​⛽​ RCI No fuel surcharges? Is it true? ​⛽​

[livingonthebeach]

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-fuel-surcharges-oil-spike/

 

Can't vouch for the accuracy of this article, but if true, it's a good thing. 

 

"We won’t be imposing fuel surcharges,” Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson Jonathon Fishman told TPG on Friday in an emailed response to questions about the topic, offering about as definitive a statement as can be. He said the company would be putting out an official statement on the topic later in the day."

 

[yogimax]

19 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-fuel-surcharges-oil-spike/

 

Can't vouch for the accuracy of this article, but if true, it's a good thing. 

 

"We won’t be imposing fuel surcharges,” Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson Jonathon Fishman told TPG on Friday in an emailed response to questions about the topic, offering about as definitive a statement as can be. He said the company would be putting out an official statement on the topic later in the day."

 

Why add a fuel surcharge (with bad PR) when all you have to do is quietly raise prices

[novicetraveller]

5 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Why add a fuel surcharge (with bad PR) when all you have to do is quietly raise prices

Because raising prices (quietly or loudly) would be equally bad PR.

[yogimax]

2 minutes ago, novicetraveller said:

Because raising prices (quietly or loudly) would be equally bad PR.

Most people will not notice a 5% price rise but label it as "Fuel Surcharge" and everyone notices.

[binro01]

5 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Most people will not notice a 5% price rise but label it as "Fuel Surcharge" and everyone notices.

Truth!

[smokeybandit]

I'd trade a surcharge for eliminating pre-cruise testing.

Edited March 11, 2022 by smokeybandit

[novicetraveller]

12 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Most people will not notice a 5% price rise but label it as "Fuel Surcharge" and everyone notices.

From what I recall from an article I read.... the most RCI would charge for a Fuel Surcharge is $90 on all bookings (new and existing). The 5% increase, albeit about $10+ more than the $90 Fuel Surcharge, would be more noticeable to my booking. However, if a surcharge were added, it wouldn't affect my plans to go on a cruise... just means 1 less visit to the casino.

[Oceansaway17]

30 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Why add a fuel surcharge (with bad PR) when all you have to do is quietly raise prices

that is right.  RCI does have creative accounting and fluctuations all the time.  No need to call out the words SURCHARGE.  

[Oceansaway17]

14 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd trade a surcharge for eliminating pre-cruise testing.

YES PLEASE.  and ASAP.

great minds think alike.

 

[time4u2go]

30 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Most people will not notice a 5% price rise but label it as "Fuel Surcharge" and everyone notices.

Exactly!

[Lane Hog]

Cruise lines, shipping, airlines, etc. usually have less of a problem riding out fuel price spikes because of the volumes they purchase in advance as well as financial tactics like options and hedges.

 

A short term run-up like we're seeing right now won't start to be felt for six months if at all, so no, I wouldn't expect surcharges to start appearing just yet.

Where they might start to feel it is in supply costs.  All that food has to be trucked from somewhere, and trucking companies don't necessarily hedge to the same degree because the delivery points of their fuel varies so much.  Modifying the menu is an easier fix for managing higher food prices.

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, yogimax said:

Why add a fuel surcharge (with bad PR) when all you have to do is quietly raise prices

Because, as has been reported here on CC, a fuel surcharge can be added retroactively for all previous bookings.  A price rise would only affect future bookings.

[twangster]

Royal buys their fuel in bulk contracts at fixed prices for a specific period of time.  Right now they haven’t incurred a price increase.  That could change depending how long this goes on.  

[grandgeezer]

15 minutes ago, Lane Hog said:

Cruise lines, shipping, airlines, etc. usually have less of a problem riding out fuel price spikes because of the volumes they purchase in advance as well as financial tactics like options and hedges.

 

A short term run-up like we're seeing right now won't start to be felt for six months if at all, so no, I wouldn't expect surcharges to start appearing just yet.

Where they might start to feel it is in supply costs.  All that food has to be trucked from somewhere, and trucking companies don't necessarily hedge to the same degree because the delivery points of their fuel varies so much.  Modifying the menu is an easier fix for managing higher food prices.

With the massive debt they have incurred, they would be idiots not to impose it now. It would help get them out of debt and return to profitability sooner. A bunch of other industries are raising prices, why not the cruise lines?.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-fuel-surcharges-oil-spike/

 

Can't vouch for the accuracy of this article, but if true, it's a good thing. 

 

"We won’t be imposing fuel surcharges,” Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson Jonathon Fishman told TPG on Friday in an emailed response to questions about the topic, offering about as definitive a statement as can be. He said the company would be putting out an official statement on the topic later in the day."

 

Maybe not today, but on Monday…. RCI hedges their fuel purchases, so the increased oil costs won’t be an immediate impact. But they should impose a surcharge in anticipation of costs >>> than the surcharge in the future. 

[xxHadleyxx]

4 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

With the massive debt they have incurred, they would be idiots not to impose it now. It would help get them out of debt and return to profitability sooner. A bunch of other industries are raising prices, why not the cruise lines?.

I think they'd be idiots to add it right now if they got contracts that protect their fuel costs; too many people would cancel...which they can easily do under cruise with confidence, they're better to leave people's already bought sailings alone and not alienate the customers they're just getting back.   

[soccer2010]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd trade a surcharge for eliminating pre-cruise testing.

Well I'm glad you don't rule the world or the seas

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, xxHadleyxx said:

I think they'd be idiots to add it right now if they got contracts that protect their fuel costs; too many people would cancel...which they can easily do under cruise with confidence, they're better to leave people's already bought sailings alone and not alienate the customers they're just getting back.   

They only have half of fuel under contract. They accumulated about $5 billion in debt, how do you propose they pay that back? They could just raise the price and not mention it’s to offset the fuel cost. It appears they are not getting to the passenger levels they expected now. I find it hard to believe that they would lose a bunch of cruisers over $70 per week. 

[SRF]

How do you know they have only half their fuel under contract or options?

 

Most likely the fuel they are burning now is at a price from a year or more ago.   In a year or so from now, there may be fuel surcharges on cruises already, for later cruises.

 

But cruises being purchased now or soon for later, may be seeing slightly higher prices.  But hard to see that as the cruise pricing is so dynamic anyway.

[Biker19]

32 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

How do you know they have only half their fuel under contract or options?

 

RCCL declares some of that in their SEC filings. 

[livingonthebeach]

Was reading my edocs for an upcoming cruise and noticed the following:
 

"Operator reserves the right to impose a supplemental charge relating to unanticipated occurrences including, but not limited to, increases in the price of fuel. Any such supplement charges may apply, at Operator’s sole discretion, to both existing and new bookings (regardless of whether such bookings have been paid in full). Such supplements are not included in the Cruise or CruiseTour Fare."

 

I wonder why they don't state a price like NCL and Carnival, so we get a general idea of how much it could be. 

 

Carnival:

Carnival reserves the right to charge a fuel supplement of up to $9.00 USD, or its equivalent in foreign currency, per person per day, without prior notice, in the event that the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) is greater than $70.00 USD per barrel of oil.

 

NCL:

Norwegian Cruise Line reserves the right to charge a fuel supplement without prior notice should the closing price of West Texas Intermediate Fuel increase above $65 per barrel on the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index). In the event a fuel supplement is charged, Norwegian Cruise Line will have sole discretion to apply the supplementary charge to both existing and new bookings, regardless of whether such bookings have been paid in full. Such supplementary charges are not included in the cruise fare. The fuel supplement charge will not exceed $10.00 per passenger per day.

 

 

[orville99]

17 hours ago, twangster said:

Royal buys their fuel in bulk contracts at fixed prices for a specific period of time.  Right now they haven’t incurred a price increase.  That could change depending how long this goes on.  

 

17 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Maybe not today, but on Monday…. RCI hedges their fuel purchases, so the increased oil costs won’t be an immediate impact. But they should impose a surcharge in anticipation of costs >>> than the surcharge in the future. 

 

15 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

They only have half of fuel under contract. They accumulated about $5 billion in debt, how do you propose they pay that back? They could just raise the price and not mention it’s to offset the fuel cost. It appears they are not getting to the passenger levels they expected now. I find it hard to believe that they would lose a bunch of cruisers over $70 per week. 

 

1 hour ago, SRF said:

How do you know they have only half their fuel under contract or options?

 

Most likely the fuel they are burning now is at a price from a year or more ago.   In a year or so from now, there may be fuel surcharges on cruises already, for later cruises.

 

But cruises being purchased now or soon for later, may be seeing slightly higher prices.  But hard to see that as the cruise pricing is so dynamic anyway.

CNBC reported on Friday that RCL is the most heavily hedged for fuel costs of the major cruise lines, so they would most likely not be the first to impose a surcharge (if they did it at all)

[smokeybandit]

Based on Carnival and NCL's policy, they could have added a surcharge for the last several months

[livingonthebeach]

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Based on Carnival and NCL's policy, they could have added a surcharge for the last several months

 

True - and the fact that they didn't leads one to believe the demand is still not likely at the level they would like to see it at. 

[topnole]

17 hours ago, xxHadleyxx said:

I think they'd be idiots to add it right now if they got contracts that protect their fuel costs; too many people would cancel...which they can easily do under cruise with confidence, they're better to leave people's already bought sailings alone and not alienate the customers they're just getting back.   

And here in lies the issue.  They are idiots now matter what they do.  😂😂