Port charges...???

[fldad23girlz]

I found this interesting...this article describes "port charges" as "...includes an average (over the year for the entire fleet ) of how much it costs to go into ports, along with other unspecified stuff. The actual head tax cruise lines pay at each Caribbean port is typically less than $10." (Italics are mine.) I wonder what the "other unspecified stuff" is...inquiring minds want to know...:confused:

 

The last question under the Q/A section at the bottom....

http://www.cruisenewsdaily.com/i-holiday.html

[cruiseco]

I found this interesting...this article describes "port charges" as "...includes an average (over the year for the entire fleet ) of how much it costs to go into ports, along with other unspecified stuff. The actual head tax cruise lines pay at each Caribbean port is typically less than $10." (Italics are mine.) I wonder what the "other unspecified stuff" is...inquiring minds want to know...:confused:

 

The last question under the Q/A section at the bottom....

http://www.cruisenewsdaily.com/i-holiday.html

 

Could be anything. The cruise ines are free to designate just about whatever they want to as a "port charge." For example, perhaps when docked at the port the ship hooks up to shore electrical power. Is that just a part of the cruise and included in the cruise fare/cost or is it something unique to docking at that particular port and thus to be called a port charge. Different cruise lines would handle that in different ways.

 

Or perhaps the ship offloads garbage at that port or take on fresh water. Or maybe they need additional tugboat assistance, or there's a special assessment to dredge the harbor channel to accommodate larger ships. I once read that a ship homeported at the Port of Los Angeles pays money to 17 different agencies. Even the Air Resources Board gets a cut as the ship is charged for every ton of carbon monoxide emitted while in the jurisdiction.

[fldad23girlz]

But if a charge is based on an actual visit to a port, and the ship, for whatever reason, does not visit that port, a prorated share of the "port charges" should be refunded, no matter how much, or little, that amount is....but it is my understanding that is not done. Of course there is that very, very, fine print...waaay down in the contract...

 

That is kind of like a restaurant saying we are going to charge you for sugar to put in your coffee...and by the way...we are out of sugar but you have to pay for it anyway.

[cruiseco]

But if a charge is based on an actual visit to a port, and the ship, for whatever reason, does not visit that port, a prorated share of the "port charges" should be refunded, no matter how much, or little, that amount is....but it is my understanding that is not done. Of course there is that very, very, fine print...waaay down in the contract...

 

That is kind of like a restaurant saying we are going to charge you for sugar to put in your coffee...and by the way...we are out of sugar but you have to pay for it anyway.

 

That would be true if Carnival charged passengers separately for port charges like the restaurant is charging separately for the sugar. They don't. As far as Carnival is concerned the full amount quoted to you is your cruise fare plus a few dollars of miscellaneous taxes. On a passenger's Carnival booking confirmation there's no separate charge for "port charges" just as there's no separate charge for "housekeeping" or "meals". It's all included in the cruise fare.

 

However, when dealing with travel agencies Carnival breaks down the fare into two components; the part upon which they will pay a commission and the part upon which they won't. The amount of the non-commissionable fare may or may not be directly related to any charges paid directly to the ports of call.

 

For example, suppose some port of call decides that they're going to charge a fee for waste handling that will work out to be about $10 per passenger. Carnival now has to decide if that $10 will be included in the commissionable cruise fare or in the non-commissionable portion of the fare. From the passenger's point of view it makes no difference -- they're paying the $10 either way. But if it's added into the commissionable portion of the fare then the TA gets a cut also (10 - 15%). Carnival probably would decide that TA's shouldn't get paid a commission on the trash hauling so the charge would end up in the non-commissionable portion of the fare. But if that port stop was skipped the passengers would not be seeing a $10 credit on their shipboard account.

 

However, many TA's, out of sloppiness or laziness or just long-standing habit, still use the term "port charges" when talking to clients about a Carnival booking. Carnival cruise fares are only supposed to be quoted as the fare plus taxes. Making a quote of cruse fare plus port charges plus taxes is contrary to Carnival policy and leads clients to believe that they are entitled to a refund if a port stop is cancelled. No refund is due as no separate charge was ever made. If Carnival decides to compensate passengers for a missed port of call it's entirely a customer relations deal, not because anything is owed.

[fldad23girlz]

cruiseco

Thanks for the deailed explanations! I can't say I agree with the way they do it...but I guess I can always start my own cruise line and do it my way!

[GoinCruisin]

Fldad, let us know how that goes for ya! I'll book on one of your ships! I hear you might be able to get the Holiday at quite a bargain :p LOL!!!!

[fldad23girlz]

OK,GoinCruisin ...I'll save ya spot on the inaugural cruise. I don't need the Holiday to start with. I already have a 14 footer in the back yard. I'm going to Walmart to get a couple of cots for it, and a cooler of course!:D

[tutak]

Didn't Carnival and Royal Caribbean lose a class action law suit in regards to port charges about 10 years ago? What was that about?

[MyImagination]

Didn't Carnival and Royal Caribbean lose a class action law suit in regards to port charges about 10 years ago? What was that about?

 

Here ya go

 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/carnival.html

 

 

 

March 27, 2001

Carnival Cruise Lines has settled a class-action lawsuit that claimed it jacked up port charges to increase its profits. Carnival reportedly has agreed to give vouchers worth $25 to $55 to some 4.5 million customers who sailed on its cruises between April 1992 and June 1997, according to The Miami Herald.

 

Port charges are routinely added to the price of cruises. They cover the docking fees that cruise lines must pay to governments. The class-action suit contended that Carnival was charging more than it paid out in docking fees.

 

Alhtough agreeing to the settlement, Carnival denied any wrongdoing. It said it had never claimed the charges exactly equalled the expenses it incurred.

[cruiseco]

Didn't Carnival and Royal Caribbean lose a class action law suit in regards to port charges about 10 years ago? What was that about?

 

The suits were over two issues. Number one was for advertising in big letters "Cruise for $599" then the very small print pointing out the additional $225 in "port charges" to be added. Many, many complaints from consumers that the full port charge inclusive cost should be the advertised fare.

 

Number two was closer to the issues discussed in this thread. If a specific port charge is collected from the passenger does it legally have to be refunded if the port is skipped? And, if the passenger is paying for an item listed as "port charges" can the cruise line pack in non-port charge items?

 

No verdict was delivered by the courts as the cruise lines settled without admitting any fault and agreed to make some changes in the way they advertised their fares. One change was removing any direct reference to "port charges" in their advertising and communications with their clients.

[cruiseco]

Didn't Carnival and Royal Caribbean lose a class action law suit in regards to port charges about 10 years ago? What was that about?

 

The suits were over two issues. Number one was for advertising in big letters "Cruise for $599" then the very small print pointing out the additional $225 in "port charges" to be added. Many, many complaints from consumers that the full port charge inclusive cost should be the advertised fare.

 

Number two was closer to the issues discussed in this thread. If a specific port charge is collected from the passenger does it legally have to be refunded if the port is skipped? And, if the passenger is paying for an item listed as "port charges" can the cruise line pack in non-port charge items? The cruise lines were pumping up the port charge total to save money as any portion of the client's total fare that could be shoved into the port charge category escaped having to pay the TA a commission. So the "port charges" grew to contain actual port charges plus a lot of other stuff.

 

No verdict was delivered by the courts as the cruise lines settled without admitting any fault and agreed to make some changes in the way they advertised their fares. One change was removing any direct reference to "port charges" in their advertising and communications with their clients.

[GoinCruisin]

OK,GoinCruisin ...I'll save ya spot on the inaugural cruise. I don't need the Holiday to start with. I already have a 14 footer in the back yard. I'm going to Walmart to get a couple of cots for it, and a cooler of course!:D

 

Will you provide the paddles or shall I bring my own? :D

[fldad23girlz]

Paddles???...Oh that's right...you like that paddling and spanking stuff....I saw it another thread...:D

 

No...unlike some cruise lines...I will NOT charge extra for paddlings...uh...I mean paddles...;)