Port Charges/Fees/ Taxes

[VermeulT]

Did Panama charges go up recently or has this been a while... $560 pp in port fees!!  I know it's been steep but the port charges are almost as much as the Thanksgiving cruise costs (cabin only) on Rotterdam.

[wdw1972]

$560 is what I paid a year or two ago.  It was a 10-night partial Panama Canal itinerary.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[2inTul]

Full Canal transit San Diego to Ft Lauderdale Jan 2025 $670.00 pp.

[Cruise Suzy]

January 2023 11-day partial transit on Eurodam (booked November 2021): $450 pp charge, $60 pp refunded at end of cruise

[Moriah]

I know! I got a casino offer a while back with a list of cruises and I picked a warm weather itinerary for this winter -I looked at the Panama Canal cruises, but when I saw how high the charges were, I ended up with a Caribbean for 9 days with total port taxes under $200.

[Nodakboiler]

We were told the average cruise ship is charged several hundred thousand dollars for a transit!

[DaveOKC]

I think that HAL has been estimating high on these charges and then rebating/crediting you the difference while on your cruise.  That way you are likely to spend it!

 

[Cruise Suzy]

30 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

I think that HAL has been estimating high on these charges and then rebating/crediting you the difference while on your cruise.  That way you are likely to spend it!

 

Ours were posted after 5 PM on the last day. No way to spend it, came back to credit card.

[DaveOKC]

3 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

Ours were posted after 5 PM on the last day. No way to spend it, came back to credit card.

Last 2 weeks (back to back cruises) we got ours mid week and spent it!

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, VermeulT said:

Did Panama charges go up recently or has this been a while... $560 pp in port fees!!  I know it's been steep but the port charges are almost as much as the Thanksgiving cruise costs (cabin only) on Rotterdam.

 

From memory they were updated earlier this year, but they have also changed how cruise vessel tolls are assessed. They now use tonnage rather than per berth. A couple of years ago, I recall them introducing a FW surcharge.

 

Total transit cost, including the reservation, daylight transit, surcharges, pilots, tugs, linehandlers, tolls, etc for a Panamax cruise ship is probably between $300K to $500K.