Surging oil prices and fading dollar

[Terpnut]

Anybody else worried about the surging price of oil and the fast-fading dollar? A barrel of oil is now priced near $62/barrel--just over $8 from the reinstatement threshold for the infamous fuel surcharge! And, after a strong rally in the fall and winter, the dollar is now fading real fast, hitting a multi-month low against the Euro at $1.40! Our upcoming cruise next month just got a whole lot more expensive! :rolleyes:

[CowPrincess]

As Canadians, we deal with this on an ongoing basis with our dollar vs the US $. It sucks, and can really affect how much we spend over & above the cost of the cruise. Sometimes it feels as though I have a part-time job watching exchange rates and buying/selling US $ :)

[bigwally]

I'm thankful to say that most of our big ticket stuff is already paid for. Plus the Scandanavian currencies are not rebounding as well as the majors. So it's not all doom and gloom for us.

[mezza]

we face this exchange rate problem every time we travel - sometimes we have had to travel when the AUD was only 50c to the USD or the GBP:( we rejoice when our $ goes over 70 c :) yeah, it's going up again!!

 

BUT very unhappy with oil going up again :eek:

[savannahgirl1]

I try not to worry about it because theres nothing I can do about it but hang on for the ride. :rolleyes: Well, that and hope for the best. ;)

[sunviking90]

I feel for you and understand totally. As another poster said we Canadians are always hoping for the opposite. Luckily HAL prices for us in C$ and it usually works out much better than buying in US$ and having an exchange rate.

 

I'm glad the C$ is going up in relation to the US$ as my tips, etc on my June Amsterdam cruise are getting cheaper all the time. (So is my Aug Disneyworld vacation that I haven't made final payment on yet:)) I don't even mind the oil prices going up as that usually relates to our currency going up. We drive fuel efficient cars also, so if I spend $20 more a month on gas it's not a big deal.

Sorry our joy is your pain:rolleyes: but, I'm still hoping for par!

[TCF]

We had to cancel a Carnival repo last year because the CDN$ took such a beating between deposit and final payment the price shot up by over $1200CDN.

We booked Mexico on HAL and paid in CDN$ for less than the cost of the Carnival cruise.

Now we are looking for our fall/winter cruise and the "GREAT SALE PRICES" all the lines are shouting about rapidly become brochure prices for us when we calculate in the exchange to US$.

The last week we have seen the CDN$ shoot up and we're hoping it stays there for a while. Oil prices usually climb in the summer which is good for our dollar.

[eldercruser]

Lots of analysts are predicting $70 oil by late Fall or the end of the year with $100 oil reappearing by next summer. The value of the USD will continue to decline and long term interest rates will continue to increase as the Federal budget goes deeper and deeper into deficit which will also drive commodity prices higher.

 

The Canadian dollar will continue to rally against the USD as commodity prices increase (as will the Australian dollar).

 

Fine with me - I have purchased several Canadian stocks and watch the value of my dividends increase weekly.

[cruz chic]

The price of oil going up is good and bad in my eyes. I don't like to pay higher prices at the pump or the surcharge but I've earned a living in the oilpatch for 25 years. When the price is high life is good....when it's not...it's not easy to try to keep your job.

[eldercruser]

The price of oil going up is good and bad in my eyes. I don't like to pay higher prices at the pump or the surcharge but I've earned a living in the oilpatch for 25 years. When the price is high life is good....when it's not...it's not easy to try to keep your job.

 

 

And Calgary is certainly right in the middle of the oil patch! (and the home of some my Canadian oil stocks!

[bigwally]

Oil is a double-edged sword for me. On the negative side, if gas prices do spike up again it'll really cut into the family budget (especially as we're working a 4-day week right now). On the plus side, gas at $4 a gallon kept a bunch of folks from clogging up my daily commute. What would be 1 hr 30 minutes on any given weekday dropped down to the 40 minute run I'd only expect to find on the occasional weekend I have to work.

[cruz chic]

And Calgary is certainly right in the middle of the oil patch! (and the home of some my Canadian oil stocks!

So true. Please....buy some of the stocks in the company I work for:D......think the company name that is on the Saddledome in Calgary:D.

[byucougs]

hmmmm.....doesn't anyone else recognize the pattern? Oil prices increasing JUST in time for summer....again? It's all about greed.

[bodget]

especially when you hear reports of tankers laden with oil sitting idol.the price hike is greed not supply and demand

[mygate]

The price of fuel will really increase if the congress passes the cap and trade bill the the current administration is pushing. I'm afraid last year's high prices will seem small when the hugh tax is added to fuel prices.

 

mygate

[Terpnut]

For my fellow Americans, things continue to worsen: dollar now at $1.42 to the Euro (a six month low) and a barrel of oil is over $66 per barrel (a seven month high). The weak dollar has made my upcoming Europe trip almost 20% more expensive than when we booked AND we're now less than $4 per barrel from the possible reinstitution of the fuel surcharge! :eek:

[shipmix]

As others have pointed out you can do nothing about these exchange rates and the chance that the fuel charges might start again. Maybe better to just stay home if this is really going to be a deal breaker for you.

[tennisobo]

Fuel supplement is not a deal-breaker for me, but if I have to pay it on our upcoming cruise it may mean I change some of my excursions and lower my budget for purchases in ports. I too am watching the price of oil and the € vs. $ exchange rate.

[ETinCA]

Our cruise is June 22 and is for 14 nights and four people. I sure hope they have mercy on the most immediate cruises. I think we have until June 15, and we aren't going to make it ($70 a barrell). :( At $350, it could affect a tour or two at this point if they do it.

[Terpnut]

Dollar currently weakening again, actually hitting $1.43 to the Euro before backing off a bit. Oil surged again yesterday, closing at $68.58 -- now just $1.42 from hitting the fuel surcharge threshold. This morning (just over an hour ago), the NYMEX price of oil for August delivery stands at $69.45 per barrel. :rolleyes:

[shipmix]

:eek:

Time to make an action plan! Get in touch with the person who is in charge of the Euro/Dollar exchange rate and advise it can not go any higher!

 

Get in touch with the person who is in charge of fixing the price of oil. Advise your situation that when it tops more than $70 this will impact your vacation plans and that it must be kept lower than $70!

 

I am sure everyone will say something about my post, but it almost sounds to me you want this to happen. Doom and Gloom.

[Route6A]

The most concerning issue is rising inflation down the road. That will affect the global economy significantly, and everything we buy could become much more expensive.

[MMDown Under]

I think the information has real impacts on real peoples' budgets and upcoming travel plans. People can do something with the information--they can get foreign currencies sooner, save more, cut excursions, change cruises, etc. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you for your valuable posts.

 

I agree the information is very useful for those of us planning future cruises, as I got caught badly last year with a sudden drop in our currency. Believe me .98cUS to .60cUS to our dollar made a huge difference to my future travel plans.

 

Fortunately, for us, our dollar is back to around .80cUS.

[mom&me_cruising]

I posted a new thread before I saw this one.

 

There was a news release by HAL on December 12, 2008 that they would suspend the fuel surcharge for cruises starting on or after December 17, 2008. Wondering if that still applies.

 

Granted the $9 per day per person is a small portion of the total vacation bill, but that still adds up.

[Terpnut]

I posted a new thread before I saw this one.

 

There was a news release by HAL on December 12, 2008 that they would suspend the fuel surcharge for cruises starting on or after December 17, 2008. Wondering if that still applies.

 

Granted the $9 per day per person is a small portion of the total vacation bill, but that still adds up.

They did suspend the fuel surcharge but it used to stipulate that if the price of oil closed at $70 per barrel or higher on ANY of the preceding 25 trading days prior to your sailing, Carnival Corp. could assess the fuel surcharge. So if the price of oil closed today at $70 a barrel, anyone sailing between tomorrow and July 4th would theoretically be liable for the fuel surcharge (up to a ceiling) for their cruise. And if the price of oil drops stayed above $70 a barrel afterward, then of course all future cruises would also be subject to the fuel surcharge.

 

And while $9/day seems small, for our family of four on our upcoming 20-day B2B, that means our vacation just got $720 more expensive--a little more than pocket change.