Who Pays Port Charges for Princess Cays ?????

[1 HappyCruiser]

If you have stopped at Princess Cays previously within a years time do you have to pay port charges again? We missed stopping there on this last voyage & not everyone received a $18 p/p credit back. I was told that only "certain" people pay the charge & I was not one of them & hence I was one of those that did not recieve the credit. They also couldn't tell me which people had to pay them but were positive that since I had booked my trip with a TA and not directly through Princess, I had not paid them. :confused:

I always though that every person paid the charge for every stop & there were no exceptions but they were positive that I hadn't paid them. I questioned numerious people & some had paid the charge & some didn't.

[1025cruise]

Everyone pays port charges. However, is it possible that your TA got a special where someone else picked up the charges? Or perhaps the TA paid them as an incentive?

[WeBeGone]

Port charges are rolled into the cruise fare. There is no way to avoid paying port charges. You were given really erronous information.

[cherylandtk]

... I was told that only "certain" people pay the charge & I was not one of them & hence I was one of those that did not recieve the credit. They also couldn't tell me which people had to pay them but were positive that since I had booked my trip with a TA and not directly through Princess, I had not paid them. :confused

Who is the 'they' that told you this??? It sounds to me as if 'they' were giving you a convoluted brush-off.

 

It is likely that Princess issues port charges refunds according to the manner booked. Meaning that people who booked direct with Princess got the refund directly from Princess, but those who booked with a TA need to seek the refund from the TA.

[WVBill]

We missed Princess Cays on our March 25th cruise this year. We booked directly with Princess. We did not get a refund of the port charges on our on-board folio and have not gotten a credit on the card we used to book the cruise.

[tfrcal]

Doesn't Princess' parent company own Princess Cays? Why would there be a port charge, the purpose of the port charge is to pay the port for the use of their facilities. Princess owns the facilities and would roll any associated costs into the cruise fare. Nobody should be paying port charges at Princess Cays.

[caribill]

Doesn't Princess' parent company own Princess Cays? Why would there be a port charge, the purpose of the port charge is to pay the port for the use of their facilities. Princess owns the facilities and would roll any associated costs into the cruise fare. Nobody should be paying port charges at Princess Cays.

 

There is a Bahamas tax associated with going to a port in that country. It should be refunded if the ship is unable to go there.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Port charges are rolled into the cruise fare. There is no way to avoid paying port charges. You were given really erronous information.

 

The services desk by three different people. I'll try a different person later today but I don't expect a much different answer.

 

Who is the 'they' that told you this??? It sounds to me as if 'they' were giving you a convoluted brush-off.

 

It is likely that Princess issues port charges refunds according to the manner booked. Meaning that people who booked direct with Princess got the refund directly from Princess, but those who booked with a TA need to seek the refund from the TA.

 

Possibly. I'll have to check tomorrow when we arrive home. It's something I never considering checking before we left since most times we don't miss ports & if we did we always received the credit.

[Murphey]

We have missed PC on several occasions due to weather and have never received a refund of the port charges......Never thought about that until now.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We have missed PC on several occasions due to weather and have never received a refund of the port charges......Never thought about that until now.

 

I checked with at least 4 more couples today & they all had their port charges refunded. I can't wait to hear the explaination that corporate headquarters has to say.

[RickEk]

I checked with at least 4 more couples today & they all had their port charges refunded. I can't wait to hear the explaination that corporate headquarters has to say.

 

It should be refunded back to your folio... check with the Purser.

[geoherb]

We missed Princess Cays on our Emerald Princess cruise a couple of years ago. We received a refund of the port charges on our shipboard accounts.

[cherylandtk]

Also note that there is a difference between port charges (part of the fare, charged per ship) and port taxes (that $50-$150 extra, is per person). I believe the Princess Cays charge is a Bahamian tax, and as such should go directly to the passenger folio if the port is missed.

 

No idea why the PSD is saying only some people paid the tax. Good luck with resolving this.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Also note that there is a difference between port charges (part of the fare, charged per ship) and port taxes (that $50-$150 extra, is per person). I believe the Princess Cays charge is a Bahamian tax, and as such should go directly to the passenger folio if the port is missed.

 

No idea why the PSD is saying only some people paid the tax. Good luck with resolving this.

 

As it turns out, from what I'm told, is that since the TA's can no longer discount Princess cruises, some travel agents are now paying the port charges for their clients & thereby discounting the cruise in other ways. Therefore if any port charged are to be refunded they go back to the TA who paid them in the first place. The passenger services data base has a complete record of who to refund the money to.

[cherylandtk]

That's their convoluted way of saying if you used a TA all refunds must go back through the TA. If it was port charges your TA should refund the entire amount since it was not commissionable. BTW- TA's can still discount, they just cannot advertise a discount.;)

[-Lew-]

 

We missed Princess Cays on our March 25th cruise this year. We booked directly with Princess. We did not get a refund of the port charges on our on-board folio and have not gotten a credit on the card we used to book the cruise.

Did your folio have a credit balance at disembarkation? If so, you should receive a credit on your credit card.

 

For some reason charges reach a credit card account much more quickly than credits.

 

Lew

[RickEk]

As it turns out, from what I'm told, is that since the TA's can no longer discount Princess cruises, some travel agents are now paying the port charges for their clients & thereby discounting the cruise in other ways. Therefore if any port charged are to be refunded they go back to the TA who paid them in the first place. The passenger services data base has a complete record of who to refund the money to.

 

Ah... well that makes sense... mystery solved. :)

[caribill]

As it turns out, from what I'm told, is that since the TA's can no longer discount Princess cruises, some travel agents are now paying the port charges for their clients & thereby discounting the cruise in other ways. Therefore if any port charged are to be refunded they go back to the TA who paid them in the first place. The passenger services data base has a complete record of who to refund the money to.

 

I seriously doubt the cruise line knows if the travel agent charged less by paying the port charges. The cruise line invoices the TA. When the TA pays the invoice, the cruise line is not told the source of the money for the payment.

[-Lew-]

 

I seriously doubt the cruise line knows if the travel agent charged less by paying the port charges. The cruise line invoices the TA. When the TA pays the invoice, the cruise line is not told the source of the money for the payment.

Though I book through a TA, Princess does the billing. The entry on my AmEx bill for my last final payment reads as follows:

 

PRINCESS RESERVATIONSANTA CLARITA CA

Ticket No: XXXXXX

 

Lew

[charleysmom04]

WVBill,

We were on the March 25th Ruby cruise too and the port charges refund for Princess Cays was on our shipboard statement before we disembarked! It ended up being almost $25 per person.

Diane

Oh, and we booked with a TA

[1 HappyCruiser]

WVBill,

We were on the March 25th Ruby cruise too and the port charges refund for Princess Cays was on our shipboard statement before we disembarked! It ended up being almost $25 per person.

Diane

Oh, and we booked with a TA

 

Now that is strange since I always though the port charges always remained constant. Why would they have dropped to $18 p/p last week? Weird, unless your TA charged you a higher price than collected by the port. :confused: That would make me question the charges for the other ports as well.

[cacy6893076]

Who is the 'they' that told you this??? It sounds to me as if 'they' were giving you a convoluted brush-off.

 

It is likely that Princess issues port charges refunds according to the manner booked. Meaning that people who booked direct with Princess got the refund directly from Princess, but those who booked with a TA need to seek the refund from the TA.

 

correct......

[Orangefan]

As it turns out, from what I'm told, is that since the TA's can no longer discount Princess cruises, some travel agents are now paying the port charges for their clients & thereby discounting the cruise in other ways. Therefore if any port charged are to be refunded they go back to the TA who paid them in the first place. The passenger services data base has a complete record of who to refund the money to.

 

I just came back on April 28th from the Crown. We were not able to stop at the Cays and on my final bill it had a Princess Cays $18 credit. I doubt if it has anything to do with the TA since I booked through her and I got the credit through Princess while still on the ship.

Sali

[1 HappyCruiser]

I just came back on April 28th from the Crown. We were not able to stop at the Cays and on my final bill it had a Princess Cays $18 credit. I doubt if it has anything to do with the TA since I booked through her and I got the credit through Princess while still on the ship.

Sali

 

We booked through a discount TA so it must have everything to do with it. They're always are cheaper than Princess & that must be one of the reasons. I found 4 or 5 other people on the ship that did not receive it either although most people I asked did receive it. People just don't realize that you're due credit if you don't make the stop. I'll find out from my TA on Monday.

[caribill]

We booked through a discount TA so it must have everything to do with it. They're always are cheaper than Princess & that must be one of the reasons. I found 4 or 5 other people on the ship that did not receive it either although most people I asked did receive it. People just don't realize that you're due credit if you don't make the stop. I'll find out from my TA on Monday.

 

Whether you booked through a regular TA or a discount TA, Princess gets the same revenue from the booking.

 

Any refund for missing a port should have been credited to your onboard account.