Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses a LOT higher than brochure indicated

[AvalonLady]

We booked a cruise for next year on Holland America through our travel agent. In the brochure, the info on pricing says "Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses of up to $143 are additional and subject to change." Imagine my surprise when, after booking, the "taxes and surcharges" fee showed up as $313.18, more than double what is mentioned in the brochure, and nearly half the cost of the cruise itself ! My agent says that the brochure "doesn't include the port charges" but this doesn't sound right to me. Of course I can't ask Holland America directly because they refuse to talk pricing with a passenger if it is booked through a travel agent. The $313.18 is per person, by the way, for me and my husband, so instead of the total fees per cabin of $286.36, as the brochure claims, we will be paying a total of $626.36 !

 

Has anyone else encountered this HUGE difference in what the brochure says and what you are actually charged for these taxes and fees ?

[whogo]

Taxes, fees, and port charges are displayed fairly prominently on the Holland America website, should be easy to check your travel agent's honesty.

[marco]

I don't get it, either. The last HAL cruise we took (and I don't know if this is unique to HAL or if it happens when booking other lines) but I was "shopping" for rates. I contacted 4 agencies and for all four, I got different quotes for what the total of the added fees/charges would be. On another note, (this was for a different line) I asked the TA exactly who gets what out of all the port taxes, govt fees etc we were paying. She didn't know, so I called the line. They wanted to know my name, booking #, TA name, I was put on hold, transferred a couple of times and finally told "we cannot divulge that information". Are all these "fees" really fees or is it just a little bit of additional revenue? Like a lot of resort hotels now charge an additional daily "facilities fee". It makes the initial price look more appealing rather than just upping the daily room rate $25.

[Keith1010]

I would post this on the Holland America Board.

 

Keith

[njhorseman]

The differences are normally due to a regulation requiring cruise lines to include certain charges called non-commissionable fare (NCF) in their base fares, while travel agencies are not required to and some don't, instead quoting a lower base fare than the cruise line itself. The travel agency still charges you for the NCF...it's just added as a separate line. Travel agencies that do not include NCF in their quotes are being deceptive...trying to attract customers based on what appears to be a fare that is lower than that charged by the cruise line.

 

The only number that's important is the bottom line total...fare plus taxes/fees versus fare plus NCF plus taxes/fees. Don't be deceived by just looking at the base fare. Compare the total cost.

 

Cruise lines will not tell you how they compute the taxes and fees so don't waste your time asking.

Edited March 6, 2016 by njhorseman

[chengkp75]

While the cruise lines will not disclose the breakdown of port fees and taxes, as njhorseman says, nor are they obligated to do so, after the class action suit a few years back over "taxes and fees", the law is pretty specific on what can and cannot be included in the fees, so while it used to be a way to increase revenue, it no longer is.

 

As njhorseman says, the most common culprit, and I hear about it frequently here on CC, is the travel agent breaking out NCF and advertising the lower fare.

 

What the OP should do is a mock booking directly with HAL, see what the best rate for their cabin category is on their cruise, and I would bet that with HAL's taxes and fees, it will come in remarkably close to the TA's total.

[Jasalth]

The differences are normally due to a regulation requiring cruise lines to include certain charges called non-commissionable fare (NCF) in their base fares, while travel agencies are not required to and some don't, instead quoting a lower base fare than the cruise line itself. The travel agency still charges you for the NCF...it's just added as a separate line. Travel agencies that do not include NCF in their quotes are being deceptive...trying to attract customers based on what appears to be a fare that is lower than that charged by the cruise line.

 

The only number that's important is the bottom line total...fare plus taxes/fees versus fare plus NCF plus taxes/fees. Don't be deceived by just looking at the base fare. Compare the total cost.

 

 

This is SOOO true! The TA I used in August did this. It wasn't necessarily a change in total price, but my "taxes & fees" were anything non-comissionable and came out to about 30% of the cruise cost. But going threw the actual cruise website, the price was exactly the same.

 

Personally I would never book with a TA who doesn't include these in their quoted price because I do feel it is deceptive.

 

Just remember that the brochure prices are printed years in advance. Port charges can change on a daily basis it seems even. Those aren't up to the cruise line at all, they are well, up to the ports. I actually could see a cruise line not putting port fees in a brochure because of this reason.

 

In general check the bottom line though, because in general, it will probably be exactly the same if you made a booking right now threw Holland America's web site (if prices haven't risen). If it isn't, then I would say cancel with your TA and rebook with someone else. Though if it is a significant difference, I would look into any canceling fees which that TA probably would have.

[zoncom]

Personally I would never book with HAL again. Check around,the various cruising areas vary vastly on port charges. Pacific area low.Also pull up cruise with several discount online agencies.Agent may have doubled the total too by mistake.

[AvalonLady]

Thanks so much for the advice ! I do think it's a bit deceptive for the brochure to say that the taxes and fees could be "UP TO $143.18" which makes it sound like that is the most they could be, then turn around and charge $170 MORE than that. My agent said that the 143 didn't include the port charges, but in the brochure it clearly says "port expenses" as part of the supposed maximum fee of $143.18.

[fishywood]

Thanks so much for the advice ! I do think it's a bit deceptive for the brochure to say that the taxes and fees could be "UP TO $143.18" which makes it sound like that is the most they could be, then turn around and charge $170 MORE than that. My agent said that the 143 didn't include the port charges, but in the brochure it clearly says "port expenses" as part of the supposed maximum fee of $143.18.

 

 

In travel agent-speak, "port charges" are NOT the same as the "taxes, fees and port expenses" that we all pay the same amount of regardless of whether we book direct or with a TA. As was explained to you in response #4 by njhorseman, travel agents are permitted to break out the non-commissionable portion of the cruise fare and move that amount to a separate line on the invoice. Often they misleadingly add it to the "taxes and fees" portion which makes it seem like they (the TA) are giving you a discount on the fare but when the grand total is the same as if you booked directly, the TA can falsely blame it on fees allegedly charged by the cruise line. This action is illegal for the cruise lines to do when you book with them directly.

 

What matters is ONLY the bottom line. You did compare the grand totals when deciding whether to book with your TA (that you chose to do business with) versus directly with HAL, didn't you? Or did you just fall into the trap of a TA that offers discounts on the cruise fare but simply robs Peter to pay Paul by adding the discount back to the bottom line.

Edited March 6, 2016 by fishywood

[whogo]

My HAL confirmations have shown the exact same price for taxes, fees, and port expenses as what the HAL website shows. What does the Holland America website say the taxes, fees & port expenses are for your cruise, AvalonLady?

 

Have you received a quote from another travel agent? You have plenty of time to cancel and rebook.

[Dayenu]

Go to the cruise line website, and make a fake booking just to see the total price. You will know if it's the cruise line, or the agent's fees added.

 

Are the dates of cruising the same as in the brochure? Also, the same cabin type?

[GUT2407]

What others have said. OR Pick up the phone, ring your TA and ask why.

[CPT Trips]

It's the bottom line that matters. It's easy enough to get each seller to give you a total price. Not openly advertising the bottom line is a bit sketchy.

[stag]

Port charges are usually included in cruise fare. In addition to that, here is a list of Taxes, fees and port expenses which are not final until the day of sailing:

"Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses, as used by us, may include any and all fees, charges, tolls and taxes imposed on us by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities, as well third party fees and charges arising from a vessel’s presence in a harbor or port. Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses may include U.S. Customs fees, head taxes, Panama Canal tolls, dockage fees, wharfage fees, inspection fees, pilotage, air taxes, hotel or VAT taxes incurred as part of a land tour, immigration and naturalization fees, and Internal Revenue Service fees, as well as fees paid to third parties for navigation, berthing, stevedoring, baggage handling/storage and security services. Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses may be assessed per passenger, per berth, per ton or per vessel. Assessments calculated on a per ton or per vessel basis will be spread over the number of passengers on the Ship. Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses are subject to change and we reserve the right to collect any increases in effect at the time of sailing even if the fare has already been paid in full."

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Content.action?requestPage=GovFees

[maureencruiser]

We booked a cruise for next year on Holland America through our travel agent. In the brochure, the info on pricing says "Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses of up to $143 are additional and subject to change."

 

What ship and date are you looking at? I suppose the quote "and subject to change" could be the answer. Especially since you're looking at a brochure that was printed when? The website "should" have more accurate info.

[sail7seas]

Did you compare what your TA has stated is the total amount vs what HAL website quotes for same category cabin?

 

[CRUISE BUNNY2]

We booked a cruise for next year on Holland America through our travel agent. In the brochure, the info on pricing says "Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses of up to $143 are additional and subject to change." Imagine my surprise when, after booking, the "taxes and surcharges" fee showed up as $313.18, more than double what is mentioned in the brochure, and nearly half the cost of the cruise itself ! My agent says that the brochure "doesn't include the port charges" but this doesn't sound right to me. Of course I can't ask Holland America directly because they refuse to talk pricing with a passenger if it is booked through a travel agent. The $313.18 is per person, by the way, for me and my husband, so instead of the total fees per cabin of $286.36, as the brochure claims, we will be paying a total of $626.36 !

 

Has anyone else encountered this HUGE difference in what the brochure says and what you are actually charged for these taxes and fees ?

 

We booked a cruise on celebrity Equinox for Jan 2017...this week I got a "revised bill" with an additional $300 pp for port charges..this is in addition to the $159.42 pp we are already paying...these charges were not on the original booking...does anyone have any answers for this ?. I checked celebrity website, and 3 other websites, and all they are charging is $148 pp...all ideas welcomed !!!

[njhorseman]

We booked a cruise on celebrity Equinox for Jan 2017...this week I got a "revised bill" with an additional $300 pp for port charges..this is in addition to the $159.42 pp we are already paying...these charges were not on the original booking...does anyone have any answers for this ?. I checked celebrity website, and 3 other websites, and all they are charging is $148 pp...all ideas welcomed !!!

 

If you booked through a travel agency please see my explanation in post #5. Unfortunately some travel agencies quote fares without including what is known as NCF.