Ocean cruises rank among many clients’ best-ever vacations, and nothing about them should stir negative emotions. But for travel advisors, non-commissionable fees/fares (NCFs) often do.
So, when Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) recently announced that it will eliminate NCFs beginning with embarkations this May, the advisor community and its advocates applauded the move.
“NCFs definitely make it difficult to love booking cruises,” read one anonymous response to a survey from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA).
“Our agency has actively moved business away from cruising other than the high-end lines that pay commission on the full sale,” stated another respondent.
Following NCL’s policy change, will more brands remove NCFs? And will clients and advisors find the transparency they need with the lines that won’t?
The History of NCFs
A quick primer: NCFs are the portion of a cruise’s final price that is excluded from an advisor’s compensation. Amounts typically encompass port expenses and government taxes, as well as select operational charges, which is the largest gray area.
NCFs have existed for decades, mostly in the form of the aforementioned expenses and taxes, which are seldom eligible for commission. However, broader NCFs took center stage in the late 1990s, when legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny — especially in Florida — led cruise lines to more transparently disclose them in advertised costs.
Consumers may have benefited from more clarity, but agents recognized a hazier distinction between the commissionable fare and non-commissionable extras.
“I would argue it’s not dissimilar to guests today who are surprised with a $40 ‘resort fee’ that wasn’t included in the initial price,” said Alex Sharpe, CEO of Signature Travel Network.
Since then, advisors widely believe the non-commissionable portion of cruise costs has gradually risen.
“More got thrown into these fees, as it didn’t change the economics for the consumer,” Sharpe said. “But by shifting them into a non-commissionable bucket, it allowed lines to omit them from the commission calculation for advisors.”
In response, some advisors are choosing not to partner with as many cruise lines.
“I’ve had to make difficult but necessary adjustments to our business model in recent years, including stepping back from selling certain cruise lines due to rising NCFs,” said Patti Weerstra, owner of Joyful Journeys Travel.
Many advisors claim that growing complexity around fares has made it harder to anticipate earnings when booking.
NCFs became increasingly opaque. Cruise lines often adjusted these fees at their own discretion, leading to higher non-commissionable amounts and reduced advisor earnings, despite the growing time and effort required to manage bookings.
“NCFs became increasingly opaque,” said Theresa Scalzitti, chief operations officer for Cruise Planners. “Cruise lines often adjusted these fees at their own discretion, leading to higher non-commissionable amounts and reduced advisor earnings, despite the growing time and effort required to manage bookings.”
Scalzitti calculates that NCFs can cut into an advisor’s effective commission by two to three percentage points. And while a few brands chose to never adopt an NCF model, the cruise industry at large has still adhered to one. But that might all be changing.
Many travel advisors will not work with cruise lines that have NCFs.
Credit: 2026 Norwegian Cruise LineThe Lines That Paved The Way
NCL is currently in the spotlight for eliminating NCFs, but it was not the first brand to do so. In fact, American Cruise Lines, Explora Journeys, Viking and Virgin Voyages have all proudly touted their zero-NCF approach for many years. Others, including NCL until its December 2025 announcement, have only temporarily tested the waters.
“At American Cruise Lines, our fares are inclusive and fully commissionable — period,” said Melissa Young, director of business development for the company. “There are no NCFs, no hidden add-ons and no surprises. Port fees, taxes and gratuities are all included upfront, and we pay commission on the whole cruise fare.”
Chris Austin, president of North America for Explora, promotes a similar stance; the luxury line has excluded NCFs — ranging from all taxes and service fees to included Wi-Fi access — since setting sail in 2023.
“As a new brand, we had the opportunity to listen closely to the travel advisor community and address key pain points,” he said. “We made a deliberate business decision to exclude NCFs from the outset.”
According to Michele Saegesser, Viking’s vice president of sales and national accounts, the line introduced its NCF-free policy in 2010.
“We were looking for a meaningful way to earn the support of our travel advisor partners, and eliminating NCFs was a clear signal of that commitment,” she said. “At the time, no cruise line had seriously attempted to do this, largely because of the financial impact — especially in ocean cruising.”
Virgin Voyages also contributed to making NCF history when it launched in 2021. John Lovell, a board member and senior advisor for the brand, emphasizes that the line’s First Mates (a moniker for travel advisors) were never an afterthought.
“From everything I’ve seen and heard since, First Mates recognized that immediately,” he said. “It made Virgin easier to understand, easier to sell and easier to trust. I think the current conversation around NCFs is overdue and healthy.”
NCL Sets a New Standard
As of this May, all of NCL’s voyages will permanently eliminate NCFs. The line’s value-added Free at Sea Plus bundle is also commissionable in time for the 15-year anniversary of its Partners First program in 2026.
“The change by NCL is a positive one, and hopefully others will follow suit,” said Kelley Austin, a Cruise Planners franchise owner based in southeast Texas. “NCL will likely see a boost in business, as agents are able to earn more while NCL has stayed competitively priced.”
Commissions from the line’s cruise fare exclude seldom-eligible taxes and fees, as well as the basic Free at Sea package, but higher earnings for advisors are well on their way via a simplified structure. As a result, earning potential will be more transparent from the very start.
It’s all in an effort for NCL to become “the easiest cruise line to work with,” according to John Chernesky, whose role was recently expanded to senior vice president and chief sales officer for the brand.
The executive further highlighted the line’s latest news during a webinar for ASTA members.
“The decision was a big one,” Chernesky said during the broadcast, though it is not expected to significantly impact the brand’s bottom line. He did express hope, however, that rates would rise so that the product is not undervalued.
According to Phil Cappelli, CEO of Avoya Travel, NCL’s update reflects a broader industry trend toward transparency and alignment with advisor partners.
“This move signals that fair and clear compensation models are not only possible, but commercially viable,” Cappelli said.
ASTA'S Advocacy
Michael Schottey, vice president of membership, marketing and communications at ASTA, says that the organization has been working behind the scenes for a year to better understand the issue of NCFs, including discussions with various lines. Moving forward, ASTA will advocate for cruise companies to take action on this issue.
Executives say that NCL’s update reflects a broader industry trend toward transparency.
Credit: 2026 Norwegian Cruise Line“The hope and expectation for ASTA is that all travel suppliers in every area of the industry take a hard look at their policies to ensure they are fair and equitable to their trade partners,” Schottey said.
It only takes a quick glance at gathered statistics to recognize the weight of NCFs. Only 39% of ASTA’s survey respondents describe them as “very clear,” and 28% say they have difficulty determining the amount of commission they will actually earn from a booking.
More than half of survey-takers say cruise lines “rarely” or “never” provide clear or consistent explanations around NCFs, and exactly half indicate that they intentionally steer clients away from cruise brands with NCFs. Prior to NCL’s pivot, it was the brand agents stated had the highest percentage of NCFs and was the least transparent, according to ASTA. Of the lines that have NCFs, Royal Caribbean was considered the most transparent, and Celebrity Cruises was not far behind.
The Big Picture
It’s notable that not all cruise companies have issued a statement in response to NCL’s removal of NCFs, but some have provided additional context — namely, demonstrating how they support advisors and add value in other ways.
Many cruise brands show commitment to the advisor community through various programs that extend beyond traditional NCFs, in part considered genuine pass-through operational costs. Plus, commissions on an already-premium product yield higher profits than those on lesser ones, showing there is more to the overall equation.
Other lines have deferred to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) for comment, but in return, CLIA has indicated that NCFs are part of the commercial decisions of individual cruise lines and thus does not track them nor have an opinion on them.
A Compromise for Lines Keeping NCFs
That said, the overall message from advisors who responded to ASTA’s survey feels clear.
“NCFs are sleazy,” said one anonymous respondent. “It’s the supplier’s way of essentially paying us a lower commission — to arbitrarily say that an amount/percent of the booking isn’t commissionable.”
The same commenter, who believes there’s no logical reason why a certain amount should be taken away, offers this solution: The entire base fare should be commissionable, at least.
“I’m obviously okay with things such as taxes, gratuities and other optional amenities to not be, but the base fare should be 100% commissionable,” they said. “I highly respect cruise lines that share that mantra, as it means they respect us and the work we do.”
According to additional comments, another area for improvement is sharing how such numbers are calculated and why.
“NCFs have increased with no explanations or any detailed information on what they’re actually used for,” said Austin of Cruise Planners.
Who Will Follow?
Whether NCL’s corporate cousins Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises — or any additional lines outside the company — will adopt a blanket no-NCFs policy is less clear, but possible.
Regarding Oceania and Regent, NCL’s Chernesky says to “watch this space” for any versions of the policy they might implement, as things are always under review, but “we’ll see what happens across the industry.”
In the meantime, Oceania says it has a commissionable NCF program for select partners, while Regent stresses advisor earnings.
“As the leading and most inclusive ultra‑luxury cruise experience, we offer some of the highest commission opportunities in the industry,” said Wesley D’Silva, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for Regent.
The Future of Commissions
Cruise Planners’ Scalzitti believes NCL’s lead could signal “a significant shift in how cruise pricing and advisor compensation may evolve.”
And Signature’s Sharpe anticipates technology and training will direct business toward lines with the most agent-preferred economics.
"Advisors should always think first about matching their clients with the supplier that best suits their clients’ needs,” ASTA’s Schottey said.
“From there, it’s entirely reasonable that advisors prioritize commercial relationships with those suppliers that have the most fair, transparent and equitable policies."
NCL’s move puts the onus on other brands to follow suit, and there is no doubt it will spur a growing expectation for more lines to remove NCFs. But Scalzitti hopes it doesn’t end there.
“What would truly revolutionize the industry is paying agents commissions for ancillary purchases, such as beverage packages, Wi-Fi, excursions and spa services,” she said. “We are seeing the industry trend in this direction.”
