Here Come The Fuel Surcharges!
It was only a matter of time before the fuel crisis hit cruise ships. It has recently been announced that because of the sharp increase in the price of fuel several cruise lines will be implementing a fuel surcharge on all passengers cruising the seven seas.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Any bookings on the NCL line made after the 1st of December this year will be charged a fee of $7.00 per day each, for the first two passengers in a stateroom, and a further $3.00 each for any additional passengers thereafter. The CEO of Norwegian Cruise Lines declared that with the prohibitive cost of fuel, this surcharge is a necessity.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Following suit close behind NCL is Royal Caribbean who announced that it too will begin adding a fuel surcharge to just the first two passengers sharing a stateroom. It will be a fee of $5.00 per day, per passenger, and it has promised not to go above $70 for each passenger on a voyage. The new fuel surcharge is set to go into effect for those cruises that will depart on or after February 1st, 2008. Also included will be Azamara Cruises along with Celebrity Cruises.
What it Means to Cruisers
Though Royal Caribbean is claiming that the fuel charge is only temporary, it seems unlikely that the practice will not continue over the distant future as fuel prices are not expected to drop any time soon. It may also be adjusted depending upon the oil situation, but that too seems unlikely. It is hard to believe that once a charge is added, it will ever be dropped. Toll booths at bridges and highways were supposed to only be temporary too. Tolls were meant to pay for the construction of the highways and byways and then were then to be discontinued. There is no evidence that any bridge or highway ever halted the paying of tolls after the bill for construction was paid.
Filed under: Industry News
