Tag Archives: NCF

Disney hikes NCFs for cruises, drops air commission on tours

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By Tom Stieghorst
Disney Cruise Line on Aug. 18 is changing the structure of its non-commissionable fare (NCF), which will raise the amount of fare exempt from commission on most cruises.

Also starting Aug. 18, tour operator Adventures by Disney will no longer pay commission on the air portion of packages. It will continue to book air arrangements.

The new NCF system creates a sliding scale based on cruise length.

Currently, the NCF is a flat $20 per person, per day. Starting next week, the line will deduct $25 per person, per day on voyages of six days or less, and $30 per person, per day on trips between seven and 10 days.

Disney is leaving the amount at $20 for cruises of 11 days or more.

Also at Adventures by Disney, pre- and post-tour stays at non-Disney branded hotels will not be commissionable.

Disney said commissions will be paid on Disney resorts for pre- and post-tour stays related to itineraries in Southern California, China, England and France.

Celebrity Cruises to eliminate NCFs on some June bookings

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By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity EquinoxCelebrity Cruises will pay commission on what is typically invoiced as noncommissionable cruise fare (NCF) on some cruises sold in June by travel agents in North America.

The extra commission applies to 2015 sailings, if agents book veranda cabins and above. NCFs can account to 10-15% of the total cruise price.

Celebrity’s offer to agents coincides with a renewal of its 123Go! promotion to consumers. The offer to agents is being styled as “123 Thank You.”

Payments on the NCF portion of the sale are on bookings of all duration and every geographic area, said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Celebrity’s senior vice president of sales.

Dondra Ritzenthaler“We have never done anything like this before,” Ritzenthaler said.

Ritzenthaler said that 2015 bookings were not notably behind or in need of a boost.

“It’s a 30 day way to say thank you to all of our travel partners who have really supported us through all of our promotions,” she said.

Canadian agent group asks Carnival to change NCF policy

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Canadian agent group asks Carnival to change NCF policy

By Tom Stieghorst

The Association of Canadian Travel Agents (ACTA) has sent Carnival Corp. a letter asking that it reconsider its handling of the noncommissionable portion of cruise fares.

In a dispatch to members, group President David McCaig said he is raising the issue now to respond to newly named Carnival CEO Arnold Donald’s call for improved relations with agents.

“The hope is that under Mr. Donald’s leadership, ACTA’s voice will not fall on deaf ears,” the memo said.

Commenting on the letter, a Carnival spokesman said, “Travel agents are absolutely critical to our long-term success, and we are doing a number of positive things across our 10 brands to continue to strengthen our ties with our agency partners around the world. We certainly understand and appreciate the issues being raised, and I know Arnold plans to look into this further and give this issue a thorough review with his leadership team.”

McCaig said that noncommissionable fees (NCFs) create misunderstanding and distrust with clients because the charges are hard to explain.

He wrote that traditionally an agent will present NCFs to a client with terms such as “supplemental fares,” “nondisclosed cruise fees,” “add-on fares” or “hidden surcharges.”

“When a travel agent seeks support from Carnival Cruise Lines’ reservations to quantify NCFs, they are always at a loss to do so,” McCaig said. “It is unfair that travel agents are portrayed as an obstacle to lower fares.”

NCFs are used not only by Carnival’s brands but by most cruise lines, which say that the fees reflect unspecified government fees and other charges that amount to pass-through costs not part of the product.

Eric Maryanov, president of All-Travel.com, said he thinks NCFs could be better detailed by the industry in general.

“Taxes, port charges, I get it,” he said. But some cruise invoices have a line item for port charges and then another that simply says “NCF” with no explanation of what that NCF is, he said.

McCaig said the letter to Carnival asks Donald to “seriously consider changing Carnival brands’ NCF commission policy by establishing familiar and consistent terminology for the travel agency community to use with their clients.” It also asks Carnival to commission the cruise “with both amounts combined (commissionable and noncommissionable) at current levels.

McCaig said in the dispatch to members that he sent the letter on Oct. 23.