As of July 1, 2024 Princess Pricing to Include Taxes, Fees and Port Charges

[Astro Flyer]

On 6/22/2024 at 5:00 PM, carnabombers said:

Sydney in Oz has one of the world's dearest port charges. It's roughly $150k per day for a good sized ship.

I recently saw this chart which reinforces your statement.

 

[carnabombers]

2 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

I recently saw this chart which reinforces your statement.

 

yep and the reason why a lot of ships aren't coming to Melbourne or Sydney in the future are the port fees. The reason for the high costs - Unions - it's mafia style on the wharves. Wharfies earn well over $100k p.a (base pay, exclusing overtime)  and they do f. all. Unions did a great job in the 70's and 80's but have lost their way. I did a project at the wharf many years ago and had a fork lift driver put a drop of paint on a converyer belt that was 1 foot long. The unions closed the port for a day because of demarcation. Just rediculous - anyway, thats why we have hi8gh port fees.

[TRLD]

6 minutes ago, carnabombers said:

yep and the reason why a lot of ships aren't coming to Melbourne or Sydney in the future are the port fees. The reason for the high costs - Unions - it's mafia style on the wharves. Wharfies earn well over $100k p.a (base pay, exclusing overtime)  and they do f. all. Unions did a great job in the 70's and 80's but have lost their way. I did a project at the wharf many years ago and had a fork lift driver put a drop of paint on a converyer belt that was 1 foot long. The unions closed the port for a day because of demarcation. Just rediculous - anyway, thats why we have hi8gh port fees.

Very similar to what dockworkers earn in the US. So labor that does not seem to major driver in such a large difference. 100k US is the median income for dickworkers on the west coast in the US.

Edited Monday at 02:33 AM by TRLD

[Astro Flyer]

16 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Very similar to what dockworkers earn in the US. So labor that does not seem to major driver in such a large difference. 100k US is the median income for dickworkers on the west coast in the US.

Wonder if how much government jurisdictions want to pocket might be more of a factor? 🤔

 

Edited Monday at 02:48 AM by Astro Flyer

[azbirdmom]

54 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

I recently saw this chart which reinforces your statement.

 

I wonder if Port Everglades charges the same as Miami?  And I can see why Princess is putting a ship in Port Canaveral.  It's a bargain!

 

[carnabombers]

5 hours ago, TRLD said:

Very similar to what dockworkers earn in the US. So labor that does not seem to major driver in such a large difference. 100k US is the median income for dickworkers on the west coast in the US.

But I think your wharfies actually work (lol)

[NavyVeteran]

10 hours ago, CurtisMan said:

Glad this is being put in place.  Not sure of the laws in the USA but here in Canada prices are supposed to show the total.  Unfortunately it is not enforced except for petrol and flight tickets.    I do have to chuckle at those who want to know the breakdown before they purchase and wonder if they want to see the cost before taxes of petrol at a gas station before they fuel up their vehicle.

 

Glad this is in place - makes it so much easier.  And of course businesses still have to show the price breakdown of taxes and fees on the receipt/invoice.

There is one big difference between cruise taxes and petrol taxes. Petrol taxes are nonrefundable once you put the petrol in your tank and you don't purchase insurance to refund the cost if you get sick and can't use the petrol. It is reasonable to want to know the nonrefundable cost you are paying for a cruise.

[wcook]

Meanwhile, somebody is Spain is looking at that chart thinking, “we should charge more.”

[beshears]

Yes this is true. I also received (through other cruise information) that if you purchase one of the two main Princess packages, I believe they will be doubling the credits, and if you purchase a room and go solo, you would get even more credit. I believe this is to start the 1st of August, through the 1st of December.

[Astro Flyer]

40 minutes ago, beshears said:

Yes this is true. I also received (through other cruise information) that if you purchase one of the two main Princess packages, I believe they will be doubling the credits, and if you purchase a room and go solo, you would get even more credit. I believe this is to start the 1st of August, through the 1st of December.

Here’s their webpage with the details of this offer:

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions/double-the-love

 

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, beshears said:

Yes this is true. I also received (through other cruise information) that if you purchase one of the two main Princess packages, I believe they will be doubling the credits, and if you purchase a room and go solo, you would get even more credit. I believe this is to start the 1st of August, through the 1st of December.

In their FAQs on that offer’s webpage, Princess has redefined the meaning of “cruise credits” to this:

What are Cruise Credits?

Cruise credits refer to the number of cruises that a guest has sailed with Princess and/or the number of days cruised with Princess and are used to determine the guest’s Captain’s Circle loyalty level. 

[polmcs]

One downside to the CA imposed total fare inclusive of taxes and fees is that it makes it impossible to determine what the 3% discount for using a FCD on a world cruise would be. Only the fare gets the FCD discount. 

[paddingtonbear]

55 minutes ago, polmcs said:

One downside to the CA imposed total fare inclusive of taxes and fees is that it makes it impossible to determine what the 3% discount for using a FCD on a world cruise would be. Only the fare gets the FCD discount. 

In Oz and probably for USA too your invoice she’s the port fees and taxes separately. They are not hidden. It’s just that they are included in the overall price when advertised so you know the final total price. It avoids sticker shock or going on the website and clicking through 6 pages to get the “actual” price. 

[paddingtonbear]

^^^

"she's"  = shows

your invoice shows the port fees and taxes separately. 

[Bgwest]

On 6/22/2024 at 7:09 PM, wcook said:

semi-mandatory service charge

Quite the turn of a phrase.
I can’t decide which half is funnier. Semi-mandatory or service charge. 

[ldubs]

On 6/23/2024 at 7:31 PM, TRLD said:

Very similar to what dockworkers earn in the US. So labor that does not seem to major driver in such a large difference. 100k US is the median income for dickworkers on the west coast in the US.

 

How did autocorrect not catch this.  🙂

[TRLD]

33 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

How did autocorrect not catch this.  🙂

Actually considering the recent west coast strikes and slow downs it seems kind of appropriate.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 6/20/2024 at 11:54 AM, Cruise Raider said:

Yes, I predict no changes to those that cruise quite often and know what will and what won’t be added on your invoice.  I imagine it will be helpful for those new to cruising that are shocked when another $500+ is added to their pricing.  
But, just like when you go to buy airfare, there is always a breakdown of the flight vs the added taxes and fees on the page on or around the payment screen.  

 

I don’t see how this new law will have an impact on port fees being refunded.  It’s a law that the port fees have to be returned if a port was missed, in the event it isn’t replaced.  

I have a friend that will be really happy because she always gets irritated that they don’t add the taxes and port fees when they advertise a price. 

[TRLD]

Of course  now that California has passed the law, they are already looking at passing another law watering it down. The first is excluding restaurants from the law allowing them to add service charges as long as it is clearly stated on the menu.

Edited Wednesday at 12:32 AM by TRLD

[startedwithamouse]

On 6/23/2024 at 7:19 PM, Astro Flyer said:

I recently saw this chart which reinforces your statement.

 

What currency is this in?

 

$156 AUD is around $100 USD

[carnabombers]

2 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

What currency is this in?

 

$156 AUD is around $100 USD

You can convert but the costs are all relative to the local costs for everything. 

[startedwithamouse]

3 minutes ago, carnabombers said:

You can convert but the costs are all relative to the local costs for everything. 

But it's not thousands of dollars difference as depicted on this chart someone created with no regard for differences in currency.

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

What currency is this in?

 

$156 AUD is around $100 USD

USD

[shandryl]

No pressure.  

[MacMadame]

5 hours ago, TRLD said:

Of course  now that California has passed the law, they are already looking at passing another law watering it down. The first is excluding restaurants from the law allowing them to add service charges as long as it is clearly stated on the menu.

I'm surprised restaurants were included. I never compare the prices at two restaurants like I do cruises. I mean if I'm in the mode for Indian, I'm not going to go to an Italian restaurant because one is selling ice tea for 50 cents less.