port charges??

I was checking rates to see if ours had changed for our March cruise on Carnival and found port charges at another site to be very different from what mine are on my current paid bill...are port charges just ways to make up money or are they truly charges the ship incurs from docking somewhere..mine for 4 people are 743.92..almost 190.00 per person,,,anybody know if this is as exorbitant as it sounds? Thanks

In order for anyone to give you a plausible answer they would need to know the port you leave from,. the port you disembark and the ports that you stop at. Technically, port charges are those that are imposed by the cities where you dock or anchor, for garbage removal , water and services provided at the pier. Some cruise lines have been found guilty and fined for of using port charges to cover their own operating expenses.

Your passenger fare should also include federal excise fees and taxes, that may or not be included in the port charges.

[Kuki]

Actually port charges are technically no longer called Port Charges. They are called "non commissionable fees".
And they include more than the actual docking fee. You need to be a psychic mathemitician to know exactly what they do cover though<G>

The cruise lines include alot of services related to what dealing with the ship while it's docked, in the "non commissionable fees" pot.

We are leaving from Miami and we travel to Nassau, La Romana/Casa de Campo, St Thomas/St John then back to Miami. I really just want to make sure these charges are in line with what other people have paid...Thanks in advance

On the basis of the number of ports, based on our years of cruising,I do not thik the charge per person is out of line.

One thing the passenger should learn from his or her travel agent, if the passenger cancels the cruise, are the port fees and federal taxes and fees refunded 100%. One cruise line I have had experience with did not nor quote port charges, presumeably
including these as part of the fare. When I had to cancel the cruise at the advise of my doctor , we were in the 100% penalty period. Fortunately we had travel insurance that reimbursed us including what could be considered port charges.

It was interesting to note in the brochure the cruise line indicated the amount of the port charges but neither on our billing, nor passenger ticket was there a charge for port charges.. Thus I recommend when someone buys travel insurance with cancellation
recovery that they ascertain the port charges and add this to the policy limit. I did get the federal taxes and fees returned.

I go on the Golden Princess this Saturday we stop at St. Thomas, St. Martaan and Princess Cay and the port charges are $189. per person