Can the taxes, fees, and port expenses be wrong?

[royalcruz]

Yesterday I requested new promos on a reservation, which of course resulted in repricing. My cruise fare correctly matches the new bookings price with the same promos. However, the taxes, fees, and port expenses (TFP) are higher by $45.55 pp. I can't figure out why unless it's an I.T. error. My reservation originally had $159.52 pp TFP. (I then added flights, which did not change the TFP.) New bookings with my same promos have TFP of $175.91 pp, so I can understand that changing promos might raise my TFP to that amt. However, now mine are $221.46 pp. Huh? On hold with Celebrity for 2 hrs....so.... Any guesses of a legitimate reason for the discrepancy?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Those figures are often estimated until much closer in. In some cases they decrease in which case they should be refunded to passengers. In others they increase - if you were already booked then the cruiseline covers the difference, but any new reservations would have the higher fee.

[royalcruz]

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Those figures are often estimated until much closer in. In some cases they decrease in which case they should be refunded to passengers. In others they increase - if you were already booked then the cruiseline covers the difference, but any new reservations would have the higher fee.

Final payment is due next week. I understand the fees can be an estimate, but they are charging me a much higher amt than it's supposed to be now for new reservations. If it's an I.T. error there might not be the usual OBC refund. Still on hold for the 3rd time...they keep disconnecting the line after 60 minute holds. I'm sure I'll get thru tomorrow morning if not today.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, royalcruz said:

Final payment is due next week. I understand the fees can be an estimate, but they are charging me a much higher amt than it's supposed to be now for new reservations. If it's an I.T. error there might not be the usual OBC refund. Still on hold for the 3rd time...they keep disconnecting the line after 60 minute holds. I'm sure I'll get thru tomorrow morning if not today.

Sorry - I missed that part. No clue.

 

Does make me glad that I book at a price and package I am happy with and leave it alone. Reading on here it seems far more trouble than it is worth to have to constantly do math and obsess over the amount.

[gerelmx]

Always

1 hour ago, royalcruz said:

Yesterday I requested new promos on a reservation, which of course resulted in repricing. My cruise fare correctly matches the new bookings price with the same promos. However, the taxes, fees, and port expenses (TFP) are higher by $45.55 pp. I can't figure out why unless it's an I.T. error. My reservation originally had $159.52 pp TFP. (I then added flights, which did not change the TFP.) New bookings with my same promos have TFP of $175.91 pp, so I can understand that changing promos might raise my TFP to that amt. However, now mine are $221.46 pp. Huh? On hold with Celebrity for 2 hrs....so.... Any guesses of a legitimate reason for the discrepancy?

 

All the times that I have re-priced my cruises, due to low prices or better promotions, etc., the TFP have NEVER changed even if they are more expensive or cheaper.

[royalcruz]

26 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Sorry - I missed that part. No clue.

 

Does make me glad that I book at a price and package I am happy with and leave it alone. Reading on here it seems far more trouble than it is worth to have to constantly do math and obsess over the amount.

LOL, yes, it is a lot of trouble, and I am one of the obsessive ones, but it's still worth it. I don't bother to request price changes for a few dollars...but when I can pay a little more and get a valued perk I do it. Or if I can get a low cost (or sometimes free) upgrade to a better type of stateroom, I call. I'm a part time TA and most of my clients love my obsessiveness. I drive myself bonkers sometimes though!

Still on hold...63 minutes and counting this time.

[royalcruz]

15 minutes ago, gerelmx said:

Always

 

All the times that I have re-priced my cruises, due to low prices or better promotions, etc., the TFP have NEVER changed even if they are more expensive or cheaper.

Thank you for confirming that. I don't think mine ever have either.

[TeaBag]

I phoned Celebrity the other day to inquire about the fees on my cruise to South America.  They are jumping around all the time.  Someone posted on the roll call that they had dropped to $252.40.  We are paying ($399.50).  They have risen from the $252.40 since, but still below what we are paying.  I was told by the Celebrity person that you have to pay the fee as it was charged the day you booked.  I don't believe that.  Will try again and see what happens.  I though fees were fees and they didn't move no matter what you paid.  Not the case on our cruise.

[royalcruz]

Well, I'm so relieved. I finally got through to an excellent rep at Celebrity and she was able to easily change the TFP back to what it was when I originally booked this sailing, as it should be. She confirmed that they haven't changed any policies that would result in any changes to the TFP after booking unless the booking is moved to a different sailing. I guess the computer has a mind of it's own and it changed the numbers! 

 

 Thank you everyone for your input. 

[royalcruz]

1 hour ago, TeaBag said:

I phoned Celebrity the other day to inquire about the fees on my cruise to South America.  They are jumping around all the time.  Someone posted on the roll call that they had dropped to $252.40.  We are paying ($399.50).  They have risen from the $252.40 since, but still below what we are paying.  I was told by the Celebrity person that you have to pay the fee as it was charged the day you booked.  I don't believe that.  Will try again and see what happens.  I though fees were fees and they didn't move no matter what you paid.  Not the case on our cruise.

Maybe you'll be given an OBC once onboard for the difference. That seems to happen on most of my cruises. It shows up as a credit on the acct. Let's hope.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Our TF&PC were never changed when we repriced through our CVP. Once when we went through the shore side concierge desk we saw an increase.  I thing the rep was new and didn't know how to keep them at the lower rate but since it was too late to change he gave us a ROBC for a bit more than the increase.  Worked for us.

[ShawninFL]

1 hour ago, TeaBag said:

I phoned Celebrity the other day to inquire about the fees on my cruise to South America.  They are jumping around all the time.  Someone posted on the roll call that they had dropped to $252.40.  We are paying ($399.50).  They have risen from the $252.40 since, but still below what we are paying.  I was told by the Celebrity person that you have to pay the fee as it was charged the day you booked.  I don't believe that.  Will try again and see what happens.  I though fees were fees and they didn't move no matter what you paid.  Not the case on our cruise.

My understanding is the taxes, fees and port charges for a reservation are set at the time of booking.  If you then alter your reservation such as changing cabin categories, the taxes, fees, and port charges will recalculate based on the current charges on that date.  This has happened to me many times as I tend to upgrade cabin category as prices fall or better promos are advertised, but in all honesty, I've never seen them change by more than a few dollars.

[wrk2cruise]

I put a cabin on hold yesterday for 24 hrs.  I then booked the cruise using a reservation for a future cruise I wasn't going to take.  The taxes/fees were about $4 less on the second booking.    I've never seen it change quickly like that.