hefley, ... Sarah Ferguson (or one of her other drivers) will be outside the terminal. As far as I know, she/he cannot come inside to meet you. When you pick up your bags, you will be inside, have to get the bags outside and still have to clear customs before going outside.
The advantage of a porter is that the customs people do not stop people with a porter. (On the other hand, they seem to stop very few people, usually scruffy looking people.) If you are carrying in food, however, I'd be wary of being stopped as it might be confiscated. Better safe than sorry.
If you use a porter, he will expect a tip for getting you the 300 feet out the door and getting the bags loaded into Sarah's van. Like in the US, most people tip based upon the number of bags. I tip the Bahamian porter exactly what I would tip an American porter.
A porter may be even more useful getting through the long lines upon departure. He will get your bags on a cart from the van to the ticket counter and then to the place where (after being tagged with a destination) they are put on the conveyor belt to be X-Rayed. For this procedure, all of which might take 45 minutes, the porter will expect a tip.
The van driver will expect a tip - as will the bellboy who gets your suitcases to the room assigned to you at Harborside.
You can drag the bags out the door yourself when arriving and avoid a tip, but why? When in a foreign country, I find it useful to try to play their game. A trip to Harborside is an expensive (but worthwhile) endeavor.
... eom
