Port taxes and fees?

[canyoncam]

I had a room already booked on a cruise and today moved another booking to the same cruise. The port taxes are higher $63.20 per person on the new one. Double checked the older reservation and they have not gone up. Should I expect them to? Is this common? Shouldn't everyone regardless of when they booked pay the same port taxes?

Edited November 20, 2014 by canyoncam

[Shmoo here]

I had a room already booked on a cruise and today moved another booking to the same cruise. The port taxes are higher $63.20 per person on the new one. Double checked the older reservation and they have not gone up. Should I expect them to? Is this common? Shouldn't everyone regardless of when they booked pay the same port taxes?

 

Is the first reservation already paid off? Typically, if the cruise is paid off any changes in port fees & taxes upward won't be charged, but any changes lowering the costs are credited back.

 

Port fees & taxes can change at any time.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Shmoo here

[moki'smommy]

Correct. DCL's policy is that you are charged whatever the port charges/taxes/government fees are listed at as of the day of booking. Once you have made your reservation and paid the down payment, they regard that as a fixed contract. If any of the above increase (and different jurisdictions have different change dates), DCL "eats" the increase. If they go down, you get a refund--and they do go down many times, but in very small dollar amounts. Hence you see a $13 refund to your credit card which might represent the decrease for 4 people.

 

However, a $63 per person increase is quite a lot. I've seen small increases in the past, but nothing this big.

 

My only question of the above response is that we've always seen the amount fixed at the time of paying the down payment, not at paying off the cruise in full.

[canyoncam]

Correct. DCL's policy is that you are charged whatever the port charges/taxes/government fees are listed at as of the day of booking. Once you have made your reservation and paid the down payment' date=' they regard that as a fixed contract. If any of the above increase (and different jurisdictions have different change dates), DCL "eats" the increase. If they go down, you get a refund--and they do go down many times, but in very small dollar amounts. Hence you see a $13 refund to your credit card which might represent the decrease for 4 people.

 

However, a $63 per person increase is quite a lot. I've seen small increases in the past, but nothing this big.

 

My only question of the above response is that we've always seen the amount fixed at the time of paying the down payment, not at paying off the cruise in full.[/quote']

 

Ok. So its the Panama canal, thus the large difference. I am not PIF but did have the down payment paid. I have received refunds in the past when fees went down. Guess I can hope for that in this case.

[Shmoo here]

Correct. DCL's policy is that you are charged whatever the port charges/taxes/government fees are listed at as of the day of booking. Once you have made your reservation and paid the down payment' date=' they regard that as a fixed contract. If any of the above increase (and different jurisdictions have different change dates), DCL "eats" the increase. If they go down, you get a refund--and they do go down many times, but in very small dollar amounts. Hence you see a $13 refund to your credit card which might represent the decrease for 4 people.

 

However, a $63 per person increase is quite a lot. I've seen small increases in the past, but nothing this big.

 

My only question of the above response is that we've always seen the amount fixed at the time of paying the down payment, not at paying off the cruise in full.[/quote']

 

I bow to your knowledge. The only increases we've ever had were after we were paid in full. I just figured that was when such things were "fixed".

[canyoncam]

One more question for moki'smommy. If I want to change my room category on this same sailing will I have to pay the new fees or am I still considered locked in?

[Shmoo here]

One more question for moki'smommy. If I want to change my room category on this same sailing will I have to pay the new fees or am I still considered locked in?

 

Not, MM, but you are locked into the rates on the day you book. So your room change would cost what it cost the day you made your original reservation.

[moki'smommy]

Correct--you lock in your pricing tier on the day you book originally. If you change categories, you'll pay the price for the new category that was in effect on the day of your original booking.