Mafia style baggaging in Miami RCI terminal?

[Lionesss]

We just disembarked from the Oasis at port of Miami. And located behind pickup area #5 were porters standing in front of a large baggage cart shouting LUGGAGE DROPOFF 

they were not going to cars that were unloading. Nor were other porters bringing luggage to them. 
They were waiting for cruisers to bring the luggage and they placed on cart. Then they accepted a tip. 
 

I also saw the escalator that lifted the luggage up. That door was open. The attendant threw the bags on belt. Yes. Definitely not gently. 
 

Nothing amazes me anymore. 
 

11:42 

[Cruise5life]

35 minutes ago, Scoobydobe7 said:

Tips are taxed only on what they claim.  Unlike restaurants sales (8% of sales) and credit cards tips...there is no way to track what each individual porter makes on tips..

Yeah.  I said that.      🤷🤷🤷

bottom line is.  They are taxed on what ever they claim.   

[goldfish65]

19 minutes ago, Scoobydobe7 said:

Tips are taxed only on what they claim.  Unlike restaurants sales (8% of sales) and credit cards tips...there is no way to track what each individual porter makes on tips..

 

Agree. Just fyi the 8% formula went away some time ago, at least in my connections with the restaurant industry. It started during the Carter administration I believe. Seen a lot of changes in my 47 years on the job. 

 

To the OP, I hope that porter gets a strong reprimand. Personally, right or wrong, I just give the porter cash, say thank you and hopefully avoid any issues with my bags. 

[Candleonwater]

4 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

He’s incorrect.   Tips are taxed.  Like every one else.  

I'm sure someone else has mentioned this, but DECLARED tips are taxed... big difference.

[alfaeric]

2 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I bet you hold a really good grudge 😂

It's not personal, it's business.

[Mikew0805]

5 hours ago, jean87510 said:

As long as you don't block places to walk in the WJ, I'm cool with that.  I think that's what people object to.  Hard to steer scooters, wheelchairs and strollers around suitcases.

I board and go straight to my cabin and unpack. On the rare occasion that I get on board before cabins are open, I would not be caught in the WJ at all... anymore. I used to like to board early, but my rolling duffel never got in anyones way that I know of... can't even imagine how it could. 

[Mikew0805]

5 hours ago, alfaeric said:

There are plenty of posts who complain about people dragging their luggage all over the ship when boarding.  Or slowing down the lines because of their luggage (and it's not them- there are people who have real issues that slow the security line down- who I very much give a break to).

 

They also complain about the people getting off the ship that their carried luggage takes up so much space (which it doesn't).  

 

The issue isn't about being cheap, it's about keeping track of all of my luggage.  After we lost two items for 2 weeks from a snowstorm, we just bring carry on's for flying.  And when our luggage arrived in our cabin really late, we decided the same thing for cruises.  That was about 25 years ago for flights, over 40 cruises ago.

I guess I get it, I get annoyed at folks who cannot handle their bags and slow everyone down on debarkation. Luckily now, I have been fortunate enough to usually be in the first 20-40 off the ship, and I can pass most of those folks in the terminal. 🤣 

 

Yep not a money issue.. it's a time thing for me. I want to get on, unpack.... and get off right away, get to my car and go. I put everything in a rolling duffel on longer cruises, and for my 3/4 day cruises I have a rolling backpack. 

[TheBucketLister]

If that happened to me, I would politely ask for my luggage back and take it on the ship with me and eat the loss of the tip I gave to the original porter.  If they refuse, simply find one of the many police officers that are there at the terminal and I would imagine there should be no reason they would not be able to get the bags back for you.

[HicksRA]

My first bad encounter happened in January at the Galveston port. It was a cold windy morning when I parked in the North Lot. I’d had to let my wife off at front because she was having back/knee problems and couldn’t walk far. 
Trying to navigate through the parking lot wrestling with two full size suitcases that kept going different directions, I finally got to where the shuttle buses were unloading and the porter reached over and grabbed one of the bags. I rolled the other bag over to him and then realized I didn’t have a tip in hand and all my tip money was in a pouch where I keep our passports. 
As I started digging for the pouch, I turned around and he was gone. 
Fast forward to the ship. My wife’s bag showed up early but mine never did. 
I mentioned it to the steward and he went to look for it, called the naughty room and could not find it. He then sent me to Guest Services and they took me behind the desk to take a look at the bags they had with no luggage tags. Still not there. 
I then talked to security and they said they’d send someone to walk the different decks later and see if they could find it. I gave him the description and told him it had one of the clear plastic tag holders on it with a steel cable so I was sure the tag had to be on it. 
About 8:00 I got a call describing my bag and ask if that was it. I replied that it was my bag.  He said that it had a tag on it for cabin 1530 (I was in 9327). 
When they brought it, my plastic tag holder had been ripped off - nothing there but the cable and an eyelet and a paper porter tag had been put on there with the 1530 cabin number in it. 
My only explanation is that this was done deliberately because the porter didn’t get tipped. 
Had me in a panic for quite a while 

[not-enough-cruising]

I have never in 20 years plus tipped a porter, and I have never had a problem with my bags showing up at my room.

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I have never in 20 years plus tipped a porter, and I have never had a problem with my bags showing up at my room.

 

This guy went 40 years without tipping a porter. His bags always showed up! 😉

 

[loman]

All i want to know is , how do people that bring their own full size luggage on board themselves get it through the scanner ?

[TheBucketLister]

8 minutes ago, loman said:

All i want to know is , how do people that bring their own full size luggage on board themselves get it through the scanner ?

I have never had an issue.  But I don't usually travel with the larger 28" luggage.  Every port I have been to, their scanner is able to accommodate the 24" luggage I typically bring.

 

I am pretty sure that anything larger than that will have an issue, as the 24" luggage barely clears the sides of the scanner at some ports.

Edited March 19, 2023 by TheBucketLister

[Ret MP]

 

Michael Baley, President, and CEO

C/O Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132 USA

[Ret MP]

35 minutes ago, TheBucketLister said:

I have never had an issue.  But I don't usually travel with the larger 28" luggage.  Every port I have been to, their scanner is able to accommodate the 24" luggage I typically bring.

 

I am pretty sure that anything larger than that will have an issue, as the 24" luggage barely clears the sides of the scanner at some ports.

I'm guessing that if you are trying to bring on carry-on luggage that is too big for the scanners, you'd be provided with 2 options, maybe more that I haven't thought about, 1.  Allow them to open and physically/visually inspect the contents or 2.  Let them run it through the baggage scanners like all else and deliver it to your room, whenever.  Oh, there may be a third, the attendant/employee doesn't care and just take it around the scanner because it is a hassle for him/her, which, I hope is very doubtful/unlikely.  

[TheBucketLister]

1 minute ago, Ret MP said:

I'm guessing that if you are trying to bring on carry-on luggage that is too big for the scanners, you'd be provided with 2 options, maybe more that I haven't thought about, 1.  Allow them to open and physically/visually inspect the contents or 2.  Let them run it through the baggage scanners like all else and deliver it to your room, whenever.  Oh, there may be a third, the attendant/employee doesn't care and just take it around the scanner because it is a hassle for him/her, which, I hope is very doubtful/unlikely.  

I have never witnessed anyone having luggage that wouldn't fit but my guess would be #2 on your list with one addition; make the customer go back to the luggage porters and drop it off themselves.

[Ocean Boy]

9 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Why is that?  I'm not disagreeing...I'm just curious why they wouldn't have to pay income tax on tips.

I'm pretty sure no one creates a 1099...

[Charles4515]

12 minutes ago, TheBucketLister said:

I have never witnessed anyone having luggage that wouldn't fit but my guess would be #2 on your list with one addition; make the customer go back to the luggage porters and drop it off themselves.

That is most likely. Take it to the porters.  

[Ocean Boy]

3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I have never in 20 years plus tipped a porter, and I have never had a problem with my bags showing up at my room.

I once had a porter tell me how he was going to get my luggage right to my cabin. I then explained to him how things actually work and then walked away without tipping him and never tipped again when dropping off for a cruise.

[Ret MP]

11 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm pretty sure no one creates a 1099...

I'll not go through this again. So, look here:

 

 

[Ret MP]

9 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

Actually it is an industry that tips are involved.    People have been tipping bell men, porters,  valet drivers and others not in the Resturant industry for years. No records there. If you tip a waiter cash it’s the same thing.    
just because they don’t claim the tips doesn’t mean they shouldn’t and aren’t taxed.      
 

Some times, I just can't help myself:

 

Yep, U.S. Residents, no matter where they worked and how they earned wages, with only a few exceptions, are required, by law, to report and pay taxes on all earnings to the IRS.  Not sure about today but it used to be that if you figured that you didn't have to pay taxes because of deductions or whatever, you didn't have to file a tax form.  But, you had better not be wrong.     

[John&LaLa]

11 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You can’t sack a Teamster

 

My wife fired to long term civil service employees back in the day. GS 11's and 12's

 

No one is immune

[John&LaLa]

10 hours ago, jean87510 said:

As long as you don't block places to walk in the WJ, I'm cool with that.  I think that's what people object to.  Hard to steer scooters, wheelchairs and strollers around suitcases.

 

Take up a lot of room in elevators on a busy boarding day.

 

But backpacks on an elevator are the worst.

 

Don't get me started

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

My wife fired to long term civil service employees back in the day. GS 11's and 12's

 

No one is immune

The reason why most supervisors and managers aren't successful in terminating substandard employees is because they don't document.  The pen is a lot mightier than the sword.  Laziness produces nothing.

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

The reason why most supervisors and managers aren't successful in terminating substandard employees is because they don't document.  The pen is a lot mightier than the sword.  Laziness produces nothing.

 

Laura was a fanatic at documentation. Eventually just wore them down