Tipping Baggage Handlers

[fvarner]

:) How much does a person usually tip the porters that take your bags from the taxi to the ship? My wife and I will have two suitcases to be unloaded. Have cruised before but can't remember how much we tipped and want to do the right thing. Also does anybody tip the guys that bring luggage to your room if you happen to be in the room when it comes? Thanks for any info.

[aldaffodil]

I always tip a few bucks per person... And I've never been there when they delivered the bags on the ship. They are like ninjas!

[rkacruiser]

$1 per bag is sufficient for the baggage handlers ashore. I have rarely been in my cabin when any of the luggage was delivered. The times I have been, the regular cabin steward was the individual that brought the piece. No tip is needed, in my opinion.

[paul929207]

$1 per bag. If I have 4 bags, I give them $5.

 

No need to tip the ship personnel for delivering. Most of the time we don't even see them

[sadiecat]

My DH always tips $20 for 2-3 bags, depends if he overpacks how many bags we will have.

[gerif]

We tip $2 per bag.

[Keith1010]

I would say $1.00 to $2.00 per bag and we round it up.

 

Keith

[Langley Cruisers]

For two bags I would tip $5.00 and no, we don't tip those who bring them to the room (different people than those who initially take your bags).

[caribsun]

I took a chartered bus to the Manhattan pier and when the bus came to a stop a porter came on and told us the tip is 2.00 per bag.:eek:

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

$ 1 per bag .....

[Treven]

I tip the porter $5 for my two bags. They are union members who work at the dock where your ship is located. The guy who delivers your luggage to your cabin works for the cruise line/ship.

[SadieN]

We like sailing out of Vancouver. Big sign saying "Do Not Tip the Porters" They won't even accept an offered tip.

[mitsugirly]

We average about $1 a bag and this is only because it seems whenever we have pulled up, we are the ones to get the bags out of the car (if we've drove) or the taxi driver gets them out if we come by taxi.

[donaldsc]

I do not tip them anything - they are overpaid union employees.

 

DON

[cb at sea]

The norm is $1-2 per bag...depending on heaviness and size! If we come by shuttle, there's usually no one TO tip! If we come by cab, then we do tip, as we hand over our luggage.

[caribsun]

I do not tip them anything - they are overpaid union employees.

 

DON

 

:eek:

[aldaffodil]

I guarantee the guys who took my bags in New Orleans were far from overpaid. Besides, we're the ones who can afford cruises... Who's overpaid? It's vacation... Don't be a Scrooge!

[Putterdude]

They are all members of the Longshoreman's union on the west coast and the Stevedore's union on the east coast and earn a big wage. As for Vancouver, I have never had a porter turn down a tip regardless of what the sign says. Now with that, we always tip $2 per bag rounded up to the nearest $5 .... with some ports I find that a bit outrageous, for instance at Port Everglades where the taxi pulls up within 4 feet of the luggage cage, the driver removes the bags from the trunk and the porter carries the bags the 4 feet to the cage and hold his hand out. I think the hardest working and the most friendly are those at San Pedro.

[fleckle]

There is also the airport to hotel trip.

We tip the taxi or shuttle driver who loads our bags, drives us over, and unloads our bags.

 

Then we tip the guy who takes our bags from the curb in to the hotel lobby reception area.

 

We check in, go to out room, and tip the guy who brings our bags up to the room and delivers them to us.

 

At check-out, we repeat the whole process in reverse (except for the places when we bring the bags down ourselves, and of course tip ourselves).

 

And of course we always leave a tip for the hotel maid, who is usually some poor, hardworking minimum-wage immigrant who barely speaks English.

 

Any European or Aussie reading this is probably sitting there snickering.

 

What can I say.

We are Americans. It is the way we were brought up. :D

[tip]

I do not tip them anything - they are overpaid union employees.

 

DON

 

 

Once again, if it is such are good deal, what aren't you doing it? :confused:

[mousey]

We tip $2 per bag.

 

Ditto! We have rarely seen the people that unload our bags in the cabin.

[PBC29]

$2 per bag at the pier I've seen the luggage ninjas only on the final night when you leave the bags out for pick up- never seen which one drops the bag off at the door on embarkation. Every cruise its always been the cabin steward on our deck but not always my specific cabin steward that takes my bag. Usually tip him or her $5 as they have to carry the bag more than 10ft unlike the pier guy who picks it up turns around and puts it on the cart without ever taking more then 2 steps.

[Jimnbigd]

Usually a dollar per bag for me. Now, at disembarkation (after the cruise), I tip a lot more because the porter stays with us past customs and to the outside pick up area -- often 20 minutes or more. I base this tip more on time than on bags and usually give $20 or more. Also I might tip more in bad weather -- those guys (and sometimes gals) really do work hard and fast.

[cruisedivaSTL]

I didn't tip the porters anything when they took my luggage to be loaded on the ship. I completely forgot about tipping them and we went as a group of about 20 people. Unfortunately, we had a minor medical emergency with one person in the group as they were unloading the luggage from the passenger van. He cut the top of his head on a metal lock at the top of the van and had to be transported to the hospital for stitches. He didn't miss the ship because we were there very early and because he was retired military, he was giving "orders" to the doctors/nurses at the hospital get him stitched up quickly (hilarious when his wife tells the story on this). I think in all the commotion of the porters trying to get everyone's bags tagged, loaded, and them calling over to the next check-in area where they begin checking everyone's ID to advise them to call for the EMTs, the porters and the group forgot to tip them. The would have made a killing with our group! The porter did "hunt" us down for his stapler that we accidentally took, though! :D

[tip]

... unlike the pier guy who picks it up turns around and puts it on the cart without ever taking more then 2 steps.

 

 

Okay I recognize that some folks do the express departure where you carry off your own luggage. My wife and I are both seniors. While I could do the carry off, there is no way that she could do it due to a stroke suffered three years ago and quite frankly, she packs too much for me to carry off alone. Thus we set out our luggage the night before. Most folks realize that it is the ship's crew who puts it into the bins to be taken off of the ship. Who do you think is taking it out of the bins and lining it up according to color code in the ship's terminal? It is not the ship's crew, but the same porters that people criticize as per the above comment. Think about it.;)