FUEL SURCHARGES

[firefly333]

Just now, staceyglow said:

I agree with everything you say here, but I was responding to a comment that cruise prices will go up because fuel costs are going up.  That's not true.  Cruise prices will go up because demand for cruises will go up.

I was around the last time carnival added fuel surcharges. One thing I remember is posters punished the crew and removed tips to get even. I'd bet carnival remembers this too. 

 

Agree demand will drive capacity. 

[ray98]

Not a chance.  Fuel surcharges were from a time when cruises were in high demand and ships were always sailing full.  They could sell a cabin at market rate and still tack on surcharges on top of it.  This current environment has them giving cabins away to get passengers on the ship.  Tacking on a fuel surcharge would be in direct conflict with the current marketing practice.

[RWolver672]

13 hours ago, Aplmac said:

With the increasingly-weird state of the world over the last two years

I'm beginning to wonder if I've now done My Last Cruise Ever...

Will I ever cruise again??

 

Sadly, we are having the same feeling.

[Kevin308]

Fuel Surcharges should be against the law.

[Itried4498]

18 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I was around the last time carnival added fuel surcharges. One thing I remember is posters punished the crew and removed tips to get even. I'd bet carnival remembers this too. 

 

Agree demand will drive capacity. 

It isn’t over fuel surcharges.  I recall a recent thread on Reddit in which a Carnival corporate employee claimed that more than half of all passengers removed or adjusted their tips.  If you think about it, if the Vista Class ships sailed at 80% of their stated double capacity, and every passenger tipped the suggested gratuity, it would nearly DOUBLE the crews’ annual average wage (listed in its 2019 annual report).

 

We are simple people.  We decline housekeeping service, other than towels and trash every-other-day, eat most of our meals in the buffet and participate in few activities.  I’m not paying $60/day for a family of four in tips for this.  I tip the staff that directly impacts me, and lower the daily rate.  If the wages and hours the crew work bothers you (and they’re quite competitive for the countries the employees come from, nearly none of which tipping is customary), then you should restrict your cruising to the US-flagged Pride of America.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Itried4498

[eagletwo]

11 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

It isn’t over fuel surcharges.  I recall a recent thread on Reddit in which a Carnival corporate employee claimed that more than half of all passengers removed or adjusted their tips.  If you think about it, if the Vista Class ships sailed at 80% of their stated double capacity, and every passenger tipped the suggested gratuity, it would nearly DOUBLE the crews’ annual average wage (listed in its 2019 annual report).

 

We are simple people.  We decline housekeeping service, other than towels and trash every-other-day, eat most of our meals in the buffet and participate in few activities.  I’m not paying $60/day for a family of four in tips for this.  I tip the staff that directly impacts me, and lower the daily rate.  If the wages and hours the crew work bothers you (and they’re quite competitive for the countries the employees come from, nearly none of which tipping is customary), then you should restrict your cruising to the US-flagged Pride of America.

Tipping has been a hot topic on every cruise board. Unfortunately, you may never see the staff that helps make your vacation great. I hope you will do some research and reconsider your opinion. 

[chengkp75]

19 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

It isn’t over fuel surcharges.  I recall a recent thread on Reddit in which a Carnival corporate employee claimed that more than half of all passengers removed or adjusted their tips.  If you think about it, if the Vista Class ships sailed at 80% of their stated double capacity, and every passenger tipped the suggested gratuity, it would nearly DOUBLE the crews’ annual average wage (listed in its 2019 annual report).

Here's the flaw in your assessment.  That annual crew salary quoted in the annual report, includes the DSC (I refuse to call it gratuities, since that is not what they are).  While a typical cabin steward makes around $1400/month, of that, about $200-300 is wage, and the balance is DSC.  The minimum wage for a seafarer is $645/month, so unless the amount of removed DSC drops their compensation to below that minimum, the cruise line does not have to make up any balance.  And, while you are correct that the contracted wage for crew are very good in their home countries, that wage includes the DSC, and the minimum wage does not provide the "good income" that the crew signed up for.  And, as for "tipping not being customary" in most crews' home countries, the vast majority of crew come from India (10% tipping customary), Philippines (15=20% tipping customary), or Indonesia (tipping not customary, but a service charge is (sound like the cruise line's DSC?)).

 

And, as for the Pride of America, having worked on NCL's US flag ships, even there, the wages for most crew are minimum wage ($10.10 for Hawaii), and could do just as well flipping burgers at MickeyD's and not having to be away from home for 4 months, and sharing a tiny room with 3 strangers.

[KmomChicago]

On 3/5/2022 at 2:06 PM, Aplmac said:

With the increasingly-weird state of the world over the last two years

I'm beginning to wonder if I've now done My Last Cruise Ever...

Will I ever cruise again??

 

Right there with you. We have Vista already booked for April - DH has had his eye on that ship since its debut and he really wants to ride those sky bike things. LOL. And it worked out due to a work trip that we could do it, so we will do it. 

 

And we have Radiance booked already a few weeks after that for a shorty to try out Sunshine class and related to a family-based reason why we were going to make a visit to the west anyway. 

 

Those are already committed and mostly paid for so we will go and have a great time and deal with the whatevers that pop up. 

 

However I am getting kinda old now, mid-fifties and everything feels like more stress and hassle and less fun and the logistics are ever more challenging and expensive, plus my A-list bucket list is long since done so I don't feel I have left the major stones unturned. 

 

I used to enjoy the planning process and mulling over every detail but for both of these upcoming trips it's feeling a little exhausting to do so.  The desire to deal with it is dropping fast and maybe by this summer Kmom will be phasing way down on travel in general and cruises in particular. 

[mschancey]

Kinda old? Isn't that relative? Hope i'm cruising at 75.

[mschancey]

Might just pass on the waterslide.

[KmomChicago]

9 minutes ago, mschancey said:

Kinda old? Isn't that relative? Hope i'm cruising at 75.

It is absolutely relative. I’m feeling kinda old. I’ve had a great run. I’m just not finding the excitement and anticipation sufficient to overcome the complicated logistics anymore. YMMV. I have no doubt the world will continue cruising with or without me and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Edited March 7, 2022 by KmomChicago

[ontheweb]

57 minutes ago, mschancey said:

Kinda old? Isn't that relative? Hope i'm cruising at 75.

I'll be 76 when we embark on our next scheduled cruise.

[KmomChicago]

17 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I'll be 76 when we embark on our next scheduled cruise.

I’m not saying  any particular number is past travel age or when that point comes for anyone else. I’m saying I’m getting tired personally and this is coinciding with feeling older. It’s just about me, not you.
 

It’s also not just physical, it’s mental. It’s getting close to the equilibrium point of more stress than it’s worth - for me. More hassle to deal with than fun return. 

 

 I prioritized a ton of travel in my 20s and 30s so there’s also a bit of the novelty wearing off and leaving behind . . . What? Long drives? Crowded airports? Safety concerns? 
 

Please don’t take my personal issues or decisions as any kind of judgment or expectations of anyone else’s. Thirty years ago I’d have said I want to keep traveling forever but I’m just not enjoying it as much anymore. The sucky aspects used to be easily overcome by my rabid enthusiasm. Enthusiasm which has been waning and may not return. 
 

When you find yourself looking at your countdown calendar without the old joyful adrenaline rush and more of a sense of resignation (oh, that’s coming up, I’d better make sure we’ve taken care of every detail), it’s time to accept maybe a forthcoming life change. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by KmomChicago

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

However I am getting kinda old now, mid-fifties and everything feels like more stress and hassle and less fun and the logistics are ever more challenging and expensive, plus my A-list bucket list is long since done so I don't feel I have left the major stones unturned. 

 

 

I actually was 55 when we took our first cruise, which was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

 

I think I am somewhat apprehensive about our cruise next year, but it is more about the weariness from the whole Covid experience.  Also we have not cruised since 2018, though we did have a major land trip to Peru in 2019 as our last major travel vacation. We had a Norwegian fjords cruise booked for 2020 that of course never happened. And we did some minor traveling last summer.

[cruisingguy007]

6 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

It is absolutely relative. I’m feeling kinda old. I’ve had a great run. I’m just not finding the excitement and anticipation sufficient to overcome the complicated logistics anymore. YMMV. I have no doubt the world will continue cruising with or without me and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

 

You can also change the way you travel. Think of it more like Vegas, don't plan too much and just go with the flow. People have all these plans and only get to half of it anyway and spend too much time running around on a scheduled checklist. That's not vacation. I try to have some ideas/options but don't really like to make a bunch of plans. I try to stick to doing whatever I feel like in the moment. If that means sitting around all day, that's fine too. I don't even like booking excursions ahead of time since I may not feel like getting off the boat that day and won't know until the time comes. People underestimate the joy of simply doing absolutely nothing, or the freedom in doing whatever you feel like, in the moment. It's great and makes a vacation feel like a vacation, no schedules, checklists or watches needed.  

[KmomChicago]

2 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

You can also change the way you travel. Think of it more like Vegas, don't plan too much and just go with the flow. People have all these plans and only get to half of it anyway and spend too much time running around on a scheduled checklist. That's not vacation. I try to have some ideas/options but don't really like to make a bunch of plans. I try to stick to doing whatever I feel like in the moment. If that means sitting around all day, that's fine too. I don't even like booking excursions ahead of time since I may not feel like getting off the boat that day and won't know until the time comes. People underestimate the joy of simply doing absolutely nothing, or the freedom in doing whatever you feel like, in the moment. It's great and makes a vacation feel like a vacation, no schedules, checklists or watches needed.  

 

As it happens, I am going to Vegas in a few weeks with my teen and teen's friend for a week and we have only 2 shows and 1 exhibit pre-planned. I intend to visit the resort pool daily. Teens are super lazy so we may do very little otherwise.  The two shows are semi-bucket listers for me (Penn and Teller and Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love).  I totally get what you are saying though about going with the flow, but the thing is, I can do that at home, i.e. staycation. 

 

DH and I have excursions booked for 2 of our 3 Vista days, but that is specifically because we are thinking what-if-we-are-getting-near-the-end so we want to hit one more Mayan ruins site (Lamanai in Belize) and he has always wanted to ride a wave runner / jet ski and never has (Cozumel).  I will try to chillax though as well.

[cruisingguy007]

23 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

As it happens, I am going to Vegas in a few weeks with my teen and teen's friend for a week and we have only 2 shows and 1 exhibit pre-planned. I intend to visit the resort pool daily. Teens are super lazy so we may do very little otherwise.  The two shows are semi-bucket listers for me (Penn and Teller and Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love).  I totally get what you are saying though about going with the flow, but the thing is, I can do that at home, i.e. staycation. 

 

DH and I have excursions booked for 2 of our 3 Vista days, but that is specifically because we are thinking what-if-we-are-getting-near-the-end so we want to hit one more Mayan ruins site (Lamanai in Belize) and he has always wanted to ride a wave runner / jet ski and never has (Cozumel).  I will try to chillax though as well.

 

I'd recommend him checking to be sure the one he rents has a ladder on the back. I found out the hard way that I'm just not in the shape that I thought I was anymore and age has taken its toll when I was hot dogging on a jet ski in San Diego harbor and went into the drink just past the Coronado bridge, took all of my strength to pull myself back on lol. A coast guard cutter happened to be in the area and I could see one of them on deck with binoculars watching my frustration and comedic attempts to get back up. I finally did after a few tries and now, only rent jet-skis with a ladder on the back. 😁 

 

Jet skiing is Mexico is one of my favorite travel memories. They would bring them right up to the beach at the resort we were at (Grand Mayan I believe) and it is so nice. Great prices too, compared to the US. Hope you two have a great cruise!    

[WKUTopperFan]

17 hours ago, eagletwo said:

Tipping has been a hot topic on every cruise board. Unfortunately, you may never see the staff that helps make your vacation great. I hope you will do some research and reconsider your opinion. 

Tip until it hurts... those working primarily for tips appreciate it. On a cruise ship the staff deserves to be rewarded for taking care of you. Daily gratuities are the least anyone can do.

[cruisingguy007]

17 hours ago, eagletwo said:

Tipping has been a hot topic on every cruise board. Unfortunately, you may never see the staff that helps make your vacation great. I hope you will do some research and reconsider your opinion. 

 

Very well said. A lot of people help indirectly, the small army doing dishes, washing linens, plating food, preparing food, cleaning ice machines, cleaning at night etc etc etc etc. Only tipping the person you interact with and removing autograts leaves these folks behind.   

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

I'd recommend him checking to be sure the one he rents has a ladder on the back. I found out the hard way that I'm just not in the shape that I thought I was anymore and age has taken its toll when I was hot dogging on a jet ski in San Diego harbor and went into the drink just past the Coronado bridge, took all of my strength to pull myself back on lol. A coast guard cutter happened to be in the area and I could see one of them on deck with binoculars watching my frustration and comedic attempts to get back up. I finally did after a few tries and now, only rent jet-skis with a ladder on the back. 😁 

 

Jet skiing is Mexico is one of my favorite travel memories. They would bring them right up to the beach at the resort we were at (Grand Mayan I believe) and it is so nice. Great prices too, compared to the US. Hope you two have a great cruise!    

The excursion is through Carnival - how would we ensure we get a machine with a ladder?

[cruisingguy007]

21 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

The excursion is through Carnival - how would we ensure we get a machine with a ladder?

 

If it's with Carnival it probably does. You just need to look on the back to see if there is one. Most rental outfits will have them, they don't want to get a call to have to come tow you back in. After a few of those calls, they will put them in lol. 

[mschancey]

Looks more likely a fuel surcharge could be levied, but most likely capped at $10 day per person. Was $9 last time it was charged.