Cruise Lines Hit Passengers with Fuel Surcharges
The Carnival Corporation dropped a bombshell on cruisers this morning, announcing that it would add a $5 per person per day fuel surcharge to their bills.
The fees, which are effective for all voyages departing on or after Feb. 1, 2008, will apply at six Carnival-owned lines: Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and The Yachts of Seabourn.
The fees will add up to $70 for a couple on a one-week cruise -- a significant amount for passengers sailing on cruises that cost as little $439 a person.
Carnival says the recent spike in fuel prices have dramatically impacted the company's operating costs, forcing the charge. The price it pays for fuel is up 50% in just the past seven months, it says.
"We are hopeful that fuel prices will someday return to a level that will enable us to eliminate this supplement," Micky Arison, the company's CEO, said in a statement. "Until then, we believe that guests sailing on our North American brands will understand the dilemma that soaring fuel prices have caused for our company."
Carnival already has implemented similar surcharges at its European brands. Earlier this week, Regent Seven Seas added a fuel surcharge, too, of $7.50 per person per day.
The Carnival Corporation dropped a bombshell on cruisers this morning, announcing that it would add a $5 per person per day fuel surcharge to their bills.
The fees, which are effective for all voyages departing on or after Feb. 1, 2008, will apply at six Carnival-owned lines: Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and The Yachts of Seabourn.
The fees will add up to $70 for a couple on a one-week cruise -- a significant amount for passengers sailing on cruises that cost as little $439 a person.
Carnival says the recent spike in fuel prices have dramatically impacted the company's operating costs, forcing the charge. The price it pays for fuel is up 50% in just the past seven months, it says.
"We are hopeful that fuel prices will someday return to a level that will enable us to eliminate this supplement," Micky Arison, the company's CEO, said in a statement. "Until then, we believe that guests sailing on our North American brands will understand the dilemma that soaring fuel prices have caused for our company."
Carnival already has implemented similar surcharges at its European brands. Earlier this week, Regent Seven Seas added a fuel surcharge, too, of $7.50 per person per day.
posted by The Cruise Cafe | 1:16 PM
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