Port Fees are Getting Ridiculous

[ocolus8109]

They keep going up and going up. The worst is the Bahamas, they're higher on the Majesty 4 nite than Oasis either itinerary.

 

Yet another hidden cost of cruising. I remember the days when port fees were an after thought.

[gatour]

So write a letter to the Bahama authorities as they set the port fees.

[KirkNC]

Yea the cruise lines don't set them, they just pass them on.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

You're referring to the taxes, not the port fees.

Port fees on a Bahamas cruise are about $89. Port fees for the typical Oasis cruise are about $160. Those are "hidden" within the cost of the cruise. Whereas the taxes are the fee added on after.

Taxes are higher on the Majesty cruise because it leaves from the Port of Miami, you can thank them!

Edited January 26, 2012 by smileyperry

[kruzerci]

Ours are a lot cheaper out of Nola than Port Canaveral. The port sets them not RCI. I include them in the price of the cruise.

[silentbob007]

Taxes are higher on the Majesty cruise because it leaves from the Port of Miami, you can thank them!

 

... and it's no wonder why Royal has shifted ships away from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and other ports.

[LloydChristmas]

I saw a Celebrity cruise going from Miami to Roatan and Cozumel charging port taxes of about $100. Another Carnival cruise was going to the same places plus Belize and Costa Maya and the taxes were only $80. So taxes for 2 places was more than 4 places?! I thought most of the taxes would be made up of how many ports you visited, but it seems the bulk of the fees was for the Miami port?

 

Another example:

NCL star from Tampa to nowhere has $65 taxes

RCL Jewel from Tampa to Cozumel has $45 taxes

Doesn't make sense to me...

Edited January 26, 2012 by LloydChristmas

[Rainbowfalls]

Are the port fees included in the govt feets and taxes when I book the cruise??? or do I have to pay port fees on top of booking the cruise?

[cj_one2000]

I saw a Celebrity cruise going from Miami to Roatan and Cozumel charging port taxes of about $100. Another Carnival cruise was going to the same places plus Belize and Costa Maya and the taxes were only $80. So taxes for 2 places was more than 4 places?! I thought most of the taxes would be made up of how many ports you visited, but it seems the bulk of the fees was for the Miami port?

 

Another example:

NCL star from Tampa to nowhere has $65 taxes

RCL Jewel from Tampa to Cozumel has $45 taxes

Doesn't make sense to me...

 

Just wait until you book a cruise in Europe. Booking a Western Mediterranean for hubby and I in June 2012, we had the following gov & port fees (per person):

 

Port Fees $175

Gov Fees $97.02

 

After talking to my TA, he said he's seen gov & port fees before exceed $800 PER PERSON! :eek: We were told ours wasn't bad compared to some summer itineraries. Yikes.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Are the port fees included in the govt feets and taxes when I book the cruise??? or do I have to pay port fees on top of booking the cruise?

 

It depends on how your TA breaks down all port fees and government taxes when he/she shows you what your final bill will be.

Some TA's just give you the lump sum that you will.

Our TA shows us everything and the final confirmation we get from her also shows all the extra fees.

[Krazy Kruizers]

None of the cruise lines have control over the fees that they charge.

If we choose an itinerary where the port fees are high for a certain port - we have no choice but to pay it even if we do stay on the ship that day.

[KirkNC]

Are the port fees included in the govt feets and taxes when I book the cruise??? or do I have to pay port fees on top of booking the cruise?

 

 

They will be in the total price of the cruise and included in your final payment, you do not pay them after you are on board.

[marco]

They are getting quite high. We went to Bermuda last year out of NYC. Both being two of the highest port fee ports. I think it was in the low $300's. You've probably all seen/heard about changes in the way airlines can advertize their prices. I think cruise lines should similarly advertize. If you can't get on the ship without paying the "whatever' charge.... then that charge should be included in the advertized cost of the cruise.

[cruiseco]

It's almost impossible to compare port taxes across several ships or cruise lines. For example, at one point a ship departing from the Port of Los Angeles paid taxes/fees to over a dozen entities. Some were based on the ship's length and/or tonnage. Some were per person. One was based on the amount of CO2 emitted while within the port area -- a larger but newer ship could actually pay less than a smaller, older ship. Those taking on fresh water instead of making their own paid more. Those off-loading garbage there paid more, etc

 

Plus, the cruise line itself has some say as to what's a port fee and what isn't. For example say two cruise lines dock at island X. They both use the opportunity to off load garbage there. Cruise line #1 figures that this is just the normal cost of doing business so it's rolled into the cruise fare. Cruise line #2 figures there's no way they're going to pay travel agents a commission on garbage handling so they'll take that expense as a (non-commissionable) port charge.

 

My opinion is just ignore it. Find out what the total cost is and don't worry about what amount goes where.

Edited January 26, 2012 by cruiseco

[smeyer418]

The cruise lines are required to show and advertise costs including port fees(but not taxes). In general however the TA's show it differently because they are not required to.

recently the FTC or the FAA has required that for airline fares the amounts advertised must include all charges.

Its time for the same thing on cruise ships.

 

Port fees include many things such as pilotage and docking fees. Some fees are per person some fees are based on the ships size, length or tonnage-and different cruise lines calculate the per person charge for these differently(when it is a set fee based on the tonnage of the ship is that amount divided by the lower two in a room or the expected occupancy of the ship-almost all ships travel at in excess of 100% of the lower two-the industry average is about 110%), so its very hard to compare one set of "fees/taxes" from one cruise line to another even when they are on the exact same itinerary.

[firefly333]

How exactly did you find out the port fees, which are embedded in the cruisefare. I have seen the break out of NCFs for the entire cruise, but not by port (and Ive asked the cruiseline to break them down).

Edited January 26, 2012 by firefly333

[cruiseco]

How exactly did you find out the port fees, which are embedded in the cruisefare. I have seen the break out of NCFs for the entire cruise, but not by port (and Ive asked the cruiseline to break them down).

 

You're assuming that any of these charges embedded in the cruise fare as a Non-Commissionable Fare (NCF) has some sort of basis in reality. The NCF is purely the portion of the cruise fare that the cruise line refuses to pay travel agents on and can be any figure they pull out of thin air. If they thought they could get away with it they would make the NCF 90% of the total fare. In fact, Renaissance basically tried to make the NCF 100% of the cruise fare, got boycotted by the Ta community and went bankrupt.

 

Are there legitimate "port charges" included in the NCF. No doubt. But they're not limited to that.

[firefly333]

You're assuming that any of these charges embedded in the cruise fare as a Non-Commissionable Fare (NCF) has some sort of basis in reality. The NCF is purely the portion of the cruise fare that the cruise line refuses to pay travel agents on and can be any figure they pull out of thin air. If they thought they could get away with it they would make the NCF 90% of the total fare. In fact, Renaissance basically tried to make the NCF 100% of the cruise fare, got boycotted by the Ta community and went bankrupt.

 

Are there legitimate "port charges" included in the NCF. No doubt. But they're not limited to that.

 

I think you totally missed my point. port charges are embedded in cruisefare into the NCF. I agree .. no one knows how the NCF is broken down, not even TAs.

 

So, how can the OP claim the port fees went up if no one knows how many of the NCF is port fees, let along broken down by port. whizz, right over your head I think... we agree, no one knows how the NCF is broken down. you sound like we do not agree, that you disagree with something I said.

 

No one knows the amount of port fees .. they are embedded, and the OP is complaining they went up .. how would they know?

[cruiseco]

I think you totally missed my point. port charges are embedded in cruisefare into the NCF. I agree .. no one knows how the NCF is broken down, not even TAs.

 

So, how can the OP claim the port fees went up if no one knows how many of the NCF is port fees, let along broken down by port. whizz, right over your head I think... we agree, no one knows how the NCF is broken down. you sound like we do not agree, that you disagree with something I said.

 

No one knows the amount of port fees .. they are embedded, and the OP is complaining they went up .. how would they know?

 

You're right, I misunderstood your post.

 

And you're right that the NCF total has indeed generally gone up a lot over the last few years but it's impossible to tell why. Passing on legitimate increases in fees charged by the various ports or cruise line greed? Or both? It's impossible to tell for sure. And the cruise lines will NEVER disclose how the NCF is calculated.

[paul929207]

If you think some ports are unreasonable, then vote with your wallet. Alaska imposed a $50 per passenger fee a few years back. Cruising dropped. HAL and Princess each pulled a ship when demand dropped. The fee is no $15 or so.

[Rainbowfalls]

I am not going through a TA I am going through Carnival's website, so the total I am given at time of booking is not really the total??? there is more added on?

[smeyer418]

I am not going through a TA I am going through Carnival's website, so the total I am given at time of booking is not really the total??? there is more added on?

except for voluntary charges-like alcoholic drinks or anything you buy or bingo the spa etc- they normally don't add anything- they do reserve the right if port fees go up or a fuel supplement-except for tips(another issue not for this thread)...so the answer is no

 

for this purpose port fee means a port related charge imposed by a government or government like entity. ie the port authority or increase in pilot fees. if the docking fee goes up they adjust too

Edited January 26, 2012 by smeyer418

[Rainbowfalls]

except for voluntary charges-like alcoholic drinks or anything you buy or bingo the spa etc- they normally don't add anything- they do reserve the right if port fees go up or a fuel supplement-except for tips(another issue not for this thread)...so the answer is no

 

for this purpose port fee means a port related charge imposed by a government or government like entity. ie the port authority or increase in pilot fees. if the docking fee goes up they adjust too

 

 

ok thank you :) I was so confussed lol I had horrible visions of getting to the port and being told to fork over some cash :o

[keepsakefl]

The industry has learned they can put virtually ALL the costs of doing business into the 'govt taxes and fees' surcharge. Carnival even puts their cost of running their boarding people at the departure terminal as a govt tax and fee.

 

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Recently went on the Holland America Westerdam. When I asked for an itemization of the 'FEES' part I only got a non-conclusive breakdown still lacking the detail to tell.

 

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This is the breakdown of the TF&PE on this voyage based on the date the guest booked. These figures are per person.

 

Customs Fee = $5.50

Immigration Fee = $3.00

Federal Passenger Tax = $3.00

Passenger-based Taxes & Fees = $93.22

Ship-based Taxes & Fees = $28.65

Total TF&PE = $133.37

 

---

 

Until the industry is REQUIRED to DETAIL the charges, there will be hidden fraud.

 

This was another sailing where I pushed the issue harder under threat of disputing the credit card charges.

 

Here is a list of the itemized tax breakdown.

 

---

 

Customs: $0.39

Dockage: $10.15

Harbor Dues: $9.61

Head Tax: $45.24

HMF: $0.75

Immigration: $0.99

IRS: $3.00

IUF: $7.00

Line Handling: $0.82

Pilotage: $12.64

PPF: $5.50

Security Charge: $7.11

Stevedoring: $13.97

Tonnage: $0.18

Terminal: $0.73

 

Total: $118.08

[iancal]

I read a book about cruise companies several years ago. One of the most interesting parts was the description of how cruise companies obtain 'rebates' of a portion of the port taxes charged to cruises.

 

Carnival Corp (and it subsidiary cruise line's) was specifically mentioned. They apparently have 20 year agreements with a number of Caribbean countries/ports to rebate up to 80 percent of the port fees back to Carnival. This rebate is based on Carnival delivering an agreed to minimum number of cruisers to that port each year. So the bottom line is that in some ports we get charged port fees and a good portion of these port fees end up on the cruise lines' bottom line.

Edited November 19, 2015 by iancal