<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by cordelli:
It's actually illegal in some states, Connecticut for example, for a store to price an item with tax included in the sticker price.
For travel related prices, I don't care if the cruise is a $1.00 fare with $999 in port charges and taxes, or a $999 fare with $1 in taxes. It's the total cost that matters, not what makes it up.</font>
I don't know much about cruises, but to me port charges and tax are very different things. (Is a port charge kind of like the fee that an airline pays to have gates at an airport?)
My problem is when an airline advertises a $79 fare, and then you go to book it and it's three components: (a) base fare, (b) taxes paid to directly to the government, (c) garbage fees that go to the airline. IMHO, airline advertisements should include (a) and (c). Government taxes listed separately is normal and to be expected. (And I'm even fine with the R/T required - that is also normal and to be expected with cheap fares.)
For example, a "fuel surcharge" is unethical. When a customer buys a seat on an airplane, it is reasonable to assume that the airplane will not sit stationary, and will therefore need fuel to get to its destination. If a fuel surcharge is OK, why not have a wing surcharge, a fuselage surcharge, a cockpit surcharge, a seat surcharge, etc. etc. etc. (I don't have a problem with airfares changing as a result of the fact that fuel is a fluctuating cost. I have a problem with deceptive advertising.)