Cruise Terminal Porters

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

22 hours ago, pcur said:

However, don't get me started on the OAK baggage handlers.  There's one common denominator to the theft of my prescription medications and  miscellaneous items.  That would be coming in or out of OAK.

Don't even consider flying with a firearm in your checked bag out of OAK.  

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Except that most longshore contracts stipulate a full pension after only 20 years.  And, from what I recall, if they work more than 8 hours a day, they get more than one day's credit towards pension, so the 20 years is usually less than 20 years.

Assuming the mob doesn't borrow from the pension fund.  

[Scotico]

7 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Scotico, I'm still curious about which port this happened at.

Ft Lauderdale

[Jasukkie]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Except that most longshore contracts stipulate a full pension after only 20 years.  And, from what I recall, if they work more than 8 hours a day, they get more than one day's credit towards pension, so the 20 years is usually less than 20 years.

Good for them! It's really hard work. 

 

[chengkp75]

5 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

Good for them! It's really hard work. 

 

Except for the guys who handle lines, where a standard "gang" for a ship is 6 people, and only 4 ever show up, the other two rotating who gets paid for not showing up.  Or the "designated sleepers" you always find onboard, tucked away in corners, in a "nest" they built when they first came on their shift, and will sleep the entire shift, because they just finished another shift on another ship.  If ship's crew try to wake them, the entire gang will walk off the ship, stopping cargo operations.  Please.  While longshoring can be nasty when the weather turns bad, it is not a strenuous job at all these days.

[Longford]

9 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Except for the guys who handle lines, where a standard "gang" for a ship is 6 people, and only 4 ever show up, the other two rotating who gets paid for not showing up.  Or the "designated sleepers" you always find onboard, tucked away in corners, in a "nest" they built when they first came on their shift, and will sleep the entire shift, because they just finished another shift on another ship.  If ship's crew try to wake them, the entire gang will walk off the ship, stopping cargo operations.  Please.  While lonu gshoring can be nasty when the weather turns bad, it is not a strenuous job at all these days.

 

IMO, it's time for you to let go with your angst about unionized longshoremen who work on cargo ships ... and generalizations about luggage porters at cruise terminals throughout the USA.  The discussion is about baggage handlers at cruise terminals ... handlers whose working conditions and wages aren't universal in working conditions, wages/benefits and tip policies.  If we were talking about the Longshoremen's Union and working conditions/abuse at container ports ... we'd agree.  But this is a very simple discussion about something very different.  None of us can say with accuracy what the situation is at 20 +/- different port terminals.

[boscobeans]

5 minutes ago, Longford said:

 

IMO, it's time for you to let go with your angst about unionized longshoremen who work on cargo ships ... and generalizations about luggage porters at cruise terminals throughout the USA.  The discussion is about baggage handlers at cruise terminals ... handlers whose working conditions and wages aren't universal in working conditions, wages/benefits and tip policies.  If we were talking about the Longshoremen's Union and working conditions/abuse at container ports ... we'd agree.  But this is a very simple discussion about something very different.  None of us can say with accuracy what the situation is at 20 +/- different port terminals.

+1 for sure.

I do know ONE thing that to me is a no brainer.

I am glad there are people at the terminals who for a buck or two make the lines of cars get unloaded and their contents quickly on its way to the ship, no matter the weather, the weight or the physical condition of the cruisers.

[Ferry_Watcher]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As such, anything that is transported over the pier (from a truck, car, or bus to a ship, or vice versa), must be handled by a union longshoreman, or a strike would result (as it has in the past, many times). 

 

True,  Pier side staff at Seattle's Pier 91 are told from day 1 to never ever touch a piece of luggage - EVER.

 

[Mum2Mercury]

8 hours ago, pcur said:

And, thank you for your public service to me and the other posters on this thread.  Nice to know you have our backs, and can educate us on the error of our ways.

If only I'd been around a couple months ago.  

8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Sorry, I am notvtipping someone to lift my bag from a curb less than 3 feet to set it on a cart.  When we use the porters at the end of the cruise and they take our luggage to the car they do get tipped.  It's all about the service. 

Okay, let's be fair ... we, the public, see the guy carrying the suitcase on a nearby cart, but consider what else the porters do: 

- They maintain and bring out the series of carts for the day. 

- They look at your luggage ticket and determine which cart will be delivered to "your area" of the ship. 

- When the carts are full, they transport those carts to the ship and hand them over to the onboard staff.  This involves driving a ... not forklift, but I don't know what to call the little cart.  That might require a certification of some sort.  

- They answer questions and keep people moving through the confusing terminal parking lot. 

 

As in most jobs, when the guys are doing their work well, much of what they do is "invisible".  

 

Something that occurs to the evil portion of my brain:  If I were a porter and wanted to "mess with someone" who was rude to me, I wouldn't set aside that person's luggage ... that would be noticed.  No, if I wanted to mess with someone, I'd pull off the luggage tag and put the suitcases in the wrong cart.  This would delay the problem passenger's luggage and force them to hunt for their stuff.  Not that I think anyone's doing this ... but it would "fly under the radar", whereas leaving a suitcase on the sidewalk would not.  

1 hour ago, boscobeans said:

+1 for sure.

I do know ONE thing that to me is a no brainer.

I am glad there are people at the terminals who for a buck or two make the lines of cars get unloaded and their contents quickly on its way to the ship, no matter the weather, the weight or the physical condition of the cruisers.

Yes, they do keep things moving in the terminal parking lot, which isn't the most calm or pleasant part of a cruise.  

My husband is no longer able to carry luggage.  I'm super-grateful that I am physically able to manage our things, but I'm glad to know that help is available.  

[twangster]

PCN today:

 

[Tree_skier]

6 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Good luck walking onto a public pier in this country without your union card in hand. Kinda like showing up to drive the trash truck in NYC without having your Teamsters paperwork up to snuff.

While this is true for working as a longshoreman there is an exception for truck drivers at the ports.  Both union and non-union drivers can operate at seaports hauling containers in and out of the port.  That being said, I agree actually working on the dock and not in the terminal is reserved for longshoreman.  I don't know that there is anyway for the cruise lines to work around that.

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Except for the guys who handle lines, where a standard "gang" for a ship is 6 people, and only 4 ever show up, the other two rotating who gets paid for not showing up.  Or the "designated sleepers" you always find onboard, tucked away in corners, in a "nest" they built when they first came on their shift, and will sleep the entire shift, because they just finished another shift on another ship.  If ship's crew try to wake them, the entire gang will walk off the ship, stopping cargo operations.  Please.  While longshoring can be nasty when the weather turns bad, it is not a strenuous job at all these days.

I have a friend who for years has been a longshoreman.  For years they only job he took was working car ships.  The drove the car off the ship and walked back on got another and drove it off.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  If they unloaded the ship they were done for the day and were paid and given credit for 8 hours irrespective of how few hours they actually worked.

 

After several years of that, he got his first aid ticket. For the rest of his career he sat in the first aid room waiting for someone to get hurt.  He mostly read and napped.  He retired in luxury at 55.  

Edited January 7, 2023 by Tree_skier

[Longford]

18 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I have a friend who for years has been a longshoreman.  For years they only job he took was working car ships.  The drove the car off the ship and walked back on got another and drove it off.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  If they unloaded the ship they were done for the day and were paid and given credit for 8 hours irrespective of how few hours they actually worked.

 

After several years of that, he got his first aid ticket. For the rest of his career he sat in the first aid room waiting for someone to get hurt.  He mostly read and napped.  He retired in luxury at 55.  

 

Which cruise line did your friend work with?

[Charles4515]

11 hours ago, topnole said:

They do more than load load luggage on cruise ships.  They work cargo ships or any other ships in that port.   It can be a pretty dangerous job.  

It is seasonal too. So they may not be working 40 hours a week at some ports.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Charles4515

[Tree_skier]

10 minutes ago, Longford said:

 

Which cruise line did your friend work with?

The terminal he was dispatched out of didn't have cruise ships but his union dispatched longshoreman to the cruise ship terminals as well.

[Morecruisesplz]

On 1/5/2023 at 4:34 PM, JennyB1977 said:

Were your friends able to get their bag when they disembarked? Lots of folks choose to carry their own bags when they embark. However, you need to have a plan of what you're going to do with them. It's frustrating for other passengers in the buffet when folks have their huge bags taking up table/floor space.

And in elevators, hallways, etc.

[Morecruisesplz]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:49 PM, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

How do you know what time these people plan on boarding? I would bet the majority of passengers board after the hallways to the staterooms have been opened.

Nope!

[topnole]

11 hours ago, Longford said:

Suggesting porters and longshoremen are one in the same and some earn more than $400k a year is laughable; disingenuous.  Even if there are terminals that use porters who are unionized, unions include work groups/units where pay scales are unequal. Not all ports or terminals use porters who are unionized.  Unless there's been a change in the past year or two, Disney hasn't ever used a company that provides its porters who has a contract with a union at Port Canaveral.  There maybe similar situations elsewhere.  As for individuals who ask porters to assist them and then stiff them when it comes to tips, one words will describe those individuals:  stingy. People will spend thousands of dollars cruising, tip ships crew yet not tip someone who helps them with heavy luggage they won't lift themselves.  Ok, rant over.

The Tampa porters are longshoreman and do work other non cruise ships.  That I know first hand.   

[SRF]

And to add insult to the process, those "porters" are longshoremen at most ports and make more money that many of the cruise passengers.

[HappyTexan44]

I auto-tip anyone that takes my luggage.  If I'd given it thought, I'd have guessed that the tips were shared with those who got the luggage to the room, maybe? 
 
This will now be the exception.   Although, we will be leaving Galveston and someone mentioned a conveyor belt that people can put their luggage on.  Even assuming no tip either way, I'd much rather do it myself and therefore Know that it at least got that far.  
 

[ssb]

What are dimensions (opening) on screening equipment at terminals ?  

[tunafish]

$10 for 3 bags....only in 'Merica. Bags should arrive on the ship with $0 tip

[Charles4515]

47 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

I auto-tip anyone that takes my luggage.  If I'd given it thought, I'd have guessed that the tips were shared with those who got the luggage to the room, maybe? 
 
This will now be the exception.   Although, we will be leaving Galveston and someone mentioned a conveyor belt that people can put their luggage on.  Even assuming no tip either way, I'd much rather do it myself and therefore Know that it at least got that far.  
 

You worry to much. I have been on over 60 cruises and my luggage always arrived at my cabin. I tip $5 per bag to the port porters.. Out of habit because it is customary in the US to tip anyone who picks up bags. In Europe I don't tip when dropping off bags at port cause no one was. On the ship the luugage is taken up elevators and then placed outside cabins. The cabin stewards do it and I don't add a tip for that. It is part of the auto paid gratuity. 

[Charles4515]

29 minutes ago, ssb said:

What are dimensions (opening) on screening equipment at terminals ?  

I had to lug my lugage on and in my room on an Oceania cruise because the Uber driver could not let us off at the right place in Manhattan. So we did not dropp off. They would not let him in at the right place. It was  a miserable expereince . I would not do it. We also had hold onto our luggage until the staterooms were ready.

[springfire]

The porters at the cruise terminal make great money without our tips. No need to tip unless you have a special request.