Port taxes and fees refund

[cruisevers]

Has anyone gotten these as a credit on final bill? I had never seen this before but our bill yesterday getting off the Westerdam had two credits for this. It was approx $40 pp.

 

One was port fees/taxes and one was Alaska Water fees. We did all ports as per our itinerary.

[Ky Colonel]

Has anyone gotten these as a credit on final bill? I had never seen this before but our bill yesterday getting off the Westerdam had two credits for this. It was approx $40 pp.

 

One was port fees/taxes and one was Alaska Water fees. We did all ports as per our itinerary.

 

Yes, on one of our Caribbean cruises, we received a credit for port fees/taxes, but I also recall that we had to skip one port stop because of bad weather. By any chance did you tender in to Sitka instead of docking at the "new" pier? If so, HAL may have refunded the port fee/taxes for Sitka - just a guess.

 

Hope you had a great time on the Westerdam and left her no worse for the wear - LOL - as we will be on her in a few weeks.

 

Smooth sailing,

 

Rod

[RuthC]

Sure have---more than once! I got a $29.xx refund as recently as last Wednesday when I disembarked the Volendam. The ship refunds excess port, taxes, fees charges just as it charges for increases (had those, too).

 

Frequently it's a refund for a missed port. There are also times when a change in either direction is due to a change in the foreign exchange rate. Right now, with the US dollar doing so well as compared to other currencies, that's a good possibility for many passengers.

[cruisevers]

Sure have---more than once! I got a $29.xx refund as recently as last Wednesday when I disembarked the Volendam. The ship refunds excess port, taxes, fees charges just as it charges for increases (had those, too).

 

Frequently it's a refund for a missed port. There are also times when a change in either direction is due to a change in the foreign exchange rate. Right now, with the US dollar doing so well as compared to other currencies, that's a good possibility for many passengers.

 

Part of it could have been currency but the Alaska Waters fee I really wonder about. I thought this might pertain to Glacier Bay sailing portion.

 

We actually docked in Sitka instead of tendering.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Over the years we have gotten back a few dollars for port taxes and fees.

And a few times we were notified of an increase in the port taxes and fees.

[ScriptOhio]

Just got off the Oosterdam (36 nights from Auckland to Vancouver) and got a refund of $36.66 pp port tax refund for missing Dunedin and another $56.51 pp for "port tax reduction".

 

Just sayin': I'm sure the cruise lines have to do this as somebody (i.e. lawyers) monitor it. Many years ago (like 25 or more) we got a notification (from a law firm) that there was a class action suit against NCL for overcharging on the port fees. When all was said and done, we ended up being offered our choice of $5 pp cash or $25 pp off our next NCL cruise.

[Mary Ellen]

We often find that our pre-paid Port Taxes & Fees are adjusted during cruises. What we've paid is the estimated amount and subject to change. I've bolded a section in the following quote.

 

Everyone - including the cruise lines - is confused by port charges and taxes. They are extremely complicated, differ greatly from port to port and country to country, and are constantly changing.

 

There are many different port taxes and fees charged to a cruise ship.

 

Many - but certainly not all - ports charge a fixed dollar amount for each paying passenger onboard the ship. But this number can go up or down with very little warning. Quite often, this amount as a part of the port taxes you paid several months ago when you booked the cruise has changed - up or down - by the time your ship goes to that particular port. When you board you then find a small refund - or a small additional charge - that reflects the change.

 

Some ports (not all) charge fixed wharfage and head taxes based on the size of the ship rather than the number of paying passengers onboard. Then the cruise line has to calculate the port taxes by dividing the overall port charges by number of paying passengers actually onboard the ship on the day of that particular port visit. If your cruise is very full you may pay lower fees and taxes than if it was not so full.

 

Many ports have several piers. Some piers carry higher port charges and taxes than other piers. It is often the case that a cruise ship Captain is not sure which pier he will be assigned to until just a day or even a few hours before he arrives in the port. In San Juan for example, the fees and taxes for a ship visiting for the day at the Old Town piers are far higher than the fees for a ship visiting or turning around at the Panamerican Piers across the harbor.

At Sydney harbor, we like to dock at "the Rocks", just across from the Opera House. We pay much higher fees, but the location is great for our passengers. But if a large ship that cannot fit under the Sydney Harbort Bridge happens to show up, they get priority and we are shifted to the new Sydney Terminal in Darling Harbor. We pay far less in fees and taxes at the new terminal, but it is not nearly as convenient.

 

Many ports charge by the hour or by a segment of hours. If a ship stays longer at a pier, it is charged more money. Those charges are passed on to the passengers.

 

In some countries, a ship pays higher - or lower - fees and taxes depending on which country the cruise originated in.

 

Two or three times every month (on average) I receive an email from the Head Office explaining how much more I need to charge - or refund - every new guest because one or more ports or countries has changed the tax or fee structure at one or more ports on our itinerary.

 

In some ports, the cruise line has a special deal with one pier owner or another, giving them lower port charges, which are passed on to the passengers. In St Thomas, for example, HAL, Princess, and Cunard ships normally go to the the Sub Base Pier and pay substantially lower fees than the other ships that go to the Havensight pier downtown.

At Key West, the smaller ships are allowed to dock right down town - and pay much higher fees than the bigger ships that are docked at the Navy Pier.

 

When my ship was in Shanghai last week, we were small enough to fit under the bridge and tie up at the end of the Bund in the center of town. We paid a substantial premium for that. Our Royal Caribbean competitors could not fit their ship in the Huang Pu river and instead had to go to the Container Terminal quite a way out of town. Even though they are much bigger than us, they paid lower fees.

 

Are you confused yet? We usually are. And I have only scratched the surface of the myriad of factors that cause the confusion that surrounds port charges, fees, and taxes.

 

How is this all controlled?

Several years ago, a few cruise lines were caught inflating taxes and fees for passengers.

The State of Florida brought major lawsuits against those lines, won the lawsuits, and the lines had to pay many millions in penalties.

From that point on, several US Government Organisations monitor and audit fees and taxes charged by all the cruise lines calling at US ports, keeping everyone honest.

 

 

[SilvertoGold]

This used to happen once in a while, but seems more frequent in the past couple of years.

 

The ships always have notified the pax by way of a short note explaining what and why.

 

Sometimes this also works the other way, too, unfortunately!!!

[CrusinAgain]

We were on same cruise and got that as well but have no idea since we could not cash it out if it will appear as a credit on credit card

[take us away]

Have had port fees and taxes refunded on the account for missing a port but also without missing a port. We were told that the port charges a certain amount which is divided amongst the passengers and that now and again the fee is factored by HAL with less than a full ship so if more full than expected, a refund may be possible but conversely, if fewer passengers, HAL eats the difference. There may a very slim possibility that a port decreases their fees but would be very surprised if that happened.