Fuel Surcharge added to onboard billing.

[Robjame]

At least one cruise ship,  Margaritaville At Sea, has begun adding a fuel surcharge ($12 a day) to guests on board account. This was done without any prior notification - just slipped into the bill.

 

We know from experience that what one cruise line does, others often follow.

[njhorseman]

57 minutes ago, Robjame said:

At least one cruise ship,  Margaritaville At Sea, has begun adding a fuel surcharge ($12 a day) to guests on board account. This was done without any prior notification - just slipped into the bill.

 

We know from experience that what one cruise line does, others often follow.

A "cruise line"  running two and three days booze/gambling cruises from Florida on a 30 year old rust bucket doesn't set the standard for anything.

 

While it's certainly possible that other cruise lines will impose fuel surcharges it won't be because this particular cruise is leading the way.

[Hlitner]

I would not consider Margaritaville an industry leader or even much of a minor player.  At this point the major cruise corporations (CCL, RCI, NCLH and MSC) are having lots of problems selling available berths at current pricing.  Trying to increase prices (via fuel surcharges) will certainly not do anything to increase bookings, especially with the world now entering a recession.   I do agree with you to the extent that if one of the majors does toss in fuel surcharges the others are likely to follow although they may wait to see how it impacts future bookings.

 

The cruise industry is also suffering because of the airline snafus.  Most cruisers need to fly to/from their cruises and the reliability of the airlines has hit rock bottom.  Folks are starting to react by avoiding commercial flying and looking for alternatives.  My instincts tell me that the timing is not good for cruise line fuel surcharges and it is more likely we will see some "price creep" by reducing the real value of promotions.

 

Hank

[davencl]

Oceania and Norwegian have a stipulation in your ticket contract stating a fuel surcharge, not to exceed $10 a day can be added to you bill.  I thinks it's been there for quite some time.

[FetaCheese]

7 hours ago, davencl said:

Oceania and Norwegian have a stipulation in your ticket contract stating a fuel surcharge, not to exceed $10 a day can be added to you bill.  I thinks it's been there for quite some time.

Agree, if majors do it, many will follow, and also agree that lines have lots of cabins to fill, so IMO, not likely.

Not relevant to O, but, Have a booking on V.  Contract says they can add a $9/day pp fuel surcharge prior to final pmt,  if oil goes above $50.  At time of booking, oil was well over $100.  Paid FP a few weeks early, just in case.  None was added.  See below for fuel and USD/EURO surcharges.  (Right now USD is strengthening against Euro).

 

Copied from V contract:

 

  This Passenger Ticket Contract applies to cruises which begin, end or include a stop at a port in the United States or its territories.

 

2. FUEL SUPPLEMENT/EXCHANGE RATE SUPPLEMENT. We reserve the right to, and you expressly agree we may, impose a surcharge for significant increase in our fuel costs. An additional charge of up to $9.00 USD per passenger per day may be assessed at any time prior to your payment in full of the Cruise Fare in the event that the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) is greater than $50.00 USD per barrel of oil. We also reserve the right to, and you expressly agree we may, impose an additional charge, based on significant changes in the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Euro. Specifically, we may assess a surcharge if, between the time of your payment in full of the Cruise Fare and time of scheduled embarkation, the exchange rate (as published in the Wall Street Journal, US eastern edition) of the US dollar fluctuates by more than 10% against the Euro. The surcharge may reflect the entire percentage difference in exchange rate between the time of your payment in full of the Cruise Fare and time of embarkation. For residents of Canada, please see the amendment provisions in the Canadian Addendum to this Passenger Ticket Contract.