Cruise taxes and fees

[Gutenberg]

We have taken about 20 cruises and have searched 100's before booking one and the biggest question we have is: How are the government taxes and fees calculated and who determines them? We have found similar itineraries with different companies have different taxes and fees attached to them. This is the biggest mystery we have found in the cruise industry. We have found that one cruise line is notoriously higher on their taxes and fees and have been told so by travel agents who are booking for many different lines and see the inequality.

 

Then, we have been charged a certain price for taxes and fees at booking and then received OBC for the overcharge on the ship. It isn't much, but multiply the $13 or $14 by the number of rooms on the ship, the cruise line is getting our cash and in return we are given OBC (which is not real money) to purchase an overpriced item. We would prefer to keep our cash. Something about that system seems a bit slimy, yet no one can tell me how those mysterious numbers are cooked up.

 

I wish there was a formula that we can calculate, such as "Sailing from port A is $$, stopping at port B is $$, stopping at port C is $$ and ending up back at Port A is $$ multiplied by a % = the government taxes and fees." (...or something like that.) Can anyone help me out by solving this mystery? I am suspicious that some of that money ends up in the pockets of the cruise lines.

[BruceMuzz]

Everyone - including the cruise lines - is confused by port charges and taxes. They are extremely complicated, differ greatly from port to port and country to country, and are constantly changing.

 

There are many different port taxes and fees charged to a cruise ship.

 

Many - but certainly not all - ports charge a fixed dollar amount for each paying passenger onboard the ship. But this number can go up or down with very little warning. Quite often, this amount as a part of the port taxes you paid several months ago when you booked the cruise has changed - up or down - by the time your ship goes to that particular port. When you board you then find a small refund - or a small additional charge - that reflects the change.

 

Some ports (not all) charge fixed wharfage and head taxes based on the size of the ship rather than the number of paying passengers onboard. Then the cruise line has to calculate the port taxes by dividing the overall port charges by number of paying passengers actually onboard the ship on the day of that particular port visit. If your cruise is very full you may pay lower fees and taxes than if it was not so full.

 

Many ports have several piers. Some piers carry higher port charges and taxes than other piers. It is often the case that a cruise ship Captain is not sure which pier he will be assigned to until just a day or even a few hours before he arrives in the port. In San Juan for example, the fees and taxes for a ship visiting for the day at the Old Town piers are far higher than the fees for a ship visiting or turning around at the Panamerican Piers across the harbor.

At Sydney harbor, we like to dock at "the Rocks", just across from the Opera House. We pay much higher fees, but the location is great for our passengers. But if a large ship that cannot fit under the Sydney Harbort Bridge happens to show up, they get priority and we are shifted to the new Sydney Terminal in Darling Harbor. We pay far less in fees and taxes at the new terminal, but it is not nearly as convenient.

 

Many ports charge by the hour or by a segment of hours. If a ship stays longer at a pier, it is charged more money. Those charges are passed on to the passengers.

 

In some countries, a ship pays higher - or lower - fees and taxes depending on which country the cruise originated in.

 

Two or three times every month (on average) I receive an email from the Head Office explaining how much more I need to charge - or refund - every new guest because one or more ports or countries has changed the tax or fee structure at one or more ports on our itinerary.

 

In some ports, the cruise line has a special deal with one pier owner or another, giving them lower port charges, which are passed on to the passengers. In St Thomas, for example, HAL, Princess, and Cunard ships normally go to the the Sub Base Pier and pay substantially lower fees than the other ships that go to the Havensight pier downtown.

At Key West, the smaller ships are allowed to dock right down town - and pay much higher fees than the bigger ships that are docked at the Navy Pier.

 

When my ship was in Shanghai last week, we were small enough to fit under the bridge and tie up at the end of the Bund in the center of town. We paid a substantial premium for that. Our Royal Caribbean competitors could not fit their ship in the Huang Pu river and instead had to go to the Container Terminal quite a way out of town. Even though they are much bigger than us, they paid lower fees.

 

Are you confused yet? We usually are. And I have only scratched the surface of the myriad of factors that cause the confusion that surrounds port charges, fees, and taxes.

 

How is this all controlled?

Several years ago, a few cruise lines were caught inflating taxes and fees for passengers.

The State of Florida brought major lawsuits against those lines, won the lawsuits, and the lines had to pay many millions in penalties.

From that point on, several US Government Organisations monitor and audit fees and taxes charged by all the cruise lines calling at US ports, keeping everyone honest.

[puppycanducruise]

A big thank you to BruceMuzz for the explanation.

I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

[marco]

For a recent cruise, I asked our TA who got what out of the "fees and port taxes". She didn't know, but gave me a # to call at the line. First, they wanted to know my name, address, phone, e-mail, if I was already booked on that cruise, my booking # and who my TA was. After I gave him all of that information, I was told "that is not public information!", and hung up. A couple of years ago we took HAL to Bermuda. NCL left the same day, returned the same day, stayed in Bermuda for the same # of days. Both left from Manhattan. The only difference was HAL docked in Hamilton, NCL at King's Wharf. I guess maybe the specific dockage made a difference? Certainly not the tonnage of the ship as the NCL ship was larger than HAL and the HAL fees were higher. Go figure!!!! And as an aside....I have boxes of old cruise memorabilia up in the attic. Old brochures, tickets, menus, etc. Anyway......and old totaled $11. Sometimes I wonder if the "fee" part is totally arbitrary..... like if you fly to London on FF points. If you fly on British Airways the amount you still have to pay in "fees and taxes" is a LOT more than on other carriers because of some fees they impose that other airlines don't.

Edited March 19, 2014 by marco

[Mary Ellen]

Then, we have been charged a certain price for taxes and fees at booking and then received OBC for the overcharge on the ship. It isn't much, but multiply the $13 or $14 by the number of rooms on the ship, the cruise line is getting our cash and in return we are given OBC (which is not real money) to purchase an overpriced item. We would prefer to keep our cash. Something about that system seems a bit slimy, yet no one can tell me how those mysterious numbers are cooked up.

I don't know the source of your information that you can't get your overcharge back in cash at the end of the cruise, but it isn't always true. I know of two separate occasions when unused OBC was returned to passengers (in cash) at the end of the cruise. One time it was due to a change in port taxes/fees. That huge amount, of 19 cents, was given to my parents. All of their shipboard charges were to our account, so they didn't have any charges for it to be credited against. They were paged to the Front Desk the last morning to receive their cash. The other time I was the one paged to get my cash refund of unused OBC.

[agabbymama]

Too many variables that the cruiselines, government agencies, countries etc aren't ever going to publish or let the general public in the loop.

 

You could sit and try until doomsday, and about the time you have it figured out (or think you do), they change it.

 

I live in Southern California and can't tell you what our sales tax is, they keep changing it. Adding to it for earthquake repair, then taking that away and adding to it permanently. I just figure 10% because it fluxuates so much. I'm going to be in trouble if it goes above 10%.:D

[John Bull]

One of the joys of booking in UK, Europe, Aus etc.

By law all mandatory extras have to be included, or at the very least priced & detailed, in the booking. :p ;)

 

But I'm not sure why you find re-payment of any pretty small overcharges by way of OBC is problematic. :confused:

Yes, stuff on ships is generally over-priced, but for instance do you drink nothing but tea, coffee & tap water?

 

JB :)

[smeyer418]

also it varies by cruiseline in how they calculate different things.

Some charges are per ton, some are based on the length of the ship. Some are per passenger but even when you know the per person charge, some ports based on the number of passengers rebate by contract amounts to the cruise line.

Most cruise lines consider how they charge as proprietary(trade secret) and they will never tell you.

As an example here is the charges for NY Port which are partly per ton and partly per passenger http://www.portsamerica.com/pdf/PSTtariff%20January%202014.pdf

 

its $40.81 per passenger for a home ported ship but NCL gets a rebate based on the number of passengers because it has two ships year around out of NYC.

 

The Pilot who by law must guide the ship into Bermuda normally charges by tonnage. The Fee can be $10,000 or more each way. The way the cruise line calculates this can vary as well...Is it charged based on the lower two's? Is it charged based on actual number of estimated passengers and then calculated by actual number of passengers? This too can vary bu cruise line...

 

While someone may audit this no one will tell you anything but the gross amount...

 

there are government fees too!

wharfage, dockage, garbage fees electric fees, too many mention...some per passenger some based on time some based on usage...

for 25,000 euros your company can join a service that helps calculate this

http://www.portexpenses.com/portexpenses/

[Gutenberg]

I'm not sure why you find re-payment of any pretty small overcharges by way of OBC is problematic. :confused:

Yes, stuff on ships is generally over-priced, but for instance do you drink nothing but tea, coffee & tap water?

 

JB :)

 

It's not that I find re-payment problematic. I thought once you booked and paid the taxes and fees, I assumed they were written in stone for that cruise. Apparently there are many, many variables. Thank you to everyone, especially BruceMuzz, for trying to shed some sunlight on the system. I am glad to hear that oversight is in place and tries to keep an eye on the industry.

 

And, John Bull, we don't just drink "tea, coffee and tap water", we just drink hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, tap water and the Pepsi we bring with us. DH and I find coffee and alcohol very distasteful and we save the bar money for our next cruise, an excursion or shopping. Different strokes for different folks. I can sit all day with someone at the bar, enjoy my Pepsi and have just as much fun. I may even feel better in the morning. :)

[NMLady]

We have taken about 20 cruises and have searched 100's before booking one and the biggest question we have is: How are the government taxes and fees calculated and who determines them? We have found similar itineraries with different companies have different taxes and fees attached to them. This is the biggest mystery we have found in the cruise industry. We have found that one cruise line is notoriously higher on their taxes and fees and have been told so by travel agents who are booking for many different lines and see the inequality.

 

Then, we have been charged a certain price for taxes and fees at booking and then received OBC for the overcharge on the ship. It isn't much, but multiply the $13 or $14 by the number of rooms on the ship, the cruise line is getting our cash and in return we are given OBC (which is not real money) to purchase an overpriced item. We would prefer to keep our cash. Something about that system seems a bit slimy, yet no one can tell me how those mysterious numbers are cooked up.

 

I wish there was a formula that we can calculate, such as "Sailing from port A is $$, stopping at port B is $$, stopping at port C is $$ and ending up back at Port A is $$ multiplied by a % = the government taxes and fees." (...or something like that.) Can anyone help me out by solving this mystery? I am suspicious that some of that money ends up in the pockets of the cruise lines.

 

Sometimes port charges change downwards and your onboard account is credited the difference. If you are given OBC instead you should be able to have it refunded to you the last night if it is not needed towards your onboard account. Just ask at the front desk.

[SadieN]

Here is the Tariff schedule for the Port of Astoria (Oregon)

http://www.portofastoria.com/media/PDFFiles/Tariff/TARIFF10_2012.pdf

 

Just for fun here is the Berth Application http://www.portofastoria.com/media/PDFFiles/Berth%20Application%20Form%20MASTER%20072513.pdf

 

We primarily sail out of the West Coast and almost always get some sort of OBC for taxes/fees. It usually amounts to the price of one drink.

Edited March 19, 2014 by SadieN

[trinaM]

Thank you BruceMUZZ for your explanation.

It is the most complete and informative I have seen to explain the way the port charges work.

 

 

 

 

Everyone - including the cruise lines - is confused by port charges and taxes. They are extremely complicated, differ greatly from port to port and country to country, and are constantly changing.

 

There are many different port taxes and fees charged to a cruise ship.

 

Many - but certainly not all - ports charge a fixed dollar amount for each paying passenger onboard the ship. But this number can go up or down with very little warning. Quite often, this amount as a part of the port taxes you paid several months ago when you booked the cruise has changed - up or down - by the time your ship goes to that particular port. When you board you then find a small refund - or a small additional charge - that reflects the change.

 

Some ports (not all) charge fixed wharfage and head taxes based on the size of the ship rather than the number of paying passengers onboard. Then the cruise line has to calculate the port taxes by dividing the overall port charges by number of paying passengers actually onboard the ship on the day of that particular port visit. If your cruise is very full you may pay lower fees and taxes than if it was not so full.

 

Many ports have several piers. Some piers carry higher port charges and taxes than other piers. It is often the case that a cruise ship Captain is not sure which pier he will be assigned to until just a day or even a few hours before he arrives in the port. In San Juan for example, the fees and taxes for a ship visiting for the day at the Old Town piers are far higher than the fees for a ship visiting or turning around at the Panamerican Piers across the harbor.

At Sydney harbor, we like to dock at "the Rocks", just across from the Opera House. We pay much higher fees, but the location is great for our passengers. But if a large ship that cannot fit under the Sydney Harbort Bridge happens to show up, they get priority and we are shifted to the new Sydney Terminal in Darling Harbor. We pay far less in fees and taxes at the new terminal, but it is not nearly as convenient.

 

Many ports charge by the hour or by a segment of hours. If a ship stays longer at a pier, it is charged more money. Those charges are passed on to the passengers.

 

In some countries, a ship pays higher - or lower - fees and taxes depending on which country the cruise originated in.

 

Two or three times every month (on average) I receive an email from the Head Office explaining how much more I need to charge - or refund - every new guest because one or more ports or countries has changed the tax or fee structure at one or more ports on our itinerary.

 

In some ports, the cruise line has a special deal with one pier owner or another, giving them lower port charges, which are passed on to the passengers. In St Thomas, for example, HAL, Princess, and Cunard ships normally go to the the Sub Base Pier and pay substantially lower fees than the other ships that go to the Havensight pier downtown.

At Key West, the smaller ships are allowed to dock right down town - and pay much higher fees than the bigger ships that are docked at the Navy Pier.

 

When my ship was in Shanghai last week, we were small enough to fit under the bridge and tie up at the end of the Bund in the center of town. We paid a substantial premium for that. Our Royal Caribbean competitors could not fit their ship in the Huang Pu river and instead had to go to the Container Terminal quite a way out of town. Even though they are much bigger than us, they paid lower fees.

 

Are you confused yet? We usually are. And I have only scratched the surface of the myriad of factors that cause the confusion that surrounds port charges, fees, and taxes.

 

How is this all controlled?

Several years ago, a few cruise lines were caught inflating taxes and fees for passengers.

The State of Florida brought major lawsuits against those lines, won the lawsuits, and the lines had to pay many millions in penalties.

From that point on, several US Government Organisations monitor and audit fees and taxes charged by all the cruise lines calling at US ports, keeping everyone honest.