How much to tip baggage handlers at cruise terminal?

We'll be sailing from San Pedro, CA. I know we can't completely insure that our luggage will arrive safely and in a timely manner to our cabin but I would like to tip generously so perhaps our 2 large pieces of luggage will be handled with care.

 

How much do you normally tip the baggage handlers at the cruise terminal?

 

Sandy

FWIW,

 

I don't know if I'm an over tipper or under tipper, but I tip ~$2 per bag. I have been fortunate enough to not have any missing or absurdly late bags in 20 cruises.

 

At one particular terminal, I tipped the usual amount only to watch him drag the 4 bags about 15 feet into a cage!

We $1 per bag for a weekender size; $1.50 or $2 for the big, heavy ones.

Hi

 

As you may already known, but may not be common knowledge, the "porters" at the cruise terminal are longshoremen. They are not necessarily cruise employees.

 

A great tip might not insure speedy delivery to your room, because if the crate with your bags goes in first, although it is aboard ship, it may be "stuck" behind all the over crates and the last to be unloaded. The longshoremen merely get the stuff aboard ship. It is the ship's crew who get it from steerage to your room. So as far as "handled with care," the tip to the longshoremen has nothing to do with how your bags are handled aboard ship.

 

However, while the longshoremen may only move your bags 15 feet to that crate, that is the essential last step. Two thoughts-

 

1. Its probably the LACK of a tip that will do you more damage than the exact amount of tip will do you good.

 

2. What if you "over-tip" by a dollar, two, or even five. That is NOTHING compared to the lovely time you would have in your bags spent the whole cruise in the terminal.

 

Good luck

Most ports have "Tipping not required" signs. however its not worth taking a chance on ruining your cruiser. We always tip $2/bag.

The longshoremen are making $25-$45 an hour. Your bags will get to your room if you tip or not. It just may take longer if you don't tip.

We have never tipped the longshoremen and have noticed no difference in how the bags are handled and when they get to our cabin. The longshoremen have no control over the delivery of bags on the ship. As the previous poster mentioned, these workers are well paid and not working for tips as those in the service industry must do.:)

Interesting discussion. I always like to tip well just to make sure my bags get on the ship. My DH believes that as longshoremen, they are paid well and although he is willing to tip, doesn not like to give alot since he feels they are paid for their work and are only moving the bags some times as little as 5 feet.

 

Well a couple of cruises ago, at DH's request, we tipped, but not that well. We were literally next to the metal carrier that the luggage was being placed in and for that matter, could have put it in ourselves. Well one bag, my husbands came to us on the ship with a large deep cut, about 10", essentially ruining the bag. Looked like a sharp box cutter or something had been used on it. To this day, I still wonder if it happened on accident or if the porter did it. When we dropped this luggage off with him, he seemed quite threatening, saying something like I'm the one that makes sure you get you luggage and that's in one piece. Kind of felt like a shake down.

 

I Wonder???

 

Anyway, the last cruise we tipped according to how much I wanted to tip and the porter seemed surprised and thanked us very politely for the tip. Huge contrast from the previous porter.

I dont know if a tip is required, but it is good for peace of mind. :)

I tip also very nicely. As a vent here, do we all need to live in fear if we do not tip?

San Pedro is one of the few Ports that has a large sign

 

Do Not Tip

 

Tipping is Definitely not required or even expected if you sail out of a UK Port like Dover or Southampton

We also tip $2 per bag but it is to ensure the luggage makes it onto the ship. On our last cruise, we actually saw the Princess employee who delivered one bag. We did tip him too(it was heavy!) and the next thing we know there is a knock and it is the same guy w/ the rest of our luggage. ;)

.............2. What if you "over-tip" by a dollar, two, or even five. That is NOTHING compared to the lovely time you would have in your bags spent the whole cruise in the terminal.

Most ports have "Tipping not required" signs. however its not worth taking a chance on ruining your cruiser. We always tip $2/bag.

Anyway, the last cruise we tipped according to how much I wanted to tip and the porter seemed surprised and thanked us very politely for the tip. Huge contrast from the previous porter.

I dont know if a tip is required, but it is good for peace of mind.

I tip also very nicely. As a vent here, do we all need to live in fear if we do not tip?

We also tip $2 per bag but it is to ensure the luggage makes it onto the ship. On our last cruise, we actually saw the Princess employee who delivered one bag. We did tip him too(it was heavy!) and the next thing we know there is a knock and it is the same guy w/ the rest of our luggage. ;)

Sorry to say...... Looks like the extortion continues to work. Tipping should be for service rendered...... not for fear of retaliation.

 

If my bag got trashed (like the poster who's was sliced with a boxcutter)..... Princess would know and I would expect them to make it good.

 

But then.... I personnally make sure mine get into the bin (sometimes putting them in myself, and then I watch others get loaded on top before I leave.

The longshoremen are making $25-$45 an hour. Your bags will get to your room if you tip or not. It just may take longer if you don't tip.

 

Sorry to disagree but ....

 

2 cruises ago - I tipped very little and one bag had it's tag ripped off and I found it while I was going to dinner in front on the purser's desk.

 

They do get pissed off and can cause problems.

But then.... I personnally make sure mine get into the bin (sometimes putting them in myself, and then I watch others get loaded on top before I leave.

 

Can I put our bags in the luggage bin myself? It sounds absurd that I have to tip someone to move something 15' that I have been schleping across country myself. Especially when they make more money than I do as a nurse.

 

I was watching Cruise Do's and Dont's on the travel chanell last night and they said that they take your bag at the terminal then scan it before it goes on board ship. Do they scan it after you drop it off or as you drop it off? (we are sailing out of SF on tuesday:) We can hardly wait)

But then.... I personnally make sure mine get into the bin (sometimes putting them in myself, and then I watch others get loaded on top before I leave.

 

Can I put our bags in the luggage bin myself? It sounds absurd that I have to tip someone to move something 15' that I have been schleping across country myself. Especially when they make more money than I do as a nurse.

 

I was watching Cruise Do's and Dont's on the travel chanell last night and they said that they take your bag at the terminal then scan it before it goes on board ship. Do they scan it after you drop it off or as you drop it off? (we are sailing out of SF on tuesday:) We can hardly wait)

If I have two bags (usually large and fairly heavy) I do $5. I can't see having four singles for two bags. $5 is nice and "round". One bag would get $2.

Sorry to say...... Looks like the extortion continues to work. Tipping should be for service rendered...... not for fear of retaliation.

 

If my bag got trashed (like the poster who's was sliced with a boxcutter)..... Princess would know and I would expect them to make it good.

 

But then.... I personnally make sure mine get into the bin (sometimes putting them in myself, and then I watch others get loaded on top before I leave.

 

While it may not be right, its an unfortunate fact. And unless your going to watch the bin until they finish filling it and forklift it onto the ship, you're going to have to leave it sometime while its on the dock.

 

Its the same reason you never tick off your waitstaff at a restaurant or you will end up with extra "presents" in your food you don't even know about. (have seen this happen!)

Port Canaveral also has signs saying not to tip. These longshoremen are union and very well paid, probably most make more than your average cruiser. I have a real issue with someone who basically demands a tip from you. These guys are paid to load your luggage. That is their job. We usually tip them but only because I'm not sure I want to find out what might happen if we don't. Although last cruise we gave them $5 for 4 bags and one bag had the whole tag torn off and the other was missing part of the tag. The one with the whole tag missing wasn't found for us by our steward until about 7:30 pm. We got our other 3 bags before 5. The guys onboard who deliver (and pickup) the luggage to your cabins are the ones that do the most work.

Trust me, in San Pedro offer some kind of tip ! We speak from experience. We arrived in a van and in the confusion we failed to tip the handler. We found our bags several hours later in the baggage area of the ship with all the luggage tags torn off. There were several other bags there also. Even if it's only a couple of dollars it will be worth it in the long run. :confused:

 

Sorry to say...... Looks like the extortion continues to work. Tipping should be for service rendered...... not for fear of retaliation.

 

If my bag got trashed (like the poster who's was sliced with a boxcutter)..... Princess would know and I would expect them to make it good.

 

But then.... I personnally make sure mine get into the bin (sometimes putting them in myself, and then I watch others get loaded on top before I leave.

This is one of my pet peeves. The people who work dockside, filling the bins and running the forklifts, definitely earn the "living wage" (and then some) that gets discussed in all the other tipping thredas, plus have all the benefits they can ask for. We already pay for these things with our port fees. It's not just extortion, it's highway robbery, and I'm willing to bet that none of this extra income is reported so that taxes can be assessed. It boils down to the fact that these people are making us pay twice for a service, then stiffing our schools and health care and all those wonderful social things that unions demand in their contracts. :mad:

 

Why don't the dock managers do anything? My guess is that they get a cut of all that money people give. It wouldn't surprise me to found out that upwards of $10K is gathered from this practice. There oughta be a law!

I don't know as I believe it is done in retaliation. I think they just don't care if the tags get torn off or the luggage damaged. It's just a job to them, and it isn't their luggage or vacation, so no extra care is taken at all whether you tip or not.

 

My friend and I both tipped $5 for two bags (1 large and 1 small). Both pieces of my luggage arrived intact to the cabin. Her carry-on bag arrived at the same time. NO sign of her large suitcase. We waited until about 8:00 pm then finally asked the cabin steward. He suggested we go down to the lobby to look at the luggage that had no tags. Sure enough, her suitcase was there minus all tags (her personal nametag and the cruiseline tags). The only thing still on the suitcase was her identifying ribbons on the handle. Just the luck of the draw that it was her suitcase and not mine, as the same porter took them both at the same time on the same cart.

This is one of my pet peeves. The people who work dockside, filling the bins and running the forklifts, definitely earn the "living wage" (and then some) that gets discussed in all the other tipping thredas, plus have all the benefits they can ask for. We already pay for these things with our port fees. It's not just extortion, it's highway robbery, and I'm willing to bet that none of this extra income is reported so that taxes can be assessed. It boils down to the fact that these people are making us pay twice for a service, then stiffing our schools and health care and all those wonderful social things that unions demand in their contracts. :mad:

 

Why don't the dock managers do anything? My guess is that they get a cut of all that money people give. It wouldn't surprise me to found out that upwards of $10K is gathered from this practice. There oughta be a law!

 

While I happily leave on the auto tips and always give extra, it really kills me to tip these dock porters. It's extortion! We actully had one tell us the tip wasn't enough-he didn't see the other bill folded inside. :mad:

Back in the day, the docks were almost totally mob controlled. Kinda makes you wonder if the mentalilty might still be there :confused:

Can I put our bags in the luggage bin myself? It sounds absurd that I have to tip someone to move something 15' that I have been schleping across country myself. Especially when they make more money than I do as a nurse.

 

I was watching Cruise Do's and Dont's on the travel chanell last night and they said that they take your bag at the terminal then scan it before it goes on board ship. Do they scan it after you drop it off or as you drop it off? (we are sailing out of SF on tuesday:) We can hardly wait)

 

In my experience, it isn't even 15 feet. I find it frustrating also, but if you try to load it on yourself, they will likely stop you. It depends on who the porter is. We were going to just toss our stuff in the bin, but the ported came up and stood between us and the bin and took the luggage. Since we were standing next to the bin, he moved it maybe 3 feet. Seems absurd.