More extra charges

RCL have found a new way to charge for "extras".

I have just paid my deposit on a 2015 sailing ex Southampton. The port charges have increased by a considerable amount now (in my case) £533 for the 14 day cruise. I understand that this is per cabin. But still it is rather akin to an airline charging landing fees. Even Ryan Air haven't got round to this yet!

Anybody else noticed the increase?::eek:

RCL have found a new way to charge for "extras".

 

I have just paid my deposit on a 2015 sailing ex Southampton. The port charges have increased by a considerable amount now (in my case) £533 for the 14 day cruise. I understand that this is per cabin. But still it is rather akin to an airline charging landing fees. Even Ryan Air haven't got round to this yet!

Anybody else noticed the increase?::eek:

I have been told by many that England has outrageously high departure taxes and fees. Perhaps you should speak to your MP about that. I recently purchased airline tickets and the taxes and fees far outweigh the actual airfare. Then there is the VAT that is added. My London hotel had a 20% VAT added to the room rate and as far as I know there was no value added by the government to my room. So why blame RCL for fees that are not part of the cruise fare. Port taxes would be added by any line just like landing fees are built into the price of the ticket.

The U.K. government do not extract a 20% VAT uplift on cruise fares - yet!

Having said that, it would help if any cruise line INCLUDED the port charges (and any other charges) in their upfront fares rather than adding them on after the headline fare.

While RCI collects the fees, they are not an "extra charge" that they profit from. Even after final payment,the cruise contract allows them to collect any increased in port fees. I've experienced this as well as a refund when the port fees had decreased for my sailing.

At one time, I believe cruise lines did profit from port fees; however, past lawsuits stopped that practice.

RCL have found a new way to charge for "extras".

 

I have just paid my deposit on a 2015 sailing ex Southampton. The port charges have increased by a considerable amount now (in my case) £533 for the 14 day cruise. I understand that this is per cabin. But still it is rather akin to an airline charging landing fees. Even Ryan Air haven't got round to this yet!

Anybody else noticed the increase?::eek:

RCI has no control over the taxes and charges that are levied by the port authorities. Perhaps you should be complaining to the ruling governmental authorities who charge these taxes. Not RCI. :)

Actually, port fees are usually charged per person, not per cabin Your invoice may show the combined total though.

Secondly, this is not about RC finding extra ways to get revenue. Port charges are fees charged by the port for each cruise passenger that visits. The money goes to the port, not RC, and the fees are determined by the port, not RC. It's how many of the ports make money needed to support the infrastructure that allows cruise ships to dock in the first place.

it would help if any cruise line INCLUDED the port charges (and any other charges) in their upfront fares rather than adding them on after the headline fare.

Port charges are included in the upfront fares shown on RCI's UK site

Port charges are part of cruising. Remember that article a few months ago, where Alesund prevented a Royal Caribbean ship from departing because of port charges in arrears? I thought the whole thing was hysterical myself, since we had to pay our port charges three months earlier! Basically, the pilot boat helps guide the large ship around the dangerous spots in the harbor.

I think port charges were fixed at the time of booking. But I noticed that if I make a price change, the port charges may change too since Royal is now starting a booking from scratch w/ each price drop. At least that's what happened with one of our Australia bookings.

http://www.newsinenglish.no/2014/05/22/cruise-ship-seized-over-unpaid-fees/

Port charges are included in the upfront fares shown on RCI's UK site

They most certainly were not when I booked my 2015 cruise.

Anyway, I am saying that these unavoidable fees should be included IN THE BASE PRICE - not added afterwards. You don't find British Airways adding landing charges to their headline fares!

If you want them included, upfront, it would make no difference. If a tax happy country or port raised them after your deposit or final payment, you would still have to pay them.

Your gripe may be valid about the amount, but that is a decision your nation has made..you voted in the folks who get to dig into your pockets, not RCI.

If you want them included, upfront, it would make no difference. If a tax happy country or port raised them after your deposit or final payment, you would still have to pay them.

Your gripe may be valid about the amount, but that is a decision your nation has made..you voted in the folks who get to dig into your pockets, not RCI.

It has NOTHING to do with my Government. These are charges that RCCL are [passing on to the consumer). They have been (or will be) paid by RCCL. Again I say that try and find an airline that charges extra for landing fees.

Anything that comes out of your pocket is a fee, no matter how you rationalize it.

It has NOTHING to do with my Government. These are charges that RCCL are [passing on to the consumer). They have been (or will be) paid by RCCL. Again I say that try and find an airline that charges extra for landing fees.

A breakdown from airline tickets recently purchased:

Airfare:.................................. 238.14 USD

U.S. Federal Transportation Tax: 17.86

U.S. Flight Segment Tax:............ 8.00

September 11th Security Fee:..... 5.00

U.S. Passenger Facility Charge:... 9.00

Per Person Total:..................... 278.00 USD

It appears that these taxes cover getting to the gate, taking off and landing.

I understand the OP's original question about adding the port charges and taxes into the total cost of the cruise. Yes, there is a mindset that wants to view the total cost of everything per person when looking at fares. However, this is my 2-cents...

• The port charges can change and that change is typically passed on to the customer (+/-), which others have pointed out.
  
• The total port charges are combined into one "pot" but it is a sum of the port charges and taxes associated with the specific itinerary. If the itinerary changes, the port charges and taxes can change.
  
• In most countries, taxes MUST be separate on any receipt, be it retail, hotel, cruise, air, etc. these are imposed fees that are passed on to the purchaser and not part of the 'cost' of the product or service. For corporate reporting, this amount has to be listed separately on invoices.
  

So here is my final thought... port charges and taxes are charged separately for every cruise line (RCCL does not handle this differently than any other line). No line, at least that I am aware of in the U.S. includes these fees in the fare pricing. If RCCL were to do this, their cruise fares would appear that much higher than the other lines, which is a big marketing no-no... so in order to do this, every line would have to start including it in their base fare listing. Also, if RCCL (and every other cruise line) started to include these port charges and taxes into the cost that is viewable to purchase the cruise, you would have MORE price fluctuation and volatility in the costs of cruising - which as you see on CC every day, is a huge source of angst for many cruisers.

I have never seen any hotel, airline, all-inclusive, cruise line, etc. ever include every tax and charge in the pricing. It is just not feasible or practical.

It has NOTHING to do with my Government. These are charges that RCCL are [passing on to the consumer). They have been (or will be) paid by RCCL. Again I say that try and find an airline that charges extra for landing fees.

Its not to late to cancel, would take less time than posting about it here:rolleyes:

Port fees go up and down all the time, under the heading of 'necessary to PAY if one wants to book a cruise"

It has NOTHING to do with my Government. These are charges that RCCL are [passing on to the consumer). They have been (or will be) paid by RCCL. Again I say that try and find an airline that charges extra for landing fees.

Howard, you are tilting at windmills here. When we book a cruise here in the states on RCCL's site we are shown a breakdown of the fare and the taxes and fees separately. The taxes and fees are not itemized but we see what they are. To say that Port Taxes have nothing to do with your government is really meaningless in this context.

I have been told by many that England has outrageously high departure taxes and fees. Perhaps you should speak to your MP about that. I recently purchased airline tickets and the taxes and fees far outweigh the actual airfare. Then there is the VAT that is added. My London hotel had a 20% VAT added to the room rate and as far as I know there was no value added by the government to my room. So why blame RCL for fees that are not part of the cruise fare. Port taxes would be added by any line just like landing fees are built into the price of the ticket.

I will ask my MP ( Master of Poultry).:rolleyes:

I understand the OP's original question about adding the port charges and taxes into the total cost of the cruise. Yes, there is a mindset that wants to view the total cost of everything per person when looking at fares. However, this is my 2-cents...

 

• The port charges can change and that change is typically passed on to the customer (+/-), which others have pointed out.
  
• The total port charges are combined into one "pot" but it is a sum of the port charges and taxes associated with the specific itinerary. If the itinerary changes, the port charges and taxes can change.
  
• In most countries, taxes MUST be separate on any receipt, be it retail, hotel, cruise, air, etc. these are imposed fees that are passed on to the purchaser and not part of the 'cost' of the product or service. For corporate reporting, this amount has to be listed separately on invoices.
  

So here is my final thought... port charges and taxes are charged separately for every cruise line (RCCL does not handle this differently than any other line). No line, at least that I am aware of in the U.S. includes these fees in the fare pricing. If RCCL were to do this, their cruise fares would appear that much higher than the other lines, which is a big marketing no-no... so in order to do this, every line would have to start including it in their base fare listing. Also, if RCCL (and every other cruise line) started to include these port charges and taxes into the cost that is viewable to purchase the cruise, you would have MORE price fluctuation and volatility in the costs of cruising - which as you see on CC every day, is a huge source of angst for many cruisers.

 

 

I have never seen any hotel, airline, all-inclusive, cruise line, etc. ever include every tax and charge in the pricing. It is just not feasible or practical.

Well said - great explanation! Totally agree - port taxes are not the fault of RC or any other cruise line.

They most certainly were not when I booked my 2015 cruise.

Don't know how or with whom you booked but I stand by my original statement that upfront fares shown for online booking directly on RCI's UK site are total payable and do include all taxes, fees and port expenses due. I do believe that fares are displayed differently on RCI's US site where taxes, fees and port expenses due are not included in the upfront fares but are shown separately in small print.

Another comment I would make is that in all the years I have booked directly with RCI UK, the cost of taxes, fees and port expenses has never been increased or decreased after booking.

Don't know how or with whom you booked but I stand by my original statement that upfront fares shown for online booking directly on RCI's UK site are total payable and do include all taxes, fees and port expenses due. I do believe that fares are displayed differently on RCI's US site where taxes, fees and port expenses due are not included in the upfront fares but are shown separately in small print.

Another comment I would make is that in all the years I have booked directly with RCI UK, the cost of taxes, fees and port expenses has never been increased or decreased after booking.

Doing a dummy booking, you can see that our Taxes, fees and port expenses are lumped all together on the web. It's the same on the Confirmation Invoice.

Guest 1 Guest 2

Cruise Fare: $1,849.00 $1,849.00

Taxes, fees and port expenses: $74.99 $74.99

Onboard Credit $200.00 $0.00

Discount: ($186.00) ($186.00)

Per Person Total: $1,737.99 $1,737.99

You are correct in that once you book, your taxes and fees do not increase. They can fluctuate from when itineraries are first released to departure date. Our experience has been that if port charges go down from when we booked, we will see a refund on our onboard account. Just happened to us on our recent b2b on Rhapsody. We got refunds on both cruises.

I am doing a 14 night cruise with Royal in 2015 out of Southampton with six ports and our port taxes are £73 pp. Howard18 it sounds like a cock up.

Really? I have never heard of a landing fee. What the heck is that all about? :eek:

It has NOTHING to do with my Government. These are charges that RCCL are [passing on to the consumer). They have been (or will be) paid by RCCL. Again I say that try and find an airline that charges extra for landing fees.

Actually, they all do. They may be called gate fees; security fees, etc, but they're all landing/taking off again fees. In the U.S. (at least) you can get a breakdown that lists each component of the bottom line price.

The U.K. government do not extract a 20% VAT uplift on cruise fares - yet!

Having said that, it would help if any cruise line INCLUDED the port charges (and any other charges) in their upfront fares rather than adding them on after the headline fare.

If they were to do this, would not that amount be subject to any general tax levied on purchases? Would you not then be paying a tax on a tax?