How much to tip baggage handlers at cruise terminal?

[custompcsys]

If anyone has ever been an exhibitor at a conference or exposition in a large exhibition hall, its a very similar situation with carrying cargo into the exhibition hall or doing anything electrical inside the hall. Because there are union workers involved, you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to carry anything into the hall on your own, or even so much as plug a power strip into an outlet. Cargo must be left at the loading dock for it to be delivered to your booth, no matter how small, and a union electrician has to be called even just to plug in a power strip....all at a charge of course. Things get very ugly if you try and get around the rules and do it yourself.

 

In the case of the longshoremen, if you put your luggage in the bin yourself you are doing a union member's work, and they really, really don't like that. I guess they also feel they are entitled to a bit of extra compensation from you in the form of a tip as well. The bottom line is that the union controls the dock. If you wanna go play, you gotta pay. Is it fair? Of course not. Is it reality? Unfortunately yes.

[prarie cruiser]

It's always been interesting to me that some persons get tipped and some do not, partially depending upon the particular job. For instance, we tip wait staff in restaurants, and the wage laws have them very poorly paid per hour and ensure they have to work hard for their money which comes in tips. Most do not belong to a union.

 

Hotel housekeeping staff are in a similar situation, but may be unionized. The guy who only flags a taxi gets tipped a lot, and may be unionized. We regularly tip other service providers such as the paper deliverer, pizza delivery, etc. They may or may not be in a union, but not usually.

 

We do not tip store clerks, nurses, cable tv installers, teachers, athletic coaches, day care providers, etc. who may or may not be unionized, but do provide needed services. But, we do tip taxi drivers and longshoremen who load our luggage, who actually provide less service and may be better paid than many of the individuals above. So, is tipping outside of food service and housekeeping, primarily male dominated workers? Or, does this even have anything to do with it?

 

There really is not a point to this post by me, except that it is interesting our cultural rules about tipping. Personally, I like to see my luggage arrive on time so I usually tip between 5 and 10 dollars for the service at the dock.

[marne001]

Hi All,

 

I sail through FFL frequently and have gathered some info over the years. I am not saying I have first hand verified, so it is observations and things I have been told by CCL/Princess, TAs, other frequent cruise passengers.

 

At the FFL terminals, signs are posted saying no need to tip the porters.

 

A porter will walk around LOUDLY stating, "Remember to tip your porters if you want your luggage to show up in your cabin tonight". I had heard this from fellow cruises, but heard it first hand MARCH 8, 2007. I started to video the porter and get the sign in the background...but was afraid I would sail without my luggage.

 

Cruise staff, specfically officers and purser office employees have repeatedly over many many cruises, said there is no need to tip the porters, unless you are asking for assistance, e.g., lotsa luggage or getting it your luggage to the bus, cab or car.

 

I have only first hand experience with misdirected luggage on a cruise and it cannot be blamed on the porter. Years ago Celebrity would pick up your luggage from the baggage pickup area at the airport. A tag [must have been innocently removed] was missing from a bag, which the airline delivered to us in St. Maarten three days later.

 

What do I do at the terminal? I begrudingly give the harker, err, I meant porter a $1 bill for each piece of luggage. Enroute to the terminal I try to share this story with any other traveler who might benefit. After all this is the one form of vacation, where I have never meet an a__hole! Every since fellow passenger has been pleasant to me.

 

Marne, the Cruisin' Fool

[vkramer]

I don't know about you guys, but the porters at Miami port are scary......They just about threaten you into giving them a tip.

 

Vicki

[Ethel5]

I don't know about you guys, but the porters at Miami port are scary......They just about threaten you into giving them a tip.

 

Vicki

 

Pretty much the same in FLL.

[Doug R.]

Pretty much the same in FLL.

 

Don't see any of our anti-tipping friends saying that they are brave enough to tell the longshoremen that they don't believe in tipping :D . I agree with all who bemoan it as extortion, but then again $5 bucks is not too unreasonable a price to pay for "protection" (but what do I know? I am from the state that spawned the Sopranos :D ).

 

Yeah the guys at the Everglades and Miami are pretty scary. :eek:

[custompcsys]

Don't see any of our anti-tipping friends saying that they are brave enough to tell the longshoremen that they don't believe in tipping :D . I agree with all who bemoan it as extortion, but then again $5 bucks is not too unreasonable a price to pay for "protection" (but what do I know? I am from the state that spawned the Sopranos :D ).

 

Yeah the guys at the Everglades and Miami are pretty scary.

 

I'm with you Doug! Lived in Essex County NJ all my life until 5 years ago. Let's just say I wouldn't not tip, no matter where the dock is.

[fti]

Don't see any of our anti-tipping friends saying that they are brave enough to tell the longshoremen that they don't believe in tipping :D . I agree with all who bemoan it as extortion, but then again $5 bucks is not too unreasonable a price to pay for "protection" (but what do I know? I am from the state that spawned the Sopranos :D ).

 

Yeah the guys at the Everglades and Miami are pretty scary. :eek:

 

I am not anti-tipping but I will chime in anyway :D .

 

In Alaska last month, no need to tip - I checked my luggage in at the Alaska RR station in Anchorage, the luggage was checked to my ship. Actually the luggage did not go on the train - Celebrity picked it up with a truck from the AKRR and drove it to Seward. No one ahead of me was tipping the AKRR employees so neither did I.

 

In Alaska last year in Whittier we dropped our luggage off before a Princess cruise but honestly I don't remember if we tipped or not. In any case it didn't seem blatantly obvious that they were looking for a tip, as appears to be the case in FLL or MIA.

 

We will see what happens in San Juan in two months. I have never been there. If a tip is looked at as a bribe though, I would be less likely to tip (but would probably tip anyway - just less than I might have otherwise).

[chasetf]

While it may not be right, its an unfortunate fact. And unless your going to watch the bin until they finish filling it and forklift it onto the ship, you're going to have to leave it sometime while its on the dock.

I find if I just wait until someone else's bags are stacked on top on mine then they are not going to dig into the pile to retaliate. They are too busy collecting from the next "victims".

[chasetf]

Can I put our bags in the luggage bin myself? It sounds absurd that I have to tip someone to move something 15' that I have been schleping across country myself. Especially when they make more money than I do as a nurse.

 

I was watching Cruise Do's and Dont's on the travel chanell last night and they said that they take your bag at the terminal then scan it before it goes on board ship. Do they scan it after you drop it off or as you drop it off? (we are sailing out of SF on tuesday:) We can hardly wait)

Let me say there are different procedures port to port. Here are some of our experiences.

 

In Australia we rolled out bags up to trucks outside the terminal entrance and handed our bags to the guys on the trucks (we did not tip).

 

At Fort Lauderdale we always rolled up in a taxi, the driver unloaded the bags from the taxi's trunk and we rolled them over to the bin where sometimes I threw then in or the longshoreman threw them in (we did not tip).

 

In San Francisco we drove up to the port entrance, a porter met us with a cart, we loaded them on the cart and he disappeared into the terminal with our luggage (we tipped).

 

In San Diego we were met at the airport by a Princess rep outside the air terminal. They were collecting bags on the sidewalk. We put our bags in the pile and left to get to the port independently (no transfer). My brother, who was going with us and picked us up (and who did not fly in), unloaded his luggage from his car's trunk and put it in the pile too. They had a truck haul the luggage to the dock for us (we did not tip).

[luvnorway]

Like many posters, we strongly resent the intimidation either overt or implied that the baggage handlers use to get tips at some ports in the US, especially when the distance they may actually move the luggage is (as been stated frequently), only a few feet.

 

We have found the baggage handlers in Tampa to be particularly offensive.

 

When embarking on a Transatlantic cruise from Tampa, I stay with the luggage and my husband goes to line up for check-in. We do it this way because my experience has been that the baggage handlers are more rude and demanding when dealing with males than with females. (Or perhaps they are more willing to believe a female is dumb - you'll see what I mean when you read my strategy!)

 

When the baggage handler takes our luggage to load into the container to be put on the ship, I thank him politely and turn away.

If he hassles me for a tip, I tell him that, since I am Canadian, we just arrived from the airport and are cruising to Europe, the only money I have is Canadian $ and Euro

-> then I politely ask him which he would prefer, Canadian $ or Euro?

 

Each of the 3 or 4 times I've done this in Tampa, the baggage handler has just looked at me like I'm crazy - guess they can't comprehend why someone wouldn't feel a need to have US $. - Then they walk away from me - Puts the shoe on the other foot = he declines the tip.

BTW I've never had any problems with missing luggage as a result.

 

Obviously this wouldn't work unless you're on a cruise to Europe - I wouldn't try it if I was just going to the Caribbean.

 

I realize some will feel I'm trying to "stiff" the baggage handlers, but, I'm one of those who feels they are well paid and don't deserve a tip for just doing their job.

[sultan_sfo]

In 2003, the porter just looked at us surprised when we tipped $5 for 4 bags. He was not expecting any tip! In May 2007, we were doing a 2-day coastal. Most of the pax had just carry-ons and were wheeling it. We decided to give our 2 carry-ons to the porter and I placed it on his cart and gave him $2. The porter gave us the look without saying it -- only $2? I told him just those carry-ons were our total luggage -- he said Oh! it is OK. /Sultan

 

...

In San Francisco we drove up to the port entrance, a porter met us with a cart, we loaded them on the cart and he disappeared into the terminal with our luggage (we tipped).

...

[Desert Cruisers]

I'm really enjoying this discussion.

 

We have sailed twice from San Pedro. We carried our own bags to the drop off area and did not feel intimidated by the longshoremen.

 

As for damaged bags, I find it interesting that a number of the posters autmatically assume that any bag damage is caused by the longshoremen. Damage can just as easily occur during security screening and bag distribution on board.:)

[spongerob]

If he hassles me for a tip, I tell him that, since I am Canadian, we just arrived from the airport and are cruising to Europe, the only money I have is Canadian $ and Euro

-> then I politely ask him which he would prefer, Canadian $ or Euro?

ROFL...now I've got use for all those Loonies! What a great idea.

[vmom]

Hey I've got some Mexican pesos...do you think that would work?

[mjayem@aol.com]

In Aug. I went on the crown, in the pouring rain! I had heard from the sailing before us that some people's bags were sitting out in the rain for over 2 hours before they got on the ship, I did not want this to happen. So, my hubby and I carried as much as we could on, and had 3 bags to check. We gave the porter $20 (which we made sure he saw the amount) and begged him to please make sure they stayed dry under the overhang. I must say we did go back and check, and they were right next to him the whole time. Well, we got on the ship, found our room, and went to eat. We went back to our room about 1 hr. after we had just got on, and there were our bags with not one single rain drop on them. To me, it was worth that $20!

[Whimsy]

We tip because we feel it is well worth a few extra dollars for the piece of mind. After reading these boards if I didn't tip I would spend all afternoon wondering if my bags were going to make it and if so, would they arrive damaged because we didn't tip. Just not worth saving a few $$ to have that in the back of my mind all afternoon.

[custompcsys]

In Aug. I went on the crown, in the pouring rain! I had heard from the sailing before us that some people's bags were sitting out in the rain for over 2 hours before they got on the ship, I did not want this to happen. So, my hubby and I carried as much as we could on, and had 3 bags to check. We gave the porter $20 (which we made sure he saw the amount) and begged him to please make sure they stayed dry under the overhang. I must say we did go back and check, and they were right next to him the whole time. Well, we got on the ship, found our room, and went to eat. We went back to our room about 1 hr. after we had just got on, and there were our bags with not one single rain drop on them. To me, it was worth that $20!

 

Despite my earlier posts, I don't mind tipping in return for service, I just resent the assumption of a tip to move my bag 6 feet into a bin. When we left from Seattle on the Diamond in 2005, we had a group of 6 of us, including my SO and her parents - 3 total cabins. My SO's mom is one of those folks that can't go away for a week without taking a month's worth of stuff, so needless to say we had a LOT of bags to check. The porter pulled his cart right up to the back of the van we had rented, and he literally filled his cart with the our luggage alone. When he put the last bag on his cart I handed him $25. He then said "follow me" and walked me and our bags right past the huge line waiting to check bags without a porter. Showed our documents to the Princess rep and off went the bags, no waiting.

 

That was a service worth tipping for. Trying to deal with 10-12 bags on our own would have been a huge pain - probably literally :)

[docksider21]

Hi

 

This discussion is really helpful.

 

So far, it looks like one of the favorite "sabotages" is to rip off luggage tags. Makes sense to me. No incriminating box cutters to carry. Delays delivery to the passenger without an incriminating piece of luggage laying around at the port, or being "caught" put it in the dumpster, etc. And, those tags, they can come off "accidentally," and how is anyone going to prove that those silly passengers are put the name tags or the cruise tags on their luggage in the first place.

 

Which is yet another reason to put your name, address, etc. on the inside of your bag. Also, if those luggage has a little pocket window on the side to slide a name and address into, do it, and also put a name tag on the handle. It is hard to get the little paper out of that window, they won't see it, won't have time, and with the "decoy" name tag on the handle, they won't go looking for other identifiers.

 

Good Luck

[MikeTheActuary]

A couple of additional data points from my recent experience on the Crown

 

At the Brooklyn terminal at embarkation, the crew unloading our bus (move bag from under-bus storage area to a cart 3 feet away) was lead by a guy who was not shy about encouraging us "to show a little appreciation for me and my men on this hot summer's day".

 

At disembarkation, at least when we got off, longshoremen were few and far between, at least until I grabbed a cart, at which point they weren't shy about telling me the carts were for union workers only, after which none could be found to help us out. My wife uses a walker, so she was limited in what she could do luggage-wise, but I'm told I made quite a sight rolling three suitcases, and carrying a garment bag and a computer bag on my shoulders, as we made our way over to customs.

 

Once we were outside, and away from the scene of my education about longshoremen and their carts, I was able to attract the attention of someone returning, to help get us the rest of the way back to our bus.

[Tina G]

Don't mess wit' da union!

[bubbadog]

longshoremen dont handle luggage,might tie up the ship or load unload cargo,but luggage detail would be for lowest man on the totempole:)))

[@home@sea]

I tip $5 for a large bag. Several cruises ago I handed the baggage handler $10 for 2 large bags. He thanked me for my generosity and stated that someone had given him $1 for 5 bags. The next day at sea an announcement was made that a fellow passenger was missing all 5 bags of luggage, and for all passengers to check for any bag that wasn't theirs. Coincidence? maybe..

[Stacycee]

As a wife of a longeshoreman and an avid cruiser, I can tell you that yes, longshoremen are paid well, but if they take a porter job, they are only paid for hours worked. For example, if it only takes 4 hours to load the ship, they are only paid for half a day. Yes, some stay until the ship sails, but a lot are sent home as the crowds go down. Therefore, your tips are always appreciated. It makes me laugh that people spend hundreds of dollars (most of the time more) on a cruise, and they will not tip someone $5? Just my thoughts. :)

[custompcsys]

Don't mess wit' da union!

 

There, in a nutshell, is the main crux of the problem.