Great news, but what about cruises you have already paid for and have not yet taken. Are they going to refund the fuel surcharges for these trips?

Posted By Mary Ardner on October 30, 2008, 11:04 PM

Yes, that is what they are saying for 2009 cruises. They have defined criteria tied to the number of days prior to your cruise and if oil is under a certain price per barrel ($65 for RCCL).
They may refund it as an onboard credit on some cruise lines. Not sure if anyone is giving actual cash back.

Posted By Mary on November 9, 2008, 11:10 PM

I booked and paid for a cruise in Aug. for the end of November. Oil has been under $70 dollars a barrel now for close to a month, in fact it is under $57 today.How can they justify this charge when I leave in a couple of weeks from now if oil stays at the price we have today. Did they buy the fuel three months in advance? I work at a petro refinery and that seems a bit irregular.It is just another excuse to pick the pockets of the passengers. The NCL cruise ,whom I am booked with also surcharges mandatory tipping per person for services they have not rendered. What is next surcharge for the air you might breath.

Posted By Kenneth Pallister on November 12, 2008, 4:32 PM

Our cruise is 11/30/2008 does this apply?

I asked my travel agent and she said
they will not refund - they add to the
taxes.

Posted By hedy ziontz on November 12, 2008, 4:50 PM

I am booked on a Carnival cruise mid-Dec. The policy of Carnival is that they will refund that fuel charge if the price of oil stays below $70 for 25 business days before your cruise (ending 5 days before date of embarkation) i.e. 30 days... On Nov. 4, the price went to 70.53. Every other day it has been below 70...and recently, below 60. however, that ONE DAy hit us within our 30 day window. I ahve contacted Carnival repeatedly to inquire as to how they think this policy will be fair. Many on the Carnival website feel that it should be based on a 30 day AVERAGE. I haven't heard from them...I guess their e-mail must be down. ha!!!

Posted By Amy on November 21, 2008, 7:11 PM

let's see if cruise lines want to add fuel surcharge if everyone boycotts them.

Posted By emily on November 23, 2008, 7:29 AM

i do not fly, cruise or travel with any company that imposes a fuel surcharge. these people are in the travel industry and if they cant figure out the price without adding gas for their planes. boats or ferries ect. then they are idiots and i will not travel and give my hard earned money to idiots. i believe if enough people called these companys and told them they will not travel with them because of it then the prices will come down

Posted By michael mahoney on November 25, 2008, 6:25 PM

I have a cruise booked for 2/21/09, how will I know if Carnval cruise line will give me back a credit (onboard) for the fuel charges? My travel agent? or how?

Posted By hleder on November 28, 2008, 2:46 PM

I have 2 staterooms booked on Carnival cruise line departure date Dec 14 2008. Oil went below $62 per barrel in October, but a one day 'high' to $70.53 Nov 4th. I too have sent Carnival emails with no response from them. Some Customer Relations !!!! One can hope, that in order to keep their passengers loyal to Carnival, they will issue the onboard credit for the fuel charges. After all they will be getting this amount back when spent on the ship. Lets keep these cruise lines honest!!!

Posted By susan on December 7, 2008, 3:43 AM

I paid $154 fuel supplement at the time of booking in October 2008 for a 7-day December 2008 cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line. I checked NCL website and spoke with a customer service rep and his supervisor. They provided me a standard answer that all 2008 cruises will add fuel surcharge but 2009 cruises will not have. I asked them, first when did they purchase fuel for my particular cruise and at what price did they pay. They never provided me that information. I feel angry and ripped off and I demand a refund of fuel surcharge. What can I do next?

Posted By Larry on December 8, 2008, 10:47 PM

I have a 4 day cruise on Royal scheduled for departure on Jan 5, 2009.
I will be contacting my travel agent to see if I can get the $80 in fuel charges returned. I read on the RCC web site that cruises booked and paid for 2009 will get on-board credit if the cruise was booked before Nov 10,2008 and the price per barrel is below a specified amount...that part was a bit convoluted.
The trip I booked was pretty cheap anyway so I guess it won't kill me to have them deny the onboard credit but it's worth a try. If I get the credit, this will be the most inexpensive cruise I've ever taken!

Posted By Donna on December 18, 2008, 11:22 PM

I just spoke with a Royal Caribbean rep and was told that my onboard ship account would be credited for the fuel surcharges when we arrive at the port and check in.
I booked this cruise and got a $50 on board credit, a free upgrade to an oceanview and now another discount. $644.00 with airport transfers and $130 on board credit!

Posted By Donna on December 19, 2008, 11:24 AM

I cruised on Carnival 12/14/2008 but no onboard credit. I've requested a copy of the letter sent to the travel agents dated 10/10/2008 from the Director of Corporate Marketing. It states the oil prices below 70$ 25 days, 5 days prior to sailing procedure.

Posted By stephen on December 26, 2008, 4:56 PM

I cruised on Carnival Dec 13 2008, and did not receive onboard credits either. When I asked the customer service rep on the ship about the refund of the fuel surcharge, she said it will be automatically credited to my visa account. Oil price has been stayed well below $70 a barrel for more than 30 days prior to Dec 13. Now, they are saying no refund to those sailed before Dec 17, 2008. It is clear that Carnival has broken its written promise and lied to its customers.

We need to complain to Florida Attorney General's Office. Could someone post the complete writing by Carnival?

Posted By Pete on January 6, 2009, 4:23 AM

I ALSO SAILED DEC.13TH AND DID NOT GET AN ON BOARD SURCHARGE CREDIT AND I PAID FOR MY TRIP JUNE OR JULY FOR 2 PEOPLE. WE ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH CARNIVAL BARBARA AND ROLAND WE ARE 2 SRS. 70 AND 80 YEARS OLD I DONT KNOW WHAT THE CRUISE LINES IS TRYING TO DO TO THERE
CUSTOMERS? barbara and roland

Posted By BARBARA BOUYOURIS on January 8, 2009, 1:23 AM

Below is the link that provides the NYME daily price chart of light sweet crude oil. The oil price has been consistently below $70 since the first week of Nov. 2008. As the first step, one should write to grelations @ carnival.com to demand refund.

http://www.nymex.com/lsco_fut_condet.aspx?product=CL&month=Feb&cmonth=G&year=9&currPrev=P

Posted By Pete on January 10, 2009, 4:41 PM

overall what the consumer is paying today is about 25% less than last year (2008), thanks in part to the removal of fuel surcharges. Airlines still impose international surcharge although that may start to decline.

Posted By Sujan P (Australia) on February 6, 2009, 2:51 AM

Wow, I never knew that Cruise lines drop fuel surcharges (sort of). That's pretty interesting...

Posted By yachtcharter griechenland on April 10, 2009, 9:36 AM

That's great, I never thought about Cruise lines drop fuel surcharges like that before.

Posted By Yachtcharter Griechenland on June 11, 2009, 5:43 AM