New gov't fee & tax increase???

[Toto2Kansas]

Not since they stopped mailing out a paper copy.

 

I have truthfully no idea if it has changed one iota since they have stopped sending it out.

 

But when you go into your booking for the first time, you have to accept the contract, so it is there to read or print off. For awhile, it showed up each time you tried to access your booking, but they stopped that (I am sure because of complaints, as I read plenty of them here on CC when Princess began doing that).

[pascalburns]

last year they went down,this year they went up.:)

[BruceMuzz]

When you and the cruise line are dealing in US Dollars that become increasingly less valuable, foreign ports (and the cruise line) do not want to lose income on the exchange.

 

As a result, the taxes go up.

[caribill]

But when you go into your booking for the first time, you have to accept the contract, so it is there to read or print off. For awhile, it showed up each time you tried to access your booking, but they stopped that (I am sure because of complaints, as I read plenty of them here on CC when Princess began doing that).

 

Actually, what showed up every time was the rules for using the personalizer.

 

The contract only showed up one time and even that did not start until about a year ago.

[DaisyRose]

The taxes and fees on our April 29 Panama Canal cruise on the Island went up $23.79 per person. Although I wouldn't think of canceling because of the fee increase, I really did think $23.79 per person was a pretty big increase.

 

I've also noticed the taxes and fees on my flights have gone up, though you pay whatever is in effect when you purchase your ticket; no retroactive fees to be added on when you fly. Our flights on Southwest always had about $20 in taxes and fees each way; now, about $30 in taxes and fees get added on per flight. All these tax and fee increases seem a bit excessive to me. As retirees without an income to go up, it gets discouraging.

[NSWP]

Have some sympathy for us Aussies having to pay $2000 each to fly in and out of the Americas to pick up a cruise, this tax increase is minute.

[DaisyRose]

NSWP, yes I do sympathize with the $2000 cost for you to fly into the Americas. Funny, it seems so many of us want to cruise far from where we live. We pay close to $2000 to fly to Europe, and the European passengers probably pay that much to fly into the US for cruises. My "dream" cruise is the 29/30 day cruise from California to Sydney. I am trying to save up for it; the cost of a one way flight back to the US is usually more than a round trip; hard to figure it out! Anyway, looks like we travelers will be feed and taxed forever. If we want to travel and see the world, I guess we just have to budget for it. I will probably be doing more localized trips to try to avoid the cost of international flights. If you love to cruise, I guess it doesn't matter too much where you go; but for us, it's more a desire to see the world than it is a desire to cruise. The enjoyment of a cruise is just a really great extra.

[Colo Cruiser]

If it was $17 I would probably cancel the cruise. Not. :eek:

[NSWP]

NSWP, yes I do sympathize with the $2000 cost for you to fly into the Americas. Funny, it seems so many of us want to cruise far from where we live. We pay close to $2000 to fly to Europe, and the European passengers probably pay that much to fly into the US for cruises. My "dream" cruise is the 29/30 day cruise from California to Sydney. I am trying to save up for it; the cost of a one way flight back to the US is usually more than a round trip; hard to figure it out! Anyway, looks like we travelers will be feed and taxed forever. If we want to travel and see the world, I guess we just have to budget for it. I will probably be doing more localized trips to try to avoid the cost of international flights. If you love to cruise, I guess it doesn't matter too much where you go; but for us, it's more a desire to see the world than it is a desire to cruise. The enjoyment of a cruise is just a really great extra.

Thanks. Re cruising California to Sydney, we were on last voyage of Regal Princess, San Pedro to Sydney, September 2007. Loved it. Tahiti etc, great. I hope you live your dream.

[wizard-of-roz]

The taxes and fees on our April 29 Panama Canal cruise on the Island went up $23.79 per person. Although I wouldn't think of canceling because of the fee increase, I really did think $23.79 per person was a pretty big increase.

 

I've also noticed the taxes and fees on my flights have gone up, though you pay whatever is in effect when you purchase your ticket; no retroactive fees to be added on when you fly. Our flights on Southwest always had about $20 in taxes and fees each way; now, about $30 in taxes and fees get added on per flight. All these tax and fee increases seem a bit excessive to me. As retirees without an income to go up, it gets discouraging.

 

Very discouraging, you are correct! :(

[wizard-of-roz]

If it was $17 I would probably cancel the cruise. Not. :eek:

 

Yeah, right! :p

[wizard-of-roz]

Have some sympathy for us Aussies having to pay $2000 each to fly in and out of the Americas to pick up a cruise, this tax increase is minute.

 

That's ridiculous. It would certainly put a "crimp" in our budget!!!!

[Pia1913]

We've already gotten two major increases on our Feb. 23rd Santiago to Rio cruise and final payment is not yet due. Taxes on that cruise are sky high.

[DaisyRose]

Does anyone know just what all the fees and taxes are? I wish they would itemize them, only because I am curious as to who and what is getting how much. I do know that some of the fees are port charges that the ship must pay to dock, and they divide them up amongst the number of passengers the ship can hold, but I would think there are other fees and charges as well. I remember all the upset when Alaska imposed the $50 per person head fee. It disturbed me, because as an American citizen, I have a hard time accepting that Alaska is charging me $50 to enter their state. As a New Yorker, I don't think we charge residents of Alaska or other states to enter New York. Anyway, I'm just really curious as to what all the fees are, especially on the trips where they are a few hundred dollars. Does anyone know?

[seattlecruiser]

We've already gotten two major increases on our Feb. 23rd Santiago to Rio cruise and final payment is not yet due. Taxes on that cruise are sky high.

 

Likewise on the Buenos Aires-Santiago Jan 9th. Out taxes have gone up $136.42pp since we booked!

[Loonbeam]

Not $50 but you do pay to get into most states at toll bridges, expressway tolls, etc. For example, if I drive from home to NYC depending on which way I go its about $12 each way in tolls for the various bridges, etc. A trip to Baltimore is $9 each way. People forget about it, but it adds up..

 

 

 

Does anyone know just what all the fees and taxes are? I wish they would itemize them, only because I am curious as to who and what is getting how much. I do know that some of the fees are port charges that the ship must pay to dock, and they divide them up amongst the number of passengers the ship can hold, but I would think there are other fees and charges as well. I remember all the upset when Alaska imposed the $50 per person head fee. It disturbed me, because as an American citizen, I have a hard time accepting that Alaska is charging me $50 to enter their state. As a New Yorker, I don't think we charge residents of Alaska or other states to enter New York. Anyway, I'm just really curious as to what all the fees are, especially on the trips where they are a few hundred dollars. Does anyone know?

[Princessmich]

We booked our cruise in July and received a notice of tax increase of $32.26 total..not a deal breaker at all:)