California Port Taxes

[Colorado Klutch]

4 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Disney has it 's share of problems as well that is why Bob Eigger came back for 2  year contract as CEO .He came out of retirement at 71 .Disney  stock has had a big decline  .Being that said their cruise line does well .Again ,a luxury line vs  mass market carriers . They & Viking do not have casinos

 

Disney's problems have nothing to do with the cruise line. Chapek was a chucklehead so they gave the reigns back to Iger. Lately, Disney's stock price has mostly followed the Dow. Although it did increase when Disney announced they were bringing Iger back. Unlike any Carnival lines, Disney is still building ships, so they must see profits in the future of cruising. 

As with any industry, adapt or die. It will be interesting to see how cruise lines manage increasing port taxes, destinations which are hostile towards cruise ships, environmental restrictions, fuel costs, changing demographics and many other challenges. It's definitely not an industry for wimps. 😀

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, Colorado Klutch said:

 

Disney's problems have nothing to do with the cruise line. Chapek was a chucklehead so they gave the reigns back to Iger. Lately, Disney's stock price has mostly followed the Dow. Although it did increase when Disney announced they were bringing Iger back. Unlike any Carnival lines, Disney is still building ships, so they must see profits in the future of cruising. 

As with any industry, adapt or die. It will be interesting to see how cruise lines manage increasing port taxes, destinations which are hostile towards cruise ships, environmental restrictions, fuel costs, changing demographics and many other challenges. It's definitely not an industry for wimps. 😀

I think we will see eventually that the West Coast states and cities will legislate out cruise ships from their ports ending them altogether. The City of Monterrey is voting today to do just this.

 

Monterey: City Manager to propose cruise ship passenger service end – Monterey Herald

[OlsSalt]

I think cruise ships should look into using Port Hueneme, California - south of Santa Barbara - a natural deep water port that would allow docking and not tendering.

 

Yet within bus ride access to many attractions in the surrounding area - not unlike many, many other ports around the world today that no longer dock "downtown"..

[mcrcruiser]

7 minutes ago, Colorado Klutch said:

 

Disney's problems have nothing to do with the cruise line. Chapek was a chucklehead so they gave the reigns back to Iger. Lately, Disney's stock price has mostly followed the Dow. Although it did increase when Disney announced they were bringing Iger back. Unlike any Carnival lines, Disney is still building ships, so they must see profits in the future of cruising. 

As with any industry, adapt or die. It will be interesting to see how cruise lines manage increasing port taxes, destinations which are hostile towards cruise ships, environmental restrictions, fuel costs, changing demographics and many other challenges. It's definitely not an industry for wimps. 😀

  I think you found the Jennie id that bottle  because  a miracle of sorts will be needed for the mass market lines to  keep sailing . In addition cut backs in food quality & the portions while raising prices imo  is  sticking their neck on the chopping block

[chengkp75]

24 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Green activists want zero cruise ships anywhere on the planet, and are active, organized and noisy.

The shore power question is really very little to do with cruise ships, which make up a very small part of the ship calls at the major California ports.  And, the port taxes and fees are the same for all ships, cargo and cruise, except for the "cargo" fees and taxes (either passenger count or container count).

 

19 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

I think cruise ships should look into using Port Hueneme, California - south of Santa Barbara - a natural deep water port that would allow docking and not tendering.

And, once you decide to have a passenger terminal there, who pays for it (hint, it'll be the passenger)?  Does the port authority build all the infrastructure (including shore power), and charge the lines port fees accordingly to cover the investment, or do the cruise lines build it, and pay for it by raising cruise fares?  Also, I looked at the LA and Hueneme port tariffs, and while it is for sure that some things are more expensive in LA, for dockage, for a 200 meter long ship (like a medium cruise ship), LA wants $3131 per 24 hours, while Hueneme wants $3364.  And, here's the real kicker.  The "wharfage" fee (fee to transport cargo across the dock) for cruise ship passengers is:  LA $16.60 per passenger, Hueneme $1029 per passenger.

[Colorado Klutch]

37 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

I think cruise ships should look into using Port Hueneme, California - south of Santa Barbara - a natural deep water port that would allow docking and not tendering.

 

Yet within bus ride access to many attractions in the surrounding area - not unlike many, many other ports around the world today that no longer dock "downtown"..

 

What's near Port Hueneme other than a beach? It's a 2 hour drive to Disneyland from there. 

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Wow.  The government gets 61% of the cruise fare cost????......That's enough to put a dent in bookings....and seems excessive.  

 

Folks can fly from the west coast to the east coast and still cruise with less $$$. 

 

Yet another reason to love cruising from Florida.

Nope, it seems high because he posted the taxes and fees for 2 and the second passenger fare was $44 dollars.

 

I am doing a 7 day cruise out of FLL with taxes and fees at $190. Really not much lower than the $250 they are paying on the CA coastal.

[terrydtx]

31 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Nope, it seems high because he posted the taxes and fees for 2 and the second passenger fare was $44 dollars.

He got the second passenger's cruise on a promo but in any such case you still have to pay the Taxes and fees for both passengers. We did an Alaska cruise in 2019 and took our grandson as the third person in the cabin for $59 and we had to pay the  full Taxes and port fees for our GS for the cruise.

[Guest ldtr]

54 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

He got the second passenger's cruise on a promo but in any such case you still have to pay the Taxes and fees for both passengers. We did an Alaska cruise in 2019 and took our grandson as the third person in the cabin for $59 and we had to pay the  full Taxes and port fees for our GS for the cruise.

Yes you do pay both, but the promo is the reason while it looks out of wack. Compared to the normal fare it is not.  If you look at the per person charge and even compare it to Florida cruise taxes and Fees it is really not that much different.

[FlaMariner]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

I am doing a 7 day cruise out of FLL with taxes and fees at $190. Really not much lower than the $250 they are paying on the CA coastal.

 

So CA coastal cruise is 32% more in taxes?  That seems much higher. 

 

Government taxes seem to be all over the place. 

[FlaMariner]

17 hours ago, kangforpres said:

Remember you can always cruise out of Texas and go on a DIY Mexican Walmart shorex. 

 

Can someone explain this to me? 

 

(I'm thinking this was not meant to be derogatory to anyone as that is not allowed on cc and would have been deleted by now)

[Guest ldtr]

6 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

So CA coastal cruise is 32% more in taxes?  That seems much higher. 

 

Government taxes seem to be all over the place. 

Certainly not enough to do a round trip flight to Florida as you stated earlier.

[terrydtx]

Just now, ldtr said:

Certainly not enough to do a round trip flight to Florida as you stated earlier.

$70 won't by a flight to anywhere anymore.

[FlaMariner]

Just now, ldtr said:

Certainly not enough to do a round trip flight to Florida as you stated earlier.

 

Agree!  Plus, I can only do so many Caribbean islands........but 32% is certainly higher.

[Guest ldtr]

1 minute ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Agree!  Plus, I can only do so many Caribbean islands........but 32% is certainly higher.

When looking at the  total cost of the cruise the impact is more like 6%, for a balcony.  Bit more for inside, less for suites.

[kangforpres]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

$70 won't by a flight to anywhere anymore.

You can go one-way somewhere on Spirit without any luggage for under $70 in a 28 inch pitch seat

[OlsSalt]

7 hours ago, Colorado Klutch said:

 

What's near Port Hueneme other than a beach? It's a 2 hour drive to Disneyland from there. 

As much is near Port Hueneme as lots of out of the way ports  requiring long bus trips from industrial ports to main attractions - Hanoi, Beijing, Bangkok, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, etc, etc

 

Malibu is down the road on very scenic Highway One - also the very bucolic Santa Paula Heritage Valley - largest citrus production area in the US, Old Town Ventura, Carpinteria and Santa Barbara -about an hour away.

 

However, ChengKP threw the appropriate cold water on the suggestion.  Costs and conversion to cruise port facilities are too daunting.

 

And yes, now I see "shore power" was a literal response; instead of the figurative one I had interpreted it to be - thinking it  the "power of those on shore" which carries a lot of weight too,  when deciding if a port will allow cruise ships or not. 

[terrydtx]

18 hours ago, kangforpres said:

You can go one-way somewhere on Spirit without any luggage for under $70 in a 28 inch pitch seat

LOL, That is still not RT from the west coast to Florida.