Tip Porters?

To the post saying tip in every country; over here in Finland you'd probably get a look for trying to tip, it is not customary here nor do anyone expect it. And the total pay the porters would receive here yearly is way less than in the US. Another funny place to tip that seems customary in the US is in the casino at the tables (I've understood). And both at the port and in the casino they make 6 figures a year for that. That's just weird. Do people pay tax on the tips or do you make 100k for lifting some bags? I should just move over there and leave my IT job for that. :)

To the post saying tip in every country; over here in Finland you'd probably get a look for trying to tip, it is not customary here nor do anyone expect it. And the total pay the porters would receive here yearly is way less than in the US. Another funny place to tip that seems customary in the US is in the casino at the tables (I've understood). And both at the port and in the casino they make 6 figures a year for that. That's just weird. Do people pay tax on the tips or do you make 100k for lifting some bags? I should just move over there and leave my IT job for that. :)

I'd like to add that I do tip porters about $2/bag in the US when dumping bags to them before entering the terminal, as that's what I've been told to do on this forum. :)

We always tip the guy when we arrive at the port. Nothing extravagant, after all he takes the luggage and throws is on a nearby wagon (or whatever you call it!)

But, one time, we had to wait in a long line to enter the terminal and we had to keep our luggage with us. It was hot and difficult. I was not a happy camper. When it was our turn, the porter actually asked for a tip. I told him how I felt and he said he understood!

I always tip porters. Last week I asked our porter in NYC about tips and he said most people tip about $1.00 bag. I also asked about the union and he said the porters are members of the longshoremen union and most of them have 6 figure incomes.

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Such a typical CC thread, I asked earlier specifically for Sydney if tipping is expected or appropriate there. It seems many Aussies make it known that tipping is not expected or in many cases appreciated in Australia. I always tip porters in the ports I have visited. This is our first trip down under and just want to do what is expected. So looking forward to enjoying Sydney and our cruise. Thanks in advance for any help

We did not notice anyone tipping in Sydney, Australia. But it was also a port where we could pull our luggage right up to where it needs to be dropped off. We walked with our luggage from hotel across the street and wheeled our own luggage.

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We did not notice anyone tipping in Sydney, Australia. But it was also a port where we could pull our luggage right up to where it needs to be dropped off. We walked with our luggage from hotel across the street and wheeled our own luggage.

 

 

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On our recent cruise from Sydney in April of this year I handed Porter a couple of dollars and he refused so tipping is not expected and oftentimes refused

 

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Thank you for the follow up on what happened. Hope your cruise was great.

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If you don’t tip in a US port you might never see your luggage again

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If you don’t tip in a US port you might never see your luggage again

 

Really???

If you don’t tip in a US port you might never see your luggage again

 

 

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Speaking from personal experience. ;p

Always glad to get rid of bags.....$5

If you don’t tip in a US port you might never see your luggage again

 

 

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Right, because people always risk jobs that pay well over 6 figures out of pique that someone didn't give them 2 bucks.

Really???

No. Oceanic myth.

I don’t tip in ports (although tip bag porters at airports generiously). This includes US ports. Never had a problem. I have seen some Americans on other threads accusing people who don’t tip of being ‘cheap’ and ‘stiffing’ someone. Those people don’t seem to get that tipping is only sensible and, in my view, called for, in jobs where the worker does is not paid a proper wage. Many people tip waiters in the UK despite them being paid a proper wage. We have ‘inherited’ this from American practice. However, in Spain for instance, it isn’t done and, if offered, many waiters find it demeaning. Considering that the tipper is making a point about status!

If you don’t tip in a US port you might never see your luggage again

 

 

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Yup, my buddy had his eyes gouged out by an angry Cruisecritic poster who happened to notice him fail to tip...never saw his luggage, or anything else again..BUT because of the great price on the premium drinks package, it was a good week before he noticed.

Hello, there are a lot of uninformed misconceptions about the process so i'll chime in as someone who's been working PT as a longshoremen for the last decade.

When you arrive at the port to check in your luggage, the 1st longshoreman you are encountering are usually the ones with the highest seniority (most years working) unless there are 8 or more cruise ships docking that day (in S FL). They are responsible for making sure your luggage tags are correctly filled out and placing your bags onto the correct carts for your cabin on your specific side of the ship. Now tipping is optional, but those who tip will generally have their bags prioritized and generally get their luggage at their cabin door quicker. Those who don't tip will often have a longer wait or may have their luggage placed in the wrong cart as it is not prioritized (unless it is really lightweight and easy to handle) you can usually tell by looking back and seeing if your luggage is still sitting where u left it as you walk away.

The courtesy thing to do is tip however as it is a long tradition, however no porter is allowed to badger you for a tip those who do are breaking the rules. I'd say most of you have the correct idea in mind $2-3 dollars per bag is a sufficient tip, of course the more the better. That said, If you know you have several pieces of luggage to check in weighing 75+ pounds I would recommend you tip at least $10. 

TIP: Don't worry about the dirty looks as long as you've tipped sufficiently, some guys are just lazy disgruntled old farts always complaining about something you can often tell by their unwelcoming attitude from the get go and you don't have to check your bags in with them, if their vibe is off then go on to the next welcoming porter and check in with him and tip him instead. They are not all the same. Some are great others can be real DlCKz!

After this point. Once your bags are on a full cart it is pulled away by the PULLERS, the longshoremen with lower seniority to the scanner room where they now will be scanned by the X-ray. Now this is where the real hard work takes places as the longshoremen with the lowest seniority have to manually take each bag off the carts and place it onto the X-ray machine belt then place it back onto a cart again to be hauled away by the forks and loaded onto the cruise ship. This is also the point where if your tags are not properly placed on your bag by you or the 1st longshoreman they may tear or come off which results in your luggage being placed in the lost and found area aboard the ship, or if you have something that is not suppose to be in the luggage it will be flagged and stalled. ::Starting in 2018 the guys in this group which are probably the most deserving no longer receive tips in the afternoon arrival time unless senior guys choose to throw them some bread crumbs as tips are no longer pooled. (If you can tip one of these guys, if for nothing more then to show appreciation for true hard workers or just to see their reaction as these are the true hardest workers, do it, at your own discretion of course!)::

Well there you have it! This is the true process of what happens with your luggage upon arriving at the cruise port!

As for salary, on the Southern East Coast. Yes UNION longshoreman are paid well hourly but generally the whole 80k-150k a year thing is a myth. The busy part of the cruise season is only roughly 6 months Nov-April, after that the work dries up for the majority of longshoremen except for the one's with the highest of high of seniority like 20+ years. These are the guys that can make that amount if they choose to take the work. I'd say the average Longshoreman makes no more than 50-60K and that's if you work hard and take the less than desirable jobs in the summer when the cruise ships leave for the slow season and highest seniority guys doesn't want to do them. Jobs like tying rods on dirty dangerous container ships, driving tractor trailers/top loaders, flagging and things of that nature, many pass up this time period as this is the part of the season where many longshoremen have been/are killed and face many hazardous conditions. At this point for anybody with less than say, 10 years it will be very hard to get work at the port, if they do it's the highly inconsistent bottom of the barrel jobs, however most are just on unemployment or are forced to get summer jobs as it will be very difficult to pay monthly bills this way. So don't buy into the whole notion that these guys are all making 100K a year, there are very few longshoremen that make that, at least here in FL i'd say maybe 10-15% of a particular union makes that.

DoCboYY, thank you for your post. It was very informative!

On 4/12/2018 at 12:28 AM, WAMarathoner said:

We were surprised to see such a sign at the Port of Vancouver. We tipped anyway because we had left some paperwork in a bag that needed to be retrieved; the baggage handler was very appreciative, and it was clear it was not expected.

 

Last time we were in Japan, I left a tip on a resort restaurant table and the waitress came running after me to return it. I explained the American custom, but she refused to accept it.

 

I think this is a great idea. My son just got back from a cruise where he packed everything in one carry-on satchel. Flew cheap-o air who said it was too large to be considered a personal item. He smiled warmly, started taking clothes out and putting them on, asking whether or not it was small enough now after each item. I think he said he had all five shirts and two pair of pants on before the terminal person would consider it small enough to be a personal item. We might try the backpack idea. Sure would be easier not dealing with baggage claim at the airport -- and we're flying into FLL. Y'all have me concerned.

A personal item is different from a carry on bag. So if your son booked a fare that did not allow a carry on, then was trying to skirt the fee by claiming his carry on was really a personal item, I would take the side of airline.  By definition a personal item must be able to fit fully under the seat in front of you and there is some variance by airline.  For example on  United it is 9 X 10 X 17. on spirit it is 18X14X8.

For comparison the normal size for carry ons are  22X14X9