Will you cancel a booked cruise of RC initiates fuel surcharge?

[andrzej5914]

According to many analysts, oil will go up about $10 a barrel a year for the next 4-5 years. At which point will RC breakdown and apply the "fuel surcharge"?

 

And should the surcharge be applied to anybody that has a res? or just to new bookings? (I do realize it can be applied to exisiting reses but I'm just wondering if that would be a smart move).

 

Would you cancel your booked cruise if RC told you to cough up extra $100-$200 pp?

 

Basically I'm asking - what would be your breaking point?

[AtlantaAlly]

It depends on the amount that I paid for the cruise, and if it were in budget. Even when I booked our cruise for next week, we budgeted for them having the fuel surcharge- now I can go get a massage :D

 

If it pushed me to the top of my budget, I would cut back on my extra spending on board. I travel with a budget, so they could have the $ as either a fuel surcharge or $ at the bars.

[FireIce0010]

If one cruies line adds the surcharge then the rest will follow. Makes no difference to me. Common sense says that if the price to do business goes up then I expect my cost to go up. :rolleyes:

[depplep]

No. The surcharge was implemented last year on my Navigator cruise. Never gave it a thought while I was onboard having a lovely time.

[Paul65]

Last time I cruised, we had booked just before the cruise lines started tacking on fuel surcharges. We paid it, and while onboard, they were giving out little consolation gifts to those who had booked before the fuel surcharge was announced, but did not cancel because of it. Then, later, they refunded the surcharge because of some complaints they'd gotten. (At the time they first implemented it, the option of adding a fuel surcharge had not been explicitly spelled out during booking, as it is now.)

 

So, we got a free cookbook as a token gift to make up for having to pay the surcharge, and then didn't actually have to pay it.

 

Of course, that's all a bit off-topic, but suffice it to say that we did not cancel because of a fuel surcharge and wouldn't likely do so in the future.

[dixieva]

No.

[PH8]

No,basically.been there,done there..........would hate for it to happen,but it's not gonna make me canx..

[BroncosFan2010]

I would not cancel my already booked cruise, but it might prevent be from booking future cruises. Most likely, I would look for lines that did not have the charge, or were cheaper to make up for it. If it was added to my already booked cruise, it would hurt the budget, and we probably would spend less money on board or book fewer excursions.

[Grandiva]

If the fuel charge is added, we would highly consider canceling our short cruise in Oct. At being only a 4 nighter we booked because of the cost and are using this cruise to relax. This will be our first cruise where we will get up, dress and eat at our leisure, do no tours or excursions and not spend on board. Saving all of that expense for our 10th anniv. cruise next fall. With the expense of travel (which may cause a cancel), a fuel charge would take us over budget for this trip.

 

Probably wouldn't cancel a longer cruise with a bigger budget.

[andrzej5914]

Assuming that RC and other cruise lines will have to face reality at some point and the price of oil does not double overnight, do you think it would be a wise business decision just to add the surcharge to booked reservations? (yes, I do realize they can do it)

 

If their purchasing department is any good they should be able to forecast what the prices will be in a year or 2 (within reason), so wouldn't it be a better idea to add the fuel surcharges to new bookings only after a certain announced date?

 

Any thoughts?

[spongerob]

No. But I think surcharges should be applied when cruises are heavily discounted to get people on board, and maybe be reduced or eliminated when prices are at a premium.

 

I also expect to see an environmental tax applied to all travel, whether overtly or hidden. It's the price we pay for the things that we want.

[rdharbis1]

No, still going to take my cruise.

[TRadle]

At some point I think cruise lines and airlines should incorporate the cost of fuel into the ticket price. There can be, and there are, low season and high season prices. When fuel prices spike unexpectedly I understand a fuel surcharge, but I don't think it is unexpected anymore.

 

To answer the question, no, I would not cancel.

[masechase]

I was wondering about this? I am crusing in may, no i wont cancel but just wondering if this is something they are plaining on doing soon? or is this a lingering thing on all cruises all the time? may or may not happen? I have only been on one cruise last year and could not remember if it said that a fuel charge could happen. so just wondering?

[Retired LEO]

Wouldn't even think of it. It's the cost of doing business. It's no secret that they reserve the right to implement the surcharge. And if they do so be it.

[knittinggirl]

At some point I think cruise lines and airlines should incorporate the cost of fuel into the ticket price. There can be, and there are, low season and high season prices. When fuel prices spike unexpectedly I understand a fuel surcharge, but I don't think it is unexpected anymore.

 

To answer the question, no, I would not cancel.

 

I'm not sure why they can't incorporate the cost of fuel. But I guess it's a good thing. We've had one cruise where they added it to our onboard account because we'd booked before hand. We've had another that we booked when it was $5 a night and about to go up to $8 in the hope they wouldn't add another $3 once we got on board. As it worked out, I was happy to see the fuel surplus reversed on our Jewel cruise.

 

Personally, I'm getting tired of all these add ons. With airlines, they have extra charges for food, luggage, etc. And just a few years ago, all that was included in the price of a ticket. In fact, in the 70s, I remember flying on a "no frills" flight that gave us a $25 per person discount for no inflight food.

 

With the cruise lines, they're even charging $3.95 for "fresh squeezed" orange juice. One of our table mates ordered some, and was surprised when they asked for her Seapass Card. Also, the quality of the Main Dining Room used to be higher, but now they've dropped the quality, and added the Specialty Dining. On our Holland America Cruise in 1999, soft drinks were included in the cruise price.

[fourkittys]

At some point I think cruise lines and airlines should incorporate the cost of fuel into the ticket price. There can be, and there are, low season and high season prices. When fuel prices spike unexpectedly I understand a fuel surcharge, but I don't think it is unexpected anymore.

 

To answer the question, no, I would not cancel.

 

I agree, raise the prices to reflect the fuel cost and/or lower as necessary. They are raised and lowered for other reasons, why not for this? :D

[Theresa522]

I could never cancel a -booked- cruise over $100-$200 bucks. I would just have to save a little bit more and cut back on some other things :D

[andrzej5914]

I agree, raise the prices to reflect the fuel cost and/or lower as necessary. They are raised and lowered for other reasons, why not for this? :D

 

 

Simple - catching the bargain hunters!

 

Cruise line A - advertises $500 for a week long cruise (then they may/may not add another $100 fuel surcharge once they got you)

 

Cruise line B - advertises $600 for a week long cruise (in small print, they guarantee no fuel surcharges)

 

Everything else being equal, which reservation department do you think will get more phone calls?

[bluegirlum]

This is probably a dumb question, but aren't you penalized if you cancel after a certain point? We don't make our reservations that far in advance (probably a few months), so by the time the fuel supplement was implemented, that might cost less than the cost of canceling anyway.

 

Seems to me they're pretty upfront about the chance that they could charge it. I'd rather they just add it/subtract it as others have mentioned, but I don't think it would make us change our plans. It would probably cost us more in the long run.

[Alexis]

No, I would not cancel.

They tell you in advance that it could happen. We have paid it before and

if need be, we will pay it again. ;)

[mchin]

Nope, I wouldn't cancel an existing cruise, nor would it prevent me from booking a future cruise. We cruised during the period when we had to pay the additional fuel surcharge.