What nonsense is this? Missed Port

[AnitaVacation]

Long story short.... our ship missed/skipped a port due to 'unforseen (cough cough) circumstances' .... and now they are telling everyone there will be no refund of the port fee?? 

So, the port was Puerta Plata.... they have not been going to Puerta Plata for like what? 2 months now?? Then there was talk that we might switch to Amber Cove....then, we couldn't go to Amber Cove because Carnival Celebration was going to be there that day....then, the night before, we were told....ooops, sorry...due to 'unforseen circumstances' we would not be calling on Puerta Plata, but instead we would make a stop at Great Stirrup Key (weird that the CD kept calling it Great Stirrup Key).... and then offered a bunch more new excursions available for GSC..anyway, we didn't go there either, water too rough (eye roll)...

 

Now, I don't expect the cruiselines to bend over to make us happy...it is what it is....But then I heard that we were not being refunded our port fees at all??? What kind of petty nonsense is that??  

 

I think I just got off my last NCL cruise..... prices up, services down and sorry we're keeping your money....lol (keep it, you apparantly need it more than me)

[grobma]

7 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

but instead we would make a stop at Great Stirrup Key (weird that the CD kept calling it Great Stirrup Key)

Cay is pronounced Key . . .

 

It was a long time before I learned that and I still sometimes say "Kay" in my head 🙂

Edited December 10, 2022 by grobma

[AnitaVacation]

34 minutes ago, grobma said:

Cay is pronounced Key . . .

 

It was a long time before I learned that and I still sometimes say "Kay" in my head 🙂

I stand corrected.... still doesn't mean they should keep our port fees...lol

[grobma]

Just now, AnitaVacation said:

still doesn't mean they should keep our port fees...lol

I hear you. The only time this happened to me was in 2019 when we skipped GSC because we couldn't tender, and I think we each got back $11 or $16 to our on-board accounts automatically. Low amounts because, though still part of the Bahamas, they own the island.

 

And if you just say Jee-Ess-See, it solves the pronunciation issue 😂

[julig22]

Well, I was going to refer you to the current discussion on port fees but it appears to have disappeared...

Bottom line, what you pay in port fees is an estimate of the actual cost - made years before you sail. If NCL has overestimated fees and there's an overage then you are due a refund.  Otherwise, no refund. 

[AnitaVacation]

7 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Well, I was going to refer you to the current discussion on port fees but it appears to have disappeared...

Bottom line, what you pay in port fees is an estimate of the actual cost - made years before you sail. If NCL has overestimated fees and there's an overage then you are due a refund.  Otherwise, no refund. 

I think you misunderstood..... they charged us a port fee AND DIDN'T TAKE US TO A PORT... 

[davencl]

I'm not aware that NCL refunds port fees.  What does your ticket contract say? 

[davencl]

30 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Well, I was going to refer you to the current discussion on port fees but it appears to have disappeared...

Bottom line, what you pay in port fees is an estimate of the actual cost - made years before you sail. If NCL has overestimated fees and there's an overage then you are due a refund.  Otherwise, no refund. 

I hope that discussion doesn't reappear here.  Seems it drifted into personal attacks.

[julig22]

23 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

I think you misunderstood..... they charged us a port fee AND DIDN'T TAKE US TO A PORT... 

I didn't misunderstand.  They charge you $xxx for port fees & taxes for your cruise.  If by missing a port they wind up collecting money over and above the fees for the entire cruise then you are due a refund. But they can also use that money to recoup losses on ports where they underestimated costs.

[hallux]

26 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

I think you misunderstood..... they charged us a port fee AND DIDN'T TAKE US TO A PORT... 

If they UNDERESTIMATED the port fees, NCL would have covered the difference.  But with a canceled port, the fees that were collected toward that port can now cover the fees from other ports that were not covered by the original collection.

[ptuser]

It makes sense that NCL could recover for underestimated charges at other ports, although presumably if it works that way they would explain the charges.  Do the charges get updated at least daily for new reservations, so someone making a reservation today would pay the current correct amount based on the latest information? I had never thought about it but possibly everyone on a cruise would pay a different amount in port charges?

[julig22]

20 minutes ago, ptuser said:

It makes sense that NCL could recover for underestimated charges at other ports, although presumably if it works that way they would explain the charges.  Do the charges get updated at least daily for new reservations, so someone making a reservation today would pay the current correct amount based on the latest information? I had never thought about it but possibly everyone on a cruise would pay a different amount in port charges?

As far as I know, everyone pays the same.  Seems to be the same when doing mock bookings.

[ptuser]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

As far as I know, everyone pays the same.  Seems to be the same when doing mock bookings.

Are these mock bookings done at different times, weeks/months/years apart? What I meant was whether the taxes/fees are updated daily for purchases, so someone who booked (at least put down a deposit, maybe?) last week/month/year would pay more/less for the taxes/fees portion than someone who booked at a different time.  Or, the cruise line could come up with an amount at the time they create the cruise, and stick with that throughout the multi-year life of the cruise (until that trip actually occurs.) I had never thought about how they handle that.

Edited December 10, 2022 by ptuser

[mn_cruise]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

As far as I know, everyone pays the same.  Seems to be the same when doing mock bookings.

I’ve done mock bookings where the taxes and port fees are higher than what I have booked. 

[casofilia]

Remember that where there is an "Exchange Rate" involved then the rate for the cruise on any one day may well be different to the charge offered the day before or the day after.

 

In New Zealand we sometimes see an overall cost change on a daily basis if there is a large Exchange Rate change, certainly a cruise fare change on an almost weekly basis.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, ptuser said:

Are these mock bookings done at different times, weeks/months/years apart? What I meant was whether the taxes/fees are updated daily for purchases, so someone who booked (at least put down a deposit, maybe?) last week/month/year would pay more/less for the taxes/fees portion than someone who booked at a different time.  Or, the cruise line could come up with an amount at the time they create the cruise, and stick with that throughout the multi-year life of the cruise (until that trip actually occurs.) I had never thought about how they handle that.

I understood exactly what you meant.  I sometimes book a year or more in advance, do mock bookings periodically to monitor price changes. I don't recall seeing changes to port fees.

[PATRLR]

Just curious, which ship, what dates?

[KateQ22003]

Any time we have missed a port we were refunded the port fees. Something about this seems wrong.

[Shidah]

I’ve always had port fees refunded too if they miss a port.  They aren’t much, maybe 20 bucks.  To the Op, did you check your online account?  It usually happens at night or the next day on the ship

[AnitaVacation]

1 hour ago, KateQ22003 said:

Any time we have missed a port we were refunded the port fees. Something about this seems wrong.

 

4 minutes ago, Shidah said:

I’ve always had port fees refunded too if they miss a port.  They aren’t much, maybe 20 bucks.  To the Op, did you check your online account?  It usually happens at night or the next day on the ship

Yes, refunding port charges for missed/skipped ports seems to have been the usual practice. Everyone was basically told, no refund, here's the number to call.  Some of our group got through to a person and they were told 'no refund'.... it just doesn't seem right.  I don't even care about the amount, it's the principal....

If I collect $20 from you to take you to the beach, then call you and tell you I can't make it due to unforseen circumstances (even though I know my car has been in the shop for 2 months and still broken)..... sorry, no refunds..... you'd be okay with that??

Like I said....super petty move Norwegian...

 

This was the Getaway on 12/6 & 12/7 (Puerta Plata on 12/6 moved to GSC on 12/7, but didn't go to either)

[KyleClark]

So if you cancel your cruise after Final payment and NCL underestimated the port fees, Do they say "sorry, we underestimated our port fees so therefore we are keeping it"? 

[IronRobi]

Was on the Escape sailing 11/26-12/03 and also missed GSC due to rough waters. 13ft swells, so understandable even though some people were quite upset about it. We were automatically refunded port fees of $15. It was applied to our ship account as Refundable OBC the same day.

[Homosassa]

11 hours ago, AnitaVacation said:

I think you misunderstood..... they charged us a port fee AND DIDN'T TAKE US TO A PORT... 

No matter how often knowledgeable people explain how port fees and taxes are projected for an itinerary in advance to determine an ESTIMATED per person cost at the time of booking and what happens if a port is missed (refunds or use of the fee to offset a shortfall of funds for all port fees ), we still get these type of threads.

 

When combined with the expertise of rowboat experts in navigation and the effects of tides, currents, winds or other weather on the ship's maneuvering ability, we get double outrage. 

[schmoopie17]

We missed a port in the Azores on our recent Escape TA due to high winds and rough seas. The next day our account showed two credits of $40. I assume those were refunded port fees. Never asked because I was happy to get $80 in credits.

[Cruisercl]

We were on the Prima transatlantic (Sept 2022) and did not go to the Orkney islands due to weather, so did not go to the port.

We were not refunded the port fees.

Is this legal, we were not even told why we did not get a refund? Seems like a money grab.

Other NCL cruises I have been on, when we missed a port, we were refunded the port fees.