Include Port Fees & Taxes?

[sarahc78]

I'm interested in getting a few insurance quotes for our upcoming sailing on Celebrity. Do I include Port Charges & Taxes on the quote or just the price of the actual cruise per person?

[JudithLynne]

Just finished filing a claim and received a refund. Include the port charges in the insurance policy. The cruise line (Celebrity) refunded, back to our credit card, the taxes which was called "govt fees" by the travel agency.

Edited April 10, 2015 by JudithLynne

[LHT28]

I include them in the ins amount even though the cruise line will refund them if you cancel

I usually have some other charge that may not have been added

When you file the claim they will see on the forms what amount the cruise line refunded you (well at least in my case they did)

The ins will usually pay for the the amount you are out of pocket

[Mistizoom]

Yes, you should include them because if you have a trip interruption you may have already paid some or all of the port fees and they wouldn't be refunded by the cruise line, so they need to be considered as part of your trip cost.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Port fees and taxes are refundable. If you cancel before the cruise, you get them back, so why insure them? If you interrupt your trip, you only get the unused portion back, and you will have "used" the port fees and taxes for the ports you've already sailed out of, so you're not going to get them back from the cruise line or the insurance. Same as you're not going to be reimbursed for the breakfast you ate in the departure port just before you boarded.

 

JudithLynne states she filed a claim and got a refund, but the refund was from Celebrity, not her insurance. She would have received the refund for port fees and taxes even if she didn't have insurance.

 

LHT28 includes them anyway, in case there is some other charge that was omitted. That's fine if it doesn't kick you up to the next tier. Most insurance is priced in tiers, so if you round your trip cost up to the nearest $500 per person, it won't affect the premium. All you get back is what you paid, but it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution. But this has nothing directly to do with including refundable costs like port fees.

 

I work for a major travel insurance company.

[iamtrustworthy]

Port fees and taxes are mostly refundable for. However, there are cruise lines that don't refund them so the only way to know is to ask the cruise line.

 

Also, I started a thread on this subject on Jan 23, 2010 that you might find helpful:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1127727

[LHT28]

 

LHT28 includes them anyway, in case there is some other charge that was omitted. That's fine if it doesn't kick you up to the next tier. Most insurance is priced in tiers, so if you round your trip cost up to the nearest $500 per person, it won't affect the premium. All you get back is what you paid, but it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution. But this has nothing directly to do with including refundable costs like port fees.

 

I work for a major travel insurance company.

 

well as bad luck would have it we had to get off a cruise last Sunday

good thing I included the port fees in my quote because once you set foot on the ship no refunds

In the process of gathering paperwork :eek:

[LHT28]

Since you are in the know maybe you can help

DH saw the ship's doctor & got the form from him with treatment & DX

 

I just got the claim form from the insurance company & they want a section filled out by the doctor

Not possible as the ship in now in the Atlantic Ocean & I do not swim

 

What happens in cases like this ?

I am sure I am not the 1st to have left the ship before receiving the claims form

He is going to ask his GP for a letter to say why he had to leave the ship

 

Any insight is appreciated

Thanks

Lyn

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I work in sales, not claims, but my understanding is that any forms should be sent to you by email and can be forwarded to the ship's doctor. You may need to get the specific email from the cruise line. They may have a general email to send them to and they will forward on to the ship.

 

A 'note from the doctor' is usually unacceptable (exceptions can be made, but don't count on it). There is a specific form that would need to be completed. Also, the wording on the policy probably refers to a sickness or injury at the time of loss if it was a trip interruption. Going to the GP after the fact says nothing about what his condition was at the time, so it would have to come from the ship's doctor.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

well as bad luck would have it we had to get off a cruise last Sunday

good thing I included the port fees in my quote because once you set foot on the ship no refunds

In the process of gathering paperwork :eek:

 

So the cruise line refused to refund a refundable cost? Unless there's something in the cruise contract about it, sounds like you'd have grounds for legal action. Pity cruise lines make it almost impossible to sue.

 

A quick check of the cruise contract from Celebrity (my usual line) shows cancellation charge 14 days or less before sailing or early disembarkation is "no refund less taxes and fees." Therefore, these should be refundable in any case. As I said, if you've already been to the port, you 'used' the port fee and so it's nonrefundable, but it's also nonreimbursable from the insurance since trip interruption benefit will only cover the unused portion of the trip.

[LHT28]

I work in sales, not claims, but my understanding is that any forms should be sent to you by email and can be forwarded to the ship's doctor. You may need to get the specific email from the cruise line. They may have a general email to send them to and they will forward on to the ship.

 

A 'note from the doctor' is usually unacceptable (exceptions can be made, but don't count on it). There is a specific form that would need to be completed. Also, the wording on the policy probably refers to a sickness or injury at the time of loss if it was a trip interruption. Going to the GP after the fact says nothing about what his condition was at the time, so it would have to come from the ship's doctor.

 

Thanks for the info will see if I can follow up with the cruise line

[LHT28]

A 'note from the doctor' is usually unacceptable (exceptions can be made, but don't count on it). There is a specific form that would need to be completed. Also, the wording on the policy probably refers to a sickness or injury at the time of loss if it was a trip interruption. Going to the GP after the fact says nothing about what his condition was at the time, so it would have to come from the ship's doctor.

 

Called my insurance co & they said just to send in the form from the ship's doctor

They just want to know they we did see a doctor before leaving the ship

 

Time will tell if they actually accept it ;)

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Called my insurance co & they said just to send in the form from the ship's doctor

They just want to know they we did see a doctor before leaving the ship

 

Time will tell if they actually accept it ;)

 

Good to hear!