Gov't Taxes and Fees are cheaper when you book direct?

[jt58203]

I've been doing some research and found that if I were to book a Caribbean Princess cruise direct on princess.com the government fees and taxes are cheaper. $48.52 pp compared with $153 pp. Would you know if the difference ($104.48 pp) is the travel agents commission? Or what's the reasoning behind this?

[dforeigner]

This is interesting information. Was your research for the same cruise destination and same dates? Maybe some of the Blue Ribbon members (or TAs) will break and fess up and explain to us what is going on here.

[fti]

Probably the only way to know for sure is if you list out exactly each tax and the amount of each - if they are even detailed like on airline tickets.

 

I would not think that the TA's commission would be listed as a "tax" much less even listed publicy but who knows.

[jt58203]

Oops! I was having a blonde moment. Turned out to be the airfare taxes. Sorry about that!

[CPMichael]

What was the price of the cruise portion listed on each website?

 

Princess includes the port charges (usually 149.00on most 7 day cruises) in the pricing on their website, and other sites lump it in with the taxes. Its intentional confusion - so you think one is giving you a better deal than the other.

 

The answer is that the gov't taxes and the port charges should be the same regardless of whether you book with the cruise line or a TA.

 

Careful though, some online sites charges fees above and beyond the cruise price -- such as a document fee, delivery fee, change fee (including cabin changes) one agency charges a fee if you call them for ANY reason. So be sure you read the fine print.

 

Your best bet is to book with a top producing agency, whose agents are Commodore status with Princess and are CLIA certified and doesnt charge any additional fees. A good agent is going to give you their best price up front, including all port charges and taxes and should provide you a breakdown of each.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Michael

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