Lawsuits Scratch the Surface of Port Charges.(Originated from The Miami Herald)

May 5--After Arthur Shonbrun threw a seaborne bash for 20 family members in January, the retired garment manufacturer says he returned home to Pompano Beach and an unpleasant surprise: An invoice for his three-day cruise that showed $2,000 in "port charges."

"They ran the trip beautifully," said Shonbrun, who took a Majesty Cruise Line sojourn from Miami to Nassau to Key West and back. "They were just taking advantage on that port charge. I thought it was out of line. But when I called them, they told me there was nothing I could about it."

Lawyers hoping to fold unhappy passengers like Shonbrun into class action lawsuits say they intend to do something about it. The suits, filed in Florida, California and Washington state, claim that a number of cruise lines pad their …