Drastic 50--65% reduction in port fees & taxes only

[drsel]

Some months after booking, if the basic cruise fare has gone up, but the port fees & taxes have reduced 50--65%, can we a price reduction ONLY on the port fees & taxes?

Edited January 14, 2023 by drsel

[sanger727]

You can’t re-price the taxes/fees only. If they stay reduced up until your sailing - some cruise lines will automatically give you OBC for the difference; some won’t.

[drsel]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

You can’t re-price the taxes/fees only. If they stay reduced up until your sailing - some cruise lines will automatically give you OBC for the difference; some won’t.

Thanks, These are 3 MSC cruises to the Norwegian fjords and Baltics.

Over all the total fare is much higher in two cruises, and only $12 lower in one cruise after the drastic fall in port fees and taxes.

What should I do?

Do you think that MSC will give us OBC for the difference or not?

[capriccio]

Since this is MSC specific, I suggest posting your comment and question on the MSC board:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/49-msc-cruises/

[Ferry_Watcher]

I have noticed that on a cruise that I booked with a large internet travel company, their fees and taxes were quite high.  It wasn't until I booked directly with a cruise line that I realized that the internet travel company was padding the taxes and fees.  So while their advertised cruise fare was low, they made up for it with the padded taxes and fees. 

Lesson learned.

Edited January 15, 2023 by Ferry_Watcher

[njhorseman]

43 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I have noticed that on a cruise that I booked with a large internet travel company, their fees and taxes were quite high.  It wasn't until I booked directly with a cruise line that I realized that the internet travel company was padding the taxes and fees.  So while their advertised cruise fare was low, they made up for it with the padded taxes and fees. 

Lesson learned.

I suspect the travel agency was excluding the NCF (Non commissionable fare) from their base fare quote and including it in the taxes and fees, which travel agencies are permitted to do but cruise lines  are not. Obviously by doing so they can advertise a fare that is deceptively low.

 

The bottom line is that all anyone should be looking at when comparing cruise fare quotes is...the bottom line...the total including all taxes and fees, not the fare excluding taxes and fees.

[Ferry_Watcher]

@njhorseman, and that is why I haven't booked a cruise with that company in years.  I will say though, the agent that I worked with was very professional and very nice.  It was a good place to start my cruise traveling adventures years ago, but I am a bit wiser now.

[drsel]

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I have noticed that on a cruise that I booked with a large internet travel company, their fees and taxes were quite high.  It wasn't until I booked directly with a cruise line that I realized that the internet travel company was padding the taxes and fees.  So while their advertised cruise fare was low, they made up for it with the padded taxes and fees. 

Lesson learned.

In my case the port fees and taxes were actually high on the MSC website when I booked, but are now much lower on the MSC website.

 So it is a genuine fall in Port fees and taxes.

But the basic fare has also gone up, so the overall fare is higher

Edited January 15, 2023 by drsel

[sanger727]

I haven’t sailed MSC, so their boards is the best place to answer this. You can’t re-price; you may or may not get OBC. But there’s nothing you can do at this point.

[ontheweb]

19 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I suspect the travel agency was excluding the NCF (Non commissionable fare) from their base fare quote and including it in the taxes and fees, which travel agencies are permitted to do but cruise lines  are not. Obviously by doing so they can advertise a fare that is deceptively low.

 

The bottom line is that all anyone should be looking at when comparing cruise fare quotes is...the bottom line...the total including all taxes and fees, not the fare excluding taxes and fees.

When I get a quote from our TA, he always gives the bottom line. When he sends an invoice by e-mail, then it is always broken out, but who really cares except for the bottom line? (LOL, I guess TAs do as they care what is or is not commissionable.)

[drsel]

On 1/15/2023 at 10:21 PM, njhorseman said:

I suspect the travel agency was excluding the NCF (Non commissionable fare) from their base fare quote and including it in the taxes and fees, which travel agencies are permitted to do but cruise lines  are not. Obviously by doing so they can advertise a fare that is deceptively low.

 

The bottom line is that all anyone should be looking at when comparing cruise fare quotes is...the bottom line...the total including all taxes and fees, not the fare excluding taxes and fees.

 

On 1/16/2023 at 5:53 PM, ontheweb said:

When I get a quote from our TA, he always gives the bottom line. When he sends an invoice by e-mail, then it is always broken out, but who really cares except for the bottom line? (LOL, I guess TAs do as they care what is or is not commissionable.)

In my case, the port fees and taxes were genuinely high on the MSC website when I booked the cruise and now they have actually fallen 40 to 60% for 3 different MSc cruises.

Very very surprising and unusual!

 

The basic fare mentioned in the agent invoice was the same as that on the MSC website when I booked.

So my agent did not make any adjustment for non commissionable fare and he never does.

 

Both basic fare and taxes  on my agents invoice are always exactly the same as that on the MSC website.

Edited January 17, 2023 by drsel

[drsel]

This is the reply of my TA--

MSC confirmed that in order to get the new 40-60% LOWER PRICE for taxes and fees, they would need to reprice the entire booking to the new fare. They cannot price adjust ONLY the taxes and fees. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

This is the reply of my TA--

MSC confirmed that in order to get the new 40-60% LOWER PRICE for taxes and fees, they would need to reprice the entire booking to the new fare. They cannot price adjust ONLY the taxes and fees. 

You really did not expect them to reprice just part of the cost, did you? It's not like you can say I won't take the port fees the same way you can say I won't take the drink package or cruise line airfare.