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How much tip to luggage handlers

Fred C

By Fred C,
in Ask a Cruise Question

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GUT2407

GUT2407

Posted
Posted
At least $2 per bag. We'll be checking 4 this time, so I will tip $10.

 

For those who don't tip at all, have you had issues with your bags arriving intact, unscathed? :eek:

 

For disembarkation, we'll tip about the same, maybe a few more if we need more help.

Wow, extortion

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Velvetwater

Velvetwater

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Your personal preference I guess...and also how heavy the bags are. My husbands bag is a normal thing whereas mine is some sort of behemoth. So you can imagine one might be expensive than the other! :)

 

Just as a small note though, a lot of my colleagues/friends who have taken cruises for the first time over the past year or so have not tipped and still got their bag in good condition and quickly. This was mainly because they didn't know about it/don't usually tip in airports over here.

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Hflors

Hflors

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Last cruise for our 6 bags we tipped at least $10 while boarding. Coming home we had 6 bags and 2 carry-ons also sis and bil had an equal number. We each tipped him $20. The porter loaded every bag and walked us right thru customs (FT. Lauderdale). We were at first worried as the regular line snaked back and forth several times, but he took us over to the disabled/porter line. We were out and on the curb waiting for out pick up in less than 5 minutes.

 

BTW our ride was my sister who had a suv with an enclosed trailer attached to the back. It was great she dropped off right in front of the ship and picked us up at the same place. Our sister was around the corner when we got to the curb so we told the porter when we were leaving to put our luggage down so he could go back inside and get another customer. Dh (and another porter who was dropping off luggage for another couple helped) load the luggage into the trailer. DH tipped him $10 for his help.

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beachgoddess

beachgoddess

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Last year at Port Canaveral we tipped the porter $2 each for 2 small bags. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I remember it was a rude snarky comment about how cheap we were. Our bags arrived in tact, but I was worried they wouldn't. I'm not sure how much of a tip he expected. Were we supposed to cover his living expenses? People like him make me not want to tip.

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Forums mobile app

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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Last year at Port Canaveral we tipped the porter $2 each for 2 small bags. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I remember it was a rude snarky comment about how cheap we were. Our bags arrived in tact, but I was worried they wouldn't. I'm not sure how much of a tip he expected. Were we supposed to cover his living expenses? People like him make me not want to tip.

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Forums mobile app

 

OP I recall tipping $2 per bag going on 20 years ago. Everyone chooses for

 

 

themselves what to tip but for me, I now give more than I did 20 years ago. never did we, in recent years tip less than $10 and almsot always more. justt our choice vut you asked.

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beachbum53

beachbum53

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What are the "going suggestions" for tipping the luggage handlers at the terminal? Thanks.

 

At most, if not all terminals (here in the U.S.), the luggage handlers are union employees. and probably earn more per hour than most people that go on a cruise. To lift the bag off of the ground and put it on a cart, unless the bag weighs more than 45 -50 lbs., a dollar per bag is fair.

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TravelinGert

TravelinGert

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To me it isn't how much they get paid but did they provide me with a service worthy of tipping. On one of my cruises the guy stood there less than four paces from the car and waited for us to drag the bags over. Then he stood there and let my spouse lift one of the bags into the cart. We did not tip and our bags made it to the ship with no trouble.

 

On a different cruise one of our luggage tags got ripped somehow between when we gave it to the taxi driver at the airport and taking it out of the back at the cruise port. One of the porters walked the five paces out to the taxi and took all our bags to the cart area, put the bag with a good tag in the cart, then escorted us a few paces to someone who fixed us up with a new tag. As he was walking off to take the now correctly tagged bag back to his cart we tipped him $10 because we saw other people waiting in a long line to get baggage tags affixed at the other end of the drop off area.

 

You save me time and / or effort, I give you appropriate thanks in the form of cash is my policy with the baggage handling.

 

We walk our bags off the ship ourselves at the end of the cruise. Nothing against the ship's baggage handlers just more convenient for last minute packers like us. And it allows us to stay on the ship until final call to leave enjoying the food and drinks.

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donaldsc

donaldsc

Posted
Posted
What are the "going suggestions" for tipping the luggage handlers at the terminal? Thanks.

 

Lets do a bit of math. Assume that you tip them $5 per luggage transfer and they can do 10 transfers per hour. That means that they are making $50 per hour. That works out to $2000 per day or $100,000 per year based on $2000 per FTE. Are making $100,000 per year and remember that they are unskilled workers just carrying luggage a few feet and putting it on a cart.

 

Yes - I know that I will get replies that say that they are not actually working 2000 hours per year but that is because they have chosen a profession that has only a few working hours per week. It is not my responsibility to pay fur their stupid career choice.

 

Now lets do another calculation to show what they should be paid per bag based on an annual salary of $30000 per year which is an extremely generous salary for someone who is doing unskilled manual labor. It works out to $15 per hour or $1.50 per bag.

 

Think about it.

 

DON

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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We normally give $10 for 2 bags because they also take them out of the trunk of the car.

On my last cruise our luggage did not arrive at our cabin until 7 hours after the ship sailed.

 

 

I 'read' an implication int his post, it was the faultof o the porter on the dock that your suitcase was delayed being delivered.

 

I am curious how it was his or her fault...( the porter on the dock) who I has nothing to do with baggage handling on the ship. They cannot and do not handle lugggage on the ship.

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pris993

pris993

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I don't see the need to pay anything on embarkation. It's not a discretionary service which you choose to use/not use and there is no noticeable value add.

 

On disembarkation, it is a matter of choice (for me), an opportunity for value add, service differential plus requires consumption of a fair amount of the porters time. So I typically pay $10 which works out $2-$3 per bag but I work more on the basis that $10 is reasonable compensation.

 

For extraordinary service, I would double the tip or pay even more. For example, on one occasion, my phone wasn't working so the porter lent me his to call pre-booked taxi. Plus he stayed with me until taxi arrived. I make a judgement on quality of service, effort and consumption of time.

 

To me it is "value" added if the porter gets your luggage to the right ship... sometimes there are more than one ship in port... regardless we always tip

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donaldsc

donaldsc

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I 'read' an implication int his post, it was the faultof o the porter on the dock that your suitcase was delayed being delivered.

 

I am curious how it was his or her fault...( the porter on the dock) who I has nothing to do with baggage handling on the ship. They cannot and do not handle lugggage on the ship.

 

You are right on who is responsible for actually getting the luggage to your cabin. However, that is yet one more reason not to tip the porter.

 

DON

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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I view it like this: I make much less than the average annual income for a longshoreman and no one tips me to make sure that I don't purposefully insert bugs into my code.

 

 

I'm curious if any who don' like tipping porters on the dock, tip their mail carrier at Christmas.

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