Do we need to tip the people we give the luggage to?

Hi. We are doing 3rd cruise in April from Fort Lauderdale. We traveled last year from there and the staff that took our bags were very rude and looked upset that we didn't give a tip. Everyone seems to want a tip

Are these people paid a decent wage or do their wages need to be subsidised by us like the waiters and housekeeping staff. The people we gave or bags to last year gave us the dirtiest looks when there was no cash given with the bags.

Coming from a no tipping background I can't grip on who we were supposed to tip. I used to be a flight attendant flying to the USA from Uk all the time and no one ever tipped me from the States.

I am someone who hates tipping but believes everyone should be paid a fair price and conpanies should charge for products that include their staff wages

Hi. We are doing 3rd cruise in April from Fort Lauderdale. We traveled last year from there and the staff that took our bags were very rude and looked upset that we didn't give a tip. Everyone seems to want a tip

 

Are these people paid a decent wage or do their wages need to be subsidised by us like the waiters and housekeeping staff. The people we gave or bags to last year gave us the dirtiest looks when there was no cash given with the bags.

 

Coming from a no tipping background I can't grip on who we were supposed to tip. I used to be a flight attendant flying to the USA from Uk all the time and no one ever tipped me from the States.

 

I am someone who hates tipping but believes everyone should be paid a fair price and conpanies should charge for products that include their staff wages

I don't tip based on what I think a person makes, I tip based on the service the person performs for me (with the caveat that the person must be doing something for which tips are normally given). I usually give the porter a dollar or two a bag at the pier and double that when I disembark if they go all the way to my car.

I fully understand your view but when in Rome...

From what I´ve read here the porters are union workers and there´s no need to tip them as they are paid decent wages (I´m sure I will be corrected if it´s wrong). However yes I do think they expect you to tip and I´m not talking about if it´s right for them to do so or not.

I know there´s as many opinions about it as there´s people out there. I always tip them and see it as a small price for a sort of insurance to make sure my bags make it onboard dry and in one piece. Afterall these guys are handling my stuff out of my sight and I don´t want to upset them.

Whether on land or at sea, we tip everyone.

I always tip when handing over my bags to the porters at the terminal. It is usually $1.00 per bag. Like mentioned above it is like a little insurance that your bags get to your room dry and in one piece. I never leave home without a stack of $1.00 bills. We also tip our driver who drops us off at the port. It seems like everyone has their hands out for $1.00. But it is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cost of the cruise.

The real question is do you want to see your bags again? Would you like them to be dry when they get to your cabin? If the answer is yes to eitherof these questions, then you should tip the porters $1 -$2 per bag. It really doesn't matter what you think about the wage structure or what you believ is a "good" wage for a porter, it is customary in the US to tip the porters. End of the story. ;)

Yes should have tipped something like $1/bag.

But like the OP, I think the whole US tipping system is flawed and it is there just so people can boast that they are not tight and demonstrate how wealthy they are and save the lives of the not so well off. The fact is their employers should pay them a decent wage and not the customers.

I tip just to satisfy their tipping system not that I really agree with for them doing their own job.

We always tip baggage handlers at the port or airport $2 per bag - more if really heavy. Doesn't matter what they make, they expect it as does a taxi or shuttle driver. Airline attendants are never tipped. As I would check things like tipping guidelines prior to traveling outside the US, I would expect those traveling here to do the same and adhere to those guidelines.

Really, it depends on how dry you like your bags...

The porters that we give our luggage to at the port. Yep give them a nice tip. Want our luggage to make it on the ship.;)

yes should have tipped something like $1/bag.

 

But like the op, i think the whole us tipping system is flawed and it is there just so people can boast that they are not tight and demonstrate how wealthy they are and save the lives of the not so well off. The fact is their employers should pay them a decent wage and not the customers.

 

I tip just to satisfy their tipping system not that i really agree with for them doing their own job.

Agree

Tip anyone who touches your bags.

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It shouldn't matter whether you want your luggage to be dry or not that you should tip.

On a rainy day, if you tip, will they put a blanket on your luggage to keep it dry? No I don't think so. If you don't tip do they chuck your luggage in to the sea? No I don't think so either.

This is the problem with the tipping culture, everyone should do the job they should be doing with a smile in a service industry whether tipped or not tipped. Employees should treat tips as a bonus rather than a rule.

I have no issues of giving tips for services I received but I do have an issue of giving tips to supplement their wages because their employers are not paying them decently. Also at 15-20% which is way over the top, 10% should be maximum. Customers feel like they are getting ripped off by the employer as they are paying the staff wages.

Yes should have tipped something like $1/bag.

 

But like the OP, I think the whole US tipping system is flawed and it is there just so people can boast that they are not tight and demonstrate how wealthy they are and save the lives of the not so well off. The fact is their employers should pay them a decent wage and not the customers.

 

I tip just to satisfy their tipping system not that I really agree with for them doing their own job.

But it is the system is flawed. It is what it is. I agree that everyone should get a a decent wage. If you want to sail on a ship where everyone gets a a decent wage. with no tipping allowed - try Regent. I love the line, but the cost is way over my head.

It shouldn't matter whether you want your luggage to be dry or not that you should tip.

 

On a rainy day, if you tip, will they put a blanket on your luggage to keep it dry? No I don't think so. If you don't tip do they chuck your luggage in to the sea? No I don't think so either.

Relax, it was a joke.

 

This is the problem with the tipping culture, everyone should do the job they should be doing with a smile in a service industry whether tipped or not tipped. Employees should treat tips as a bonus rather than a rule.

Sorry, doesn't work that way. Welcome to America.

Do you need to? Of course you don't. With few exceptions (places that automatically add tips - like restaraunts where you have a large party, etc..) tipping is a purely voluntary thing that is based on a service you receive.

With that said, I ALWAYS tip anyone who is responsible for anything I eat, or any of my personal belongings. This includes airport porters, hotel porters, cruise port porters, hotel housekeeping, cruise stateroom attendants, waiters/waitresses, bartenders, taxi/shuttle drivers, valet attendants, barbers/hair stylists, and the list probably goes on. I even tipped the "narrator" from a ghost tour we took on my last cruise. I personally felt he went above and beyond and kept me entertained. After doing so, I also received some great tips on local (non-tourist) places to eat. :)

I have a set minimum I feel is appropriate to pay each, and I budget it into my travel plans. To me it is part of my planned vacation expense. I don't do it to show I have money or wealth (which I don't) but to pay for a service received. And, I personally think in regards to luggage, it helps assure it makes it to it's final destination, and makes it there intact! ;)

Many of these jobs pay a VERY minimal wage and most of them pretty much survive/need the tips to support their families. Whether they should get paid a fair wage to begin with, is a whole other argument, but suffice it to say that most of them don't under their current systems.

Just my $.02.

Dan.

Indeed it is Welcome to America, maybe America should learn something from the rest of the world.

As for the prices going up for staff to get a decent wage. What's the real difference with me paying the cost of a cruise and all the tips now than me paying an all in one price? Probably not a lot.

As for Regent, do they provide a much better service and class hence the extra costs rather than tips included? Not that I know much about Regent.

Giving someone money so they don't damage your property is not tipping, it is giving in to extortion.

Are there still signs there that say tipping is not necessary?

It shouldn't matter whether you want your luggage to be dry or not that you should tip.

 

On a rainy day, if you tip, will they put a blanket on your luggage to keep it dry? No I don't think so. If you don't tip do they chuck your luggage in to the sea? No I don't think so either.

 

This is the problem with the tipping culture, everyone should do the job they should be doing with a smile in a service industry whether tipped or not tipped. Employees should treat tips as a bonus rather than a rule.

 

I have no issues of giving tips for services I received but I do have an issue of giving tips to supplement their wages because their employers are not paying them decently. Also at 15-20% which is way over the top, 10% should be maximum. Customers feel like they are getting ripped off by the employer as they are paying the staff wages.

While I agree that an employee should be paid a decent wage without the need to rely on the tips I have to point out this:

The customer is always the one paying the staff wages!!!

If the employer is paying higher wages the product gets more expensive. In the end the wages always come out of the pockets of the customer.

The baggage handler, who you turn your bags over to when you arrive at the port, is not the person who is responsible for getting your bags to your room. This baggage handler works for the pier - not the cruise line. Once the bags are on the ship, it is the ship personnel who are responsible for getting the bags to your stateroom. We never see those people, so it is hard to tip them.

I, honestly don't believe that if you don't tip, your bags will end up lost or wet. These guys are much too busy to keep a mental not and say "oh, the owner of that red suitcase didn't tip me, so before I load it onto the cruise ship I am going to grab it."

That being said, I do tip the dock workers a couple of dollars for our bags. Service industry custom I guess. Same way as I tip the porter at the hotel who gets me a cab or who passes my bags to the cab driver to load them into the cab.

It's not about how much they make. We tip. A few dollars is no big deal, seriously. It's not our business what they make and they are providing a service that requires them to lift all the crap that people pack. Not everyone keeps to the 50 lb airline limit because some drive to the port. I'm getting tired of all these tipping threads, especially since the porter one has been beaten to death and there are probably 50 of them if you search.

 

This is the problem with the tipping culture, everyone should do the job they should be doing with a smile in a service industry whether tipped or not tipped. Employees should treat tips as a bonus rather than a rule.

As a fellow (Scottish) Brit I have to say my definite advice is tip! We have cruised out of Ft L four times, with two large bags and one roll-on bag...we give the guy $5 for that, no big deal for us, having already tipped the taxi driver 20% rounded up.

Have you ever noticed the way USA bag handlers at the airport check-in "handle" your bags?:eek: Not such a problem on way home if the bag ends up smashed, but not good on the way to cruise!

Just do it, makes much more sense!

Like the system or hate the system. Argue the intellectual point of view or the common sense point of view...It matters not.

A buck a bag tends to insure the luggage tags do not disappear from your bags as they move to the staging area...and late in the day you get a call to come claim your bags. or your bags are the ones left sitting in the rain, or your bags are the ones that get runover by the cart, etc.

If the buck a bag thing bugs you so much, don't cruise with a UShome ported ship...problem solved.

While I agree that an employee should be paid a decent wage without the need to rely on the tips I have to point out this:

The customer is always the one paying the staff wages!!!

If the employer is paying higher wages the product gets more expensive. In the end the wages always come out of the pockets of the customer.

Indeed it does but as I said before I would rather the employer raise prices then I have the option to tip or not tip for the services I received rather than the current system that the customer more or less MUST tip because of their low wages. The tipping is no longer seen as services received but just a subsidise of low wages. It is turning into more or less begging.

If the employer raise prices by 15-20%, its the same for the customers as they are now as they have to pay that in tips but once wages increased, tipping should no longer be a rule.

With all these tipping questions on this forum and other travel related forum on US, one must realise that the issue lies with America rather than everybody else. I just can not believe how obedient the customers are in America supplementing all the staff wages in tips whereas the employers laughing all the way to the bank with their money.

When I said the system is flawed, why tip a waitress and not a cabin crew on a plane served you food and drinks at your seat? Why tip a bartender but not the spotty teenager at McDonalds who poured you a coke? It's one rule for some and one rule for others hence flawed!

Of course I can't change anything and I do obey the rules but it doesn't mean I agree with it and it is all just my views and opinions. At least I don't feel I get ripped off all the time by the employers as I don't live in America.

Indeed it is Welcome to America, maybe America should learn something from the rest of the world.

 

As for the prices going up for staff to get a decent wage. What's the real difference with me paying the cost of a cruise and all the tips now than me paying an all in one price? Probably not a lot.

 

As for Regent, do they provide a much better service and class hence the extra costs rather than tips included? Not that I know much about Regent.

Sorry you have such a problem with the way we do things. Right or wrong, it is how it is. Maybe, if you don't like it, don't travel to the US. Sheesh.