Carnival to include taxes and port fees in advertised prices as of July 1

[mfs2k]

Starting July 1, Carnival Cruise Line will include the cost of port expenses, taxes and other fees in the price that potential passengers see.

 

 

The changes kick in when California’s “Honest Pricing Law” goes into effect, restricting companies that do business in the state from advertising a price that is lower than what a consumer will ultimately have to pay.

 

“While this is a California state law, we are making this change nationwide to ensure our advertised pricing is consistent no matter where guests shop for our cruises,” Carnival Corp. spokeswoman Jody Venturoni said in a statement. 

 

Discuss

[VictorWI]

I hate seeing those $50 casino offers to go in to only find out there are $600 in taxes and port fees. This will be far better.

[pe4all]

 

Now if they would only include gratuities.  Though we always pre-pay them, would much rather they be included with the fare.  At least the crew wouldn't lose out when people remove their grats because they feel they paid enough already for the cruise.

[Saint Greg]

I like it. Most people on here seem to quote the advertised price. I always try to include the taxes and port fees in anything I talk about.

[cruizinisthebest]

I love the idea. Just tell me how it costs all together please. 

[staceyglow]

I wonder if the California law means that hotels will have to advertise the price including taxes and resort fees and taxes.

[Theosprey247]

19 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I wonder if the California law means that hotels will have to advertise the price including taxes and resort fees and taxes.

If they do business in California they will have too.

 

I for one like this.

[BlerkOne]

Will be interesting, because all Carnival can do is estimate the port taxes and fees. They can't control them.

 

Or any possible fuel surcharges in the future.

 

It seems like much ado about nothing for cruises. Only first time cruisers night not know about port taxes etc.

[ChinaShrek]

There is a wide variety in port fees. The length of the cruise often has nothing to do with the port taxes. For one 7 night cruise,  I have paid around $100 in taxes, while an 8 night had over $500 (a Panama Canal cruise) in charges. It would be nice to know this before I am on the final page ready to book.

[CruiseFans2024]

Great news. If only Carnival and other cruise lines add the gratuities to their basic cruise cost. I have seen many people removing them on the last night of the cruise.  

[Saint Greg]

16 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Will be interesting, because all Carnival can do is estimate the port taxes and fees. They can't control them.

 

Or any possible fuel surcharges in the future.

 

Maybe they have to set what they're going to charge and deal with a change on their own.

 

16 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 Only first time cruisers night not know about port taxes etc.

 

 

Which is about half of the people on most Carnival ships.

 

[heffy2]

I think it's great. The cruise line I work for did this after the re-start in 2021 and to get ourselves in line with similar "luxury" lines.

[starstruck05]

10 minutes ago, CruiseFans2024 said:

Great news. If only Carnival and other cruise lines add the gratuities to their basic cruise cost. I have seen many people removing them on the last night of the cruise.  

You're assuming that's what they are doing and even if they are, that's completely up to them. Best if everyone just minds their own business. I prepay mine almost every cruise but I've been at the desk to correct charges or get refunds on the last day. No one knows what I'm doing besides me and whoever is helping me.

[geovet]

Are other cruise lines doing the same?

[simplelife]

About time. Sometimes when comparing cruise prices, the one advertised as more will actually be less when fees figure in. the new policy will make it easier to compare

[vwrestler171]

12 minutes ago, geovet said:

Are other cruise lines doing the same?

They will have to if they are doing business in California.  

[silvercrikhix]

My upper Midwest state gov’t is toying with this law currently. Meh, they should be spending their time on important issues, there are many, many of them they need to address. 

Sounds OK, as long as we get a breakdown because the port fees vary widely. 
Of current greater importance would be to know breakdown so it’s not an excuse to tack on another fare increase for themselves.  All the cutbacks alone is making them a fortune. 

They have watered down the product more than enough IMHO.
No, we obviously don’t have stock in Carnival Corp.  lol 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Maybe they have to set what they're going to charge and deal with a change on their own.

 

I suspect it could fall under the taxes part of the law and they can do as they please. As in match the competition. I wouldn't be surprised if Carnival adds additional "optional" fees which are exempt - e.g. you want to change cabins, a price reduction, we are going to charge a fee for this, a fee for that.

 

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

 

Which is about half of the people on most Carnival ships.

 

As Carnival doesn't release numbers like that, it falls under the 150% of statistics are made up.

[Saint Greg]

24 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

As Carnival doesn't release numbers like that, it falls under the 150% of statistics are made up.

You can say that if you want. I’m going off of everytime I’ve seen JH release numbers that’s about what it is. And everytime a CD on one of my cruises throws the numbers out there, that’s about what it is. 
 

Edited May 15 by Saint Greg

[VentureMan_2000]

33 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 

I suspect it could fall under the taxes part of the law and they can do as they please. As in match the competition. I wouldn't be surprised if Carnival adds additional "optional" fees which are exempt - e.g. you want to change cabins, a price reduction, we are going to charge a fee for this, a fee for that.

 

As Carnival doesn't release numbers like that, it falls under the 150% of statistics are made up.

The cruise industry does keep track and reported that 45% of global cruise travelers in 2019 were first-time cruisers.  With Carnival booking at 102% capacity, their first-time cruisers percent is likely higher.   So, Saint Greg is pretty much on the money.

Must-Know Cruise Industry Statistics [Latest Report] • Gitnux

 

Edited May 15 by VentureMan_2000

[BlerkOne]

11 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

You can say that if you want. I’m going off of everytime I’ve seen JH release numbers that’s about what it is. And everytime a CD on one of my cruises throws the numbers out there, that’s about what it is. 
 

Anecdotal at best.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

Many fees have previously been adjusted during the cruise, such as a port that charges a flat fee based on the size of the ship, as opposed to a per person fee, so the actual per person charge changes when they have final passenger count.  In these cases many passengers received a refund. With the now rule, if the cruise lines are required to disclose the total before you book a cruise, they will probably be forced to charge a higher fee to cover any unforeseen expenses, rather than making an adjustment as costs increase (or more likely, decrease).  

 

It seems like this new law will probably end up costing passengers.

 

 

 

Edited May 15 by Old Fart Cruisers

[BlerkOne]

2 minutes ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

 

2 minutes ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

It seems like this new law will probably end up costing passengers.

 

Pretty much guaranteed.

[BlerkOne]

16 minutes ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

The cruise industry does keep track and reported that 45% of global cruise travelers in 2019 were first-time cruisers.  With Carnival booking at 102% capacity, their first-time cruisers percent is likely higher.   So, Saint Greg is pretty much on the money.

Must-Know Cruise Industry Statistics [Latest Report] • Gitnux

 

I don't see a single cruise line referenced in that report, much less for that statistic.

[n6uqqq]

3 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

There is a wide variety in port fees. The length of the cruise often has nothing to do with the port taxes. For one 7 night cruise,  I have paid around $100 in taxes, while an 8 night had over $500 (a Panama Canal cruise) in charges. It would be nice to know this before I am on the final page ready to book.

It shows you the total right from the page where you choose room type. Now your room cost may go up if you choose a higher category but the port fees and taxes are included.