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"Non Comm. Cruise Fare"..........


trishalee

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When we booked our cruise, the fare per person was listed at $1899. On the invoice we received, we were billed the $1899 plus another $200 per person "Non Comm. Cruise Fare'. I take it this means part of the fare on which no commission is paid to my T.A. Are they tacking this onto our fare to make up for the commission they had to pay to our TA? If we had booked directly through RCI, would we not have had to pay this extra fare?:confused:

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When we booked our cruise, the fare per person was listed at $1899. On the invoice we received, we were billed the $1899 plus another $200 per person "Non Comm. Cruise Fare'. I take it this means part of the fare on which no commission is paid to my T.A. Are they tacking this onto our fare to make up for the commission they had to pay to our TA? If we had booked directly through RCI, would we not have had to pay this extra fare?:confused:

That is usually the port fees and taxes that are above the cruise fare. A good TA includes these when telling you the total fare, others don't bother so it looks like an extra charge.

 

Don't know if this is true in your case but that is usually what it means.

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When we booked our cruise, the fare per person was listed at $1899. On the invoice we received, we were billed the $1899 plus another $200 per person "Non Comm. Cruise Fare'. I take it this means part of the fare on which no commission is paid to my T.A. Are they tacking this onto our fare to make up for the commission they had to pay to our TA? If we had booked directly through RCI, would we not have had to pay this extra fare?:confused:
What is the ship and date of the cruise? Also your cabin category? I'll clear this up for you.
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Our port fees and taxes are listed separately on the invoice. We are on Brilliance sailing out of Miami March 5 to the Panama Canal. I've been trying to find out about this for months. Our TA says she has no idea what the charge is - says she called RCI and couldn't get an answer from them either. Hope one of you have experience with this charge.

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Our port fees and taxes are listed separately on the invoice. We are on Brilliance sailing out of Miami March 5 to the Panama Canal. I've been trying to find out about this for months. Our TA says she has no idea what the charge is - says she called RCI and couldn't get an answer from them either. Hope one of you have experience with this charge.
Was the charge $1899 per person plus another $200 per person for a total of $2099 per person?

What do they list for port charges?

What do they list for taxes?

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Non commissionable fare is what used to be referred to as port charges. Some cruise lines include this in the total fare some do not. I always break out all charges for my clients so that they know what they are being charged for. Most advertisement that you will see for cruises do not include these fees. This is one of the reasons that I breakout the charges. For instance if I charge a client $2099.00 per person and then they see an advertisment for $1899.00 they will wonder why the difference. Because most people do not read fine print of advertising.

 

The price would be exactly the same if you booked directly through the cruise line. RCI is one of the cruise lines that does breakdown the charges on our invoices. Whether an agent itemizes your invoice or just totals it is up to the agent. Some just don't want to type everything out I guess.

 

The thing that does worry me though is the fact that you agent didn't know this and couldn't explain this to you. Sounds like she/he doesn't know what they are doing or haven't been in the business very long. If your invoice shows "port charges" and then "non comm" separately then it sounds like your agent has made a mistake.

 

Sorry but I find your TA's response unbelievable. To say that RCI wouldn't explain what these fees are just doesn't make sense to me.

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the correct way it should read is

cruise fare

non-commissionable fare(includes port taxes and other expendibles)

government(US) taxes.

 

Most companies and TA's haven't actually reprogrammed their computers to do this right but the cruise line invoice I assure you has it this way(because of a law suit)...

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Non.Comm (non-comissionable required fares I.E. port charges and taxes) means that no TA is paid ANY commission on these prices. Port charges and taxes have always been included in the total price of a cruise. You will read on many websites (including this one) about the "price" of your cruise, but you need to know that even the cruise lines will quote you the "cruise rate", and then add on the (broken down) port charges (required) and government taxes (required). It's been this way for years, and any good TA knows this. I've often had first-time clients come into our office about the great cruise rate they've been quoted, and then have to "sober up" when I tell them about the required imposed port charges (the charges made to the ship at each docking port) and government taxes....which increases their price. I've even had cruises where the P&T was higher than the cruise rate! It's really standard procedure to have these charges automatically added to the listed "cruise rate". More port-intensive cruises generally have higher port charges. Hope this helps!

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It's really standard procedure to have these charges automatically added to the listed "cruise rate". More port-intensive cruises generally have higher port charges. Hope this helps!

 

Not sure I completely agree with you. Some cruise lines have a listed rate that includes port charges. But never taxes. As they are subject to change and are always brokenout. And both are separated on the cruise lines invoice. I just pulled out a file and the invoice states separately Cruise Fare, Non Comm Cruise Fare, Taxes and Fees. This was on an RCI invoice. However on a HAL invoice it states Cruise Fare, Included NDA and Taxes and fees . I itemize my clients invoices down the same way the cruise line they are booking itemizes it for me. I guess that is because I like knowing exactly what I am paying for and I just assume my clients would as well.

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Okay, I'm finally back - no boards yesterday. Here is what my invoice says.

 

Cruise Rate $1880 per person

Insurance $ 139 per

Non-Comm Cruise Fare $ 219 per

Taxes & Fees $ 177 per

 

The concensus seems to be that the Non-Comm is port charges. Am I correct? How could a TA not know this - we've been booking with her for 20 years! I guess I can see that RCI doesn't want to actually call the fee "Port Charges" since they never refund any of them when we miss a port although the other lines do. I guess I finally understand what is happening - duh - it doesn't take me long! Thanks so much for all your help.:)

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Cruise : Amount per person that is cruise fare

Airfare: Price per person to fly RT with transfers to the ship

Insurance: Usually says DECLINED since we do no buy Cruise

Care Insurance from Berkley

Taxes & Fees: Government taxes & port charges

 

Then it states OBC due to me: stockholder, VISA, booked onboard, gifts, etc. It also states discounts such as Diamond balcony discount, etc

 

$900 deposit & the date paid on with the VISA, Amount due & the date RCCL charges me on the VISA.

 

 

So I have no questions an any charges & they are usually cheaper by final payment date.

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Okay, I'm finally back - no boards yesterday. Here is what my invoice says.

 

Cruise Rate $1880 per person

Insurance $ 139 per

Non-Comm Cruise Fare $ 219 per

Taxes & Fees $ 177 per

 

The concensus seems to be that the Non-Comm is port charges. Am I correct? How could a TA not know this - we've been booking with her for 20 years! I guess I can see that RCI doesn't want to actually call the fee "Port Charges" since they never refund any of them when we miss a port although the other lines do. I guess I finally understand what is happening - duh - it doesn't take me long! Thanks so much for all your help.:)

 

What Category is that?

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NCF includes more than port charges, it includes at least the estimated share of fuel the ship will use as well(I think it may also include the share of the charges that harbor pilots charge to bring the ship into port). I am not sure what else it includes. The reason they call it NCF and not Port Charges is because of a lawsuit. What it does include is a mystery to me at least. Gov't taxes and fees is exactly that its government charged taxes(USG) or fees like Alaska but its not the charges that a port authoirty charges for the use of the pier.

 

The cruise company doesn't want to pay commission on what it sees as pass through charges(both taxes and NCF)....btw this is mostly someting the TA should care about since it reduces their commission

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I agree with autumnrose...I am conerned that an agent that has been in business for twenty years could not answer your question though. Maybe she made a mistake in quoting you and is trying to cover? Just can't imagine she wouldn't know. I also break down the cruise prices for every one of my customers so they know exactly what they are paying.

 

I will say as an agent in the business for a long time, I have seen the actual cruise prices stay steady throughout the years...but the noncommissionables keep going up and up..hmmmmmm?

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I'm really new to this and trying to figure out prices. If I went on RCI 4 night Bahama cruise and it listed cat. 9 for 4 people as 479.00+479.00+279.00+279.00=1516.00+62.00 (taxes) that would total 1578.00. What else am I looking at for fees and approximately how much additional would that be?

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Mikew0805, that is for a category E1. Thanks so much for all your answers. I won't be using that TA again anyway. I made a special point of calling to have the insurance charged to my credit card at the perfect time for the "look-back period" for pre-existing conditions to be a perfectly "clean" period of time. This was last fall. 2 weeks ago, it developed that she had never done that, doesn't remember me calling her about it. At the time she kept saying I didn't have to pay for the insurance until final payment; I explained that the look-back period was the reason, since we're older and have health problems. So now, if anything goes wrong healthwise, it won't be covered. I'm feeling very disillusioned.:(

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I'm really new to this and trying to figure out prices. If I went on RCI 4 night Bahama cruise and it listed cat. 9 for 4 people as 479.00+479.00+279.00+279.00=1516.00+62.00 (taxes) that would total 1578.00. What else am I looking at for fees and approximately how much additional would that be?

 

Does the 479 and the 279 include port charges? (It seems low). Also the taxes are per person so you would multiply the 62 X 4. If you could let us know what cruise and what date alond with category we could help more.

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Is she using CSA Travel Insurance? They seem to be the only company that doesn't make you purchase til final payment. Total coverage with pre-existing problems. Others want it within 2 weeks of deposit, so tey make interest off your money.........

 

 

 

Mikew0805, that is for a category E1. Thanks so much for all your answers. I won't be using that TA again anyway. I made a special point of calling to have the insurance charged to my credit card at the perfect time for the "look-back period" for pre-existing conditions to be a perfectly "clean" period of time. This was last fall. 2 weeks ago, it developed that she had never done that, doesn't remember me calling her about it. At the time she kept saying I didn't have to pay for the insurance until final payment; I explained that the look-back period was the reason, since we're older and have health problems. So now, if anything goes wrong healthwise, it won't be covered. I'm feeling very disillusioned.:(
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Non commissionable and port charges are one in the same. Your T/A gave you just the cruisefare. Most cruiseline will breakdown the price for you when you call. I think the agent was trying to get herself out of a jam because she did not give you the correct price and tried to blame it on the cruiseline.

 

Alot of pricing you see out there already has the the NCF included. Check the fine print.

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Does the 479 and the 279 include port charges? (It seems low). Also the taxes are per person so you would multiply the 62 X 4. If you could let us know what cruise and what date alond with category we could help more.

 

This is all very confusing to me! I went on the website and typed in as if a party of 2 and it showed the taxes at 30.20, so I figured the 62.00 taxes when I put in 4 people would be for 4. I appreciate any help I can get!

 

The price I quoted above is directly from the RCI website. It's the Aug. 20, 2007 4 nite bahamas, superior ocean view deck 9. I'm trying to decide between that and 2 ocean view rooms.

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This is all very confusing to me! I went on the website and typed in as if a party of 2 and it showed the taxes at 30.20, so I figured the 62.00 taxes when I put in 4 people would be for 4. I appreciate any help I can get!

 

The price I quoted above is directly from the RCI website. It's the Aug. 20, 2007 4 nite bahamas, superior ocean view deck 9. I'm trying to decide between that and 2 ocean view rooms.

Wouldn't be any other charges. Royal Caribben includes port charges in the price on their site. The only thing they add is the taxes which you've figured out.

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