Why would passengers 1 & 2 have different taxes and port fees?

[legion3]

Was looking into booking, but why would the first two passengers have different tax and port fees?

 

I know kids sail free but they do on other lines as well and I have never seen such a difference in port fees and taxes.

 

Actually I have never seen a difference.

 

What gives?

 

YOUR STATEROOM $3,334.04

Balcony Stateroom

 

A just-for-you balcony offers the privacy of your own outdoor lounging area overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

All Balcony Staterooms feature a European King bed convertible to two single beds, bathroom with shower, shampoo, shower gel, hair dryer, satellite/interactive television, Internet connection and direct dial telephone (additional fees apply), mini-bar, and safe. 1,097 Balcony Staterooms, approximately 148-200 sq. ft., plus 34-124 sq. ft. balcony; 28 Balcony Staterooms for guests with disabilities, approximately 284-390 sq. ft., plus 61-99 sq. ft. balcony.

 

 

Cabins 13222, 13223, 13224, 13225, 13226, 13227, 13228, 13229, 13230 have Juliet balcony

 

Cabins 8134, 8136, 8137, 8138, 8139, 8140, 8141, 8143 have partially restricted views

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photogallery | Stateroom Layout

Stateroom type Balcony Stateroom

Number of Guests: 2 Adults

(18+) 2 Junior Children

(2-12)

1° guest

Cruise rate $1,309.00

Government Fees & Taxes $254.01

2° guest

Cruise rate $1,309.00

Government Fees & Taxes $254.01

3° guest

Cruise rate Free

Government Fees & Taxes $104.01

4° guest

Cruise rate Free

Government Fees & Taxes $104.01

AUREA all inclusive & SPA

View Deck Plan & Stateroom Location

 

For comparison here is another cruise where kids sail free?

 

Cruise Fare Fuel Suppl. Gov't Taxes, Fees

& Port Expenses Guest Total

Pass 1 $1,369.00 N/A $120.46 $1,489.46

Pass 2 $1,369.00 N/A $120.46 $1,489.46

Pass 3 $0.00 N/A $120.46 $120.46

Pass 4 $0.00 N/A $120.46 $120.46

Edited September 17, 2015 by legion3

[jessabella]

Kids taxes are suppse to be cheaper. My daughters are always less and she sails for free. Maybe you were not charged properly the last time.

[legion3]

Kids taxes are suppse to be cheaper. My daughters are always less and she sails for free. Maybe you were not charged properly the last time.

 

No I don't think this is correct. Kids have never been charged less taxes or fees, legally they can't be, its per passenger.

 

If anything MSC is overcharging passenger 1 & 2

 

No line on any cruise we have ever taken has charged less for kids.

[jessabella]

interesting

[legion3]

interesting

 

I'm not sure what the rules are in the EU or Italy but in the US, the taxes/fees are set by the government(s) in the ports used.

 

They should be equal based on a person, not the age of the person.

[Alex71]

I never had to pay any port taxes or fees for our kids. If it's free, there's nothing to tax. Does it maybe depend on the age? Both of our kids are still under 12.

[legion3]

I never had to pay any port taxes or fees for our kids. If it's free, there's nothing to tax. Does it maybe depend on the age? Both of our kids are still under 12.

 

No the port taxes and fees are levied by the governement's in question and not as a sales tax on the price in question. Only for the use of the port and its facilities.

 

They are supposed to be charged as seen in my examples above.

 

My kids are 12 and under but some lines actually use a 3rd and 4th pax are free.

[AmoMondo]

No the port taxes and fees are levied by the governement's in question and not as a sales tax on the price in question. Only for the use of the port and its facilities.

 

They are supposed to be charged as seen in my examples above.

 

My kids are 12 and under but some lines actually use a 3rd and 4th pax are free.

 

They proce differently inEurope.the base cruise fare includes port fees and they are not shown separately as they do in the US. So we will. E paying them in Europe, we just haven't got a clue what they are costing us.

[Alex71]

Having looked into this a little more, the port charges are calculated based on the size of the ship (per GT) and not on the number of passengers. Here's an example from the port of Bremen http://www.bremenports.de/misc/filePush.php?id=2623&name=HGebO+2015-English

 

Let's take the Divina as an example. With her 139 400 GT, the charge for a stop in Bremen would be roughly 16 100 EUR.

 

If the ship was fully booked and the line wanted to spread the cost evenly across all 4345 passengers, the charge would be 3.70 EUR pp.

 

One could of course also argue that all cabins contribute to the size of the ship, regardless of the number of passengers that they accommodate. In this case, the line could spread the charge across the 1751 cabins at 9.19 EUR per cabin.

 

The line could also argue that larger cabins take up more space, especially those that have entire areas of the ship exclusive to them (Yacht Club), and attribute a larger share of the charge to those cabins.

 

In the particular case of the OP, it looks like MSC used a mix of different formulas to distribute the port charge across cabins and passengers.

[cruiseguyinorl]

legion3 this is an easy one for me being a TA. The Government Taxes and Fees in your example is $104.01 which everyone pays. The other $150 per person on the two adults is the NCF's or Non-Commissionable Fare (which MSC does not charge kids unlike other lines). These "NCF's" are what used to be called Port Charges until lawsuits were filed and the courts made them change their name.

 

As the name sounds, if you book through a TA, no commission is paid to them on the $150. As someone else mentioned, when prices are advertised in the US, it is required that the NCF is combined with the base cruise fare.

 

Hope that helps some.

 

Bret