I've also had this problem on and off. Sometimes it works with shortcut alone, and sometimes it doesnt. It seemed random to me.

I basicly add the command line in startup options in steam. Then started with the same startup option from a shortcut, and it worked all the time.

During the course of testing this issue I also noticed I would get the wrong password message if I had the wrong port in -port=MyPort

Btw only tested on dedicated servers. Local and on the internet.

Parameters used: -connect=MyIPaddress -port=MyPort -password=MyPassword

This issue needs futher testing eliminate the random results.