Free cruise not so free.

[sstrong]

A lot of the taxes and NCF are built into the fare you paid.. For example, let's say you book a cabin for $1000 PP, and then pay $150 per person for "port charges and fees" on top of that, totaling $1150 pp. But you are actually paying only $750 PP in cruise fare alone, and $250 in NCF and taxes that's built into the $1000, plus $150 in port charges and fees, still totaling $1150 PP. hope that makes sense.

 

Think of it like airfares now.. Before the new law, your airfare might have been quoted as $200, but then the total came out to $250 when taxes were included. With the new law, that tax has to be included in the price they quote you, so now you see $250 from the beginning.

 

Robin

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

Got it. Thanks.

[che5904]

If someone asked me how I thought a prize like this would work, I'd think that I'd pick a cabin, in this case the inside they say I'm entitled to, and pay the usual port taxes/fees (always around $100pp for 7 days out of NO which is where we usually cruise from) and perhaps the DSC if they required it in advance.

 

Then I'd expect to receive some sort of statement from NCL to be filed with my income taxes to show the cruise value as added income.

 

Any other way, or too much $$ up front, doesn't sound very kosher to me. JMHO!

 

I've never received any paperwork from NCL for filing, maybe they do that for U.S. citizens since we don't have to claim our winnings here in Canada.

 

So I guess you are now informed and if you ever win a "free" cruise or get one comped for whatever reason you will know how it works and know ahead of time, basically what you are getting is an extremely well discounted cruise.

 

The amount we save covers our airfare to port since we have no ports that are even remotely close to us and requiring flying no matter which ship we sail.

 

But as others have said the discounts obtained through comped cruises through CAS are certainly made up for by our donations :D

[jame_g]

I won a free trip to Barbados from a travel agency once. It included the hotel stay, but not the taxes. Plus the airfare was more than the value of the prize. Plus the taxes I would have had to pay to the IRS. With what it was going to cost me for the free trip, I stayed home!

[che5904]

I won a free trip to Barbados from a travel agency once. It included the hotel stay, but not the taxes. Plus the airfare was more than the value of the prize. Plus the taxes I would have had to pay to the IRS. With what it was going to cost me for the free trip, I stayed home!

 

Many many many years ago (long before being able to do research online), I won a week long stay in a 4? star resort in Jamaica. As stated we don't have to pay taxes on winnings so I didn't have that concern. The airfare was 1000's of dollars. The resort was a gated hotel in the middle of nowwhere with a green slimy pool and the advertised glass bottom boat, was a row boat with window panes in the bottom :eek:. The rum was great, the food was decent. We made the best of our holiday as we always do and found things to make our vacation memorable and had lots of laughs. But what a learning curve that was.

 

At least the good side to this cruise is that they are well known cruiselines and you know you are not paying this extra money to end up in a dive like we did.

[grizz516]

I havent applied for it yet, just called to get the amounts I would still owe on a cruise.

[grizz516]

I know they are set by the government, but that is still an outrageous amount.

[grizz516]

Okay, my cruise is just for 1000.00, which is a Caribbean cruise, so if I take the 6 day, it is 459.00 per person. It is a cruise for two. Now if taxes are like you said in New Orleans port at 100.00 per person, that should still only be 200.00 not 600.00 then the gratuities would be 144.00 still not as much as what the guy told me. I think I will call another one of their people and find out. This cant be right.

[sdmike]

Okay, my cruise is just for 1000.00, which is a Caribbean cruise, so if I take the 6 day, it is 459.00 per person. It is a cruise for two. Now if taxes are like you said in New Orleans port at 100.00 per person, that should still only be 200.00 not 600.00 then the gratuities would be 144.00 still not as much as what the guy told me. I think I will call another one of their people and find out. This cant be right.

 

There are port fees for each place you stop as well. Also, you don't know how much of that $1,000 far is taxes and fees. It might be $600

[aamiee]

I think $600 is included the port charges and tax. We are cruising with our infant and it's no charge for him we just have to pay port charge and tax which is $303

[sdmike]

I think $600 is included the port charges and tax. We are cruising with our infant and it's no charge for him we just have to pay port charge and tax which is $303

 

There ya go. For two people that's the $600

[che5904]

Okay, my cruise is just for 1000.00, which is a Caribbean cruise, so if I take the 6 day, it is 459.00 per person. It is a cruise for two. Now if taxes are like you said in New Orleans port at 100.00 per person, that should still only be 200.00 not 600.00 then the gratuities would be 144.00 still not as much as what the guy told me. I think I will call another one of their people and find out. This cant be right.

 

Taking the DSC out of the equations since whether your cruise was free or not, tips are the responsibility of the traveler.

 

I cannot find any 6 day Caribbean cruises from New Orleans. So taking what you have given above

 

Pearl out of Miami - 6 days, IC category @ $459 pp

 

cruise fare (cabin & NCF fees) pp $459.00

Gov't taxes and fees $122.53

Total pp $581.53

 

2 people $1163.06

 

"free" cruise which as explained above many times, does not mean it doesn't cost you anything but that your cabin itself is free.

 

cabin $0

NCF (port & other fees) $177.47

Gov't taxes and fees $122.53

Total pp $300.00

 

2 people $600.00

 

Savings $563.06 approx 48% savings

[che5904]

In light of this thread and the fact that taxes and fees appear so much higher than the cruise ship gets for themselves for lodging, food and entertainment. Just out of curiosity (since I don’t live Stateside). Does anyone know exactly who all the cruise ships have to pay with regards to taxes and fees.

I have started a list of who I think probably dig in the pot of taxes and fees, but am open to corrections.

Embarkation and Disembarkation port

Docking fees (dock maintenance, rental of slip)

Port patrol fees (guiding out and in to port)

Port authority

Terminal (use, baggage handlers, security)

Border services

Flag ship Government taxes

Homeport City, State, Federal taxes

Ports

Docking fees

Port patrol fees

Port Government taxes

U.S. Coast Guard[, ok maybe that falls under Federal

.

oops forgot there are probably some sort of fuel taxes and environmental fees

[njmomof2]

Taking the DSC out of the equations since whether your cruise was free or not, tips are the responsibility of the traveler.

 

I cannot find any 6 day Caribbean cruises from New Orleans. So taking what you have given above

 

Pearl out of Miami - 6 days, IC category @ $459 pp

 

cruise fare (cabin & NCF fees) pp $459.00

Gov't taxes and fees $122.53

Total pp $581.53

 

2 people $1163.06

 

"free" cruise which as explained above many times, does not mean it doesn't cost you anything but that your cabin itself is free.

 

cabin $0

NCF (port & other fees) $177.47

Gov't taxes and fees $122.53

Total pp $300.00

 

2 people $600.00

 

Savings $563.06 approx 48% savings

 

Che is absolutely correct. When you win a prize like this, you are paying not only for the government taxes and fees, but what is called the "non commissionable" portion of the cruise fare. When you look to book, that amount is bundled into the "cruise fare" number you see. However, it is pulled out and a separate line item for travel agents or people who win something like a prize.

 

So you can see that if you win the cruise, what you win is the "base cruise fare". You are responsible for the non commissionable fees, the taxes and of course the gratuities. You can see from Che's example above that you're still paying $600 instead of about $1100.

 

Now, when and if you get a 1099 for taxes, it will probably be quoted for a full amount. You should go ahead and, if you decide to take it, do research and find out what you really could have booked the cruise for (they will give you the 1099 on the full value, including the fare). If they use brochure rate, we all know you will never pay that rate. So, you want to research and pull together snapshots of what you would have paid, and when you submit to the IRS, you use the revised amount, as you have proof that the cruise could indeed have been purchased for a lower amount and therefore you should not be taxed on a brochure rate but on a real world rate.

 

My BIL won a TV once and the 1099 was incredibly high. He did research, looked on a number of sites and pull together evidence that the TV could be purchased in reality for about 50% of the 1099 amount. And the IRS accepted that revised amount. So make sure you do the research to get a realistic, true price that is available to the public for purchase.

[sail2sea]

The upside to this thread and others like it will hopefully show cruisers that take issue with higher cruise fares. That the cruise line isn't making as much as the passenger thinks they are making on the "fare" itself.

 

You are not kidding! It's shocking to see how much taxes and fees they need to pay. Corporates don't have it made either.

[sstrong]

Taking the DSC out of the equations since whether your cruise was free or not, tips are the responsibility of the traveler.

 

I cannot find any 6 day Caribbean cruises from New Orleans. So taking what you have given above

 

Pearl out of Miami - 6 days, IC category @ $459 pp

 

cruise fare (cabin & NCF fees) pp $459.00

Gov't taxes and fees $122.53

Total pp $581.53

 

2 people $1163.06

 

"free" cruise which as explained above many times, does not mean it doesn't cost you anything but that your cabin itself is free.

 

cabin $0

NCF (port & other fees) $177.47

Gov't taxes and fees $122.53

Total pp $300.00

 

2 people $600.00

 

Savings $563.06 approx 48% savings

 

 

That's all well and good, and it explains the result, but it doesn't make the advertising any less misleading. A frequent cruiser might understand that taxes and fees account for 52% of the cost of the cruise but most would not. When I hear "taxes and fees," I think 5, 10, maybe 20% of the purchase or retail price --- the retail price being the actual price I would otherwise pay, not an artificial "brochure price" that exists only in the minds of the cruise lines. It's hard to think of anything with a 52% sales tax, or close to it. If I relied on the promise of a "free" cruise excluding taxes and fees only to discover "free" meant a 48% discount on an interior cabin, I'd be pretty upset. Granted people aren't typically relying on the advertisement because these things tend to be given out as prizes, so they probably have nothing to complain about. But if there was some sort of quid pro quo involved -- for example, signing up for some kind of club or rewards program that promised "free" cruises -- I think you'd have a legitimate grievance when you discovered how much the taxes and fees are inflated.

[che5904]

That's all well and good, and it explains the result, but it doesn't make the advertising any less misleading. A frequent cruiser might understand that taxes and fees account for 52% of the cost of the cruise but most would not. When I hear "taxes and fees," I think 5, 10, maybe 20% of the purchase or retail price --- the retail price being the actual price I would otherwise pay, not an artificial "brochure price" that exists only in the minds of the cruise lines. It's hard to think of anything with a 52% sales tax, or close to it. If I relied on the promise of a "free" cruise excluding taxes and fees only to discover "free" meant a 48% discount on an interior cabin, I'd be pretty upset. Granted people aren't typically relying on the advertisement because these things tend to be given out as prizes, so they probably have nothing to complain about. But if there was some sort of quid pro quo involved -- for example, signing up for some kind of club or rewards program that promised "free" cruises -- I think you'd have a legitimate grievance when you discovered how much the taxes and fees are inflated.

 

I asked this earlier and got no answer but will ask again. Did you receive any paperwork that stated you had won this and that had either the terms and conditions listed or the wording similar to "some conditions apply". If you did then it is not misleading advertising.

 

I actually am not a "frequent" cruisers. I've only taken 2 cruises in my life (both comped). When I received my first comped cruise (which has the same terms as this), I too was confused and shocked by how much the Governments and ports were charging NCL.

 

Because I understand how much all of these Governements etc want doesn't mean I agree any more than you do. But since these taxes and fees are out of NCL's control, there isn't much they can do about it. IMO they did not mislead you, they did tell you that you were responsible for fees and taxes. As you said it was you who assumed "5, 10, maybe 20% of the purchase or retail price". But I can understand how disappointed you must be to find that you did not win as large a prize as what you had assumed you did.

 

But at least now you have all of the details to make an informed decision on whether you wish to accept this prize or not.

[sstrong]

I asked this earlier and got no answer but will ask again. Did you receive any paperwork that stated you had won this and that had either the terms and conditions listed or the wording similar to "some conditions apply". If you did then it is not misleading advertising.

 

You sound like a marketing person for the cruise companies or a consumer fraud defense attorney :) Stating that "some conditions apply" doesn't necessarily cure a misleading advertisement. At any rate, I agree the OP can't complain unless he or she actually relied on the promise of a "free cruise" to their own detriment. It sounds like it was probably a no-strings attached gift, so they have nothing to complain about, even though the offer is misleading because a reasonable person would not expect taxes and fees to be so inflated.

[fergusonvt]

Yeah Disney makes you feel like a winner, this one they pretty much talked like it was a problem to them for me to ask questions. It isnt that I mind paying the taxes, but, 600 on a 7 day cruise is too much. The Disney trip was worth it, air, room, tickets, etc. But this is just for the room, and you have to take the one they give you unless you want to pay more. I am just a little strapped after coming back a week ago from the 11 day cruise. So, I am glad you all could afford it, right now I cant.

 

Did you try a fake booking on NCL for the same cruise, same cabin type to see what the taxes were? Just curious.

[che5904]

You sound like a marketing person for the cruise companies or a consumer fraud defense attorney :) Stating that "some conditions apply" doesn't necessarily cure a misleading advertisement. At any rate, I agree the OP can't complain unless he or she actually relied on the promise of a "free cruise" to their own detriment. It sounds like it was probably a no-strings attached gift, so they have nothing to complain about, even though the offer is misleading because a reasonable person would not expect taxes and fees to be so inflated.

 

Think what you wish, I'm not even remotely connected with marketing for anyone or anything and I'm a far cry from an attorney. What my point to that was, that if you see that wording it should automatically send big red flags that you have more research to do.

 

Because you "assume" something does not make it so. The OP knew that they were responsible for fees and taxes and they assumed that the fees and taxes were 5-20%. Obviously a bad assumption on their part. Seriously you can't blame someone else because you have certain expectations or assumptions that were not met by claiming misleading. No one mislead anyone they were told fees & taxes.

 

I also stated that I was shocked the first time i heard this because, as you stated, the average person would not expect taxes and fees to be that high. However I was experienced enough in life to know that my expectations were not the responsibility of anyone else. They are what they are.

[hoopslover]

We also "won" a free 4 day cruise. When we read the fine print, we could only book through an agency the company required. This agency charged $319 pp just to book. The regular price for the cruise booked through the website or TA was $299. The only one making money was the one offering the free trip. Winners beware.

[che5904]

Did you try a fake booking on NCL for the same cruise, same cabin type to see what the taxes were? Just curious.

 

I did a faux booking in post #36, the regular taxes show up. What doesn't show up is the NCF which are included in the "cruise fare" when someone books and pays outright, but cannot be included in the "free" cruise.

[camper06]

I "won" a free 7 day caribbean cruise at bingo on the Jewel in Sept, 2010. It's value was for maximum $1000 (giving you an inside room for 2 on most sailings). When I priced it out on NCL, it came to approx $1200 including taxes and port charges. So when I called the "special" phone number they gave me to use my certificate, they quoted my portion of it as $598.00. So that is what it ended up costing us for 2 people in an inside room. When I questioned the difference -it is like others here have said - they use the retail price (which it appears nobody ever pays that price!). We felt it was still a good deal as far as price goes for 2 people, so we booked it.

 

Not to add insult to injury, but we did not get any lattitudes points for this "free cruise" because it is booked as a vendor/employee discounted cruise and does not qualify for points. :rolleyes:

 

BTW, we did NOT get a 1099 for either the year I won it, or the following year when we took the cruise.