why are the taxes for Panama Canal cruises so much higher?

I just noticed that a 10 day Panama Canal cruise has $610 taxes! Why is it so high. I was also looking at an 8 day s.Caribbean and the taxes are only $188. And the Caribbean one is more expensive per person.

Because it costs the ship around $300K to go through the locks. Other Caribbean ports don't have that extra fee.

Still an excellent cruise. If you get up before dawn on the day they are to enter the locks (I know, before dawn on vacation!!), you can watch the approach to the locks. It's interesting seeing all the large commercial ships waiting their turn (cruise ships get a reserved time for going through the locks).

Art

300k is now a fairly small transit. Think it is quite a bit more than that. A little Internet research would produce the current fees. I remember when the Regal Princess held the record for 289k in fees, and that was set in the early 1990s. The fees have gone up quite a bit to fund the new locks.

It's always been expensive to transit the Canal and that cost has been built into the price of a Canal cruise tickets. Remember when cruising was "all inclusive"? Now, in order to keep the selling price low, just like the airlines, some cruise lines are breaking out as many costs as they can and sticking them in an add on as taxes, fuel surcharges, etc. I'm not sure the cost of the Canal operation should legitimately be called a "tax", but hey . . . And once one cruise line does ANYTHING you can bet that ever other one will follow. It's the same model for airlines, hotels and cruise lines. Have a base, low price and then start adding on fees and services. Regards, Richard

Last November, the Island Princess paid (up front) $380,000.00 for the full canal transit.

A LOT of $$$, but we thoroughly enjoyed it!

It is due to the cost of transiting the Panama Canal which is very expensive and yes the cost to the canal must be paid up front.

Keith

We have done 2 prior full transits of the Panama Canal ,last one being April 2011 .Now we are looking at March 2014 & the add on Fees are $610 or $620 for the cabin ,depending on which cruise line :o:(.

Imo ,these fees have been raised substantially to defray the cost of the new longer wider locks .But ,hey the Panama au5thorities won't lower the prices after the new canal opens ;because they got a good golden goose & want to milk it & us for what the traffic will bear:mad: .

Until the cruise pax buck & say no more ,the Panamanians will charge what they want & get away with it:rolleyes:.

Start saying No & Watch how things change:D

Imo ,these fees have been raised substantially to defray the cost of the new longer wider locks .But ,hey the Panama au5thorities won't lower the prices after the new canal opens ;because they got a good golden goose & want to milk it & us for what the traffic will bear:mad: .

 

Until the cruise pax buck & say no more ,the Panamanians will charge what they want & get away with it:rolleyes:.

 

Start saying No & Watch how things change:D

The problem with this solution is the Canal is booked solid. Ships frequently have to wait days for their slots to sail thru, particularly as cruise ships are given priority.

The next issue is the cruise ships must be moved from location to location. They can't be "beamed" to their next destination. Repositioning cruises used to be very cheap (relatively), and some (transatlantic) still are. But Canal cruises have become pretty popular, and the Canal fee isn't hurting this.

Lastly, the new locks are for larger ships than can currently pass thru, so the demand will remain very high.

We have done 2 prior full transits of the Panama Canal ,last one being April 2011 .Now we are looking at March 2014 & the add on Fees are $610 or $620 for the cabin ,depending on which cruise line :o:(.

 

Imo ,these fees have been raised substantially to defray the cost of the new longer wider locks .But ,hey the Panama au5thorities won't lower the prices after the new canal opens ;because they got a good golden goose & want to milk it & us for what the traffic will bear:mad: .

 

Until the cruise pax buck & say no more ,the Panamanians will charge what they want & get away with it:rolleyes:.

 

Start saying No & Watch how things change:D

Is that $600+ per person or the total gov. fees and taxes or based on double occupancy? That charge is roughly double what it would be if it were a regular cruise say, to the Caribbean for an equal time. If it based on double occupancy that would be roughly the amount that has been levied recently. Most cruise ships are now charged on a per berth basis by the Canal and that is based on the total number of passenger berths on the ship, whether or not the berth has been sold. The Canal presently charges $134/berth, so it is easy for a cruise ship with a capacity of 2200 passengers to ring up a toll of just under $300,000... and that is just the first rattle out of the box! There is a whole laundry list of charges that are spun out of the actual toll, but there are not very many ways to avoid them. One of the big ticket add on charges is the fee for a guaranteed transit on a particular date. That fee is based on the size of the ship and most passenger ships are in the top tier which is $35000 on top of the tolls. Oh, and if you call by 6:PM there is no refund:eek:!

Panama does have a balancing act they need to follow, there is a limit on how much they charge and no one is exactly sure just where that price point is. Not too long ago the Maersk Line (huge container shipping co.) abandoned the Panama Canal and has opted to use the Suez Canal as part of it's world wide service. The Suez became a less expensive option even though the Suez route requires more steaming time.

 

Start saying No & Watch how things change:D

Things won't change a bit. Panama could lose 100% of the cruise ship business and barely feel it.

Besides the per person transit fee, cruise ships also pay a premium, as you would expect, to cut the line. They get to go first, ahead of other ships who are in line to transit the canal.

This isn't going to change even if cruise passengers start saying "No".

IMO, the only thing that might lower, or at least slow the increase in transit fees would be if China got real serious about funding a new canal across Nicaragua.

Don't hold your breath.

Things won't change a bit. Panama could lose 100% of the cruise ship business and barely feel it.

 

Don't hold your breath.

Exactly right, as it stands now passenger ships account for less than 2% of Canal traffic and there probably would not be a total cessation of passenger ships. The cruise lines would still need to move ships back and forth between the Pacific and Caribbean markets. A significant reduction in the amount of Canal cruises would only make the ones that remain that much more expensive.

Just read that Costa Rica is pleading its case before the International Court in The Hague concerning Nicaragua's sending workers to a disputed island for prep work on the new canal. I would imagine Panama is keeping a close eye on whatever developes!

If anyone really wants to look into it here are the charges for using the canal. Interesting to see is the section on tolls and the price per berth of passenger ships near the bottom of the list. Then take a look at the Transit Reservation System section where there is a $35'000 fee to reserve a transit then add on another $30'000 to reserve a daylight transit. Then there are the charges for the mules at $300 per line attached to the ship. Then don't forget tug boat services... Pilot fees and an extra fee for them to bring their own food if you don't feed them... It's rather interesting reading to see how many charges & fees add up for using the canal. The canal fee is only a small portion of the bill.