price reductions

[stompy]

Something I've noticed when I find a rare price reduction-The cruise line is great giving me the price difference but they DON'T seem to adjust the "taxes and fees" line. Shouldn't that also be lowered since the taxes should also be less?

 

What have other folks seen?

 

Just curious...

[ugen512]

Government taxes and fees are set and are not based upon the price of your cruise fare. They depend on your port of depature and stops along the way.

[linkerbink]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the taxes and fees are assessed per person, not by the value of the cruise. They are not sales taxes, but are port taxes.

[honeywell]

You are correct - these are government taxes and fees.

[stompy]

Government taxes and fees are set and are not based upon the price of your cruise fare. They depend on your port of depature and stops along the way.

 

The port charges ARE based on the stops but the TAXES are a percentage of your cruise fare

 

I did a price check on the website and the current rate shows taxes and port fees of $666 while my reservation shows $708.68 so theoretically I should be getting $42.68 back

[ugen512]

The port charges ARE based on the stops but the TAXES are a percentage of your cruise fare

 

I did a price check on the website and the current rate shows taxes and port fees of $666 while my reservation shows $708.68 so theoretically I should be getting $42.68 back

 

That is not correct all taxes are per person and have nothing to do with the cruise price. A cat N pays the same per person GTF as a JS does.

 

Sorry.

[ugen512]

After i posted I found this explanation:

 

PORT TAXES AND FEES

These are the taxes and fees charged by the various government and port authorities at the ports where your ship calls, the cruise line passes these fees along to the passengers. These typically cover the cost of docking and use of the port facilities; "parking fees" for your ship if you will. And certain government authorities impose a "head tax" on cruise passengers, which is used to maintain and improve the ports infrastructure.

[Lynnees]

The port charges ARE based on the stops but the TAXES are a percentage of your cruise fare

 

I did a price check on the website and the current rate shows taxes and port fees of $666 while my reservation shows $708.68 so theoretically I should be getting $42.68 back

 

 

No, the taxes are not based on a per centage. They are set. Sometimes they change a bit but it had nothing to do with the cost of the cruise nor are they obligated to give you anything back if the price goes down. Everyone pays the same amount no matter what they paid for the cruise portion.

 

You should not be getting anything back.

[firefly333]

The port charges ARE based on the stops but the TAXES are a percentage of your cruise fare

 

I did a price check on the website and the current rate shows taxes and port fees of $666 while my reservation shows $708.68 so theoretically I should be getting $42.68 back

 

How is it you are seeing port charges when they are included in the cruise price? They aren't listed on the RCL site.

 

It's true, taxes and fees line is the same no matter which cabin you book.

[Lynnees]

How is it you are seeing port charges when they are included in the cruise price? They aren't listed on the RCL site.

 

It's true, taxes and fees line is the same no matter which cabin you book.

 

Some TA's quote them seperately.

[firefly333]

Some TA's quote them seperately.

 

This is why I wondered how he could see them on "a website". I was just wondering which website shows port fees.

 

I did a price check on the website and the current rate shows taxes and port fees of $666 while my reservation shows $708.68

[Lynnees]

It didn't sound to me like he was seeing it on the TA invoice. This is why I wondered how he could see them on "a website"

 

I did a price check on the website and the current rate shows taxes and port fees of $666 while my reservation shows $708.68

 

 

That's probably it -A WEBSITE not RCL's but another online agency.

[ugen512]

There might be some more confusion..your cruise fare is 3 parts:

 

Base fare(what the cruise actually charges)

Port charges(paid to the ports)

government taxes & Fees(paid to others)

 

Usually only the GTF will be odd amount...base and port charges are usually whole dollars.

 

Heres an example of total price $502.56

 

cruise fare $310

port charge $119

GTF $73.56

 

The cruise line only keeps $310 from the total.

[jaxon41]

No, the taxes are not based on a per centage. They are set. Sometimes they change a bit but it had nothing to do with the cost of the cruise nor are they obligated to give you anything back if the price goes down. Everyone pays the same amount no matter what they paid for the cruise portion.

 

You should not be getting anything back.

 

Change a bit???? From the time I booked our Feb cruise (way back in Nov of 2007), to the time my family booked it, about 5 months later, the port fees and taxes went up 70%!!! Now we are leaving from Lauderdale, but when they cut the deal with the municipality to build that new port for the mega ships, the reporting was that there would only be a small increase in the port charge -- a 70% increase is NOT small. Someone on these boards actually called them on it, and they said they changed port fees/taxes to more accurately reflect their costs -- oh, give me a break, do you think for one mopment that they weren't charging exectly what they were charged, before. I have always smelled a rat here, and recall the lawsuit regarding overcharging this line item some years back -- it's the only thing that would make me think that surely they wouldn't try that again.

[Lynnees]

Change a bit???? From the time I booked our Feb cruise (way back in Nov of 2007), to the time my family booked it, about 5 months later, the port fees and taxes went up 70%!!! Now we are leaving from Lauderdale, but when they cut the deal with the municipality to build that new port for the mega ships, the reporting was that there would only be a small increase in the port charge -- a 70% increase is NOT small. Someone on these boards actually called them on it, and they said they changed port fees/taxes to more accurately reflect their costs -- oh, give me a break, do you think for one mopment that they weren't charging exectly what they were charged, before. I have always smelled a rat here, and recall the lawsuit regarding overcharging this line item some years back -- it's the only thing that would make me think that surely they wouldn't try that again.

 

 

You are talking about a one off. Generall, if port charges change it's because they were either cancelled or for some other reason. Sometimes it's a matter of when the booking was made.

 

btw - I'm not RCL and don't make their rules so why are you yelling at me?

[stompy]

Okay if I were to book the fare today this is what comes up

 

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $839.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $839.00 USD

Air Fare $1,698.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $280.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $666.00 USD

 

Here's what I paid originally

 

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $1039.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $1039.00 USD

Air Fare $1,698.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $280.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $708.68 USD

 

RC honored the $200 price reduction but the taxes remained at $708.68

 

Shouldn't it be $666 just like a new reservation would be?

[cruisinfanatic]

Okay if I were to book the fare today this is what comes up

 

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $839.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $839.00 USD

Air Fare $1,698.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $280.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $666.00 USD

 

Here's what I paid originally

 

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $1039.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $1039.00 USD

Air Fare $1,698.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $280.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $708.68 USD

 

RC honored the $200 price reduction but the taxes remained at $708.68

 

Shouldn't it be $666 just like a new reservation would be?

You can state your case till you're red in the face, but you're wrong. Taxes are based per passenger, not on the cost of the cruise.

The reason taxes may be less now is that they went down since you originally booked. The difference is not refundable.

I suggest that you do 2 "pretend" bookings on RCL's website.

Pick the same cruise, 1 expensive cabin and one inexpensive one. Don't include air. They have their own taxes that are added in. You'll see that the tax pp is the same.

[firefly333]

Maybe taxes did go down, ask again. Taxes on Voyager had gone down from the date I bought my next cruise cert and they wanted to charge me taxes from that day, not from the day I booked and it took my TA about 30 minutes to get the taxes right with RCL while I was on hold.

 

Someone else had problems getting their taxes reduced.

 

Taxes could have dropped, (but not because of the cruise fare going down).

[Lynnees]

They will not give reduction in taxes. I've tried several times, both for myself and clients. EG. used 2 NC to book the same cruise for each of 2 persons. They happened to have the same type of cabin. Each one was charged a different amount for taxes as the NC certificates had been booked on seperate dates.

 

Once again, it has nothing to do with the base price and it is not what the reduced rate is being charged on. You recieved a reduction on your base rate - it has nothing to do with the taxes.

[Lynnees]

Okay if I were to book the fare today this is what comes up

 

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $839.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $839.00 USD

Air Fare $1,698.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $280.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $666.00 USD

 

Here's what I paid originally

 

Price Breakdown

Guest 1 Cruise Fare $1039.00 USD

Guest 2 Cruise Fare $1039.00 USD

Air Fare $1,698.00 USD

Fuel Supplement: $280.00 USD

Taxes/Fees $708.68 USD

 

RC honored the $200 price reduction but the taxes remained at $708.68

 

Shouldn't it be $666 just like a new reservation would be?

 

In a word - NO - it has nothing to do with the price reduction on the base fare. If you are including air that is even a different amount as there are taxes on air.

[cruisePRN]

I noticed the taxes were less on a cruise I had booked although the fare was the same. I called RCL and they lowered the taxes $20 PP. It all depends on the CSR you get. call back and try again and you'll probably get a different answer.

[pmshirl]

Here's another view of Port Taxes. I cruised on the LOS in Oct. 08, we missed San Juan due to the Hurricane. I never received any credit for the port tax that was paid for the missed port.

 

When I questioned RC about it, I was told, when I booked, the Port taxes were lower than what the current price was when I cruised and since they never up your port tax for a tax increase, they would not refund for the missed port tax!:(

[stompy]

In a word - NO - it has nothing to do with the price reduction on the base fare. If you are including air that is even a different amount as there are taxes on air.

 

The airfare is exactly the same-why would the taxes be different?

 

What is the tax based on? I understand port charges can change if you are going to a different stop but everything is identical.

[Lynnees]

The airfare is exactly the same-why would the taxes be different?

 

What is the tax based on? I understand port charges can change if you are going to a different stop but everything is identical.

 

 

The taxes change when there is air. However, it doesn't really matter, the taxes do not change based on the cost per person. They are a set amount of money and there is no refund/reduction on them.

[stompy]

The taxes change when there is air. However, it doesn't really matter, the taxes do not change based on the cost per person. They are a set amount of money and there is no refund/reduction on them.

 

The air is identical.

 

What you people don't seem to grasp is that TAX is a rate, it is not a set fee.

 

I called RC and they are crediting the difference