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Refund of port fees if you stay onboard?

wldflr

By wldflr,
in Ask a Cruise Question

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wldflr

wldflr

Posted
Posted

So last week I was talking with a friend who cruises once a year and she claimed that if you stayed on the ship and didn't get off at a port, you would get refunded the $ fee for that port.

 

Now I know that if the ship is diverted from a port due to bad weather, swine-flu, etc, that yes, you would receive $ back and it's happened to me.

 

But getting money for staying on-board? This was a new one...and I said "no way."

 

So who wins the bet... me or my friend?

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cruiseco

cruiseco

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You.

 

Many port fees are charged to the cruise line as a lump sum. The cruise line can then divvy it up on a per person basis if it chooses. For example, maybe the port is charging for trash disposal or for electric service while the ship is docked. The customs/immigration people are there no matter how many people debark or stay on board. Maybe the docking fee is based on the length or tonnage of the ship and it makes no difference if the ship is completely full or if it's completely empty. Plus, even if some island charges $XX for every passenger that enters their country, that money is earned as soon as you enter their territorial waters, not when you debark the ship.

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kitty9

kitty9

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Once the ship hits the territorial waters of the country you're visiting, you're considered to be "in" that country, whether you leave the ship or not. The ship is charged based on the number of passengers on board, not the number who leave the ship. So, YOU are correct.

 

It's the same if you stop in a port where a visa is required. Whether or not you get off the ship in that country, you are required to have a visa.

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ZoneHPH

ZoneHPH

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Posted
So last week I was talking with a friend who cruises once a year and she claimed that if you stayed on the ship and didn't get off at a port, you would get refunded the $ fee for that port.

 

Now I know that if the ship is diverted from a port due to bad weather, swine-flu, etc, that yes, you would receive $ back and it's happened to me.

 

But getting money for staying on-board? This was a new one...and I said "no way."

 

So who wins the bet... me or my friend?

 

with all due respect...your friend needs to cruise a little more. and i hope your friend isn't going around sharing that info with others as a guaranteed way of getting money back.

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upstate_italian

upstate_italian

Posted
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You win! Your friend sounds like one of those people who are always trying to nickel and dime the cruise lines!!! :mad: As Zone said, I hope she doesn't present herself as a cruise expert.

 

LOL! So its OK for the cruise line to nickel and dime the customer but not for the customer to nickel and dime the cruise line.

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wldflr

wldflr

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Hey all...I knew I was 99% right at the time my friend said that you would get refunded port fees if you stayed on board (I was like 'NO WAY!') but in the 25 years that I've been cruising, I had ALWAYS gotten off the ship in port, so the 1% of me wondered..."hmmm, maybe??" but I told her that I was going to consult the experts on THIS board.:D

 

Thanks everyone for clarification on this matter!

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smeyer418

smeyer418

Posted
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not to get off point if the refund the port fees how about the sherry fees?

 

Port fees include things like Pilotage(the charge the port pilots gets for helpig the captain into the port)

Wharfage- the price of trying up at the port

Tug boat fees(standby at most ports)

and a fee for getting on and off the ship based on the number on board whether they get off and on or not.

 

Its a complicated number that doesn't get refunded if you don't get off....there is an extra fee if you get off in port called the "hooker fee" or the Eliot Spitzer fee if you are from NY....

 

and don't forget there is also the difference between cheap and inexpensive fee....I get charged that one a lot....

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EGG

EGG

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Oh No! We often get off early in the morning, return early afternoon for a late lunch and an hour rest, and then do something very local like the port shopping. Maybe they will charge us port fees twice.

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