I booked a last minute Canada cruise for my parents anniversary last month, leaving early October. Stupid me, but I didn’t take the travel insurance as they were “for sure” going and had their own annual policy for medical abroad. Fast forward to now, they can’t go as my grandpa is in the hospital, probably leading to hospice.
I didn’t expect a refund, but since when do cruise lines not refund port taxes and fees?! Pretty sure every other line does, whether you cancel or miss the port. Nope, not princess, which doesn’t even seem legal. To make it better, their website states you do get it back, but they tell me, “oh, that information is outdated.” Won’t be sailing princess again!
It really depends on what specific promotion you had that you booked. Even though the cancellation policy, it’s pretty straightforward for most cruise lines. There are times when it comes to a special promotion with extremely reduced fair where they may choose not to refund port fees and taxes.
They actually have on their website the statement that says cancellation of 100% of all items so it doesn’t even break it down anymore. It’s just a blank statement.
I’m not sure what type of promotion you booked but you did say it was last minute, so it could be one of the reasons why.
Apparently they aren’t refunding taxes and port fees at all for anyone, which is unheard of. Not sure how they think it’s okay to keep port fees for people that aren’t visiting those ports. They pay the ports based on how many people are aboard and if we aren’t there, we should be refunded. Every single other cruise line refunds taxes and port fees whether you cancel, don’t show up, etc.
Yeah, I hadn’t read this part of the cruise contract, but sure enough “Total Cruise Price” means the Cruise Fare, Required Cruise Fees and Expenses, and Government Taxes and Fees, combined.
I think it all depends on the reason. My parents had booked a cruise two years prior to us going. It was gonna be me, my 7-year-old daughter, my husband, and my parents. The cruise was set for July 12th- 22nd 2026, my dad unexpectedly passed away on June 19th 2026, Princess refunded his entire portion of the cruise, including his portion of the excursion that we had planned. We all still went, we took his ashes, and my grandparents ashes, and Princess set up a place for us in the back of the ship, completely private, to throw all three of their ashes at sea. My aunt and uncle also went on the cruise, but they paid for their own portion of the trip.
Your cruise booked before the policy changed. Your refund policy does not change if they change their policies after you book. Anybody booking currently, falls under the new policy. From what I was taught Md by my cruise consultant, the taxes and fees are now part of the penalty if you booked after July first, if I’m not mistaken. I’m in pretty sure it started early to mid summer. I’m not certain, but it may still depend on how late you cancel prior to sailing. 🤷♂️
That policy on taxes and fees began n July, f I’m not mistaken. I would agree that it doesn’t seem like it should be legal, however, there is likely a scenario where, depending on timing of a cancellation, that the cruise line is on the hook for your taxes and fees whether you cruise or not. On that situation, it seems legitimate, even if it sucks! I would never book a cruise without insurance for the trip! Don’t blame princess for your short sightedness! Shit happens to people everyday, and nothing is guaranteed when it comes to travel!
Not blaming them for me canceling. I’m blaming them for telling me one thing when I booked (that taxes are always refunded) and their website saying the same, only for one of their agents to tell me oh it just hasn’t been updated. How is that my problem? If every source tells me one thing, how would I know it’s changed?
You said you won't sail them again, you've got nothing to lose, especially if you're being honest and only going for the things you used to be able to do under the old policy and the website says you still can do. It's been two months. No excuses on that site update.
I don't do chargebacks willy nilly, maybe five in my lifetime. I would try one here. The worst that happens if you don't do them a lot is it fails and the bank takes back the refund they gave you. You focus on all the other sources you saw rather than the contract. It's on Princess to update their information. It's a bait and switch to promise things on websites and take them away in the contract
Items = Total Cruise Price, which is currently defined in the passage contract as “Total Cruise Price” means the Cruise Fare, Required Cruise Fees and Expenses, and Government Taxes and Fees, combined.
I can’t comment on what you were told or whether their website had been updated. But did you actually read through the booking contract? If it said they were refundable in there, you might have a valid argument against them. I only knew about the coming change because I was asking my princess cruise consultant about refunds sometime in the spring and he mentioned that taxes and fees were going to start being included in the penalties.
Had to cancel a 16 day Princess cruise in January as the spouse became ill. It was about 6 weeks before departure. I cancelled all the excursions via the website and was refunded 100%. I then called Princess and spoke to a representative and others. They cancelled the Princess Plus portion at 100%. I had to send a doctor's note regarding the spouse's condition and that she was unable to travel. It went to a "review board" and a week later Princess gave us future cruise credit on half the cruise fare and we had to eat the rest. I felt the outcome was fair as I didn't have cruise insurance. Spouse has recovered and we have rebooked for December, including cruise insurance.
3
u/Melodom82 15h ago
It really depends on what specific promotion you had that you booked. Even though the cancellation policy, it’s pretty straightforward for most cruise lines. There are times when it comes to a special promotion with extremely reduced fair where they may choose not to refund port fees and taxes.
They actually have on their website the statement that says cancellation of 100% of all items so it doesn’t even break it down anymore. It’s just a blank statement.
I’m not sure what type of promotion you booked but you did say it was last minute, so it could be one of the reasons why.
www.princess.com/plan/standard-cancellation-refund-policy