5 euros each to leave the ship

I'm not sure how feel about this but in Livarno today you couldn't leave the ship ( the port ) unless you paid 5 euros pp. you couldn't walk out the port, you either had to go by shuttle, taxi or princess tour. I do feel it's wrong for Princess not to actually get you out of the port for free.

I agree. That is extreme.

I'm not sure how feel about this but in Livarno today you couldn't leave the ship ( the port ) unless you paid 5 euros pp. you couldn't walk out the port, you either had to go by shuttle, taxi or princess tour. I do feel it's wrong for Princess not to actually get you out of the port for free.

Please help us understand how this 5 Euros was charged. Was it to the cruise card and a ticket issued on the ship. Or was it paid directly to the shuttle company when you boarded the shuttle?

Was there also a charge on the shuttle to return to the ship by it? Or was the 5 Euros a round-trip rate?

It was 5 euros pp return, paid directly to the bus company parked on the dock, cash only. You could not walk the 1/2 a mile to the town the wouldn't let you out the gates.

I'm not sure how feel about this but in Livarno today you couldn't leave the ship ( the port ) unless you paid 5 euros pp. you couldn't walk out the port, you either had to go by shuttle, taxi or princess tour. I do feel it's wrong for Princess not to actually get you out of the port for free.

Assuming that this charge was levied by the port and not by Princess, why should Princess pay this charge? Your cruise fare includes fees and port taxes and these are added to the cost of the cruise. Should Princess have added 5 Euros PP to each fare? What about people who did not want to leave the ship? Should they be charged an additional 5 Euro?

Understand, I'm not trying to justify the fee. It sounds very much like something done to increase the profits of those driving taxis and shuttles. Although, it is possible that this particular port might have reasons to control passengers walking around inside the port area like safety, etc?

Princess advertise an itinary sailing to Livarno, so yes they should pay. If delta flew you dallas and the wanted $5 for you to exit the airplane would this be ok.

Princess advertise an itinary sailing to Livarno, so yes they should pay. If delta flew you dallas and the wanted $5 for you to exit the airplane would this be ok. But don't woory the crew only have to pay€2

Princess advertise an itinary sailing to Livarno, so yes they should pay. If delta flew you dallas and the wanted $5 for you to exit the airplane would this be ok.

Bad analogy. This isn't a fee imposed by the cruise line. A better analogy would be if DFW charged a fee to leave the airport. Why should Delta pay that fee even if you're just connecting through?

The OP reported that there was a gate where they charged you the fee. You were not charged to exit the ship only to board the bus and pass through the gate.

Princess fulfilled it's obligation when it docked in Livarno. It has no further obligation to pay for your shore excursions including bus rides.

Besides, what would it matter? The fee would just be tacked onto the price of your ticket as are all the other fees and taxes.

I would not be surprised to learn that the taxi drivers, bus operators, etc., lobbied the port to impose this fee in order to skim money from cruise line passengers. This sort of thing is common in the travel industry. Think of fees imposed on rental cars by local governments. Or, special taxes on hotels statys. Just a good way to tax people who do not vote in the local elections. That said, the issue is with the port and not the cruise line.

In the past there have been taxis and rental cars at the pier. Were these there this time? Did these require the 5 euro fee? If yes, you have a point. If no, you are not paying 5 euro to leave the ship. You are paying 5 euro to use a shuttle bus, which is not unheard of in ports around the world.

Bad analogy. This isn't a fee imposed by the cruise line. A better analogy would be if DFW charged a fee to leave the airport. Why should Delta pay that fee even if you're just connecting through?

 

The OP reported that there was a gate where they charged you the fee. You were not charged to exit the ship only to board the bus and pass through the gate.

 

Princess fulfilled it's obligation when it docked in Livarno. It has no further obligation to pay for your shore excursions including bus rides.

 

Besides, what would it matter? The fee would just be tacked onto the price of your ticket as are all the other fees and taxes.

 

I would not be surprised to learn that the taxi drivers, bus operators, etc., lobbied the port to impose this fee in order to skim money from cruise line passengers. This sort of thing is common in the travel industry. Think of fees imposed on rental cars by local governments. Or, special taxes on hotels statys. Just a good way to tax people who do not vote in the local elections. That said, the issue is with the port and not the cruise line.

I can see one pays $5 for the transportation this is normal.To charge a person $5 to walk out of the port gate:eek: is wrong.It should be up to Princess to question this to the port authorities.I have been on many cruises with Princess and this is a first for charging some one to walk out of the port gate.

I agree with the OP. Passengers pay port charges and those charges should cover exit from the port area. Princess should have this in their contract with the port authorities. If this isn't possible then Princess should contract a shuttle service. We have been to ports where the port authority does not allow walking. Free shuttles are provided to get you to the port exit. I believe Barbados, Valparaiso, Cartagena are examples.

In the past there have been taxis and rental cars at the pier. Were these there this time? Did these require the 5 euro fee? If yes, you have a point. If no, you are not paying 5 euro to leave the ship. You are paying 5 euro to use a shuttle bus, which is not unheard of in ports around the world.

What does the presence or absence of taxis have to do with this? Wouldn't the taxis charging a five euro fee be the same as a bus charging a five euro fee?

The point is, Princess did not charge passengers to leave the ship. From OP's posts, it sounds like there was an area on the dock next to the ship. In order to leave this area you had to go through a gate. The only way the port allowed you to go through the gate was if you were in a public conveyance, ie taxi or bus. The taxis and buses charged a five euro fee. IOW, there was collusion between the port and the conveyance operators to rip off the passengers. That's a problem with the port, not the cruise line.

BTW, OP reported you could also exit the gate on a Princess shore excursion. I would be willing to bet those passengers on the excursions also paid this fee whether it was itemized or not.

The set up is this, you walk down the gang plank, through an empty building an either pay 5 euros to leave the port by bus, hire a car, taxi or use a Princess excursion.

My point is if your not allowed to walk out the port the bus should be free, if the bus is an option because you'd don't want to walk, fair enough.

I agree with the OP. Passengers pay port charges and those charges should cover exit from the port area. Princess should have this in their contract with the port authorities. If this isn't possible then Princess should contract a shuttle service. We have been to ports where the port authority does not allow walking. Free shuttles are provided to get you to the port exit. I believe Barbados, Valparaiso, Cartagena are examples.

Do those four ports charge a fee like Livarno? If Princess offered a bus shuttle in Livarno, would the port still charge Princess a five euro pp fee for those riding the shuttle? Why would this be any different than any other shore excursion where the passengers pay for the cost of the excursion?

It's very easy to say that Princess should do this or do that, but Princess isn't doing this. This is a fee imposed by a local government, the port. It's entirely within their right to do so. The port may not want to include the fee in their port charges. Then what does Princess do?

We may not like this and I certainly do not. I firmly convinced that there is collusion between the taxis and buses and the port to rip off the cruise line passengers. One way or the other the passengers will pay this fee. Either at the gate or in the cruise fare. The issue is with the port and not the cruise line.

I can see one pays $5 for the transportation this is normal.To charge a person $5 to walk out of the port gate:eek: is wrong.It should be up to Princess to question this to the port authorities.I have been on many cruises with Princess and this is a first for charging some one to walk out of the port gate.

I can see one pays $5 for the transportation this is normal.To charge a person $5 to walk out of the port gate:eek: is wrong.It should be up to Princess to question this to the port authorities.I have been on many cruises with Princess and this is a first for charging some one to walk out of the port gate.

Fully agree that the imposition of this fee is not customary and is 'wrong'. Still, if the local government (port) chooses to charge a fee, it's still the passengers responsibility to pay. What would you have Princess do if the local government (port) refuses to remove the fee?

If Princess pays this fee should it be added to the 'fees and taxes' charged all passengers? If you do that you're charging all passengers not just those who want to visit the port.

The set up is this, you walk down the gang plank, through an empty building an either pay 5 euros to leave the port by bus, hire a car, taxi or use a Princess excursion.

My point is if your not allowed to walk out the port the bus should be free, if the bus is an option because you'd don't want to walk, fair enough.

Pretty much as I suspected. Princess was not charging you to leave the ship. I agree that you should be allowed to walk out but I disagree that Princess should pay the fee.

Your issue is with the local government ripping off cruise line passengers by forcing them to use a local business operation. In effect, the local government has forced you to book a shore excursion, eg, the buses or the taxis, to exit the port. Now, why should Princess pay for this?

You could contact Princess and protest this but I'm afraid all that won't help. You may get a nice and thought filled email but that's about it. Princess can't stop local government's from adding fees like this rip off.

It's not even clear that Princess could pay this fee. The local government (port) might insist that passengers pay the transportation operators directly. Even if Princess could pay the fee, they'd just add another five euros pp to the port fees for this stop. I doubt that would make you happy.

Face it. This is just another example of a local government imposing a tax/fee on visiting tourists. Happens. Some one is going to pay it.

We paid it both times we were in Livorno. The port is too dangerous to walk in. You could get a taxi, take a tour, or pay the fee to ride the bus. Some ports offer free shuttles, others do not.

Once I was in a port (can't remember which one, but not Livorno) where passengers weren't allowed to walk through the industrial port so the only options to get into town were to take the Princess shuttle, a taxi or private transportation that was hired. Each of these options cost money - even the Princess shuttle. We only had these choices, so it was either pay or stay on the ship.

This is one of those things where a little research goes a long way. This has been a policy at Livorno for a while now. The port does NOT give the lines the option of paying except to charter buses based on whole pax AND crew count (which obviously will not happen or if it did would jump the port taxes part of the fare!), there is no method for the ship to purchase tickets, vouchers, etc. and then provide to passengers leaving the ship on their own. That was supposed to happen but never has.

The ostensible reason provided by the port is safety. Use your own judgement

Buses and tour providers pay either based on capacity or a fixed annual fee, not 100 percent sure on that. The cost is baked into the tour prices.

Princess could probably communicate better, but nothing they can do other than skip Livorno (which will not happen as its the access point for Florence and Pisa.

Do those four ports charge a fee like Livarno?

Based on my memory, the three ports I mentioned do not allow walking from the ship to the port exit building. There were free shuttles. Valparaiso was a fairly long bus ride between cargo containers and cargo operations. If the port is paying for the shuttle then I suppose the cost is included in their port fees. If Princess pays then I suppose the cost is part of the fare calculation.

RocketMan

There are lots of arguments as to why a shuttle fee could be charged, but my opinion is that passengers are guests at the port and they are there to visit and spend money, lots of money. A shuttle fee, however small, does not provide a friendly welcome.

Livorno is not pedestrian friendly, its a long way from the usual docking space for Princess to the entrance to the port. There are no sidewalks and there is heavy truck traffic.

Princess should provide a free shuttle. On our Med cruise aboard the Regal we noticed more and more ports where princess provided local shuttles but they charged a pretty hefty fee that could be charged directly to your shipboard account. Just another way to rake in extra $$$ IMO. :(

So far your posts (todays and prior ones during your current cruise) indicate that you are not very happy with your current cruise. Is there anything that's working out well onboard the Emerald?

Really two issues here - 1. Not being allowed to walk from the ship to the Port exit and 2. Charge for the shuttle to get out of the Port area. (This assumes I understood the OP correctly.)

1. Not being allowed to walk through the Port area - somewhat common around the world. Usually this happens in Ports where the Cruise Ship docks in the working Port area.

In these cases, there is usually some sort of shuttle to get you out of the port, and/or taxis and tour buses (cruise ship tours and private tours) can pick you up at the ship.

2. Shuttle charge - In my experience most shuttles, when required, are provided by the Port authorities - no change. However, sometimes there is a fee, as I guess OP experienced. To have a fee is not unheard of by any means, but a surprise when you come face to face with it.

When I was last in Livorno I was on a pre-arranged private tour and did not have to pay "at the gate" as one might say. If the fee was in effect at that time I guess it was included in my tour cost.

I would say if you wanted to make a political protest get everybody to leave the ship and start a game of baseball on the quayside. If anyone asks, point out you do not want to walk out the port or leave it on a shuttle bus and pay five euros. You do not want to go through any industrial areas within the port you are just staying by the ship. If the police come and move you on reboard the ship then leave it again in five minutes.

Regards John

Based on my memory, the three ports I mentioned do not allow walking from the ship to the port exit building. There were free shuttles. Valparaiso was a fairly long bus ride between cargo containers and cargo operations. If the port is paying for the shuttle then I suppose the cost is included in their port fees. If Princess pays then I suppose the cost is part of the fare calculation.

 

RocketMan

There are lots of arguments as to why a shuttle fee could be charged, but my opinion is that passengers are guests at the port and they are there to visit and spend money, lots of money. A shuttle fee, however small, does not provide a friendly welcome.

I'm sure the port has a different opinion.

This thread should have been renamed " 5 Euros to ride the bus?"

When We were there we used a "transportation only" tour from Princess. It was not expensive and took us to Pisa and then Florence. No extra 5 Euro fee. It was a good deal.

I have never heard of a cruise company paying for bus fare on a local bus unless it was part of one of their tours.

JMNTBHO.