Tipping porters at embarkation?

Just curious what everyone thinks is an appropriate tip for porters (per bag) for taking yours bags at embarkation?

Do you think there is any difference in the handling of bags if you tip less or more?

We give $3 /bag. Usually they stuff it in a pocket without even looking at how much it is. Once we got a bag mashed badly but that may just have been the bad luck of being on the bottom of cart.

We tip about $1.00 per bag and I do it because we want too. I don't think it makes any difference how your bag is handled. It's random luck whether or not there is any damage. The porters are very helpful regarding getting you HAL luggage tags and always have a pen handy for you to put your room number and name on it.

We tip $1.00 per bag at embarkation and $2.00 per bag at disembarkation, because they stay with us through customs. So at that time, if it turns out to be $6.00 we give ten. If it is 16.00 we give twenty....

We've only cruised out of Seattle on the Alaska trips. We give $5.00 at embarkation. DH is on oxygen and can't walk far, so I drop him and luggage off and then park the car. By the time I get back on the shuttle the bags are on their merry way and DH is patiently waiting for me. On disembarking we do the same but we also have an additional $5.00 for the person who wheels DH off the ship to the shuttle.

Last March out of Ft Lauderdale I think I gave the porter something like $6 or $7 for four bags. We went over by cab fairly early and when the taxi driver stopped at the terminal we were one of only two or three cabs at the drop off point. One of the big luggage cages was right there, I mean like not more than eight feet away so it wasn't like the porter had to haul our baggages very far. In fact, he didn't even use a cart. We had our luggage tags on our bags so didn't even need his assistance with that....though he had a handful of tags if we had needed them.

We've always tipped $1 per bag, and it's been that for over 10 years. This makes think perhaps I need to revise my tipping schedule cause I know my own expenses have risen over that time. We tend not to check more than 3 bags to perhaps a $5 for this upcoming cruise.

We've always tipped $5 for two large bags. I do not believe what you tip makes any difference to how your luggage is handled. The porters don't usually even have time to look at how much you have given them, let alone differentiate between bags.:rolleyes:

Standard is $1-2 per bag....I think $3 is quite generous!

We've always tipped $1 per bag, and it's been that for over 10 years. This makes think perhaps I need to revise my tipping schedule cause I know my own expenses have risen over that time. We tend not to check more than 3 bags to perhaps a $5 for this upcoming cruise.

I was hoping someone would say this. As long as we've been traveling which is at least 40+ years, people have always said $1 per bag. Without a whole dissertation on whether tipping is necessary or not, IF you choose to tip, do you agree it's time to make it a bit more than $1 per bag? :D Just seems time to up it just a bit.

JMO....

T.I.P.= To Inusre Promptnss.

Use your judgment.

I was hoping someone would say this. As long as we've been traveling which is at least 40+ years, people have always said $1 per bag. Without a whole dissertation on whether tipping is necessary or not, IF you choose to tip, do you agree it's time to make it a bit more than $1 per bag? :D Just seems time to up it just a bit.

 

 

JMO....

Judy, I believe that you stated on a previous (tipping) thread that you tipped the porter(s) $20 at embarkation! :eek: That is very generous! ;)

That is true. I always have a $20 bill in my hand. Always.

We tip $5 for 2 bags and when we have the 2 kids/2 more bags we give another $5. Once, our 20 year-old son got some negative comments from a porter when he put his bag over separately and the porter didn't realize he was with us/on our "tip" but I overlook that incident as most of our porters have been kind/pleasant and very appreciative of our tip.

Thanks everyone for the replies. The reason for my question was that we have been doing about a dollar a bag...and then it hit me...that is what my Dad tipped when I was a kid...and I'm in my 50's! :eek:....So I thought it was time for a review to see how times have changed and how far in the past I have been living. I personally think I will up it to $2-3 per bag. Know they don't have a huge amount of hard work but don't want to slight them just the same.

I was hoping someone would say this. As long as we've been traveling which is at least 40+ years, people have always said $1 per bag. Without a whole dissertation on whether tipping is necessary or not, IF you choose to tip, do you agree it's time to make it a bit more than $1 per bag? :D Just seems time to up it just a bit.

 

 

JMO....

I was going over some old "memoriblia" the other day and came across the stuff we saved from our first cruise as a couple (my wife's first) - 13 years ago on Celebrity Century. I was struck by what HAS NOT gone up in price. We paid twice the fare for that 7 day cruise in comparable accomodations and at the same time of year over what we are paying for our upcoming cruise in 3 weeks. She had also saved our on board charge reciept and found that we spent that week about what we have always spent over the years for bar and excursions and spa.

That to say, Crusing is such a afforable vacation value it can be easy to over look that the people who provide the services we enjoy on those vacations live in the same economic realities as the rest of us. I believe it is definitely time to acknowledge that fact.

I was going over some old "memoriblia" the other day and came across the stuff we saved from our first cruise as a couple (my wife's first) - 13 years ago on Celebrity Century. I was struck by what HAS NOT gone up in price. We paid twice the fare for that 7 day cruise in comparable accomodations and at the same time of year over what we are paying for our upcoming cruise in 3 weeks. She had also saved our on board charge reciept and found that we spent that week about what we have always spent over the years for bar and excursions and spa.

 

That to say, Crusing is such a afforable vacation value it can be easy to over look that the people who provide the services we enjoy on those vacations live in the same economic realities as the rest of us. I believe it is definitely time to acknowledge that fact.

^^^ :) Like !!! ^^^

Don't forget the smile and a "thank you".:D

We don't have a lot of bags, three medium suitcases for three of us and I usually give them $3. I don't think it makes them treat your bags any different.

Kirk

We don't have a lot of bags, three medium suitcases for three of us and I usually give them $3. I don't think it makes them treat your bags any different.

 

Kirk

I suppose you are probably right all bags are handled the same but I'm curious........

How many years has $1 been the 'standard' per bag tip?

Time to up it?

Just asking?

I suppose you are probably right all bags are handled the same but I'm curious........

 

How many years has $1 been the 'standard' per bag tip?

Time to up it?

Just asking?

In my opinion, no. Do not forget, these men also receive a salary. On the other hand, if my traveling companion or I require additional assistance from the porters, then, an increase in the gratuity would most certainly be appropriate.

Just curious what everyone thinks is an appropriate tip for porters (per bag) for taking yours bags at embarkation?

 

Do you think there is any difference in the handling of bags if you tip less or more?

Zero. They are well paid longshoremen who just pick up your bag and carry it 8 feet to a luggage card. The crew on the ship do most of the work getting your stuff to your room.

DON

Zero. They are well paid longshoremen who just pick up your bag and carry it 8 feet to a luggage card. The crew on the ship do most of the work getting your stuff to your room.

 

DON

In my opinion, no. Do not forget, these men also receive a salary. On the other hand, if my traveling companion or I require additional assistance from the porters, then, an increase in the gratuity would most certainly be appropriate.

Exactly....when you tell me that their salaries have stayed the same during that 20+ years I will consider my $1 a bag as not enough.

T.I.P.= To Inusre Promptnss.

 

Use your judgment.

Etymology

There are common inaccurate claims[2] that "tip" (or "tips") is an acronym for a phrase such as "To Insure Prompt Service", "To Insure Proper Service", "To Improve Performance", "To Inspire Promptness" or "To Insure Promptness." These false backronyms contradict the verifiable etymology, as follows.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rogues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap"), but this derivation is "very uncertain".[3]

Zero. They are well paid longshoremen who just pick up your bag and carry it 8 feet to a luggage card. The crew on the ship do most of the work getting your stuff to your room.

 

DON

I'm not going to get all bent out of shape over a dollar or two. However....

To see them begging for money with the implied threat that something will happen to your bag if you don't pay them off ticks me off. I am fully capable of putting my luggage where it needs to go. If you need assistance and they provide that service and you would like to tip, then fine.

They are well paid to begin with. Then think about how many people are getting off and on the large cruise ships and how many people give them a couple of bucks. That adds up to a lot of additional money each day.

If the porters were employees of the cruise line or I walked away from the interaction feeling like I had been assisted by someone who genuinely enjoyed customer service instead of feeling like I had been the victim of extortion, it would be more pleasant experience.

As the poster noted, the crew on the ship do most of the work.

Our room stewards on our last cruise were so pleasant and so helpful, we eagerly rewarded them at the end of the cruise in addition to what was automatically charged to our account.