NCF part of cruise price?

[fstuff1]

$449 to Caribbean + $200 taxes/port fees.

That $449 is actually $250 ncf and $199 going to ncl.

 

i have a 20% discount from my land casino.

but apparently, that only applies to the commisionable fare (ie: $199).

so only $40 discount instead the $90 i expected.

 

from google, ncf stands for non-commisionable fare.

but im reading conflicting reports on what it actually is.

One site says it's port fees. but i'm already paying $200 taxes/port fees???

 

What does NCF actually do?

 

edit:

ahh.. another site says just imagine NCF as the 'Admin fee.' And the $199 is the profit NCL will make off me.

This is a much better and plausible explanation.

 

but is NCF = Admin fee?

Edited October 28, 2017 by fstuff1

[SeaShark]

Cruise lines divide the fare into two parts, one that they pay TAs a commission on, and another (NCF) that they do not. This structure allows the cruise line to incentivize the TA without having to alter the fare paid by the guest.

 

For example, a cruise with a fare of 5 could be broken up in a number of ways:

• (NCF) 1 + 4 = 5
  
• (NCF) 2 + 3 = 5
  
• (NCF) 3 + 2 = 5
  
• (NCF) 4 + 1 = 5
  

 

In each example, the fare paid by the guest is always the same, but the commission paid to the TA will vary with the amount of commissionable fare.

 

By altering the NCL, the cruise line can nudge the TA toward selling certain sailings or certain cabin categories as needed.

[MikeBTN]

Cruise lines divide the fare into two parts, one that they pay TAs a commission on, and another (NCF) that they do not. This structure allows the cruise line to incentivize the TA without having to alter the fare paid by the guest.

 

For example, a cruise with a fare of 5 could be broken up in a number of ways:

• (NCF) 1 + 4 = 5
  
• (NCF) 2 + 3 = 5
  
• (NCF) 3 + 2 = 5
  
• (NCF) 4 + 1 = 5
  

In each example, the fare paid by the guest is always the same, but the commission paid to the TA will vary with the amount of commissionable fare.

 

By altering the NCL, the cruise line can nudge the TA toward selling certain sailings or certain cabin categories as needed.

 

Perhaps, but as a travel agent I can tell you the reality is we don't really care. Depending on the fare/cruise line I generally "gross" around $200-$300 per balcony stateroom. My host agency takes their cut (anywhere from 20%-70% depending on where the lead came from) and I'm left with the rest. Then I'm usually expected to give some of that up as OBC in order to get the business. All told I average about a NET of about $100 per stateroom. It's not worth my time trying to sell someone on a cruise to make an extra $10, I'd rather help another potential client instead.

 

The NCF is really a way for the cruise lines to reduce travel agent compensation (and rate reductions like yours) - while they could legitimately be fees paid (like taxes, government fees, etc), there is no break down as to what they're actually for. As an example: I just booked an Escape room balcony stateroom for a client - fare was $999 per person, but $200 of each of those was NCF, effectively meaning I get paid on only 80% of the fare. We also don't get paid on the beverage service charges, port fees, etc. The total fare after adding all of those together was roughly $2,500, but I would be paid commission on only $1,598. As time has gone on, a larger and larger part of the fare is NCF, meaning the cruise lines keep more of their money.

[sanger727]

NCF is a portion of the cruise fare - not port taxes and fees. Many TAs don’t break it out but some due - especially in regards to perks they provide. I had the same thing, a TA offering OBC based upon the cruise fare. However, they were only using the commissionable fare so it came out to be less than we expected.

 

 

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[wrmiles]

The thing to watch out for is that sometimes things like packages or timeshare points charge the customer for the NCF. May be called pass-thru fees or port charges, and is very easy to confuse with port taxes and fees, which are always extra. Usually involves fast alking sales people.