What to tip bag handlers at pier in NYC?

[All-ready2cruise]

Just keep on walking honey, keep on walking....... 

[complawyer]

i'm sorry, all-ready2cruise : what in the world are you talking about?

[laudergayle]

20 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

$5 total at most

I value your opinion.  $5 per bag or $5 total for 2 (or more) bags? We’ve been doing $5 total for two and reading this thread has made me question our amount.

[BirdTravels]

58 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

I value your opinion.  $5 per bag or $5 total for 2 (or more) bags? We’ve been doing $5 total for two and reading this thread has made me question our amount.

$5 total is sufficient.

 

Most people I see give a buck a bag. 2 bags, $2. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by BirdTravels

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

$5 total is sufficient.

 

Most people I see give a buck a bag. 2 bags, $2. 

Yeah, I agree.  As mentioned earlier, half the people don't tip anything, so I'm sure that any amount is appreciated.  On our last cruise, the porter was really a take charge guy (greatly appreciated in the chaos that is the Miami NCL terminal) and I think I gave him a 5.

[cruiseny4life]

Maybe I'm cheap. Maybe I'm not. These porters do the least amount of work of anyone to make my cruise enjoyable. They literally take my bag twenty feet (Miami), 50 feet (Manhattan). I give them $2. If I had two bags, I'd give them $4. You can do the math from there.

[JGmf]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

$5 total is sufficient.

 

Agreed. That's my usual in NYC.

[ICutTheCheese]

On 4/2/2023 at 10:40 AM, BirdTravels said:

$5 total is sufficient.

 

Most people I see give a buck a bag. 2 bags, $2. 

 

Whatever you choose to give is sufficient..  It is your money to spend (or not) however you elect/

 

[SeaShark]

On 4/2/2023 at 5:13 PM, cruiseny4life said:

These porters do the least amount of work of anyone to make my cruise enjoyable.

 

Yet if they fail to do that very simple job, they can negatively impact your cruise greater than most anyone else can...

[cruiseny4life]

9 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Yet if they fail to do that very simple job, they can negatively impact your cruise greater than most anyone else can...

I think my feet would be the only part of me that would care. My sneakers are the only thing I need in the bag. I love my flippie floppies, but for a long port day, my feet want a wee bit of extra support. Extra clothes would be nice but I'd make do/purchase some clothes in port, if possible. Oh! And I wouldn't be able to play Cards Against Humanity as it goes in the checked bag. 

 

But, I get your point, especially for those that care about what they wear, bring lots of accoutrements, etc. It just wouldn't impact me a lot as it's just clothes which are easily replaceable. 

[mickeysgal]

On 4/1/2023 at 1:33 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Based upon my non-scientific observations, over half of the passengers don't tip them anything.  Anything I give them will make me one of the good folks.😎

Same as what we've seen.  

[SeaShark]

On 4/1/2023 at 1:33 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Based upon my non-scientific observations, over half of the passengers don't tip them anything.  

 

On 4/2/2023 at 10:40 AM, BirdTravels said:

Most people I see give a buck a bag. 

 

Really? You're at the pier...time to cruise...and you're watching closely enough to see and note (mental or otherwise) who tips the porters and how much?

 

I'm surprised that anyone would care one iota about what other people tip.

[hawkeyetlse]

When you’re standing in line, it’s pretty easy to see whether or not the people right in front of you tip the porters. And at that point it is very important to try to see exactly how much they are tipping, because the folks who say they give $10-$15 per bag are actually paying it forward and tipping for the next 3 or 4 couples, too.

[SeaShark]

16 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

When you’re standing in line, it’s pretty easy to see whether or not the people right in front of you tip the porters. And at that point it is very important to try to see exactly how much they are tipping, because the folks who say they give $10-$15 per bag are actually paying it forward and tipping for the next 3 or 4 couples, too.

 

Why would it be "very important" to see how much someone else tips? Are we playing "keep up with the Joneses"? How would we know if the person we observe overtipped or undertipped?

 

And the comments I was referring to go beyond the person in front of you...you don't comment on what "over half of the passengers" do based on observing one.

 

Still....I'm surprised that anyone would care one iota about what other people tip.

[spotfish]

My brother is a longshoreman here and will take a cruise ship job on the weekends from time to time and $5-$10 a bag is average I'd say with the top end being MUCH higher!

[wolft927]

So no matter how many bags if its my wife and I or my wife and kids with us, we tip $20 for all the bags. Again, Tipping is open for debate, i like to do it but doesnt mean its right or wrong. 

[BostonGal35]

for carry on size bags, usually $1 or $2 a bag.  for a full size suitcase, $5 per bag.  they are always grateful and i get the sense many dont tip anything which is crazy.  

[spanishguy1970]

We already said what we tip, but i should have said it varies depending on how heavy the bag is. I will say this, is a personal thing what people tip, i have said it before tip what your pocket allows, don't go by what people tell you. I get a kick out of threads people freaking out how much extra they should tip on board, whether to remove or lower the daily gratuities at the end of the cruise. Tipping is optional, is your budget and is no ones business. IMO

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, SeaShark said:

Really? You're at the pier...time to cruise...and you're watching closely enough to see and note (mental or otherwise) who tips the porters and how much?

 

I'm surprised that anyone would care one iota about what other people tip.

I'm surprised that anybody would care one iota what @BirdTravels and @ChiefMateJRK are looking at while they patiently wait in a short line to hand over their bags.

[cruiseny4life]

10 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm surprised that anybody would care one iota what @BirdTravels and @ChiefMateJRK are looking at while they patiently wait in a short line to hand over their bags.

My guess is, you'd probably be surprised! 

[SeaShark]

13 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm surprised that anybody would care one iota what @BirdTravels and @ChiefMateJRK are looking at while they patiently wait in a short line to hand over their bags.

 

As evidenced by the fact that nobody even asked, I don't think that anyone does care...

 

However, we all know since you had to make sure to tell everyone about your skills at monitoring other passengers.

[BirdTravels]

16 hours ago, ICutTheCheese said:

Whatever you choose to give is sufficient..  It is your money to spend (or not) however you elect/

 

The point is that it is "appropriate" (i.e., you should do it) tip the porters and not stiff them. Just like it is "appropriate" to tip a waiter and not walk out and stiff them. 

[Lakesregion]

21 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Yet if they fail to do that very simple job, they can negatively impact your cruise greater than most anyone else can...

Totally agree. I always make certain the luggage guys are happy with my bags. $20 is not to much to have the bags (All of them) on board the ship when it sails. Strange things can happen at load in if the luggage guy thinks you are a putz

[Peachypooh]

I think the porters do care. We had three bags and I had four five dollar bills

in case different porters took our bags. As it turned out one porter took all

three. I handed him $20 in fives and said here is $20 for the three bags. He stood

there and counted it. LOL That's OK it is back breaking work and I probably should

have tipped more.

[ICutTheCheese]

Just tip what you want and be done with it.