Baggage handlers

[rkacruiser]

My most recent experience with baggage handlers was in July at Whittier embarking Coral Princess.  My Nephew drove his car directly in front of where the baggage was being taken, the gentleman took my luggage from the trunk, placed into the area where it would be loaded onto the ship.  No waiting around or effort made expecting a tip (I was prepared).  I said my good-byes to my Nephew and off I went into the terminal.  Easiest and as stress free of an embarkation I ever have had!

 

Porters at Fort Lauderdale?  I have no complaints.  Courteous, helpful, friendly--often wishing me a pleasant cruise--and appreciative of whatever $$ I offer them.

 

January, I will encounter the Porters at Miami for the first time when I embark MSC Meraviglia.  I wonder what that experience will be like.  But, being a YC guest, that may possibly "color" my experience.

[Cruzaholic41]

As always with porter threads, this thread is full of misinformation regurgitated by people who read fake news in past porter threads. 🙄
 

My BIL is a porter in Miami. He is not a longshoreman and he does not make 6 figures handling cruise luggage. He works 3 jobs to make ends meet and he drives an early 90s Ford Ranger because it’s all he can afford. Furthermore, he has a heart of gold, so I can’t imagine him ever being rude to people. 
 

[Trickie Dickie]

20 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

As always with porter threads, this thread is full of misinformation regurgitated by people who read fake news in past porter threads. 🙄
 

My BIL is a porter in Miami. He is not a longshoreman and he does not make 6 figures handling cruise luggage. He works 3 jobs to make ends meet and he drives an early 90s Ford Ranger because it’s all he can afford. Furthermore, he has a heart of gold, so I can’t imagine him ever being rude to people. 
 

I bet if you ask your brother-in-law he could probably give you some stories about his coworkers. 🤔

 

You could start off by asking him why they always wish each other a happy birthday every day. Do they think we’re stupid? 
 

Thanks! 

[NLH Arizona]

9 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

The concept of tipping is likely more relative to the US market and may be expected by those baggage handlers, but courtesy should be worldwide.  And BTW, we also have not encountered issues in the US as described by the OP.  Although some friendlier than others, they have always been courteous with us. Unfortunately, our least pleasant experience with less than courteous staff was in Vancouver, BC.  I guess people can have bad days wherever they are based.

I've always had baggage handlers who were friendly, with the exception of one, and never asked for for a tip.  After they take my bags, I'll give them a tip and thank them and I always get a thank you.  That one was in the UK and he was so rude and threw my bags....I didn't tip him, because I did research, but felt he thought everyone from the US should tip him and when I didn't, that is when he threw my bags. 

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

As always with porter threads, this thread is full of misinformation regurgitated by people who read fake news in past porter threads. 🙄
 

My BIL is a porter in Miami. He is not a longshoreman and he does not make 6 figures handling cruise luggage. He works 3 jobs to make ends meet and he drives an early 90s Ford Ranger because it’s all he can afford. Furthermore, he has a heart of gold, so I can’t imagine him ever being rude to people. 
 

 

I might have misread, but I think an earlier post made a distinction between a porter and a longshoreman.  Do they also have longshoremen at the Maimi terminal?  

[Aquahound]

20 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I've heard this here on CC but never experienced anything remotely like a threat.  Have you actually experienced this?  

 

I guess I've been lucky.  50-something cruises and I've yet to encounter a porter who is rude or trying to extort a tip.  Then again, I'm not a jerk to them, so maybe that has something to do with it. 😉

[Cruzaholic41]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

I might have misread, but I think an earlier post made a distinction between a porter and a longshoreman.  Do they also have longshoremen at the Maimi terminal?  

I might have missed that. But other posts insist they’re the same, which is wrong. 
 

Yes, there are longshoremen in Miami. The guys driving the forklifts who load the luggage on to the ship are longshoremen. People on these boards tend to erroneously assume the porters and longshoremen are one in the same. They’re not. 

[SRF]

On 12/10/2019 at 4:38 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Not speaking for SRF, but I think they essentially are one and the same. To my understanding SRF is correct regarding seniority and a pecking order of jobs - and shift times. So those helping with your luggage off the ship may be at a different seniority than those checking it in upon arrival.  In either case they are not cruise line employees and are employed by the Port Authority,

 

I have heard, that at least at some ports, the porters who will take your luggage from the claim area to your car are not longshoremen.

 

From the ship to the luggage claim area ARE longshoremen, but you don't interact with them.

 

[leaveitallbehind]

50 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

I have heard, that at least at some ports, the porters who will take your luggage from the claim area to your car are not longshoremen.

 

From the ship to the luggage claim area ARE longshoremen, but you don't interact with them.

 

 

Yeah I think you are right - they may not all be longshoreman.  Those loading the ship with supplies via forklift, etc., are.  But either way they are typically part of a union, employed by the Port Authority, and are not cruise line employees.  

[Ferry_Watcher]

All the porters at Seattle's Pier 91 are union Longshoremen.  These folks (men and women) wear either the orange or yellow vests and take your luggage in the driveway area of Pier 91.  They do not solicit tips, and generally speaking, are pleasant, polite and helpful.  Their supervisor sets a high personal conduct standard for his very diverse work crew, and it shows.  This is one of the reasons that Seattle was voted best North American Home Port 2019 cruise port by Cruise Critic members.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WASEATTLEPORT/bulletins/26fc8d2

[sft429]

We won a cruise from the Powerball Lottery.  A chartered bus furnished by Powerball picked us up from our hotel and delivered us to the pier.  The bus driver unloaded all the luggage from the baggage bins before they let us off.  When we were finally told to get off the bus there was a single luggage handler (who hadn't lifted a finger yet) standing in a sea of luggage yelling at all of us remember to tip him.  He had no idea whose luggage was whose and I don't think a single one of us made our way over to him to hand him a tip.  Wish I'd have taken a little video of that because it was comical.  

[Joebucks]

The last time I left my bag with a porter, I tipped them $5 and my bag went "missing". Luckily, I found it after having to spend some time at guest services. The whole process is one I just skip. I gladly carry my own bag on now to ensure I have it.

[leaveitallbehind]

46 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

The last time I left my bag with a porter, I tipped them $5 and my bag went "missing". Luckily, I found it after having to spend some time at guest services. The whole process is one I just skip. I gladly carry my own bag on now to ensure I have it.

 

Missing apparently after it was loaded onto the ship and not delivered to your room as expected? (Why else would you be at guest services asking).  If so the porter did what he was supposed to do. That can happen if a room tag comes off, or the luggage is placed in the wrong delivery sector, etc., etc.  

 

Not questioning your choice of carrying it on - just trying to clarify where the responsibility was.

[Joebucks]

15 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Missing apparently after it was loaded onto the ship and not delivered to your room as expected? (Why else would you be at guest services asking).  If so the porter did what he was supposed to do. That can happen if a room tag comes off, or the luggage is placed in the wrong delivery sector, etc., etc.  

 

Not questioning your choice of carrying it on - just trying to clarify where the responsibility was.

I don't really care who''s responsibility it was. Apparently, tipping the employee did nothing to ensure my bag was delivered. So instead, I'd rather take the sure method, and bring it up myself. Plus, I save $5.

 

It's like tipping the waiter but I never got my dinner. Sure it may not be the waiter's fault, but I didn't even eat. Not paying for that person to be there.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Joebucks

[SRF]

40 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

I don't really care who''s responsibility it was. Apparently, tipping the employee did nothing to ensure my bag was delivered. So instead, I'd rather take the sure method, and bring it up myself. Plus, I save $5.

 

The longshoremen get the luggage onto the ship.  From there on, it is a function of the crew.

 

If it made it on the ship, the longshoreman did his job.

[leaveitallbehind]

39 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

I don't really care who''s responsibility it was. Apparently, tipping the employee did nothing to ensure my bag was delivered. So instead, I'd rather take the sure method, and bring it up myself. Plus, I save $5.

 

It's like tipping the waiter but I never got my dinner. Sure it may not be the waiter's fault, but I didn't even eat. Not paying for that person to be there.

 

I get that, but tipping the porter has no bearing on having the luggage delivered to your stateroom once on board - only that it will get on board, which is his responsibility.  Once on board it is the ship staff's responsibility - and my point is no amount of tip to the porter will assure their job on board.  It seems to me as though you are trying to connect the two and they are separate functions.  

[Cruzaholic41]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I don't really care who''s responsibility it was. Apparently, tipping the employee did nothing to ensure my bag was delivered. So instead, I'd rather take the sure method, and bring it up myself. Plus, I save $5.

 

It's like tipping the waiter but I never got my dinner. Sure it may not be the waiter's fault, but I didn't even eat. Not paying for that person to be there.

No, that’s like tipping your waiter and then blaming him for getting acid reflux later that night. 

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

No, that’s like tipping your waiter and then blaming him for getting acid reflux later that night. 

 

Although it has already been stated, I think maybe what Joebucks is missing in this is that the porters who load the luggage on the ship are not employed by the cruise line - they are a separate company from the cruise lines with the singular responsibility to load the baggage on the ship. All your tip does is help assure that your luggage gets on the ship.

 

Once that is done, it is up to the cruise line employees as a different company to handle their separate responsibility of delivering that luggage to your stateroom.  The two actions are separate and performed by separate companies.

 

Not understanding would be why the "tipping the waiter" analogy doesn't work as the waiter works for the same company as the chef and his job is to both take the order and deliver it to your table.  Completely different situations.

Edited December 13, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[Nic6318]

7 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

I get that, but tipping the porter has no bearing on having the luggage delivered to your stateroom once on board - only that it will get on board, which is his responsibility.  Once on board it is the ship staff's responsibility - and my point is no amount of tip to the porter will assure their job on board.  It seems to me as though you are trying to connect the two and they are separate functions.  

 

Hi

 

I am glad that the fact that tipping the porters at the curbside has no bearing on your luggage being delivered to your stateroom is being repeated often in this thread. There are many on this site who think tipping a lot is critical. Of course people can tip whomever they like as much as they like, but to suggest that these individuals should be tipped any more than what the cruise lines suggest (which is $1-2 per bag) if at all, is doing a disservice to those who are unsure and just asking for direction.

[Heidi13]

On 12/11/2019 at 3:06 PM, Cruzaholic41 said:

As always with porter threads, this thread is full of misinformation regurgitated by people who read fake news in past porter threads. 🙄
 

My BIL is a porter in Miami. He is not a longshoreman and he does not make 6 figures handling cruise luggage. He works 3 jobs to make ends meet and he drives an early 90s Ford Ranger because it’s all he can afford. Furthermore, he has a heart of gold, so I can’t imagine him ever being rude to people. 
 

Well the information I provided is certainly not fake news, it is from first hand experience, having worked in the industry for 40+ yrs. As I mentioned, in most ports the baggage handlers are Longshoremen. However, their are always a few exceptions.

[SRF]

19 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

No, that’s like tipping your waiter and then blaming him for getting acid reflux later that night. 

 

More like tipping the waiter, then wondering why the valet takes so long to get your car.

[SRF]

14 hours ago, Nic6318 said:

Hi

 

I am glad that the fact that tipping the porters at the curbside has no bearing on your luggage being delivered to your stateroom is being repeated often in this thread. There are many on this site who think tipping a lot is critical. Of course people can tip whomever they like as much as they like, but to suggest that these individuals should be tipped any more than what the cruise lines suggest (which is $1-2 per bag) if at all, is doing a disservice to those who are unsure and just asking for direction.

 

Heck, I only tip $1 per bag for a hotel porter to take my luggage from curbside, to my room, into my room, with at least one bag on the luggage stand.

 

To think I would tip more than that for someone to move it 3 feet and into a bin?????????

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Heck, I only tip $1 per bag for a hotel porter to take my luggage from curbside, to my room, into my room, with at least one bag on the luggage stand.

 

To think I would tip more than that for someone to move it 3 feet and into a bin?????????

....there are those that would feel that the tip is maybe just peace of mind to be sure it reaches that bin 3 feet away. 😁

Edited December 13, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[Toofarfromthesea]

18 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Well the information I provided is certainly not fake news, it is from first hand experience, having worked in the industry for 40+ yrs. As I mentioned, in most ports the baggage handlers are Longshoremen. However, their are always a few exceptions.

 

Yeah, I am believing you and our chief engineer friend.  You both have been credible for a long time here and you are in agreement.

[Cruzaholic41]

20 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Well the information I provided is certainly not fake news, it is from first hand experience, having worked in the industry for 40+ yrs. 

First hand?  You’ve been in the baggage handling industry for 40+ years?  🤔

Edited December 14, 2019 by Cruzaholic41