New Angle on Porter Tipping Question.

[Cruzaholic41]

Why do you insist on forcing your tipping habits on others? You said your peace. Folks don't agree with you and/or do different than you. Get over it and move on.

 

Let this one go. A famous quote by Mark Twain comes to mind. ;)

[Bonnie J.]

I know of two times where passengers finally found their luggage at the purser's desk. They did not tip and ALL the tags were no longer on their bags.

WE have also gotten letters in our cabin looking for luggage that was missing.

When we started cruising in 1984 it was $1 per bag. Now it is still $1 per bag for most people. We always give more than that now!

[5fathom]

We failed to tip a Porter in San Pedro a few years ago and when we did not receive our luggage, as Bonnie J said, we found he had torn off all the luggage tags. Ships personnel knew exactly where they were. Happens all the time they said.

[tip]

It is certainly more than moving the bags a few feet. That is only the part we see when arriving. Who do you think is unloading and sorting all that luggage which enables us to retrieve it so quickly when we get off of the ship? I really hope that those who seem to take pride in stiffing the porters sleep well at night.

[LHT28]

It is certainly more than moving the bags a few feet. That is only the part we see when arriving. Who do you think is unloading and sorting all that luggage which enables us to retrieve it so quickly when we get off of the ship? I really hope that those who seem to take pride in stiffing the porters sleep well at night.

They may or may not be the same porters as the ones you drop off your bags with especially if you disembark at a different port;)

 

We do tip when we drop off our bags but not when we pick them up

[gdisney]

Who do you think is unloading and sorting all that luggage which enables us to retrieve it so quickly when we get off of the ship?

 

Me! I always walk off with my luggage :p

 

But anyways, I didn't realize there was this much debate over tipping porters. I've always just assumed it was customary, and usually tip $2 per bag. I've never seen signs saying 'no tipping' in San Pedro or Long Beach, where I've mostly cruised from. Maybe I just never noticed. But hey, they're the first people who greet me and the first to handle my luggage when I arrive at the pier, so I haven't minded tipping. Thanks to CC, guess I have something more to ponder now.

[Gonzo70]

It is certainly more than moving the bags a few feet. That is only the part we see when arriving. Who do you think is unloading and sorting all that luggage which enables us to retrieve it so quickly when we get off of the ship? I really hope that those who seem to take pride in stiffing the porters sleep well at night.

 

The people sorting the luggage to be delivered to your room are people who work on the ship; they are not longshoremen! They earn a tiny fraction of what the longshoremen earn and since you do not see them, nobody is tipping them. They are the ones who should be receiving the tips. The people sorting luggage at the end of the cruise are also not longshoremen, and they too earn a fraction of their pay. I resent your remarks. I am not stiffing anybody. I tip those that are meant to be tipped generously. I do not tip people earning upper middle class salaries for carrying out their most basic job duties. I have already compensated these salaried union workers for their 30 seconds of work. There is a reason there are signs up at all US ports saying they do not need to be tipped. Stiffing? That is a ludicrous comment.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hello all,

I have read through many of the porter tipping posts and there are as many perspectives as there are posters. I saw a few post where people felt like they had "better tip" if they wanted to see their bags again. So with that in mind, I post this question.

 

Has anyone ever given their bags to a cruise terminal porter and then not received their bags at their stateroom? Bags were completely lost....

 

We have always gotten our bags.

But we were on a 22 day cruise when quite a few people on our ship did not get their luggage for several days. This happened in San Diego and there were 2 HAL ships in port. Our ship was doing a Pan/American cruise and the other HAL ship was doing a Hawaiian cruise. Some people did not bother to check to see where they were to drop off their luggage for our cruise -- inspite of the fact that there were signs up. As a result lots of luggage ended up going to Hawaii. And no -- the porters never bothered to check the tags either. Many of the people had to wait for the other HAL ship to arrive in Hawaii before luggage was sent to our ship - they got luggage on day 6 of our cruise. But we had a couple of people whose luggage never caught up to them until day 18 -- it was always one day behind whatever port we were in.

[sloopsailor]

Some people did not bother to check to see where they were to drop off their luggage for our cruise -- inspite of the fact that there were signs up. As a result lots of luggage ended up going to Hawaii. And no -- the porters never bothered to check the tags either.

 

So, these porters were earning a decent salary and getting tips on top of that, and they still didn't do their jobs correctly. Unfortunately, I'm not even surprised by this. :rolleyes:

[bonsai3s]

The only port I have sailed from where they try to intimidate you is MIAMI

There are signs all over saying NO TIPPING but the porters will stand there until you do

 

we sailed from SFO the porter was gone with our bags before DH could get the $ out of his shirt pocket

 

Europe they do not expect tips for doing their job

Have not lost any luggage to date

 

 

So many people to "tip"...never been an issue with us...but agree with LHT28, we felt intimidated in Miami. We've always handed porters tips...and most are thankful and appreciative. However, when when we are being intimidated...we don't like it.

It isn't just in Miami. We flew into Ft. Lauderdale, walked outside to get a cab. There were cabs lined up to take passengers. One pulled up, popped his trunk and we placed our luggages in the trunk before he can even get outside. The driver was thankful. Just before driving away, another man ran up next to our cab (we were already sitting inside), and said: "You got something for me?" Turns out he was the man in charge of the taxis...and was asking for a tip. Incredible! This man did not do anything! I didn't like it, so I said: "No, but I've got something for the driver". We drove off.

It didn't stop there. We arrived at Port Everglades, our cab driver helped us with our luggages and handed him a tip. A porter was there at the curb waiting to take our luggages. I was about to hand her a few dollars when we observed her with a huge stack of bills...and counting it...and she said: "Ahem!"...meaning, where's my tip? I said: "No need to remind me...you shouldn't have to give me clues". We were dumbfounded...we laughed it off after the first drink on the ship...:)

[mbrown2097]

Back on topic. Anyone else with experience not receiving their baggage and how was it resolved? Thanks!

[gdisney]

Closest I've had was where one bag showed up, and the other didn't show for several hours. And that can be chalked up to the sorting process on board I'm sure. So, no, no real problems here :)

[sail7seas]

Know of one ocassion that the suitcases ended in the drink! Don't know if lack of tip had any bearing.

 

 

There are certain expenses in travel and tipping bagage handlers is one of them.

 

For generations, travelers have tipped to have their heavy luggage taken care of for them and we are happy for the help..... we tip appropriately, with a smile, and our 'reward' it no broken back lugging it ourselves and a more pleasant travel experience.

 

We left Maasdam this morning, we had way more luggage than we should have and happily handed over a tip to the port who brought us right to the taxi. :)

 

Easy.

[gdisney]

...We left Maasdam this morning, we had way more luggage than we should have....

 

Well, it's good when you KNOW you have a problem! :p

[sail7seas]

Well, it's good when you KNOW you have a problem! :p

 

 

 

:D :D IF that is the biggest problem we ever have, how very lucky we will be. :)

[griffy116]

I can't even get one of my bags pulled out of the trunk of my car alone. I tip as a courtesy. I will say that I've wondered after I've seen the pace and the number of pieces of luggage they move in an incrediby short time, what kind of toll this has to take on their joints. After a few years of doing this, I'm willing to bet they all have a back, hip, knee or shoulder problem. I know that I'm heading on a cruise where I won't even blink at the idea of buying a $8.50 drink for the sail-away. I tip the porters and it would bother me, personally, not to. No one picking up those bags, filling the carts is rich...far from it. Why wouldn't I tip them for their assistance?

[cruisin'mama]

I just dropped my son and his girlfriend off at the Port of Long Beach a couple of hours ago. When we pulled up to off-load their bags, a porter came right over, unloaded the car and made sure that they had all their documents and IDs in their carry-ons and not in their checked bags. Also checked to make sure their wine was in their carry-ons and said the bags would be set aside if the wine was in the checked bags. He was very helpful, told them which way to go to check in, told them what time the rooms were expected to be ready and when they should expect the bags to be delivered. He definitely was tipped accordingly! :)

[mrsmoku]

My husband and I usually tip them $2 or so. Im sure our bags would be fine without it but $2 is nothing compared to what we're spending on this vacation and the cost of our luggage and my husbands military uniforms. We're on vacation and when they get the bags out of the car and dont smash my husbands uniforms at the bottom of the luggage cart, it makes me feel like my vacation has already begun!

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I have no problem with giving the porters a fair tip for their work. But the whole "tip the porter or have your bags thrown in the water" smacks of extortion, plain and simple. At this point, it stops being about rewarding honest work, and starts being about paying for the safety of your bags, not unlike paying someone to "watch your car" when you park in unsafe neighborhoods. That's when tipping porters becomes a burden, rather than an accepted part of cruising.

 

Is this true in all cruise ports, or just some? And what causes the difference?