New pricing transparency policy...

[Scottdalfonso]

A new law in California, but Royal is just doing it across the board. this is from an email they sent to travel advisors today explaining it....

 

Starting July 1, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises will comply with California’s new law – and will do so nationally. This means that whenever Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises advertise, display, or offer pricing to consumers on any channel, anywhere in the United States, the price shown will include the cruise fare as well as any taxes, fees, and port expenses that guests will be required to pay as part of their cruise. Silversea Cruises will not need to make any changes, because its prices already include all required taxes, fees, and port expenses.

[LilBlackDress]

I wish the daily gratuity was added into this 

[smokeybandit]

RC was already transparent about pricing since they showed the taxes along side the cruise fare. They just made you do the math.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Scottdalfonso said:

this is from an email they sent to travel advisors today explaining it....

Some of this is already showing up on some ships when buying things in the planner.

[Scottdalfonso]

9 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I wish the daily gratuity was added into this 

Same, just a flat price and that's what you owe- all done. 

[Scottdalfonso]

9 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

RC was already transparent about pricing since they showed the taxes along side the cruise fare. They just made you do the math.

Yes, which is what most places do- they'll show you the sale price, but you still owe the sales tax, etc... I guess people in CA don't like seeing 1700.00 as the price, then when they get to the end its 2200.00 after fees and taxes.  It's a given that you are going to be paying some kind of tax and fee with just about anything, especially resorts, hotels, etc... but now I guess you don't have to click through the whole process to SEE those fees at the end. 

[little britain]

Potentially more work for TAs… if I see a price drop I always first check to see if it’s the T&F which have dropped ( which you don’t get as you are locked in at the T&F price in the day you book). If this is the case then I don’t call.

 

But now if it’s just one price then I don’t know if it’s a true cabin price drop or whether is a T&F drop. More work for my gal to check it out every time. 
 

I do wish the total price included gratuities though! 

Edited May 14 by little britain

[smokeybandit]

From reading the law, fees and taxes don't have to be included in the advertised total. Unless I totally misread it.

[adolfo2]

13 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I wish the daily gratuity was added into this 

ABSOLUTELY, as it's pretty much a mandatory charge!

[not-enough-cruising]

7 minutes ago, adolfo2 said:

ABSOLUTELY, as it's pretty much a mandatory charge!

not mandatory at all, not by a long shot

[robmtx]

I am of mixed opinion on this one. 

While I whole heartedly agree that any fees collected and kept by the seller should be included in the advertised pricing, I think tax is an exception. Anything that is collected on behalf of an agency (whether that be sales tax, or other Government imposed fees) is an expense passed directly to consumer on behalf of seller. If a fee is charged by a seller and not something you can opt out of, then it should be included in the price shown. I actually liked the way Royal did it always showing that number on the same page and not hiding it (some suppliers made you put in your info before you ever say your final price...!)

 

The best example I like to use is Spirit airlines many years ago. They advertised a rock bottom airfare ($50). But when you went to pay, they had a $99 customer fee that you could not opt out of. When I asked Spirit about this fee, they said this fee goes to help offset costs for running a customer service call center. I asked to have the fee waive since I booked online without calling in, and they refused. This means that $99 was a mandatory fee that was kept by Spirit. They placed this fee in the "Taxes and other fees" section of their pricing summary, so that consumers believed these were all Government imposed fees. This has been dealt with and while Spirit vehemently fought the new laws, they had to comply. Optional fees like a seat, bag check, etc. can all be avoided so they didn't count in this case and that's their right as a business to sell optional add ons.

 

I liken this to Cable TV and their mandatory fees (regional sports and local access fees?) - They were not optional add-ons, applied evenly to all customers, and thus should be included in the cost of the package. They have been dealt with as well finally.

[firefly333]

I got a email from royal just yesterday, saying 399 for july utopia. I went to look and lowest I see as a solo is over $900. I'm tired of prices from ... and it shows a gty which only on royal cant be booked. I can book any rate on carniva including gty. Why in the world doesnt royal allow solo to book a gty?

 

I see lots of threads claiming false advertising. That solo is charged way over 200% and its true. 

[Ocean Boy]

So what happens if you have to cancel after final payment or you are a no show? Do they break out the taxes and fees and refund them?

[smokeybandit]

4 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

So what happens if you have to cancel after final payment or you are a no show? Do they break out the taxes and fees and refund them?

It's merely a marketing thing.

Right now they show, say, "$1000 plus $100 in taxes and fees"

Theoretically they'll now show "$1100 including $100 in taxes and fees"

Behind the scenes, nothing changes.

[nelblu]

Will the advertised price, other than a price drop, be the price that one will ultimately pay.  What about if there's an increase in T&F as occurred recently with increase in Bahamas taxes and price had to be adjusted even though booking occurred prior to the effective date.

[Scottdalfonso]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

not mandatory at all, not by a long shot

It should be rolled into the fare, and called a service fee or hotel fee like some other do. Then it WOULD be mandatory as it would just be part of the price. Then people wouldn't feel like they were being forced to pay the gratuity and many would be more likely to tip cash on the ship. 

[BecciBoo]

15 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I wish the daily gratuity was added into this 

Can't be, it's not mandatory.  Not starting yet another debate, I like the freedom to hand my servers their own tip, I don't like pools where people I never see get a part of it.  Originally, tipping was for exceptional service not mediocre service.

Edited May 14 by BecciBoo

[A&L_Ont]

Less than 12 posts in and it is already already turning into a tipping thread. 

[smokeybandit]

16 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Will the advertised price, other than a price drop, be the price that one will ultimately pay.  What about if there's an increase in T&F as occurred recently with increase in Bahamas taxes and price had to be adjusted even though booking occurred prior to the effective date.

So instead of doing the math on what you're actually paying for your cruise fare, you'll just now have to do the math of what you're not paying in your cruise fare.

[nelblu]

12 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

just now have to do the math of what you're not paying in your cruise fare

?????

[smokeybandit]

5 minutes ago, nelblu said:

?????

Meaning if you're looking to reprice, you have to make sure you subtract taxes and fees to know if the advertised price dropped due to the cruise fare dropping or the taxes/fees dropping. Granted, it's unlikely taxes/fees would drop, but still, just one more thing to consider.

[nelblu]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Meaning if you're looking to reprice, you have to make sure you subtract taxes and fees to know if the advertised price dropped due to the cruise fare dropping or the taxes/fees dropping. Granted, it's unlikely taxes/fees would drop, but still, just one more thing to consider.

Not repricing.  On January 1 (?) Bahamas increase their T&F by a X amount, and it was applicable for any sailing as of that date.  I had some 4-5 sailings booked prior to implementation date and received invoices for the additional taxes.  They ranged from $7-$11 in my case as a solo, depending on sailing date.

[The Fun Researcher]

17 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I wish the daily gratuity was added into this 

 

Agreed.  However the gratuities are MUCH easier to add on top of the advertised cruise price.  You know ahead of time exactly what they will be for the number of guests, nights you are looking at, and the type of cabin you are looking for.

 

Currently for a 7 night cruise I know I'm looking at $252 for gratuities for an inside, ocean view, or balcony.  That doesn't change when I'm looking at different dates and itineraries.

 

The taxes and port fees vary for every sailing so it's AWESOME that they are implementing that change at least.  Love it.

[not-enough-cruising]

On a semi related note; the US airline lobbying arm has sued the Biden administration over federal rules mandating fee disclosure 

[kwokpot]

3 hours ago, robmtx said:

am of mixed opinion on this one. 

While I whole heartedly agree that any fees collected and kept by the seller should be included in the advertised pricing, I think tax is an exception. Anything that is collected on behalf of an agency (whether that be sales tax, or other Government imposed fees) is an expense passed directly to consumer on behalf of seller. If a fee is charged by a seller and not something you can opt out of, then it should be included in the price shown. I actually liked the way Royal did it always showing that number on the same page and not hiding it (some suppliers made you put in your info before you ever say your final price...!)

I'm not understanding your logic. With regards to cruise pricing, the taxes are fixed, unlike, for example, US State and/or City Sales taxes on certain purchased items that will vary according to where you live. The taxes on a cruise are the same no matter where you live, so why would you NOT include taxes on a cruise?