Taxes and Fees for an Alaska Cruise

I have booked a one-week cruise to Alaska RT from Seattle, leaving May
20, 2007. The cruise only price for one person is $2,154 plus the
insurance at $168. The tax/fees are $345.69 PER PERSON. This seems
rather high to me. This tax/fee includes the new $50 per person tax
that was added months after I had reserved the cruise with a deposit.
Does this tax/fee seem unreasonable and extraordinarily high, or am I
being unreasonable? When I check online at Travelocity and Expedia,
the tax/fees are around $200, but the cruise price is higher than what
I locked in with a travel agent last year.

How do I get a break-down of what all the taxes, fees and government
charges are, that are NOT covered in the cruise price? Can anyone
help me with this? Thank you.

In article .com,
wrote:

How do I get a break-down of what all the taxes, fees and government
charges are, that are NOT covered in the cruise price? Can anyone
help me with this? Thank you.

You posted that the taxes and fees were $345.69. So you have the
breakdown. Didn't you get that when you booked? Look at your invoice.
What don't you understand? The $50 was person tax was passed by Alaska
voters. So you have to pay it. It does not matter that it was added
after your deposit. The tax is on you. If you think it is unreasonable
then cancel the cruise.

--
Charles

wrote

I have booked a one-week cruise to Alaska RT from Seattle, leaving May
20, 2007. The cruise only price for one person is $2,154 plus the
insurance at $168. The tax/fees are $345.69 PER PERSON. This seems
rather high to me. This tax/fee includes the new $50 per person tax
that was added months after

The taxes/fees probably includes what are known as "non-commissionable" fees
(NCF's). These used to be called "port charges" but were in reality, the
cruise lines way of padding the bill without having to pay commission. The
state of Florida sued the cruise lines and now these "non-commissionable
fees" are included in the advertised price. For example..

Cruise line says fare is $1000 pp plus tax of $55 = $1055 pp

A travel agent sees a fare of $840 + $160 NCF plus $55 tax = $1055

Travel agent gets commission based on the fare of $840.

FWIW, a lot of TA's (including me) usually invoice these separately as the
accounting systems we use do not differentiate between commissionable fares
and non-commissionable fares. A typical invoice would show a $840 fare +
$215 tax/fees = $1055


--
George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

April 29, 2007 GGC2007 http://cruisemaster.com/pride.htm
October 14, 2007 MOAGC 3 - http://www.moagc-3.com
January 20, 2008 - Adventure - http://cruisemaster.com/adventure.htm

Here is my opinion:

You are going to worry yourself sick over the taxes so, DO NOT GO. The
rest can enjoy a cruise without the worry that you will. You might worry
yourself so sick that you could DIE right before you step onto the
ship.Do you want that to happen? NO, and neither do I.

Think about yourself.

Jim

On 4 Feb 2007 20:11:16 -0800 in rec.travel.cruises,
wrote:

The tax/fees are $345.69 PER PERSON. This seems
rather high to me.

Well, I'll admit that I voted for $50 of that, and I would have
voted for one higher, high enough to make folks stay away, but it
wasn't on the ballot.

For the rest, ask your travel agent for a breakdown. My
understanding is that much of those "fees" are the cruise line's
way of padding the bill, like the bogus "document charge" that
car dealers add to the price of a new car.

I have been wondering about the price of your cabin. It must be a good one.
Alaska port taxes are very high. That's the way it is. We can pay them or
stay away.
I don't know if I am oversimplifying, but imagine a port somewhere that
only charges $20.00 per passenger.
A ship arrives with 3000 passengers. Does the cruise line hand the port
authorities a check for $60,000.00 and they do it one day a week, every
week, for the cruise season. Wow
Don



wrote in message
oups.com...
I have booked a one-week cruise to Alaska RT from Seattle, leaving May
20, 2007. The cruise only price for one person is $2,154 plus the
insurance at $168. The tax/fees are $345.69 PER PERSON. This seems
rather high to me. This tax/fee includes the new $50 per person tax
that was added months after I had reserved the cruise with a deposit.
Does this tax/fee seem unreasonable and extraordinarily high, or am I
being unreasonable? When I check online at Travelocity and Expedia,
the tax/fees are around $200, but the cruise price is higher than what
I locked in with a travel agent last year.

How do I get a break-down of what all the taxes, fees and government
charges are, that are NOT covered in the cruise price? Can anyone
help me with this? Thank you.

On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:54:01 GMT in rec.travel.cruises, "Don &
Lynn" wrote:

A ship arrives with 3000 passengers. Does the cruise line hand the port
authorities a check for $60,000.00 and they do it one day a week, every
week, for the cruise season. Wow

while we keep around extra ambulances, cops, search and rescue,
fire fighters trained in marine firefighting, docks, bus parking,
crossing guards because you goobers would otherwise just step in
front of cars, parks, seawalks, signs...

You sound a little defensive. Is it not true that we goobers provide enough
extra so that you folks in Alaska don't have a State income tax, a sales
tax or property taxes? And you almost got a $219,000,000 bridge to nowhere
from the Feds until the word got out and it was killed.


"Dennis P. Harris" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:54:01 GMT in rec.travel.cruises, "Don &
Lynn" wrote:

A ship arrives with 3000 passengers. Does the cruise line hand the port
authorities a check for $60,000.00 and they do it one day a week, every
week, for the cruise season. Wow

while we keep around extra ambulances, cops, search and rescue,
fire fighters trained in marine firefighting, docks, bus parking,
crossing guards because you goobers would otherwise just step in
front of cars, parks, seawalks, signs...

On Feb 8, 10:10 am, "Don & Lynn" wrote:
You sound a little defensive. Is it not true that we goobers provide enough
extra so that you folks in Alaska don't have a State income tax, a sales
tax or property taxes? ...

In your own backyard of Reno, what's your city hotel tax rate now?
Might it be 13.5%? And aren't there also a fistfull of extra fees
imposed on rental cars and restaurants too...all within the theme of
"make the vistors pay".

Granted, it has become all too common to create "make the visitors
pay" localized tax structures - Nevada isn't alone in them, although
Nevada has apparently gotten very good at the game: you're in one of
only seven states without a personal income tax and one of only three
without a corporate income tax, and its all because the majority of
tax revenues in Nevada are generated from the tourism and gaming
industries.

And you're free to do that "soak the tourist" form of taxation under
the concept of local rule governance.

However, to be doing this in your own backyard and to then wag your
finger in displeasure at someone doing the same exact thing as you are
is the classic hypocrisy, commonly known as "do as I say, not as I
do".


-hh

Nevada has a sales tax and a property tax and does NOT pay it's citizens an
oil dividend and it is not in my backyard.




"-hh" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Feb 8, 10:10 am, "Don & Lynn" wrote:
You sound a little defensive. Is it not true that we goobers provide
enough
extra so that you folks in Alaska don't have a State income tax, a sales
tax or property taxes? ...

In your own backyard of Reno, what's your city hotel tax rate now?
Might it be 13.5%? And aren't there also a fistfull of extra fees
imposed on rental cars and restaurants too...all within the theme of
"make the vistors pay".

Granted, it has become all too common to create "make the visitors
pay" localized tax structures - Nevada isn't alone in them, although
Nevada has apparently gotten very good at the game: you're in one of
only seven states without a personal income tax and one of only three
without a corporate income tax, and its all because the majority of
tax revenues in Nevada are generated from the tourism and gaming
industries.

And you're free to do that "soak the tourist" form of taxation under
the concept of local rule governance.

However, to be doing this in your own backyard and to then wag your
finger in displeasure at someone doing the same exact thing as you are
is the classic hypocrisy, commonly known as "do as I say, not as I
do".


-hh