Princess charging double port charges for single occupancy?

[SharkieRools]

Screw that. If Princess is gonna do that, I'll just travel HAL in the future ... where I could always use the single share program and avoid paying double port charges.

 

Princess has a single share program as well. I didn't realize they did (I don't travel solo :) ) however my TA booked a friend of mine into one on the Regal Princess.

 

Back to port charges - i don't think they are identified as such to anyone, even the TAs. I believe what is being refered to is the Non Commissionable Fare which among other things includes port charges (and anything else the cruiseline feels like adding in here, since as the name implies they don't pay commission on this portion.)

[Taters]

Hi Janice... How have you been? Things are good with us - I've noticed that your next cruise is EXACTLY one year earlier than ours! I'm jealous!

 

Your pal,

 

Annie

[Brneyznfl]

Hi Annie, nice to "see" you again! You're waiting too long to take another cruise :D

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Well, it appears that Princess charges the price x 2 for single occupancy and does not back out non-commissionables (formerly known as port charges) while some of the others reduce the "price" by deducting those amounts. Certainly I can't see any justification for charging double the federal taxes, when only a single person is using federal services.

 

Single travelers need to vote with their dollars. If some cruise lines take out parts of the price and some don't, give your business to those that give you the break. But talk to the offending cruise line's reservation department first to see if you're getting the straight story. And if that's what they (Princess?) is really doing, then tell the reservationist why you're NOT booking with them. Eventually this information makes it's way via team meetings up to the decision-makers. But not if you don't complain and not if you pay anyway.

 

A couple years ago we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise that bypassed Grand Cayman due to poor weather. I wrote RCI to ask for a refund of the port charges for the skipped port, since obviously the Cayman's did not charge the ship for the skipped stop. RCI's response was that there is no such thing as port charges, simply the cruise fare. And they weren't going to refund part of the fare because of a skipped stop because the brochure clearly allows them to alter the itinerary. They wouldn't acknowledge that part of that fare was port charges because there is no such thing anymore as port charges. While some TA's may refer to port charges and some TA invoices may still include those words, I doubt you'll find "port charges" on any cruise line official documents/invoices. It's a no-no word now. Yes, they are a non-commissionable part of the fare but that's a matter between the cruise line and the travel agent. To the customer the price is simply the price, never mind what's in that price.

 

As for an IRS fee, that must be on a TA invoice and not on a cruise line invoice. That's probably a travel agent "garbage" fee, too low to cry fowl about but adding up for the agent selling a lot of cruises. If it's on an actual cruise line invoice, I'd like to hear about it.

[susancruzs]

Princess gave me a decent single rate for my B2B on the Sea Princess in Sept. (21 days) not even 150%, BUT they did charge me double in taxes. Its ridiculous but I've always wanted to do this itinerary so I booked it.

 

I've had two letters published in Cruise Travel Magazine, I'm always on my soapbox about this issue but I don't get too far. In the mid-90's Royal Caribbean was giving single cabins for 115%, which I considered fair, but they chose the cabin. It was a guaranteed single, it was fine. Didn't last too long though!

 

I don't share well so I've not done that, I've always lived alone, never even shared a room growing up so at 57 I don't like to share. I have cruised with friends, some through the "boards" and it worked out but being alone isn't bad either.

 

I don't think what Princess does is right by any means but if I want to do a certain itinerary I just bite the bullet and pay it. Some people are probably sailing single on Princess and not realizing they are paying these high taxes.

 

Susie

[Brneyznfl]

Thanks for your explanation Kingbobofthenorth. I'm committed to this cruise because I really want to try Princess and I'm cruising with friends so I'm going to pay this. However, I'm not going to leave it at that. I'm still going to write them and express my opinion on this matter. If after cruising Princess, based on my cruise experience, if I don't feel it's worth paying more then I'll go to another cruise line that offers a comparable experience but doesn't charge double the "non-commissionables" for single occupancy. :) I love to cruise. Hopefully my "single" dollars mean something to a cruiseline out there.

[zebra36]

I noticed this a while back and though this has been covered here I think solo cruisers, myself included, need to look at the total cost of going on Princess or any line. I have been looking at a late fall 7 day cruise on Princess and when compared to a cruise on Carnival with the same sailing date & itinerary Princess still comes out cheaper.

 

Frank

[floridakeith]

I am intrigued by this thread. In February a widowed UK friend joined us on Sun Princess. We booked her cruise at the same time as ours through our usual Florida travel agent (we live in Florida). We paid $800 each plus $257.99 "taxes" according to our invoice and our friend's invoice was for $1,299.50 plus £257.99 "taxes" per her invoice. So she paid exactly the same "taxes" per person as we did and definitely not double. Her cruise fare excluding "taxes" was surcharged by 62.4% compared to our fare. I remember the lawsuit by the Florida Attorney General regarding port charges that someone else mentioned. Maybe Princess has to follow different pricing rules in Florida as a result.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Princess does not have a flat single supplement %. It varies from cruise to cruise. Might depend on the popularity of the cruise. More popular itineraries, like our upcoming Hawaii cruise, command the higher supplement. It's all about shopping and comparing then making an informed decision. Crusing is a great vacation.........enjoy whatever you choose.

[kryos]

Yes, Princess charges a single cruiser double the "non-commissionables" (formerly known as port charges). It is "non-commissionables" on the Princess invoice.

 

100% of a ship's occupancy is two people per cabin. Ships are averaging over 100% occupancy because of 3 & 4th passengers.

 

RCL and Celebrity do not charge double non commissionables, but most of the time their single supplement is 200%. Neither does HAL. Neither does Carnival.

Okay, here's a question then. If a cabin has a third or fourth person in it then, would not logic dictate that there are no port charges assessed for the "extra" people. If 100% occupancy is considered two people per cabin, and the lines are charging double port charges for any singles traveling in the cabin alone, then logic would dictate that if another cabin has four people in it, the two extra people shouldn't be paying squat for port charges.

 

Or ... is my logic somehow flawed?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita