How do you tip a porter?

[riclop]

We give $5 for 2 bags.

[Treven]

HOW DO YOU TIP A PORTER?

 

Push real hard on one side. If he doesn't tip over, repeat procedure!

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

Satn

Guess that's sort of like tipping cows when they're asleep.

 

I also tip a couple bucks per bag; $5 for two rolling duffels and a carry-on size bag. My actual carry-on with jewelry, meds & laptop, stays with me throughout the checkin process.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Treven

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

You do not tip them at all. They are all overpaid union dock workers who make on a prorated weekly basis (although I realize that their actual hours are limited) through tips than you or I make. All they do is carry your luggage 2 feet from the the car to a dolly. After that, the crew is responsible for the luggage.

 

If you want to tip someone who really works, tip the crew member who delivers the luggage.

 

DON

 

And their average salary is over $1K per year. Not bad for moving a 45 Lb bag 2 feet while the crew members who actually do most of the labor get minimum wage.

[latebloomer56]

Tipping? There was a longshoreman out of Miami that subtly implied that my luggage maybe would not make it to the ship unless I "tipped" him. He also agreed that $5 per bag would just about do it.

 

I always tip for good service, but being told I needed to was over the top.

 

Yes, I gave him $20 because I just did not want to deal with the alternative.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

Guess we have been real lucky, never had any issues with baggage.

We tip $2.00 a bag as a rule but we only have 1 or 2 bags. Unless it is from the ship to a taxi in NYC. These folks are always great and my husband will give them more accordingly.

Will watch out if we ever go through Miami though thanks for the heads up. To bad you didn't get his name quietly of course and report him after the bags were loaded. Jerks like this give hard working ladies and gentlemen on the docks a bad name.

[akeasley]

I don't like tipping the porters...why should I tip someone who moves my bag 2 feet (which I could do as well) and then insists they be taken care of?

 

I got into it once with a porter in San Fran who said if I didn't tip him than my bag wouldn't make it onto the ship. I told him he was a bully and that he can't make threats like that and I would be speaking to his supervisor.....that finally shut him up and my bag was waiting for me in my cabin.

[rpcv77]

At least I'm not the only one who is unhappy with the porters in. SF. My dd and I had one bag each for our cruise on the Grand this past April. The porter literally had to lift the bags several inches and place them on the trolley. I tipped $4.00. He turned to me and said, rather loudly, "Is that it ? I can't even buy lunch for that." I was furious!!! If I could have grabbed the money back, I would have done so. I simply glared at him and told him that with that attitude he was lucky to get anything. Then, I let it go because I was looking forward to a calm, relaxing cruise (which I got!). Talk about chutzpah... I don't want to punish other porters by not tipping, but it left a very bad taste in my mouth. Will be embarking in Seattle this June and hope I don't experience that again.

[iceleven]

We have never been threatened nor intimidated but we generally give a five for our two bags. Having lived on the east coast (NY, Philly, DC) we are used to tipping. If, for whatever reason, we didn't have any small cash on us and were to be intimidated or threatened, I'd just grab my cell phone and take a photo of the porter and let him know that it would be reported. People have got to stop allowing bullies to intimidate them.

[silvercruiser]

In Fort Lauderdale it's risky not to tip. One time I gave the guy $5 for three bags and he said, "This is all...for three bags?" I just smiled nicely. When our luggage was delivered a very nice leather luggage tag had been cut off.

[Kinkacruiser]

Is this topic referring to hotel or ship porters or both?

Once you drop you luggage off at the drop off point (embarkation) , one rarely never seen anyone handle it . It turns up at the cabin door just before sailaway...or later :rolleyes:.

[JimmyVWine]

My minimum is $10. If we have more than 5 or more bags, I up that to $20. I tend to be generous when my vacation starts as I am in a good mood. I also know that my luggage and its contents can't swim, so I like to fool myself into thinking that I am buying swift, safe passage of my belongings.

[Colo Cruiser]

And their average salary is over $1K per year. Not bad for moving a 45 Lb bag 2 feet while the crew members who actually do most of the labor get minimum wage.

 

 

 

Per year??? :eek:

 

Think they make that in less then 2 weeks just in tips. :cool:

[shredie]

I have never had a porter threaten me in San Francisco or anywhere else. I find this thread rather shocking. We always tip, never wait to be asked, generally $5 for two bags, sometimes more. I have never had a porter hold out his hand in expectation of a tip, either. My bags always make it intact to my stateroom. Maybe I just lead a charmed life.

[pablo222]

Get a couple guys, and a case of beer.

 

Drink beer.

 

Sneak up on porter, and up-end him.

 

Laugh hysterically.

[bhopal21]

My minimum is $10. If we have more than 5 or more bags, I up that to $20. I tend to be generous when my vacation starts as I am in a good mood. I also know that my luggage and its contents can't swim, so I like to fool myself into thinking that I am buying swift, safe passage of my belongings.

 

We do likewise beginning with the skycaps at our home airport.

 

Mike:)

[delirious9876]

I've never tipped the porters in 24 cruises

[delirious9876]

At least I'm not the only one who is unhappy with the porters in. SF. My dd and I had one bag each for our cruise on the Grand this past April. The porter literally had to lift the bags several inches and place them on the trolley. I tipped $4.00. He turned to me and said, rather loudly, "Is that it ? I can't even buy lunch for that." I was furious!!! If I could have grabbed the money back, I would have done so. I simply glared at him and told him that with that attitude he was lucky to get anything. Then, I let it go because I was looking forward to a calm, relaxing cruise (which I got!). Talk about chutzpah... I don't want to punish other porters by not tipping, but it left a very bad taste in my mouth. Will be embarking in Seattle this June and hope I don't experience that again.

That sort of comment from a porter is just shocking !! :(

[Colo Cruiser]

I've never tipped the porters in 24 cruises

 

 

Well thats something to be proud of.

[bhopal21]

Well thats something to be proud of.

 

 

That's what I was thinking as well.

 

Mike;)

[Thrak]

I've never tipped the porters in 24 cruises

 

Well thats something to be proud of.

 

I'd guess you're making a somewhat snarky comment but I'm actually pleased to find someone who doesn't feel compelled to tip the porter for doing a very minimal amount of work for which he is quite well compensated in the normal course of employment.

 

To be "forced" or "coerced" into tipping the porter so that your luggage won't suffer some sort of catastrophic "accident" is obscene. The porters are paid union scale and do quite well without being tipped.

 

Having said that, I tend to tip $5. That's plenty for someone to put my bag on a trolly. If every passenger tipped $5 the porter will make $100 in tips for every 20 passengers. If a porter makes union scale why would he also be "entitled" to $400 or $500 extra for a couple hours of loading luggage?

 

I don't feel I have to - if I felt I was being forced to do it I would respond very poorly. I'm with the person who said they would snap a photo with the phone and then file a complaint. Nobody is "entitled" to a tip.

[rpcv77]

Yes, it was shocking when the porter made that comment. I don't mind tipping, but when someone virtually demands a tip, or let's me know that my tip was not sufficient, I am truly shocked. Thankfully, in a long life of travel, this has been the only time something like this had happened to me.

[Colo Cruiser]

I'd guess you're making a somewhat snarky comment but I'm actually pleased to find someone who doesn't feel compelled to tip the porter for doing a very minimal amount of work for which he is quite well compensated in the normal course of employment.

 

To be "forced" or "coerced" into tipping the porter so that your luggage won't suffer some sort of catastrophic "accident" is obscene. The porters are paid union scale and do quite well without being tipped.

 

Having said that, I tend to tip $5. That's plenty for someone to put my bag on a trolly. If every passenger tipped $5 the porter will make $100 in tips for every 20 passengers. If a porter makes union scale why would he also be "entitled" to $400 or $500 extra for a couple hours of loading luggage?

 

I don't feel I have to - if I felt I was being forced to do it I would respond very poorly. I'm with the person who said they would snap a photo with the phone and then file a complaint. Nobody is "entitled" to a tip.

 

Oh please...

 

I would venture to say that this posters lack of tipping the porters carries over to ALL aspects of the their contacts within the service industry.

[f1mauro]

In Fort Lauderdale it's risky not to tip. One time I gave the guy $5 for three bags and he said, "This is all...for three bags?" I just smiled nicely. When our luggage was delivered a very nice leather luggage tag had been cut off.

 

Ft Lauderdale, once I did not leave a tip 'to their satisfaction', finally received our last piece of our luggage very late in the day. Why? because our stateroom number was incorrectly written from 12723 to 12237. As was mentioned before in this thread, EXTORTION is the perfect word for their behavior, bullying tourists for large tips. They should be investigated and properly dealt with for this inexcusible behavior IMHO.

[AZbeachboy]

Oh please...

 

I would venture to say that this posters lack of tipping the porters carries over to ALL aspects of the their contacts within the service industry.

 

Colo Cruiser, Your are probably right. You say a lot of things right. I

usually tip the porter, I mentioned that previously.

 

However, what ever good I do in life is because that is what I want to do in feeling I have done the right thing. Today, I found a credit card in the mall and turned it into store management. I felt good about it.

 

But I cannot controll or get upset about what other people do or do not do. They have a right to announce it here in this forum, just as I do. But I do not have a right to critize them. I just hope my luggage does not get lost.

[JimmyVWine]

I'd guess you're making a somewhat snarky comment but I'm actually pleased to find someone who doesn't feel compelled to tip the porter for doing a very minimal amount of work for which he is quite well compensated in the normal course of employment.

 

I don't care if a person earns $25,000 a year or $250,000 a year. If they work in a service industry and provide a service for me, I will tip them accordingly. When we cruise, we usually bring more luggage than I can comfortably carry. Yes, I know that this is on me, but that is the point. It is on me. I know because I am the one who carries it all out from the house to the car before we drive to the airport. It takes me several loads to get it all in the trunk, the back seat, the foot well on the passenger's front seat side, and so forth. I know, because I am the one who lugs it on to the airport shuttle after we park our car, and I know because I am the one who loads up the luggage cart (that I paid $5 for at the airport) once we arrive and sherpa it all to the hotel or rental car shuttle. I bring more luggage than I can carry, and there is no way that I could get all that stuff to my cabin without an ordeal. So when I arrive at the port and I have the opportunity to unload all of that luggage into the care and custody of a porter, in that moment I ask myself: "How much money would I pay to not have to see this luggage again until it arrives at my stateroom?" A simple question. And in that moment, the answer is always a $10 bill or a $20 bill. And I don't care if the guy taking my luggage is Warren Buffet or Freddie the Freeloader.

[bhopal21]

"How much money would I pay to not have to see this luggage again until it arrives at my stateroom?" A simple question. And in that moment, the answer is always a $10 bill or a $20 bill. And I don't care if the guy taking my luggage is Warren Buffet or Freddie the Freeloader.

 

Exactly my feelings. I am not interested in his earnings nor he in mine. Here's $20 can you get these bags to my cabin?

 

Mike:)