Porter Tipping

[Magnum60]

When a porter solicits an offer to carry your bags and for an announced fee he is trying to sell you a service. You have an option. When you search out a porter to carry you bags and no fee is discussed what you give him is now a tip. If he weren't a salaried employee he probably wouldn't even be allowed in the terminal and correct me if I'm wrong, I believe he is obligated to carry your bags regardless of what you give him.

I would tell porter number one to take his $10.00 a bag fee and (I'll do a self edit). I don't mind paying a posted fee for an offered service if everyone else is being offered and paying the same fee but I have little tolerance for porters taking advantage of people that don't know how the game is played and what to do when trying to get through a nut house like a cruise or airplane terminal.

A good starting point as to what one should consider tipping a porter is to see how much it costs to rent a vended luggage trolley (typically $3.00 - $4.00). If you multiply that figure by the number of bags you have you'll have a good and fair price floor.

If you pack lightly and use wheeled luggage you can skip this thread entirely.

[Markanddonna]

I never thought much about the issue of tipping until a porter on a recent cruise was worried that we weren't going to tip. He reminded us that we were supposed to tip.

 

I think the amount you tip should vary greatly depending on what they do for you. With ours, we wheel the luggage to the curb and they put it on a cart. $5-10 for that? No way. If they helped you through customs on the way OFF the ship, that is a whole different story or you need lots of help off the ship because of mobility issues, that is also in a different category for tipping.

 

I frequently hear them say that they will make sure it gets to your cabin quickly. I think some gullible folks think these porters load up the cart, take them on the ship and put them by your door.

 

Most appear to be hard working, but some of the inappropriate and deceptive rhetoric has been noted by many on this thread.

[Beachdude]

Sorry....but I always find it a bit funny that people, who have paid hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars for a cruise, get so upset over tipping the last person who will handle your luggage before going on the ship....:confused::confused:

 

It's not that they don't tip, its that they don't like being told their tip isn't good enough.