Missed port and reimbursement of port charges

[lljost]

Forty plus cruises with Princess. I completely understand missing ports due to weather and/or other reasons and always understand and have no issues with it. It is part of cruising, things happen and you have no control. However, in the past, Princess will reimburse port charges. I am disembarking the Island Princess today. We missed Astoria due to bad weather and when we inquired at the Passenger Services Desk, we were told we were never charged for the port of Astoria. Not true of course, you are charged port taxes when you make your final payment. They insisted no one on this cruise was charged port tax for Astoria, so no reimbursement. Funny how they can't prove that can they? Certainly not a large amount of money and that is not the point. The point is everyone would have been charged these taxes and everyone should have been reimbursed. Lots of money saved by Princess...

[JF - retired RRT]

Interesting. I thought there were port charges for ALL ports. How else can they pay for the facilities?

[skynight]

The vessel is certainly charged to dock, but I am not certain if vessel charges are normally passed on to passengers. There is a passenger security charge of $7.35/passenger. If the port supplied security then I assume this amount would be charged.

This site gives the current port fees for Astoria, Oregon

http://www.portofastoria.com/Assets/dept_1/pm/pdf/tariff_11.pdf

[likeadisguise]

Only certain parts of the total fees and taxes charged for a port are refundable to the cruise line if the ship doesn't visit - it's usually less than $10 per person.

 

The taxes and fees that are on a cruise when it first goes on sale are kind of a guess, and there's a buffer built in in case it goes up. As the cruise gets closer the actual cost is monitored by the cruise line, and you may see a credit on your folio when you board if they guessed too high. Rarely, the charge for taxes and fees may go up before final payment. If they discover what they're charging is less than the total cost after final payment, they'll generally eat that loss.

 

This can mean they under estimated the charge for one port, but over estimated the cost for another. It all balances out in the total, so it doesn't matter. But if you miss a port for which the amount they paid is more than the amount they charged, the "refund" isn't passed through to the guest.

[Colo Cruiser]

If it warranted a refund it would have or will be refunded.

[easyboy]

We always got refunded for port fees on cancellation. Not experienced one for Astoria though.

 

 

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[FritzG]

If it warranted a refund it would have or will be refunded.

 

I agree. At what point in the cruise were you supposed to be in Astoria? If it was late in the cruise they may not have had time to issue the refund. We've had port fee refund show up on our credit card a month or so after the cruise.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would not let this drop. Check again with someone else at the PSD. Ask to speak with the Finance Manager or PSD Manager. This doesn't sound right.

 

We were once told we weren't due a refund for port charges for missing Princess Cays because Princess owns the island (they don't). We stayed on the ship long enough to miss Princess Cays twice more and for both of those our port charges were refunded. I followed up with Princess Customer Relations when we returned home. It took two months of effort (and four months after missing Princess Cays) for us to finally receive a refund (almost $20 each). The other 3100 passengers on that cruise probably got bupkus, netting Princess a nice (and unwarranted and likely illegal) profit of over $60,000 on that sailing. If I hadn't pursued the issue, we would have gotten nothing too.

[Coral]

delete

Edited May 11, 2017 by Coral

[Kenswing]

I was also on this cruise. When the Captain made the announcement that we'd be missing Astoria he also stated that we would be reimbursed all port taxes. Although I doubt the Captain knows much about port taxes.. lol

[toescat]

I receive a check in the mail from Carnival Corporation when we could not stop at one of our ports. We received two separate checks, for ten dollars, one for my DH and one for me. They could have saved paper and 1 stamp if they wrote one check. I did not know what it was for as I was on Princess Sapphire and not a Carnival ship, so I called them and was told it was for port charges that we did not stop at.

[fishywood]

If you ask the purser, or Princess customer service after the cruise, about a refund of port charges due to a missed port you will be told there are none. Because the term port charges is travel agent jargon for the non-commissionable portion of the cruise fare. Not at all synonymous with government taxes and fees, which is the tariff in question. Using the correct terminology will get you a lot further in your quest for the entitled refund.

[Lucky TGO]

I would not let this drop. Check again with someone else at the PSD. Ask to speak with the Finance Manager or PSD Manager. This doesn't sound right.

 

We were once told we weren't due a refund for port charges for missing Princess Cays because Princess owns the island (they don't). We stayed on the ship long enough to miss Princess Cays twice more and for both of those our port charges were refunded. I followed up with Princess Customer Relations when we returned home. It took two months of effort (and four months after missing Princess Cays) for us to finally receive a refund (almost $20 each). The other 3100 passengers on that cruise probably got bupkus, netting Princess a nice (and unwarranted and likely illegal) profit of over $60,000 on that sailing. If I hadn't pursued the issue, we would have gotten nothing too.

 

Good for you!! Pretty good illegal days profit for Princess $60,000 :mad:.

[majortom10]

We missed Dublin on a British Isles cruise when Caribbean Princess broke down on route and we then missed our port of call at Kirkwall due to bad weather and we were reimbursed port fees/tax and compensation within 24 hrs and was told if you did not spend it that it would be reimbursed at a later date by cheque.

[trosebery]

Only certain parts of the total fees and taxes charged for a port are refundable to the cruise line if the ship doesn't visit - it's usually less than $10 per person.

 

The taxes and fees that are on a cruise when it first goes on sale are kind of a guess, and there's a buffer built in in case it goes up. As the cruise gets closer the actual cost is monitored by the cruise line, and you may see a credit on your folio when you board if they guessed too high. Rarely, the charge for taxes and fees may go up before final payment. If they discover what they're charging is less than the total cost after final payment, they'll generally eat that loss.

 

This can mean they under estimated the charge for one port, but over estimated the cost for another. It all balances out in the total, so it doesn't matter. But if you miss a port for which the amount they paid is more than the amount they charged, the "refund" isn't passed through to the guest.

 

I actually got a refund on port charges/taxes/fees once even though the ship *didn't* miss a port because they'd overestimated the total. We got a cheque for about $50/person about a month after the cruise. We didn't even request it.

 

So I'd guess they do reimbursements based on how the total they were charged for all ports compared to the total they estimated for all ports, not for any individual port.

[azdmelani]

Forty plus cruises with Princess. I completely understand missing ports due to weather and/or other reasons and always understand and have no issues with it. It is part of cruising, things happen and you have no control. However, in the past, Princess will reimburse port charges. I am disembarking the Island Princess today. We missed Astoria due to bad weather and when we inquired at the Passenger Services Desk, we were told we were never charged for the port of Astoria. Not true of course, you are charged port taxes when you make your final payment. They insisted no one on this cruise was charged port tax for Astoria, so no reimbursement. Funny how they can't prove that can they? Certainly not a large amount of money and that is not the point. The point is everyone would have been charged these taxes and everyone should have been reimbursed. Lots of money saved by Princess...

 

You should be refunded port taxes as part of your onboard credit. Sorry you missed the port!

[RJAM3]

Sorry you mised the port. Good the captain did not attempt entry ifvthe bar was rough. It is the Columbia river bar and is in fact, no exavgeration, the roughest bar in the world. The Coast Guard actually train on the bar when conditions are at there worst. The purposly go sideways to the waves and force the boat tomdo a complete rollover. Not a fun spot if the bar is rough. Hope you get the credit.

[anthonyy7]

I'm currently on the majestic and we missed today's port of Messina. Weather was rough today.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

What am I missing here?

The port charges are never that much so why be so concerned about being reimbursed?

:lips-sealed:

[damiross]

What am I missing here?

The port charges are never that much so why be so concerned about being reimbursed?

:lips-sealed:

A port charge is a tax, regardless of what it is called. If I don't have to pay a tax I fully expect to get it back. Besides which, it's not so much the amount as it is the fact that if I'm charged for something and I don't get that something then I want my money back.

[lljost]

What am I missing here?

The port charges are never that much so why be so concerned about being reimbursed?

:lips-sealed:

 

It isn't the amount, it is the fact that I paid for something and didn't receive it. And then for Passenger Services to say no one on board paid port charges for Astoria. I would like proof of that but of course she couldn't show me proof.

[lljost]

A port charge is a tax, regardless of what it is called. If I don't have to pay a tax I fully expect to get it back. Besides which, it's not so much the amount as it is the fact that if I'm charged for something and I don't get that something then I want my money back.

 

Exactly. Yesterday was disembarkation so I was not going to argue with Passenger Services. I will contact Princess soon to discuss. Anyone else on this cruise should do the same. These are just one of many ways Princess makes money on passengers.

[lljost]

I paid $140 in: Taxes, fees and port expenses for this 6 day cruise on the Island Princess. Sailing from Los Angeles with stops in San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria and ending in Vancouver. I would like Princess to show me a breakdown in those expenses. I understand those port fees can change but once I have paid for a service or product, I am entitled to receive it or be reimbursed for it if I didn't. I don't appreciate being told on board that no one paid for the port of Astoria and then not have it explained or shown proof to me.

[neverbeenhere]

Last cruise, I only eat 200 pieces of smoked salmon. I'm sure that Princess charged me for 210 pieces. Princess, Please send me my cash. Or at least give me an accounting of every piece that I ate. Ridiculous.:evilsmile:

[USN59-79]

Last cruise, I only eat 200 pieces of smoked salmon. I'm sure that Princess charged me for 210 pieces. Princess, Please send me my cash. Or at least give me an accounting of every piece that I ate. Ridiculous.:evilsmile:

I notice that you have 2792 posts. Are they all as asinine as this?