Are we being overcharged for taxes/fees?

We booked a 14 day HAL cruise (to Alaska for May) through the travel dept of a large box store. My husband and I were each charged $883 for taxes, fees, etc. Having never sailed on a 14 day itinerary I didn't think to question it much. Last night we were playing around on-line, actually trying to see what the difference in price would be if we upgraded our room. In order to compare, we looked up a room equivalent to what we booked and every time the taxes and fees came out to $413/pp. We tried it both on HAL's website and the travel website we had booked through...both came up with $413 each. We called the travel group twice today to see if the $883/pp was in error. Both times and 2 different people we talked to, they said it's correct and went on about fees and taxes.

I know port fees and taxes can vary between booking and sailing (but by $400/pp?). Does this sound reasonable compared to what others have paid for a 14-day Alaska itinerary? We agreed to pay this amount when we first booked so if that's what it is so be it. I just can't figure out why both websites keep coming up with the same and much lower cost.

We're booked for an 11 day land/cruise to Alaska.

Our 'est'd taxes, fees and port expenses' are listed as $250 pp on the HAL Booking Confirmation.

Take a look at that document to see what HAL is charging.

Richard

Do you have a copy of the confirmation with everything broken down?

Our TA always has everything broken down for us.

So your big box experience is charging you $1766. for taxes and fees?

What was the total for each method of arriving at your fares?

If they are the same, or nearly so...it's a matter of potato, potatoe.

If there is a major discrepancy then you could explore cancelling with TA1 and rebooking with TA2.

However, the TA1 you cite is usually spot on with their bookings.

Port charges in May for the 14-day cruise is either $413 (May7) or $409 (May 21) per person. Your TA may be tacking on an additional fee which would explain the additional amount. Most TA's will break down what is in the "fees and taxes". If your TA refuses, then you might want to talk to someone else.

Sure sounds like a problem to me, as it should be the same as HAL's website. I wonder if this is how the big box store is able to beat HAL's prices?? Obviously, you have to compare the total cost (taking into account OBC and other perks) when booking - I am not certain that everyone takes the time to do so.

PLEASE let us know what you find out on this.

$883 per person does not sound reasonable at all. It looks like your TA is ripping you off.

Ok, some TA's break down the cost of the cruise with the non commisionable fare and call it taxes, or something like that.

OP, I suggest you look at the bottom line. Are you paying the same amount or less than the HAL website? Do add in the port taxes.

If you are, it's just how your TA is breaking it down.

Now what I find confusing is on the collectors' cruise for our upcoming cruise, port taxes are $50+ more on a B2B.

But, since I know HAL refunds port taxes if the cost is less, I'm not fretting about it ;)

Thank you for the responses. I’m convinced that something is wrong. The base stateroom price is exactly the same, the only difference is in the fees. Our confirmation does not show a breakdown of the fees/taxes. My next step is to get that. I’ll keep you posted in case anyone is following for updates!

Thank you for the responses. I’m convinced that something is wrong. The base stateroom price is exactly the same, the only difference is in the fees. Our confirmation does not show a breakdown of the fees/taxes. My next step is to get that. I’ll keep you posted in case anyone is following for updates!

If the price is the same, you are ok.

by all means, reach out to your TA, they will explain it.

It's definitely not just port taxes. I've seen that before and I can't explain it properly but they tend to break it down between non commissionable and commisionable if I recall the conversation correctly.

Looking forward to your updates. Fingers crossed that you are happy with the explanation (yn)

We're doing the 14 Alaska cruise round trip out of Seattle on the June 4th sailing. Our "Estimated Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses" are $395.00 per person ($790.00 total) for a Category AA stateroom. We booked though HAL during a great promotion. $200 OBC, Paid Gratuities & a $25.00 beverage card.

Utahtea

I just booked a 14 day Alaska cruise - Great Alaskan Explorer - on HAL for June of 2019 thru my travel agent. The port expenses/taxes/fees were $473.21 per person on our official confirmation from HAL. Over $800 per person does not seem right to me, judging by our booking.

Ok, some TA's break down the cost of the cruise with the non commisionable fare and call it taxes, or something like that.

 

OP, I suggest you look at the bottom line. Are you paying the same amount or less than the HAL website? Do add in the port taxes.

 

If you are, it's just how your TA is breaking it down.

 

Now what I find confusing is on the collectors' cruise for our upcoming cruise, port taxes are $50+ more on a B2B.

 

But, since I know HAL refunds port taxes if the cost is less, I'm not fretting about it ;)

I think you might be right about the non commisionable fare being included in the taxes and fees. I just transferred my booking from HAL to the big box store. I'm paying the same total but it is split differently than on the HAL confirmation. I thought it was really odd that the base fare was quite a bit lower than on the HAL confirmation.

Thank you for the responses. I’m convinced that something is wrong. The base stateroom price is exactly the same, the only difference is in the fees. Our confirmation does not show a breakdown of the fees/taxes. My next step is to get that. I’ll keep you posted in case anyone is following for updates!

Following....!!!

That definitely does not sound right.......hope you get it resolved right away.....

My 14 day round trip Seattle last July had taxes & port fees of $388 per person. Also booked thru big box store. Thinking someone made an error and you are being charged pp what it should be for both.

I think you might be right about the non commisionable fare being included in the taxes and fees. I just transferred my booking from HAL to the big box store. I'm paying the same total but it is split differently than on the HAL confirmation. I thought it was really odd that the base fare was quite a bit lower than on the HAL confirmation.

Some agencies, in doing it this way, can advertise the ultra-low fare as a hook to get interest in the cruise and then you find it is not just the tax to add on, but the non-commisionable amount, too.

As noted, the breakdown will be different, but the bottom line the same.

Some agencies, in doing it this way, can advertise the ultra-low fare as a hook to get interest in the cruise and then you find it is not just the tax to add on, but the non-commisionable amount, too.

 

As noted, the breakdown will be different, but the bottom line the same.

The times I've seen NCF, it is a portion of the cruise line fare. IOW, the TA will charge the same fare as the cruise line but the TA will separate that same fare into two different components a commissionable fare plus the NCF. It really doesn't matter much. The total fare is the same.

Where it does matter is if the TA is giving a discount or OBC as a percentage. The discount or OBC is calculated on the commissionable portion of the fare.

For example, the cruise line fare might be $1000. The TA might report this as $800 commissionable and $200 NCF. Then the TA might give a 10% discount or OBC but that discount/OBC is 10% of the $800 commissioble fare. In this case, the 10% discount would be $80.

The times I've seen NCF, it is a portion of the cruise line fare. IOW, the TA will charge the same fare as the cruise line but the TA will separate that same fare into two different components a commissionable fare plus the NCF. It really doesn't matter much. The total fare is the same.

 

Where it does matter is if the TA is giving a discount or OBC as a percentage. The discount or OBC is calculated on the commissionable portion of the fare.

 

For example, the cruise line fare might be $1000. The TA might report this as $800 commissionable and $200 NCF. Then the TA might give a 10% discount or OBC but that discount/OBC is 10% of the $800 commissioble fare. In this case, the 10% discount would be $80.

Interesting. So, there are two reasons for an agency to do it this way. I am a little surprised this isn't more commonly done.

I booked a 10 day Baltic through big box store. After making the deposit I noticed on the HAL website that the taxes/fees had gone down about $350 for the four of us. I then went on big box website and logged into my account and sure enough they had reduced what I owed! That was nice, I didn't even have to call. So I think that big box is very truthful when passing on taxes/fees and I liked that they reduced the total price without me having to call!

Interesting. So, there are two reasons for an agency to do it this way. I am a little surprised this isn't more commonly done.

I only know of one reason to do it (NCF). I've never seen it used as a "hook". When I get my confirmation from the TA, it clearly states a fare that is identical to the cruise line. Then the TA identifies the portion that is NCF. The discount is listed next. The fare I'm charged is the cruise line fare minus the discount.

There is no reason for the TA to list the NCF unless the TA is offering a discount or OBC calculated as a percentage of the fare. It really isn't any of anyone's business how much of the fare is used to calculate the TA commission.

I only know of one reason to do it (NCF). I've never seen it used as a "hook". When I get my confirmation from the TA, it clearly states a fare that is identical to the cruise line. Then the TA identifies the portion that is NCF. The discount is listed next. The fare I'm charged is the cruise line fare minus the discount.

 

There is no reason for the TA to list the NCF unless the TA is offering a discount or OBC calculated as a percentage of the fare. It really isn't any of anyone's business how much of the fare is used to calculate the TA commission.

In my experience a lot of agencies advertise cruises with the base fare including NCF, but without the tax.

By advertising a price that includes neither the NCF nor the tax, an agency can advertise a much lower price: that can act as a hook to get people interested. People just looking, thinking about a cruise.

I get mail from one small agency that does this regularly. What a great price! Competitive! That is, until you add in both the NCF and the tax.

Okay, this whole thing is giving me a headache but I think I understand what happened now and some of you hit the nail on the head. There is a non-commissionable portion to the fare that is not applicable to the rebate we get from the big box store. So the invoice took that amount off the base fare and plugged in into the fees/taxes portion, making our base fare look less and the fees/taxes more.

What throws me off is that I thought the base fare looked right, but at the time we knew what we expected for a grand total and we didn't look at the details until later (our bad). I also learned that fares had gone down which could be why things weren't matching up when I did a current comparison. I did ask about this and the travel group called HAL for me, but were told they couldn't refund the difference since final payment had already been made.

So, by this explanation, the taxes/fees are indeed $413 but the actual "base" fare is $400+ more than we thought. I've now had three people at the travel group check on this and all three say it's correct. My husband and I knew what we were willing to pay in total and we will accept that. Lessen learned to ask questions first! We do get a rebate so we will have some savings there anyway.

Thank you for all your suggestions and comments!

Okay, this whole thing is giving me a headache but I think I understand what happened now and some of you hit the nail on the head. There is a non-commissionable portion to the fare that is not applicable to the rebate we get from the big box store. So the invoice took that amount off the base fare and plugged in into the fees/taxes portion, making our base fare look less and the fees/taxes more.

What throws me off is that I thought the base fare looked right, but at the time we knew what we expected for a grand total and we didn't look at the details until later (our bad). I also learned that fares had gone down which could be why things weren't matching up when I did a current comparison. I did ask about this and the travel group called HAL for me, but were told they couldn't refund the difference since final payment had already been made.

So, by this explanation, the taxes/fees are indeed $413 but the actual "base" fare is $400+ more than we thought. I've now had three people at the travel group check on this and all three say it's correct. My husband and I knew what we were willing to pay in total and we will accept that. Lessen learned to ask questions first! We do get a rebate so we will have some savings there anyway.

Thank you for all your suggestions and comments!

Glad you got this figured out! Thanks for explaining.

Have a great cruise. You deserve it after all this fuss !!

Our booking from the big box TA did the same thing. I transferred to there from HAL. The bottom line was less and that is all that mattered. I know what you mean about a headache. I hate when I can't figure it out. ;)

I think you might be right about the non commisionable fare being included in the taxes and fees. I just transferred my booking from HAL to the big box store. I'm paying the same total but it is split differently than on the HAL confirmation. I thought it was really odd that the base fare was quite a bit lower than on the HAL confirmation.

Same for us. I direct booked half of our Alaska B2B and then transferred it to the big box store to get their OBC. The big box store subtracted some of the cruise fare and added it to the taxes and fees but the total invoice was the same.