Fuel supplements will be charged and will only be refunded as OBC

[kimberley]

I have several bookings made on cruises, the first being in Feb and the second being in November 2009. I have only paid deposits for both and the balance is due in the New Year for the Feb cruise. I have just checked both bookings only to find that the Fuel Charge has been reinstated for the November one!! It was taken off but now it is back on. I book this cruise the 11th November so I should not have to pay it. The Feb cruise has always had it on, this again was only booked 15th December 2008!

I have just finished speaking to special services at Royal Caribbean UK. Apparently a meeting took place yesterday and a decision was made to charge every one the fuel charge and give people a refund as OBC. I told him I thought this was the wrong decision to make and that I was not happy.

I say this for a couple of reasons and one of them may only effect non USA citizens. The fuel charge is charged in the currency of your home land mine being British pounds. What will be the exchange rate given? They will only give you dollars back so we could lose out in this transaction especially if we have to convert the moeny back to stirling. Secondly, RCCL will be getting 60 days of interest on my money.

Yes I know I can use the OBC on the ship but I would like to decide how I spend my money.

Has any one else been told this. I will be dropping them an email to tell them how I feel.

 

Kimberley

[firefly333]

Im waiting until they take it off to pay in full and if they dont take it off when I call up next week, then Im not paying it until my TA looks into it. No one has told me yet, but havent heard from my TA either that its being removed for my April cruise.

[kimberley]

I asked for them to take it off and was told they couldn't because of the new decision!

 

Kimberley

[Sue L]

I am a TA and things are different here in the states. If final payment was made then the refund is in a form of the OBC. But, here is the US at least if final payment has not been paid then the amount will be taken off the final bill.

[bajathree]

Just booked a cruise this AM for April 09....no fuel surcharge. If final isn't due cancel and rebook....I don't know about any decision to reinstate the fuel surcharge and give back as OBC:confused:

[Sue L]

Just booked a cruise this AM for April 09....no fuel surcharge. If final isn't due cancel and rebook....I don't know about any decision to reinstate the fuel surcharge and give back as OBC:confused:

 

 

In the UK, deposits are not refundable so canceling and rebooking is not an option.

[kernow]

Kimberley, I just read your post and went and checked our bookings. I found the same as you, the fuel surcharge which had been removed from our October Navigator cruise has now been put back on. I will not be happy either if we have to pay it and get it back as OBC. Looks like we'll be contacting RCL too.

 

Julie

[kimberley]

I think the more people that contact rccl the better. What I can't understand is why there are different rules for our friends over the ponds and here in the UK. Once again we are being discriminated against. We don't get any of the benefits that travellers from the USA get like Military rate, No residential discount , no Visa cards points infact nothing and now we get charged the fuel charge.

 

Kimberley

[kernow]

I think the more people that contact rccl the better. What I can't understand is why there are different rules for our friends over the ponds and here in the UK. Once again we are being discriminated against. We don't get any of the benefits that travellers from the USA get like Military rate, No residential discount , no Visa cards points infact nothing and now we get charged the fuel charge.

 

Kimberley

 

I agree with you 100%. It seems that in the UK we are always worse off. On our upcoming Explorer cruise we have had a port cancelled and replaced with a sea day. Everyone on our roll call from the US has had a few dollars refunded for the port charge, nothing for those from the UK even though we have rung up and spoken to several departments. This seems like another example of the same thing.

 

Julie

[Elizanessie]

Trying my best to get some answers on why this decision has been made.

 

I will say, the current RCCL exchange rate for onboard account is better than the exchange rate we have at the moment. I think it is around $1.70-$1.80, where as our high street rate is around 1.40.

 

I know it is not good to see our invoices now back with the FS but are we in the end better off?

 

Sorry Maths isnt one of my good subjects :o

[kimberley]

Liz

the exchange rate on the ship in November was $1.33 to the pound. I just wonder what exchange rate they will use. I don't want to wait until we get on the ship to find out that is what we got. Where did you get your rate from? I have just sent Mr Goldsteins office an email I will post the reply.

 

Kimberley

[Elizanessie]

Liz

the exchange rate on the ship in November was $1.33 to the pound. I just wonder what exchange rate they will use. I don't want to wait until we get on the ship to find out that is what we got. Where did you get your rate from? I have just sent Mr Goldsteins office an email I will post the reply.

 

Kimberley

 

The rate you said ..I think that would be if you are exchanging £s into $ or $ into £s, the rate I was working on was heck how to explain this...you know if we booked Chops at $20 per person then that rate is worked out at around the $1.70-1.80 rate I believe. Darn it I need to see if I can find my friend Albert..he is better than me at explaining it.

 

Adam Goldstein will forward your email most probably to UK office ..I have emailed the Execs at UK/Europe office as my usual contacts in the office are all off this weekend.

[uktraveller]

Mine's back on too!!:mad:

Will be interested to hear what you can find out Liz.

[newbiecruiser09]

I wonder if the reemergence of the charges has something to do with the clause they had that said something like (and this is by no means a direct quote) "if the oil prices are up on the last day of certain quarters, we will re-instate the fuel charge". Seems they would keep things easier and less muddy to have the charges on and then take them off if fuel stayed low vs. having them on, taking them off now and then having to put them back on (esp since some like us have the $5/day vs $10/day charge). Just a thought.

[Elizanessie]

I wonder if the reemergence of the charges has something to do with the clause they had that said something like (and this is by no means a direct quote) "if the oil prices are up on the last day of certain quarters, we will re-instate the fuel charge". Seems they would keep things easier and less muddy to have the charges on and then take them off if fuel stayed low vs. having them on, taking them off now and then having to put them back on (esp since some like us have the $5/day vs $10/day charge). Just a thought.

 

It is only UK Cruisers that are affected by the news today of the FS being put back on our bookings :(

 

Being the weekend and so near to christmas it is harder to get answer to why this has been decided.

 

I have left messages/voicemails etc all over the place :(

[cadcruiser]

I am a TA and things are different here in the states. If final payment was made then the refund is in a form of the OBC. But, here is the US at least if final payment has not been paid then the amount will be taken off the final bill.

 

I have a cruise booked for next month and paid in full last Oct. I was expecting an onboard credit and noticed the fuel surcharge credited back to my credit card.

[Ocean Boy]

I think the more people that contact rccl the better. What I can't understand is why there are different rules for our friends over the ponds and here in the UK. Once again we are being discriminated against. We don't get any of the benefits that travellers from the USA get like Military rate, No residential discount , no Visa cards points infact nothing and now we get charged the fuel charge.

 

Kimberley

 

When RCI first instituted fuel surcharges they were only applied to North American bookings. I didn't see you folks from the UK claiming discrimination then.;)

[Elizanessie]

When RCI first instituted fuel surcharges they were only applied to North American bookings. I didn't see you folks from the UK claiming discrimination then.;)

 

The differerence then was because of the laws of the UK...not because of a rule RCCL UK made.

[Lynnees]

Could it be those same laws that are now working against you? I would assume that RCL has decided that they only way they would be able to charge cruisers from the UK a fuel surcharge (if necessary) is if it is already there. Easier to remove than to charge.

 

If your laws wouldn't allow them to charge it when it was first started, what has changed that they would be able to now?

[Elizanessie]

Could it be those same laws that are now working against you? I would assume that RCL has decided that they only way they would be able to charge cruisers from the UK a fuel surcharge (if necessary) is if it is already there. Easier to remove than to charge.

 

If your laws wouldn't allow them to charge it when it was first started, what has changed that they would be able to now?

 

Sadly we cant get an answer yet on why they have done this.

 

You would think though that they would have checked it all out before refunding some people already and with others taking it off our invoices then few weeks later puting it back.

 

I dont think we will know anymore till Monday...but they know we are not happy UK Cruisers.:mad:

[HorrorFan]

Canada checking in here. We re-booked (long story) in Oct 08 and the fuel surtax was $300 on the invoice from our TA.

I called and told her to go ahead and make final payment yesterday, and also asked her about the surtax, since I can't see my balance online, because I booked through a TA I assume.

Anyway she confirmed the surtax was removed and was not part of the final payment.

[Lynnees]

Sadly we cant get an answer yet on why they have done this.

 

You would think though that they would have checked it all out before refunding some people already and with others taking it off our invoices then few weeks later puting it back.

 

I dont think we will know anymore till Monday...but they know we are not happy UK Cruisers.:mad:

 

I have no doubt their timing was on purpose. Better to give everyone the weekend to simmer down.

 

I agree they should have looked more closely before they started removing them but I truly believe you will find the same law that didn't allow them to charge you in the first place in the law that is forcing them to do it this way.

[Broch]

I have several bookings made on cruises, the first being in Feb and the second being in November 2009. I have only paid deposits for both and the balance is due in the New Year for the Feb cruise. I have just checked both bookings only to find that the Fuel Charge has been reinstated for the November one!! It was taken off but now it is back on. I book this cruise the 11th November so I should not have to pay it. The Feb cruise has always had it on, this again was only booked 15th December 2008!

I have just finished speaking to special services at Royal Caribbean UK. Apparently a meeting took place yesterday and a decision was made to charge every one the fuel charge and give people a refund as OBC. I told him I thought this was the wrong decision to make and that I was not happy.

I say this for a couple of reasons and one of them may only effect non USA citizens. The fuel charge is charged in the currency of your home land mine being British pounds. What will be the exchange rate given? They will only give you dollars back so we could lose out in this transaction especially if we have to convert the moeny back to stirling. Secondly, RCCL will be getting 60 days of interest on my money.

Yes I know I can use the OBC on the ship but I would like to decide how I spend my money.

Has any one else been told this. I will be dropping them an email to tell them how I feel.

 

Kimberley

 

I asked myself the very same question when it was first reported that if oil was below a certain price at a certain date the FS would be refunded as OBC. I too wondered about the conversion rate then I thought to myself surely they would have to refund it at the rate our american freinds were charged e.g. $10 per day, therefore on a 14 night cruise we should get $140 per pax OBC. Can it be as simple as that? What I and I am sure many others would like to know is why the U turn as I was told by RCI that a new invoice would be sent to me with the new pricing.

[alwalaska]

I wonder if the reemergence of the charges has something to do with the clause they had that said something like (and this is by no means a direct quote) "if the oil prices are up on the last day of certain quarters, we will re-instate the fuel charge". Seems they would keep things easier and less muddy to have the charges on and then take them off if fuel stayed low vs. having them on, taking them off now and then having to put them back on (esp since some like us have the $5/day vs $10/day charge). Just a thought.

 

Can't be - oil prices were WAYYYYY under the $65 mark on December 18th.

[Fozzycat]

Canada checking in here. We re-booked (long story) in Oct 08 and the fuel surtax was $300 on the invoice from our TA.

I called and told her to go ahead and make final payment yesterday, and also asked her about the surtax, since I can't see my balance online, because I booked through a TA I assume.

Anyway she confirmed the surtax was removed and was not part of the final payment.

 

 

Same for me. Made my final payment late last week, and the fuel surcharge was removed before payment.