Porters at Ports Tampa

[dan40]

20 posts about maybe $10.

 

CHEAP

Dan

[vesw01]

Just curious - when you go to a buffet resturant do you leave a tip for the person who cleared the plates... we do...it is nice recognition for the job they do. Not expected, just earned.

 

Do I agree with the idea that no tip means you may not get your bags - I think that is a bunch of bunk - no one is making them be porters - personal decision I guess, I really enjoyed it when I traveled with my grandmother and two kids - one less hassle that cost the least. Heck it was well worth the $4 versus the $20 pictures they sell you on board (which cost them the big $1 to make)........ do what makes you feel comfortable......

 

then again I used to lug my luggage from the car to the check-in at the airport, here in Chicago we are required to pay $2 a bag to the drive-up porters - I have now found my trip starts off that much sweeter with not having to deal with them .........

[Kaki321]

Out of curiosity, what is IMHO?

 

In my humble opinion

[Kokamo]

Do we all have to pay these people "Porters" ? Can you just go to the termenal @ 2 and give your bags to the ship folks ? It sounds like Extortion ? Why pay the Porters, if you can just give your bags to the

Carnavel people, while going on ? Dosn't make sence to me. I fly a lot and never give my bags to the "porters" at the Airport.

Just wondering, I really would not mind paying these people but as when I fly I would rather see that it going on board then just leave with a few "Porters" I have never seen ?

 

On my first cruise we had a "Carnival arranged" night over in Miami, we could not take our checked bags to the room. We had to leave them with the bell hops in the lobby. The next moring they were all out front along with every one else's bags. It took an hour to find all our bags and get ready to get on the bus that took us to the port.

 

We finally got on a bus. Half the people were from the Destiny, my ship, and the other half were going on the Paradise. They unloaded the people for the Paradise first. When it was my turn to get off, I waked off the bus with a $5.00 bill in my hand. A porter came up to me, ignoring about 30 other people who were standing around, and asked me which bags were mine. I pointed them out and He said I could go. Thanks to preboarding at the holtel, I walked right on the ship. Best Five Bucks I ever spent.

 

These porters do not work for Carnival. Their only wages come from tips. Don't be such a Scrooge.

[momofzeke]

These porters take the bags and line them up in the terminal according to baggage color.

 

That is exactly how our luggage was in Tampa. All lined up by color, and very easy to find. And, when we dropped our luggage off to the porter before the cruise, he was very nice to us. I didn't mind tipping the gentleman at all. :)

[Catnip]

 

Once again we can thank labor unions for increasing costs to the rest of us.

 

Amen!!!!!!! :cool:

[rubyfino]

You are 100% wrong here. They just put the bag on the crate, and the people on Carnival physically deliver it to your room. Those people do absolutely nothing who take your tip!!!! I refuse to pay porters anything. And not once during my five cruises have I tipped a single porter, and not once either have I not gotten my bags to my room. (knock on wood)

 

You know why I get my stuff with me? The porters just put the bags in the crate. After that, the porters are done with it, and Carnival takes over from there.

 

Enough said!

 

No, you are "100% wrong."

Do you think the bags fly to the hold? Or maybe you'll be carting your bags from the curb to the warehouse, running the bags through the scanners in back, pushing the carts around to the back of the house and operating the winch that gets the bags to the hold.

 

And doing it from 7am to ? with an hour's lunch break and more than a few crabby people like yourself. Then do it in reverse.

 

Try doing a porter's job once, and I bet you'll change your tune. Until then, please don't knock people who do an honest day's work and in the process, make your life a little easier.

 

When I used to take porter jobs, I busted my ASS, and never took tips given grudgingly...It was the most physical labor I've ever done.

 

Sorry if I gave a little back...

 

Lisa

P.S. I apologize for having written "Crazy Dude" at the top. When I checked again, I reailzed your CC name is Crazidude1400, but I am unable to edit title. I am sorry.

 

"I'm goin' where the weather suits my clothes."

[zqvol]

On my first cruise we had a "Carnival arranged" night over in Miami, we could not take our checked bags to the room. We had to leave them with the bell hops in the lobby. The next moring they were all out front along with every one else's bags. It took an hour to find all our bags and get ready to get on the bus that took us to the port.

 

We finally got on a bus. Half the people were from the Destiny, my ship, and the other half were going on the Paradise. They unloaded the people for the Paradise first. When it was my turn to get off, I waked off the bus with a $5.00 bill in my hand. A porter came up to me, ignoring about 30 other people who were standing around, and asked me which bags were mine. I pointed them out and He said I could go. Thanks to preboarding at the holtel, I walked right on the ship. Best Five Bucks I ever spent.

 

These porters do not work for Carnival. Their only wages come from tips. Don't be such a Scrooge.

I do not have a problem with anything that you say but how do you know they work for tips only? In the US that is generally not true, though they may make less than the usual minimum wage.

[mosel]

Funny story...I forget which port it was (I will ask Cindy in the morning)but we dragged 13 bags from the parking lot Through a warehouse until we reached the bins that the luggage went into. Standing there were ALL of the porters,taking the bages and moving them the 12+ inches into the bins and asking for a tip.This is the only time that I have not tiped them.We told them if they wanted tips to go outside and help.

Marty

[curlydog]

Once again we can thank labor unions for increasing costs to the rest of us.

 

 

Amen!!!!!!! :cool:

 

yep must be the union schelps driving up cost, couldn't possibly be executive greed

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1841989&page=1&gma=true&gma=true

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05133/504149.stm

 

:eek:

[Catnip]

yep must be the union schelps driving up cost, couldn't possibly be executive greed

 

:eek:

 

That's true, also!!!!!

[mrdood]

These porters do not work for Carnival. Their only wages come from tips. Don't be such a Scrooge.

 

Kokamo, absolutely false, these are salaried union employees, at most ports there are signs stating such and that tipping is not required...

 

Just so you have the story straight!!! I still tip them!

[crazidude1400]

Just out of curiosity, since when is tipping required??? I saw a segment on 20/20 that was about everyone tipping for everything. I personally think the defenition of "tip" has gotten out of hand. I mean, even the people at dunkin donuts, starbucks, and some fast food chains in airports ask for tips! Unbelieveable.

[mrdood]

Just out of curiosity, since when is tipping required???

 

Crazidude - what is your point? Do you just want to drag this on and on.

 

TIPPING IS NEVER REQUIRED - remove all your tips from Sail and Sign, don't tip porters, don't tip taxi drivers - there you just saved yourself about $15 per person per day...

 

As you have said - IT IS PERSONAL - not required. Do your thing, and I will leave you alone, let me do my thing and you leave me alone.

 

Can somebody please post the "Beating the dead horse" thingie now...

[crazidude1400]

As long as we can all agree that tipping is personal, then OK, this thread should go away. My point is that people keep flaming others (especially me) since I am not the biggest tipper in the world.

[cruisermpaul]

The only reason the porters are there is because the longshoreman's union has the power to force the port to use thei rlabor to load the ship. Nevermind that in this case loading the ship refers only to putting bags on a crate that is then hoisted into the ship.

 

Once again we can thank labor unions for increasing costs to the rest of us.

 

Exactly right! These guys are paid very well before tips! They all stand there with their hands out when you arrive. Then throw your bags into a crate for the forklift to take away. Then they stand around for the next bus to arrive. These guys make 80K+/yr before tips.

 

What really set me off was at debarkation, they stood around while our senior (70+yo) bus driver (in the hot humid Miami heat) started loading luggage onto the bus. Many from the bus got out to help, but no assistance from the porters - too busy shootin the breeze.

[surfklutz]

Who in their right mind thinks these stevedores aren't paid except for tips? That is the craziest notion that anyone has come up with in a long time in here. They are paid - and they are paid really really well- plus tips.

[Cards5440]

Though the porters aren't "Carnival" people they are the only people there that will take your bags to put them on the ship. It's not like the airlines where they will take your bags inside at the check in counter. If you take them inside to the check in counter you are carrying them on yourself. Leave them with the porter if you don't want to stand in line with them or lug them up the gangway to board the ship. I know it a few bucks may be costly ;) but it's worth not having to make your way through a maze of people with awkward luggage in already close quarters.

 

It's just a few bucks...your aren't going to go broke---they are paid well, but still they are offering you a service to help make your experience better. It could be total self service where everyone has to haul their own luggage on--imagine how much longer the lines would be then...

[dan40]

The porters are union members and probably make a nice rate plus bennys-------------SO WHAT. Same as the waiters and room stewarts making way less than a livable wage---------SO WHAT. Thats got nothing to do with tipping. You tip them for the service they do you, not for anything else. But if they do a service for you, and you don't tip them, you are a bonifide cheap baxxxxd. The porters that were hanging around inside and just moved the bags the last 12 inches to the luggage cage [earlier post] would not have got a tip from me and they would have received an ass chewing for trying to get one. The porter that meets me at the vehicle and takes the bags off my hands has done me a service and deserves a tip. NO MATTER IF HE'S A BILLIONAIRE.

 

If you get service and don't tip, you are cheap and I wouldn't want to be around you.

 

Dan

[rubyfino]

Not to slight you, but both of you would probably get your point across if you had even the slightest idea of what you're talking about. All you see is the 'front-of-the-house' operation. Your posts are inaccurate and pretty darn snarky.

 

I've had people like you throw change at me, curse me, wrestle the cart from me, leave their kids, luggage or grandma for me to mind, snap your fingers, load me down with luggage and then pretend to make an urgent cell phone call to avoid giving me a tip.

 

As far as the union raising costs, give me a big, fat break! I guess it would be a whole lot cheaper in your estimation to let folks just carry their luggage behind the terminal, bypassing xrays, and toss it onto the ship. Then, when someone slips and falls, or sprains a wrist, etc., they can sue the cruise line. Yeah. That'll make it much cheaper to cruise.

 

If you get hurt at work, you come home with a papercut or a finger slammed in a file cabinet. If I get hurt at work (which I did a month ago, falling off a slippery rung on a rail car), I'm damn lucky if I leave on a stretcher. I've seen more than a couple leave with the lights and sirens off.

Keep your tip.

 

Lisa

[CubScott]

Also look at Miami Porters. I still would like to know if you bring your stuff your self to the "cart", that the "porters put it on", is it better than than

putting it on your self, to make sure its there, on board.

 

I NEVER give my luggage to the porters at the Airport. I go thru the lines, or just do the Koisis'.

 

I still would like to know, why everyone needs to deal with these people, that don't even work for the cruise lines ?

 

I have no problem tipping this people but WHY does it seem that when you go to the airport there is NONE of this stuff going on.

 

Just check in give your bags to them you retrieve them later or ie in the room.

[marktac]

These porters do not work for Carnival. Their only wages come from tips.

 

The porters don't work for Carnival, that is true. They are union labor and generally make $14-25 an hour in the Tampa market. They are well compensated for the time they work. Most of the time they work when they want to, and there is always work available really loading ships when the cruise ships aren't there. Then, they work.

 

I will say, however, that our interaction with the porters in Tampa was better than any other port. Especially Miami...I hate that port.

 

PS, I live in Tampa.

 

Mark T

[fdwt994]

Not to slight you, but both of you would probably get your point across if you had even the slightest idea of what you're talking about. All you see is the 'front-of-the-house' operation. Your posts are inaccurate and pretty darn snarky.

 

I've had people like you throw change at me, curse me, wrestle the cart from me, leave their kids, luggage or grandma for me to mind, snap your fingers, load me down with luggage and then pretend to make an urgent cell phone call to avoid giving me a tip.

 

As far as the union raising costs, give me a big, fat break! I guess it would be a whole lot cheaper in your estimation to let folks just carry their luggage behind the terminal, bypassing xrays, and toss it onto the ship. Then, when someone slips and falls, or sprains a wrist, etc., they can sue the cruise line. Yeah. That'll make it much cheaper to cruise.

 

If you get hurt at work, you come home with a papercut or a finger slammed in a file cabinet. If I get hurt at work (which I did a month ago, falling off a slippery rung on a rail car), I'm damn lucky if I leave on a stretcher. I've seen more than a couple leave with the lights and sirens off.

Keep your tip.

 

Lisa

 

Sounds like you may be or were a Porter. Will you PLEASE explain exactly what the Porters do? On my past cruises, I simply threw my bags in the bin a few feet away from where I was dropped off. Do the Porters do more than that or not? This is not meant to challenge what you've said, I'm honestly trying to understand what Porters do. Thanks!

[surfklutz]

Not to slight you, but both of you would probably get your point across if you had even the slightest idea of what you're talking about. All you see is the 'front-of-the-house' operation. Your posts are inaccurate and pretty darn snarky.

 

I've had people like you throw change at me, curse me, wrestle the cart from me, leave their kids, luggage or grandma for me to mind, snap your fingers, load me down with luggage and then pretend to make an urgent cell phone call to avoid giving me a tip.

 

As far as the union raising costs, give me a big, fat break! I guess it would be a whole lot cheaper in your estimation to let folks just carry their luggage behind the terminal, bypassing xrays, and toss it onto the ship. Then, when someone slips and falls, or sprains a wrist, etc., they can sue the cruise line. Yeah. That'll make it much cheaper to cruise.

 

If you get hurt at work, you come home with a papercut or a finger slammed in a file cabinet. If I get hurt at work (which I did a month ago, falling off a slippery rung on a rail car), I'm damn lucky if I leave on a stretcher. I've seen more than a couple leave with the lights and sirens off.

Keep your tip.

 

Lisa

 

Are you saying that you are not well paid BEFORE taxes? That is the comment that I made and I DO NOT think I am incorrect on that point.

[loungelizard]

When I started in the hospitality business many years ago I was told that "tip" meant "To Insure Promptness". I remember waiting tables for next to nothing and tip money was very important...and I earned every dollar by working my butt off. I'm not sure how porters are paid, but they are union so I'm pretty sure they make a respectable wage. From my experiences, Miami porters are the rudest and pushiest...and if your first cruise is out of Miami ( like mine was ) you will be stunned at their behavior...it's almost extortion, and sets a very negative tone for the cruise. I avoid booking out of Miami because I loathe that port. Fort Lauderdale is a MUCH better experience but I haven't cruised out of Tampa yet ( but I will be soon ) I don't mind tipping a porter a buck or two a bag if he/she is polite and helpful. I know they do a lot of their work behind the scenes and it's very physical, but tipping is optional and it all depends on attitude and professionalism...I work hard for my money too.