Hidden Fees in Cruising - what the new pricing transparency laws do not include!

The State of California recently enacted a pricing transparency law forcing cruise lines to include taxes and port charges in the list price of the cruise. However, this law only applies to mandatory additional costs like taxes and does not include many other hidden costs of cruising.
This video talks about the inclusion of Port Charges in the cruise pricing. What Port Charges are, how they are calculated and how they vary around the world.
We also talk about many other hidden costs that can add significant cost to your cruise such as tips, shore excursions, spas, drinks and drink packages. Bundled packages such as Princess Plus and Have it All are discussed. Laundry, rides, arcades, room service, photos also add costs to the cruise.
There is a checklist of possible hidden costs to consider when determining the full cost of your cruise near the end of the video.
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We have been to over 45 countries and over 70 cruise ship ports of call. We are both chemical engineers and have only been vlogging since June 2023 and want to share our travel experiences with you. Please subscribe to follow us. Please feel free to leave a comment or question and please give us a like. Thank you for watching!
Chapters
0:19 The New Pricing Transparency Law
0:55 Welcome and Welcome Back
1:19 What are Port Charges?
1:41 How are Port Charges Calculated
2:49 Port Charges Vary from Port-to-Port
3:31 Hidden Costs
3:49 Automatic Tipping
4:35 Tipping on Spa Services
4:44 Drinks and Drink Packages and Tips
6:27 Shore Excursion Tipping
6:42 Casino Tipping
6:48 Room Service Charges
7:07 WiFi Charges
7:30 Other Hidden Costs
7:58 Check List of Hidden Costs
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The information expressed in this video is the opinion of the creators and is for entertainment purposes only. This is not professional advice. Please consult your travel professional or the cruise lines for advice specific to your booking.
Copyright A Cruising Good Time LLC 2024

[@jlawrence0181]

Folks, a number of cruises that I had booked buried a price increase in with the new pricing. I jad a feeling that would happen so I nooked my two March cruises in late June.

[@ACruisingGoodTime]

Thank you for your comment. Thanks for watching.

[@Jjswat10]

Always great to see other fans of board games! You have some good ones behind you. Thanks for the video

[@ACruisingGoodTime]

Thank you. We love to play games with friends and family on and off cruises. Happy Cruising!

[@BrendaAinsworth-ix1wn]

Very informative

[@ACruisingGoodTime]

Thank you so much for your kind words!

[@kstaffen-justlovescruising]

1st. Port fees and taxes have always been owed by everyone in the cabin, whether sailing free or not. This is not new. 2nd, gratuities, though many long time frequent cruisers like myself, consider them resort fees, are NOT mandatory. If someone really wants to be rude, they can remove them, so they do not have to be disclosed. Would it be better if they did and not allow people to remove them? Absolutely. But that is not the case.

[@ACruisingGoodTime]

Thank you for your comment. You are correct the actual total cruise cost has not changed. The change is that the law changed what is included in the list price provided by the cruise line so the posted fare is greater than it was previously.
We have met first time cruisers who were surprised by the final costs upon disembarkation which includes tips, etc. . Our video was in alignment with your discussion on the tipping. We have been on over 30 cruises and wanted to share information which we are frequently been asked about. Happy cruising!

[@williamwatson689]

Gratuties must be included because they are basically required ...period. Cruise lines are so deceptive in their first glance pricing. No one really wants to do business with the foreign flagged mafia. The cruise lines are more of a parasite on the backs of current cruise passengers. I say shape up or ship out of USA ports.

[@ACruisingGoodTime]

Thank you for watching and for your comment. Most Cruise lines add a crew appreciation fee (tip) for each person for each day. However, a cruiser may go to guest services while on the cruise and get the tip removed from their bill; therefore tips are not considered mandatory and not included in the fare posted by the cruise line. The staff on the over 30 cruises I have been on have been very hard working and courteous and I believe in paying the cruise appreciation fee and tipping extra to individuals who have added to our cruise experience.