Custom Air billing question

[tobewan]

Just did custom air for our Alaska cruise and I'm confused by how the charges showed up on the guest statement.  As we all know, the fee is $175/pp if you accept the offer with the $75 non-refundable upfront fee applied to the charge.  So, for 2 people, the statement should show 175/pp charge for a total of $350, right?  And the payments would show $75 (upfront) + $275 (on acceptance).  

Well, on my guest statement the custom air fee is shown as $137.50/pp for a total of $275.  When you take the gross - payments to get the balance due, since the $75 payment is not tied to a charge, it's reducing my cruise fare by $75.  My TA says the balance is gross - payments so she thinks I'm nuts.  (might be. 🙂

Can someone check a statement with custom air and share how the fee is shown?  

Thanks!

[wcsdkqh]

Not sure, but I believe the 124.50 is the charge for not departing from one the the Regent "Gateway" airports. Can't really comment on the 137.50 without seeing the full statement.

[tobewan]

Yes, those are the surcharges for not flying from an included no-charge gateway city.  The only number being questioned is the 137.50 which does not match the stated "$175 per person air customization fee".  For those that have booked a custom air reservation, does your guest statement show $175 or $137.50 for the custom air fee?

[flare3192]

The $75 fee to talk to the air department is deducted from the $175 per person deviation fee if you accepted their deviation. So the 75/2=37.50 and 175-37.50= 137.50 which is what you are seeing. 

[tobewan]

Thanks for the replies.  I'm going to have to explain my conundrum in more detail.

Let's say a booking shows these charges:

$10,000 fare

$275 fee

Total charges = 10275

Then below that it shows these payments:

$1000 deposit

$75 fee

$275 fee

Total payments = 1350

With me so far?  So the balance due should be 10275 - 1350, right?  That equals $8925.  But wait!  The balance left on the fare should be $9000 because the $350 collected was for a separate fee that was supposed to be $350.  They didn't charge the full amount of the custom air fee so if I pay the balance of $8925 then I'm only paying $275 for the custom air and the $75 payment is applied to the fare.

In my example, shouldn't the charges show a $350 custom air fee leaving a balance of $9000?  Or am I totally off base here and missing something (very possible).

My TA says the balance due is the gross - payments received as shown on the statement.

 

Again - For those that have booked a custom air reservation, does your guest statement show $175 or $137.50 for an individual's custom air fee?

[SusieQft]

Ours shows a $75 charge to me, and then  $137.50 each to both my husband and me.  So my "total charges" ended up $75 more than his.

[tobewan]

16 hours ago, SusieQft said:

Ours shows a $75 charge to me, and then  $137.50 each to both my husband and me.  So my "total charges" ended up $75 more than his.

Ah ha. That's what I expected to see on mine but there is no $75 charge shown on page 1.  My TA says Regent confirmed the statement is correct so I'm inclined to let this play out.  My concern was paying the statement's balance due and, after the final payment date, Regent comes back and says "but you still owe $75".

Thanks!

[papaflamingo]

18 hours ago, tobewan said:

My concern was paying the statement's balance due and, after the final payment date, Regent comes back and says "but you still owe $75".

No worries.  Check lower on your booking to the "Payments" section.  I checked a couple of ours (old cruise and upcoming cruise) and both showed a $75 payment and a $275 payment.  The custom air payment, being non refundable, is made at the time you make the arrangements and accept them.  So you've already been charged, paid, and credited for those fees and they shouldn't be included in the remaining final payment, but show as part of the cost of the cruise.

Edited January 6 by papaflamingo