran after him!) to come back, the porter just laughed with all of his co-workers. Nice.

 

We asked for help from the Cunard people, they rang security to stop the cab leaving the main gates, security didn't pick up their phone. They then rang the cab company who put a call out to all cabs to get our driver to return to the port, we waited 3 hours until the ship sailed and the case was not brought back to the port until 11 hours later. Cunard held onto the case for me at the port and whilst onboard I was told that they would help me arrange to get it flown back to the UK after the cruise, I spent 7 days chasing the purser to get it sorted and by the last day still nothing had been done. I had to arrange a luggage courier service to collect the case from the port and fly it to England, at my own cost as no one would take responsibility for it. It was further held up as the hotel manager decided to take the case back on-board the ship with him rather than leave it at the port, so we had to wait for another fortnight for the ship to dock again at Brooklyn.

 

I was grateful for the kindness that was shown to me on-board as I had no make-up or toiletries with me (and I was on a TA, so nowhere to buy things except on-board) but I very much doubt we will cruise with Cunard again after this experience, it did pretty much ruin the cruise for us.

 

We will be trying to take our cases as far as we can on any future cruises and will not trust ANYONE.

I am curious why you blame the cruise company. It seems from your description of events that it was the porter who was at fault. Is there more to the story that you left out that points to fault at the cruise line? Don't want to sound "hard" here, sorry that your cruise was affected in this negitive manor.

[redridinghood]

I am curious why you blame the cruise company. It seems from your description of events that it was the porter who was at fault. Is there more to the story that you left out that points to fault at the cruise line? Don't want to sound "hard" here, sorry that your cruise was affected in this negitive manor.

 

I didn't say I blame the cruise company. It was mostly the cab drivers fault as he loaded the bags into the boot so he should have checked they had all been taken out, we were busy paying our fare to the driver when the porter started taking out the bags, we don't need someone to do that for us and were rather taken aback at it as we had not had this experience before, he asked us if we had luggage tags and as we did not he told us to go to the main desk to get them, so it was all a bit of a confusion as we were struggling with money and paperwork and my husband went to get the tags, when I saw the bags sat on the pavement I realised that one of my bags was not there, when I asked the porter if he had take it out of the cab he said he probably did and that it had probably gone on a luggage trolley already, then the cab pulled away...

 

The reason I am not happy with Cunard is because they did not show a great deal of customer care whilst I was onboard and wishing to get it sorted as to how I would get the case back. Instead of dealing with things swiftly I was left to worry about it for the whole cruise. Then there was the issue with the case being loaded back onto the ship, holding things up further. At no point was I asked if I wanted this to happen and it did feel that they had very little care as to the fact that this was my luggage and not something to just be moved as and when they felt like it. There was a distinct lack of communication and I did expect better of Cunard.

 

I understand now that the porters are not Cunard employees, but when you give your possessions over to someone at the port (with seemingly no choice in the matter) then you presume that they must be under some kind of responsibility if something happens to said possessions.

[scchasgal]

You cannot do it. The security area is on the ship, not ashore.

 

Actually here where I live the xray screening is in a warehouse onshore not on the ship.

[oncruisecontrol]

The porters at the port are also paid by you indirectly, from your cruise fare (CCL pays docking fees).

Dock workers make around $40k a year before taxes, $100k with tips (which are untaxed). Now, you feel that despite their getting a good salary, and doing minimal work which requires no thought or education, you feel that they are providing an important service and should be tipped. Great.

 

 

I have read this entire thread, but have refrained from posting until now. Dockworker is a generic term. Some dockworkers work as luggage porters at the curb, some work as forklift drivers, some work as crane operators. Fork lift drivers may make $40K per year, but porters (who more than likely are casuals and part-time [rather than Journeymen and full-time] in the Longshoreman's Union) certainly do not. Crane operators, on the other hand, make much more. Let's not lump all dock workers into one group; there are many jobs with different pay scales in this category.

[doe326]

That's great, real wonderful. However, I want the choice of being able to "lug" my luggage myself without "tipping" some dirtbag porter.

Look, this isn't the 1920's anymore- people don't travel with wooden travel cases that need legions of porters to load onto the trans atlantic cruise ship. Luggage of today is light and has wheels, is easy to move. I have no problem bungy cording multiple bags and pulling them, if I can get them from the parking lot to the airline counter, moving them 20' from the shuttle van to a screener is a piece of cake.

 

 

WOW! Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. With arthritis in my back, and one and an artifical knee I use those "dirtbag" (don't know what port you are talking about but I've yet to see one that's a "dirtbag". In fact I've always been treated well by them, even before I tip.) porters. So if you want to shlep you bags go right ahead but don't put down people that want to use them or need to use them.

[dan40]

The porters at the port are also paid by you indirectly, from your cruise fare (CCL pays docking fees).

Dock workers make around $40k a year before taxes, $100k with tips (which are untaxed). Now, you feel that despite their getting a good salary, and doing minimal work which requires no thought or education, you feel that they are providing an important service and should be tipped. Great.

If you have ever flown on a small commuter type plane, the pilot, low on the food chain, could be making $30k a year or less. Now, the pilot has a job that requires a lot of skill, training and if he flubbs up, everyone in the plane can die. Tell me, why do feel the porter at the port is more worthy of a tip than this pilot?

 

I once flew on a very small commuter plane. The "AIRLINE'S office was on the tarmac level of the airport. The single agent checked each pax in and weighed the person AND their luggage. The last to arrive was told that she could go or her heavy luggage could go, but both could not go on the same flight. She choose to go. Then the agent put on a baseball cap and wheeled the bags out to the twin prop craft and loaded them into cubby holes all over the plane. In the fuselage, in the engine cowlings, below the engine cowlings, everywhere.

Then he came back inside and asked if any of the 7 or 8 pax had any twin engine flying experience. I said I flew single but was not rated for multiple engines. Since no one else spoke up, he had me ride in the co-pilots seat. He then took off the ball cap and put on his FLIGHT COMMANDERS hat with the 50 mission crush and off we flew. I did NOT tip him!:eek::D:D

 

This is a quote from a previous post of mine. "I am simply willing to tip people that provide minor services to me."

And since, so far, no Captain, pilot, or dockworker has offered to share their income with me, I figure whatever their income is, IS none of my business. And since I expect that they will continue to NOT share income with me, it will remain none of my business.

I tip for the minor service they do for me. Whatever that adds to their income, it does. I don't care.

 

Just as the room stewards tips are added to my S&S account, IF I ask him/her to do a special request for me, I tip him/her. If I do not make any special requests, the auto-tip alone remains on my account.