The non-commissionable fees, also referred to as 'port charges', always seem to be arbitrary. I deal with this all the time and it never ceases to amaze me that two ships going to different ports can have the exact same amount of port fees. One ship may even visit 5 ports while another one will visit 3 ports. So how is it possible that the port fees are the same? When queried, not one of the major cruise lines can provide me a specific breakdown of the port fees - not one!

You would think that the would be able to provide this information, but either they can't or don't want to in order to maintain some type of 'trade secret'. In my humble opinion, it's just a way to pay less commission to agents. The higher the port fees, the less the commissionable amount is.

I've actually sold cruises where the non-commissionables are higher than the cruise fare. For example; there was a fare advertised for $299 - of that, the non-comms were $159 leaving only $140 for a cruise fare that the commission was based on.

Many of those not in the industry believe a travel agent gets commission on the total sales, which is definitely not the case, so many believe we make alot more money than we actually do.

As for quoting rates, as one person said, we are required to quote a cruise fare that includes the cruise fare and the port fees combined. Anyone not following these rules, can lose their ability to sell cruises.

But the lesson to be learned from all this is when requesting a quote from someone, make sure you get the bottom line figure that includes the cruise fare, port fees, taxes, and any fees they are charging (i.e. booking fees, shipping fees, etc). And ask about their cancellation fees and fuel supplement, if applicable.

Pete

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