Fuel Charges

[Breshiki]

I'm going on a Ccruise on Feb 25 (Voyeger of the Seas) and I wanted to know when & how I'm suppose to pay for RCCL fuel supplement charge/fee???

I know they only charge it if the barrel price is $65 or higher and it's $10 per day, per person. But when am I going to be billed & expected to pay for the fuel (assuming it gets charged)??

Any insight is MUCH appreciated! I found a website that lists the current fuel prices and I'm 99.9% sure we're goning to be charged. I tried to look for the answer on older threads but never found it.

[ruthlessboss]

To my knowledge, no one has charged yet. I'm sure they aren't sucking up the revenue loss, but likely cutting back on ammenities and menu to offset. The cruiselines know there will be a decrease in bookings and cancellations if this is to be extra fees out of our pockets. Our contracts include this charge, if needed.

[Breshiki]

Really?! Than am I looking at this wrong?

RC website: "...right to impose a fuel supplement on all guests if the price of West Texas Intermediate fuel exceeds $65.00 USD per barrel...."

I looked up the West Texas Intermediate fuel and it says it's $90 per barrel:

Crude Oil (petroleum); West Texas Intermediate - Daily Price - Commodity Prices - Price Charts, Data, and News - IndexMundi

[Mike M]

Originally Posted by Breshiki

Really?! Than am I looking at this wrong?

RC website: "...right to impose a fuel supplement on all guests if the price of West Texas Intermediate fuel exceeds $65.00 USD per barrel...."

I looked up the West Texas Intermediate fuel and it says it's $90 per barrel:

Crude Oil (petroleum); West Texas Intermediate - Daily Price - Commodity Prices - Price Charts, Data, and News - IndexMundi

The keyword in the announcement is: "Right". They "can" impose it if they choose to do so. At this time Royal Caribbean or any other major line has not implemented the fuel surcharge. They did impose the fuel charge, for a few months, a couple of years ago and it was a bit of PR debacle.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Take care,
Mike

[felix_the_cat]

It is highly unlikely they will add the fuel surcharge. They know it bit them in the butt last time. However there are many other ways they are actually adding it without anyone knowing it. They have raised the prices on a lot of the extra charges, the NCF's have gone up (that part doesn't effect the cruisers only the TA's).

With the new/old economic woes there would be cancellations galore if they added it again at this time. It would/could be the straw that breaks the camels back at this point for a lot of people so their preference is to hide it.

[Breshiki]

Hmmm, ok! Well that's good news for me then! XD I guess I'll just have to keep it in the back of my head just in case (i usally get stuck with paying all the "just in case" anyway.)

Thank you very much for helping me!

[blueliner]

Originally Posted by Breshiki

I'm going on a Ccruise on Feb 25 (Voyeger of the Seas) and I wanted to know when & how I'm suppose to pay for RCCL fuel supplement charge/fee???

I know they only charge it if the barrel price is $65 or higher and it's $10 per day, per person. But when am I going to be billed & expected to pay for the fuel (assuming it gets charged)??

Any insight is MUCH appreciated! I found a website that lists the current fuel prices and I'm 99.9% sure we're goning to be charged. I tried to look for the answer on older threads but never found it.

I don't think Royal will implement the fuel charge. They add that clause to the cruise to contract to cover themselves so that they can implement the charge if they need to, but so far they have not.

Last time they did it, they got slapped by a few State's Attorney's Generals, like Florida, and it was a PR debacle for them. That is why it is in the cruise contract now.

IF Royal did decide to implement the fuel surcharge.....and that is a BIG IF, they would add it on to your final payment due. They would not bill you seperately. You would get a notice from the cruiseline first however.

[felix_the_cat]

The contract is written though that they can add it after final payment and they will add it to your on-board account.

[fun2cruiz]

Plan for the worst case scenario and hope for the best !
I do not think you will see the fuel supplement added, but be prepared !

[Breshiki]

Thanks everyone! I'll plan on it and if i don't have to pay it, well then I have $140 to go shopping with!

[jmel21]

When they imposed that charge a few years ago not only were bookings down, but fares and the stock price was slumping. This year bookings and prices are going up and up...at least for cruises in North America. Only about 30% of Americans have a passport. Close Loop cruises within North America are the ONLY way for 70% of Americans to travel outside the US. You can sail on a 7 day Caribbean cruise with a birth certificate and state ID but you can not drive in to Canada or Mexico for the day. As long as the Closed Loop Loophole remains open, cruiselines will do well in the Caribbean.
So I agree that they will offset costs with amenities or nickle and dime you onboard. Three years ago that wasn't possible for them.

[Kamloops Cruiser]

Most cruise lines seem to have buried the fuel charge in the basic fare.

[johnthed0g]

Just forget about & hope it doesn't happen, can't do anything about it, never paid one yet.