fuel supplements?

[gene g]

has carnival ever charge extra for fuel supplements ?

[nobody000]

Yes they have. and they maintain the right to reinstate it at any time.

[luvtovaca]

Yup, they sure have. We paid it for our 2009 cruise, but then oil went down, so they lifted it and we got the credit! Now, we didn't pay it for our April cruise, and are hoping it stays that way, but it's not looking good. They do clearly state in multiple places that they "reserve the right to reinstate"...So we just plan on it and hope not to see it!

[PAPERBKWRITER]

has carnival ever charge extra for fuel supplements ?

I paid it 2 years ago and expect it will be reinstatede for my upcoming May cruise unless things ease in the world. OR maybe they can attach one of Obama's wind mills to the ship.

[Frank12]

Yep. I got charged on 2 or 3 of my cruises a few years ago. Don't remember the exact ones.

[nobody000]

I am still a firm believer that we are already paying for it. I think they have included it the base price of the cruise and fee's.

[spideyfam]

I am still a firm believer that we are already paying for it. I think they have included it the base price of the cruise and fee's.

 

 

I agree.

[CT Cruiser10]

I am still a firm believer that we are already paying for it. I think they have included it the base price of the cruise and fee's.

 

No we have not. The price that paid may have taken into account a higher expected fuel cost. If the price of oil goes higher than Carnival expects then they will reinstate the fuel charge.

[Perfect Stranger]

Yes...they charged it in 2008 when gas was $4.00 a gallon.

[cruiserNC]

I would agree with that as imo cruises are considerably higher than they were 2 years ago in the month of April when we tend to cruise.

[Bunkie103]

Shhhhhh!

[b8nkr]

Do they give any notice before they re-instate it? If you already have a cruise booked for lets say May are you exempt from the increase if they announce it in May?

[Lydia B.]

I have been lucky and have not been charged in the past, but like everyone said they can tack it on at any time. When they did some folks of course were upset, partially because I have read that the cruise lines contract for their fuel in advance. Meaning they have already have a set price say a year ago for what they are using right now, so basically they are not seeing an increase right now. However I am sure it will catch up with them at some point.

I believe I remember that the Atty General of Florida did make Carnival reimburse folks that had already made final payment (and then Carnival added the fee).

So yep lots of things up in the air, lets just hope things settle down in the Middle East soon, not so much for the gas situation as the loss of life that they are experiencing right now. Lydia of Ohio

[urbanhawk]

Do they give any notice before they re-instate it? If you already have a cruise booked for lets say May are you exempt from the increase if they announce it in May?

NO!!! Someone can correct me, if I'm wrong, but I think you could still be charged, even once on the cruise?:eek:

[gene g]

anyone know just about how much this charge would be?

[navybaby1113]

We were charged it back in 2008. It's $4, per person, per day.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

We were charged it back in 2008. It's $4, per person, per day.

I don't know what boat you were on but I paid $10 pp per day on Elation in 2008. And yes, they can add a fuel charge anytime even after final payment.

[CT Cruiser10]

I have been lucky and have not been charged in the past, but like everyone said they can tack it on at any time. When they did some folks of course were upset, partially because I have read that the cruise lines contract for their fuel in advance. Meaning they have already have a set price say a year ago for what they are using right now, so basically they are not seeing an increase right now. However I am sure it will catch up with them at some point.

I believe I remember that the Atty General of Florida did make Carnival reimburse folks that had already made final payment (and then Carnival added the fee).

So yep lots of things up in the air, lets just hope things settle down in the Middle East soon, not so much for the gas situation as the loss of life that they are experiencing right now. Lydia of Ohio

 

I agree. The problem is it is difficult (and expensive) to lock in that price very far into the future. Perhaps they can hedge fuel costs up to a year in advance. However, they allow people to book cruises earlier than that. What happens if there is a quick and dramatic run up in oil prices and suddenly the fare that people paid is no longer enough to cover the costs. They will then reinstate the fuel surcharge.

[knight2096]

I am still a firm believer that we are already paying for it. I think they have included it the base price of the cruise and fee's.

 

 

I also Agree.

[urbanhawk]

I also had to pay the fuel supplement back in '08, but what ya gonna do?! This was added to the contracts after that:

 

 

Carnival reserves the right to re-instate the fuel supplement for all guests at up to $9 per person per day should the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) increase above $70 per barrel.

 

Hopefully, it won't come to that again........

[PAPERBKWRITER]

I also Agree.

 

Hmm. I book airlines usually 6 months in advance or so and they never up the fare due to oil prices... For me the good news is that my oil stocks are going through the roof, the bad news is everything else is tanking.

[remharri]

We had it in 08 on the Valor. But if I remember correctly, it took them awhile to tack it on. I think gas prices were high for awhile before they added it on. Also, we were paid in full and they tacked it on a few weeks before we left.

[CorbinCatFan]

I've been lucky twice. We booked for our 2008 cruise and they later added a $5 per day. A class action suit in Florida cause this to be dropped before we cruised.

 

We booked our 2009 cruise with a $9 per day surcharge only to have it dropped a few months before our cruise. I'm hoping that I can squeak by over the next 39 days without seeing a surcharge.

 

I'm guessing that if crude get over $100 per barrel and has no sign of dropping that a surcharge will be added. I'm thinking that the cost of crude between 2008 and 2009 was somewhere near $140 per barrel. (Of course, I could be wrong.)

[firefly333]

I don't know what boat you were on but I paid $10 pp per day on Elation in 2008. And yes, they can add a fuel charge anytime even after final payment.

 

Im almost positive that Carnival never got above $9 for the first two pax, and I think it was $5 for the other pax in the cabin.

 

RCL I paid $10, which was $1 more than Carnival's highest fuel surcharge.

[Lydia B.]

Here is some of the information that I had remerbered from the situation in 2008. The fine print of our contracts probably allow Carnival to charge what and when they want now, but I sure remember this being a big stink.

All I could remember is that the Fl Attorney General got involved, here ya go:

 

March 31, 2008

Media Contact: Jennifer Krell Davis

Phone: (850) 245-0150

 

 

Carnival, Subsidiary Cruise Lines Reach Settlement with Attorney General Over Fuel Surcharges

 

 

~ McCollum: agreements with Carnival cruise lines provides for $40 million in passenger reimbursements ~

 

 

 

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has reached a resolution with six cruise lines over the imposition of a retroactively-imposed fuel surcharge on cruise passengers. Carnival and its five subsidiary cruise lines have agreed to refund approximately $40 million to consumers nationwide who were charged the fuel surcharge after they had booked their cruises. Other affected cruise lines are Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard and Seabourne.

 

“I commend Carnival and its cruise lines for taking the necessary steps to ensure that this matter is resolved in their passengers’ best interest,” said Attorney General McCollum. “I appreciate this company’s commitment toward protecting not only our citizens and our guests but also Florida’s reputation as an attractive vacation destination.”

 

The agreements were reached after the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division received several hundred complaints from around the country about the entire cruise line industry because cruise lines were retroactively charging a fuel supplement charge after cruises had been booked and deposits had been made by consumers. Under the agreements signed today, all consumers who were retroactively charged a fuel supplement will be refunded the full cost of the surcharge. In the future, the cruise lines must also ensure clear and conspicuous disclosure of any fuel supplement charges at the time the reservations are made, as well as in their advertisements. The agreement with Carnival and its cruise lines will affect more than 1.1 million bookings.

 

Carnival will contact consumers eligible for refunds and must report to the Attorney General’s Office on the status of refunds within 30 days. Consumers who believe they have been improperly charged surcharges may file complaints with the Attorney General’s Office by calling the fraud hotline at 1-866-966-7226 or by visiting the Attorney General’s website at http://myfloridalegal.com. A similar settlement was reached last month with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, resulting in another $21 million in consumer reimbursement.

 

A copy of the settlements with all of the cruise lines is available here.