drsel

This is the reply of my TA--

MSC confirmed that in order to get the new 40-60% LOWER PRICE for taxes and fees, they would need to reprice the entire booking to the new fare. They cannot price adjust ONLY the taxes and fees. 

On 1/15/2023 at 10:21 PM, njhorseman said:

I suspect the travel agency was excluding the NCF (Non commissionable fare) from their base fare quote and including it in the taxes and fees, which travel agencies are permitted to do but cruise lines  are not. Obviously by doing so they can advertise a fare that is deceptively low.

 

The bottom line is that all anyone should be looking at when comparing cruise fare quotes is...the bottom line...the total including all taxes and fees, not the fare excluding taxes and fees.

On 1/16/2023 at 5:53 PM, ontheweb said:

When I get a quote from our TA, he always gives the bottom line. When he sends an invoice by e-mail, then it is always broken out, but who really cares except for the bottom line? (LOL, I guess TAs do as they care what is or is not commissionable.)

In my case, the port fees and taxes were genuinely high on the MSC website when I booked the cruise and now they have actually fallen 40 to 60% for 3 different MSc cruises.

Very very surprising and unusual!

The basic fare mentioned in the agent invoice was the same as that on the MSC website when I booked.

So my agent did not make any adjustment for non commissionable fare and he never does.

Both basic fare and taxes  on my agents invoice are always exactly the same as that on the MSC website.

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I have noticed that on a cruise that I booked with a large internet travel company, their fees and taxes were quite high.  It wasn't until I booked directly with a cruise line that I realized that the internet travel company was padding the taxes and fees.  So while their advertised cruise fare was low, they made up for it with the padded taxes and fees. 

Lesson learned.

In my case the port fees and taxes were actually high on the MSC website when I booked, but are now much lower on the MSC website.

 So it is a genuine fall in Port fees and taxes.

But the basic fare has also gone up, so the overall fare is higher

3 hours ago, styles27 said:

Did your itinerary change?

No. 

13 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

Never...ever...heard of portvfees and taxes dropping..let alone 50-65%

Yes yes even I am surprised. It has never happened before 

Some months after booking, if the basic cruise fare has gone up, but the port fees & taxes have reduced 50--65%, can we a price reduction ONLY on the port fees & taxes?

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

You can’t re-price the taxes/fees only. If they stay reduced up until your sailing - some cruise lines will automatically give you OBC for the difference; some won’t.

Thanks, These are 3 MSC cruises to the Norwegian fjords and Baltics.

Over all the total fare is much higher in two cruises, and only $12 lower in one cruise after the drastic fall in port fees and taxes.

What should I do?

Do you think that MSC will give us OBC for the difference or not?

Some months after booking, if the basic cruise fare has gone up, but the port fees & taxes have reduced 50--65%, can we a price reduction ONLY on the port fees & taxes?

On 1/5/2023 at 1:50 AM, pamrose228 said:

Going on the NCL Prima on a May 2023 cruise Starting in Iceland three ports then onto Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore  spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports

 

TIA

Check out all info about cruise ports on these free websites

 www.whatsinport.com

www.tomsportguides.com

4 hours ago, I M INDIAN said:

I am sailing on Meraviglia in few days with my husband and 2 kids. We are not into alcohol and sodas so we don't see worth to pay for drinks package for all of us. If I want to get Alcohol free package only for myself for coffees, can I do it onboard?

Yes you can, but you will have to buy the alcohol free drinks package for all four of you.

it won't be worth it unless the four of you together consume around 28 or more non alcoholic drinks everyday.

Also the non alcoholic drink package onboard price is more than the easy plus  package when included with the cruise at the time of booking.

I saw 2 videos of Hapag Lloyd Europa & Azamara Pursuit going through the Kiel canal.

From the videos it appears that these cruise ships were the main attraction, not the Kiel canal.

There is nothing much to see except the locks opening, greenery on both banks & a railway bridge.

I think the Rhine cruise is much better

On 12/8/2022 at 9:40 AM, Essiesmom said:

You are going to have to ask Mr. google, or research on the Ports of Call board for Germany.  EM

Google says there are no local ferries giving joyrides through the Kiel canal from one end to the other (96km).

Only this is available    https://www.sfk-kiel.de/en/cruises/fjord/

www.whatsinport.com also has a list of all Kiel attractons (attached herewith) but no mention of a boat ride or cruise through the Kiel canal

stadtplan_rueckseite_englisch.pdf

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

That looks more like a harbor/fjord excursion.  It doesn’t sound like it goes very far into the canal, if at all.  

So how and where to book tickets on the excursion boat that sails through the entire canal?

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I have never transited the Kiel Canal - it's on my bucket list - but  used to follow ships through the canal via portcams and bridgecams.  It looked pretty interesting.    But in watching the cams it was obvious there were multiple excursion boats.  EM

https://www.sfk-kiel.de/en/cruises/fjord/

Is this the excursion boat you are referring to?

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

If we had a week, we would probably rent a car and explore the region.  Another possibility would be to take the train or drive to Berlin for a few days.  Hamburg is a nice city but we would not want to spend a week in that place.

 

Hank

Hamburg will be our base city for day trips to Lubeck, Bremen, Wismar, Schwerin, Lunebeck.

We will also be spending 6 nights in Berlin (after the last Cruise) and doing 2 --3 day trips to Potsdam, Leipzig and Dresden

Do you have the link where I can book tickets for a 96 km Cruise through the Kiel canal, starting & ending in Kiel?

Maybe I should spend 2 nights in Kiel and then 5 nights in Hamburg

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

If I had a week to spend in Hamburg, I would make make my way to Kiel or Brunsbeuttel and take a cruise through the Kiel Canal.  EM

Is that 99 km as scenic as cruising through the Norwegian fjords?

14 hours ago, CTRobin said:

I tried to transfer (YC to YC / Same date) and the price they quoted me on the phone was about $2k more than the price on the website. They could not figure out a way to get me the online price so the only way to do it was to cancel my existing booking and re-book which they said forfeited my initial $398. 
So, make sure the price is not much more than you expected. 

I don't know about YC, but for ordinary cabins you get a FULL REFUND of your deposit of $398, if you cancel more then 90 days prior to sailing. Penalties start at 89 days prior to sailing

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Larger lines seem to have the shows pretty similar ship to ship, per season.

From what I have seen in the past, different MSC ships (from the same port) have completely different shows, although the remaining activities & cuisine may be similar, just like in all cruise lines.

13 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course these are utterly different options. One is boarding a ship and staying on board for two weeks. The other is boarding a ship for a 7 day cruise, then debarking and taking a week for land travel, ending at a different port before boarding a different ship.   I would prefer the second for the variety of different ships and the land travel between the cruises, but I have the time (and resources) to opt for three weeks rather than two, and the obviously significantly higher cost . Interesting that no one seems to focus on these differences.

Yes, I have chosen the 2nd option (2 diff cruises) to experience a diff class of ships with completely diff shows & entertainment.

Maybe similar cuisine & activities.

Also the 7N in Hamburg in between the 2 cruises is necessary to fully explore Hamburg & do day trips to Lubeck, Bremen, Schwerin, Wismar, Lunebeck.

I had to cut down on extended land tours both before the 1st cruise & after the last.

28 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Not only are they two different ships, but different class of MSC ships, although built the same year.  EM

Poesia is a second generation Musica class MSC ship while Fantasia is a third generation Fantasia class MSC ship.

So the design is completely different and i  expect the shows, entertainment and activities also to be completely different.

Nevermind the cuisine being similar, this is not very important to me

38 minutes ago, Morgsmom said:

Was it in Yacht Club?  If so you have to transfer.  If it was non YC, you can request a refund.

Non Yacht club, regular cabin

HI, I want to change my existing booked MSC cruise to another new cruise on a different ship /different region/ different month.

Both existing (booked)  cruise & new cruise are over 180 days away

Can I simply transfer the deposit $398 to the new cruise, or do I have to take a refund ( which takes over 30 days) & then pay a fresh deposit for the new cruise?

Thanks!

I forgot to mention that the second Cruise of the back to back is cheaper by $164 ( for 2 adults) than the second Cruise on a different ship (Poesia).

So far it's a split verdict, but I am more inclined to go for two different Cruises even though it's $164 more expensive and also inconvenient to travel from one port to another.

Because for me, the main attraction on a cruise is first the shows entertainment and activities,  and then the sightseeing

18 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I am not sure the entertainment and menus will really be that much different on two different ships of the same line on 7 day routes.

No doubt the back to back Cruises are very convenient and do not involve any travelling, but I expect the shows at least to be different on 2 different MSC ships