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Missed Port Claim


Baronoli
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I have had this issue with P&O in the past and it is nothing to do with different T&Cs. We missed 2 ports of call on Princess one the cruise lines fault and the other weather related and without any prompting from any passengers we received a letter to our stateroom saying port fees/taxes for both ports of call will be refunded to our onboard account. When this happened on a P&O cruise I enquired about reimbursement of port fees/taxes as because we hadnt berthed they would not have been paid and should be reimbursed to the customer who had paid them in the cruise fare. They initially waffled at great length and then tried to say that customers didnt pay port fees/taxes as these were paid by P&O out of their own pockets (laughable). Amercian cruise companies sell there cruises at a price + port/fees/taxes where in the UK it is included in the cruise fare and states such in brochures. When this was pointed out they then said that it was not company policy to return port fees/taxes at any time and even though customers are charged they are kept by P&O to boost their profits. IMO another charge that P&O do at customers expense just to boost there takings and are really heading to the bottom of the barrell with regards to cruising. Strangely you cannot blame Carnival because Princess is also owned by Carnival and they do reimburse port fees/taxes it is obviously a decision taken by P&O senior management.

Different laws in the UK and the USA. In the UK, cruise fares per brochure are the contract amount and that's what you pay, with little option for the cruise line to cancel, make significant changes to, or surcharge. If one port is taken out and a more expensive one substituted, they can't charge extra; if it's cheaper, they don't refund; if you miss out altogether, they don't refund the port fees but they also don't charge extra for the extra entertainments (if any!) or for the extra food you eat and the extra fuel the ship uses.

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Different laws in the UK and the USA. In the UK, cruise fares per brochure are the contract amount and that's what you pay, with little option for the cruise line to cancel, make significant changes to, or surcharge. If one port is taken out and a more expensive one substituted, they can't charge extra; if it's cheaper, they don't refund; if you miss out altogether, they don't refund the port fees but they also don't charge extra for the extra entertainments (if any!) or for the extra food you eat and the extra fuel the ship uses.
Beg to disagree. Our last cruise with Princess, booked via a UK ta, we missed a port due to weather. The next day our on board account was credited with the port fees that were part of our total UK payment. Have to say that I never looked at making an insurance claim for a missed port.

 

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Different laws in the UK and the USA. In the UK, cruise fares per brochure are the contract amount and that's what you pay, with little option for the cruise line to cancel, make significant changes to, or surcharge. If one port is taken out and a more expensive one substituted, they can't charge extra; if it's cheaper, they don't refund; if you miss out altogether, they don't refund the port fees but they also don't charge extra for the extra entertainments (if any!) or for the extra food you eat and the extra fuel the ship uses.

 

That is what P&O want you to believe but its nonsense doesnt matter what country you are in and nothing to do with laws its just that it is practice in the UK to advertise cost of cruise with an all inclusive price including port taxes. In the US they are advertised at lower price + port fees/taxes. When Princess advertise and sell cruises in the UK the price they quote you is inclusive of these fees and if you miss a port whether through a fault of cruise line or weather conditions they automatically reimburse you these costs while onboard to your account. The extra food you eat is nonsensical because if you miss a port on Princess you eat more onboard but that doesnt stop them reimbursing you. When a port is cancelled for whatever reason it is not always practical or possible to replace with another port so in that case you have missed a port and not called at a replacement port then the port fees/taxes that you have paid should be reimbursed but surprisingly money grabbing P&O dont they keep the money and has it has no costs to them it is pure 100% profit which with 2000-3500 people onboard no small amount.

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That is what P&O want you to believe but its nonsense doesnt matter what country you are in and nothing to do with laws its just that it is practice in the UK to advertise cost of cruise with an all inclusive price including port taxes. In the US they are advertised at lower price + port fees/taxes. When Princess advertise and sell cruises in the UK the price they quote you is inclusive of these fees and if you miss a port whether through a fault of cruise line or weather conditions they automatically reimburse you these costs while onboard to your account. The extra food you eat is nonsensical because if you miss a port on Princess you eat more onboard but that doesnt stop them reimbursing you. When a port is cancelled for whatever reason it is not always practical or possible to replace with another port so in that case you have missed a port and not called at a replacement port then the port fees/taxes that you have paid should be reimbursed but surprisingly money grabbing P&O dont they keep the money and has it has no costs to them it is pure 100% profit which with 2000-3500 people onboard no small amount.

I never thought about the port taxes good information.

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  • 6 months later...

a simple £25 (for example) per passenger goodwill on board credit for a missed port would be a positive step beneficial for all, happy passengers spending more on board knowing the cruise line has recognised their dissapointment and are more likely to become repeat passengers ....

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Out of interest, could those who have made successful claims from their insurers for missed ports please provide some indication of the value of compensation per passenger per missed port, net of any policy excess? Thanks.

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Thanks. I guess I need to check the fine prints of my insurance if it is included.

 

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If that's Nationwide Travel Insurance, don't bother, the only mention of cruises is under Hazadous activities. They tell you nothing about if/what you are covered for on a cruise.

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Can I ask how you decided on the amount to claim for missing a port, we have this included on our insurance, but would not have a clue. Many thanks.

 

As someone else says that amount was determined by the insurer.

 

 

Just wondering Prefdavid did you adjust your claim by the extra time spent in New York?

 

No. The missed port cover is exactly that and offers a fixed amount for a missed port. I claimed for a missed port and that's what was paid.

 

To answer another question from Selbourne, the insurer pays £150pp per missed port and I would add the claims process was extremely straighforward.

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As someone else says that amount was determined by the insurer.

 

 

 

 

No. The missed port cover is exactly that and offers a fixed amount for a missed port. I claimed for a missed port and that's what was paid.

 

To answer another question from Selbourne, the insurer pays £150pp per missed port and I would add the claims process was extremely straighforward.

 

My insurer is "Insure & Go", I have been advised the sum paid will be £100 per insured, no excess.

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Out of interest, could those who have made successful claims from their insurers for missed ports please provide some indication of the value of compensation per passenger per missed port, net of any policy excess? Thanks.

 

We are with LV who pay out £150 pp per missed port. No excess, and had no apparent impact on following years premium either.

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Many thanks to those who have shared their insurers missed port payments. Insurance is such a minefield as another recent thread discovered. We have an annual worldwide travel insurance policy with Aviva which is extremely competitively priced and specifically covers my wife’s medical condition. Although they do not specify Cruises, they have confirmed to me that all aspects of Cruise holidays are covered (e.g. medical evacuations, land or ship based hospitalisation, repatriation etc) as they consider it to be a regular holiday (these are the same insurers with the TV ad making light of the fact that other insurers ask you questions like what precise code of door locks do you have). The one thing that isn’t covered is missed port compensation, but I have read horror stories of how much some people pay for specialist Cruise cover, especially if someone has a pre-existing medical condition, so I guess it’s a case of weighing up whether the additional premium is worth it, given the relatively infrequent occurrence of missed ports. At our next renewal I shall be sure to compare against those insurers mentioned above.

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We are with LV who pay out £150 pp per missed port. No excess, and had no apparent impact on following years premium either.

 

Hi MM - can I ask how much you pay for this insurance please and is it an annual one? And does it cover pre existing conditions?

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I've never thought about claiming for a missed port. We missed Bora Bora on a world cruise in 2013 and received £100 OBC each. I always thought that was because the Australians on board had started a petition to get some compensation. I'm not sure we are covered by our insurance anyhow.:confused:

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