Fuel Surcharge Illegal?

[jessemon]

There is absolutely no doubt that ALL the cruise lines....not just Carnival....made a huge error in setting in place a fuel "surcharge"!!!

 

I am not sure why they did it this way....maybe to make us and the various governmental agencies believe that the surcharge is "temporary". Of course if you believe that....then the "tooth fairy" will visit you tonight!

 

If they had simply said, "Sorry folks, we've been hoping fuel prices might come down before our long-term deals on fuel ran out, but that hasn't happened and we have to up our fares to cover the cost of fuel to power our ships." Everyone wuld have said..."we don't like it...but hey we understand...it's costing up more to run our cars too!!"

 

If you are so fundamentally opposed to the fuel surcharge....then don't cruise. It will serve the industry right for doing such a terible job of explainiung why they have to charge more for a cruise. But if your not....then shut up and take the cruise!!

 

It is really too bad that something so straight forward can still generate nine pages of really nasty personal attacks among people on a cruise board!

I agree....Don't give up the $5.00 a day. I think anyone that has a problem with this should stay at home. Cancel the cruise and watch the travel channel on their TV so they can see what they are missing over $5.00 a day.....

And boy, are some of them nasty........:rolleyes:

[VentureMan_2000]

There is absolutely no doubt that ALL the cruise lines....not just Carnival....made a huge error in setting in place a fuel "surcharge"!!!

 

 

 

 

We can hear your whining 3000 miles in any direction... loud and clear...!

[jessemon]

If you or anyone else believe my actions violate the CC Terms & Conditions, please use the "Report Post" icon in the upper right corner

of the post. Threatening to "report me" is otherwise a hollow statement.

You might try reading the community guidelines...;)

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

 

If you are so fundamentally opposed to the fuel surcharge....then don't cruise. It will serve the industry right for doing such a terible job of explainiung why they have to charge more for a cruise. But if your not....then shut up and take the cruise!!

 

!

 

How can people break even on cruises they already booked? Why should they lose money if they want to cancel because they do not want to pay the surcharge after they booked and paid in full.

Airfare and insurance costs are not refundable(unless you paid big$$ on the air tickets for refundable tickets)

[richfret]

OK, let's stop all this bickering, snide remarks and accusations and go back to your neutral corners. We're all cruisers! Right? We all enjoy cruising! Right? Now take a breath and relax!

 

Was Carnival right in applying the surcharge? Maybe! Might a suit be in order? Maybe! Is the oil increase the cause of this problem? Absolutely!

So there you have it.

 

Now stop all the name calling, shake hands and let's get on with other cruise chatter! Relax and be happy!

[salty dingo]

I think the surcharge is fine, but really, it should be applied only to new bookings, and not retroactively. NCL gave everyone a month or two advance warning and started charging it as of a certain date. That's fair. Don't like the surcharge? Don't cruise!

 

For Carnival, if they imposed it and waived all applicable cancellation penalties, that would be more fair. Of course, many people would have non-refundable airfare or have vacation reserved, so they could not easily back out.

 

My attitude would be to just pay the surcharge and if the money is a big deal, just cut back on the excursions or drinks. Heck, two drinks a day at the bar would cover the surcharge.

[Cuizer2]

I think the surcharge is fine, but really, it should be applied only to new bookings, and not retroactively. NCL gave everyone a month or two advance warning and started charging it as of a certain date. That's fair. Don't like the surcharge? Don't cruise!

 

For Carnival, if they imposed it and waived all applicable cancellation penalties, that would be more fair. Of course, many people would have non-refundable airfare or have vacation reserved, so they could not easily back out.

Carnival didn't need to waive any cancellation penalties. The retro active fuel charges did not begin until far enough out that anyone could have canceled without penalty. As for airfare, I would not purchase non-refundable airfare before the penalty period starts, and I don't. I have purchased refundable airfare 11 months in advance, but I wait until about 60 days out if I am buying non-refundable tickets.

[VentureMan_2000]

The fuel charges are only for cruises leaving after January 31.

 

Carnival has stated very clearly in their Catelogs and Brochures since 2003 that they may add fuel charges at any time.

 

In the my Carnival cruise vacation catalog from December 2003, it says, "Fully paid guests are protected against price increases, except for fuel surcharges, government taxes, other surcharges"... etc.

 

So, clearly, the possibility of fuel surcharges has been in effect for over 4 years now. :eek:

 

So folks thinking that Carnival was being sneaky by adding this $5/day, per person, surcharge are so full of it.

 

What... you don't think that 4 years is enough advance notice...? :rolleyes:

[AZCRUISER14]

Just don't tip.... just that SIMPLE!!!!

[dan40]

Just don't tip.... just that SIMPLE!!!!

 

 

The tip troll crawls out from under its rock.

 

Dan

[VentureMan_2000]

Here's the skinny on the TIP Troll...

 

He and his group unwittingly used a TA that required a non-cancelable, non-refundable depost of $2000 for each person or cabin in their group of 36 for their TransAlantic Carnival cruise. Then Carnival added the surcharge affecting cruises beginning Feb 1 and out. Since this cruise leaves April 26th, the group is stuck with the Fuel charges of $70 each.

And it sounds like there will be surcharges for the Hotel as well.

 

The short of it is, that these folks may have screwed themselves by dealing with a TA that doesn't not allow them to cancel without a huge penalty...

 

So they are going to take it out on the Crew of Carnival to make up for their own bad booking that they can not get out of, by stiffing the Carnival Crew on the TIPs.

 

All because they didn't bother reading Carnival's policies before booking... you know, the policy that has been around for over 4 years stating that Fuel charges may be added at any time and are not price-protected by paying in full.

 

And this Troll is so whimpy that he actually started a CC User ID just to whine about his bad judgement. I bet the Troll has another name in CC that they're chicken to use.

 

Troll may be too nice a word.

[sweetsixteencruisers]

Just don't tip.... just that SIMPLE!!!!

 

That's ridiculous!! What does the crew have to do with a fuel charge?

 

~sweet~

[J1mShorts]

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but here goes.

While I do not agree with the "no tipping" group, we have to get something straight. Tips are for EXCEPTIONAL service and not an extra payment to get someone to do their job properly. They are already getting paid to do their jobs properly-it's called salary and the terms of the compensation are spelled out in their contract. The tips are for going above and beyond.

[J1mShorts]

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but here goes.

While I do not agree with the "no tipping" group, we have to get something straight. Tips are for EXCEPTIONAL service and not an extra payment to get someone to do their job properly. They are already getting paid to do their jobs properly-it's called salary and the terms of the compensation are spelled out in their contract. The tips are for going above and beyond.

[iluvindia]

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but here goes.

While I do not agree with the "no tipping" group, we have to get something straight. Tips are for EXCEPTIONAL service and not an extra payment to get someone to do their job properly. They are already getting paid to do their jobs properly-it's called salary and the terms of the compensation are spelled out in their contract. The tips are for going above and beyond.

 

you bet your a$$ you will get flamed for posting such a dumb remark-especially since it is evident you do not know what you speak of. jmho

 

 

 

i

[J1mShorts]

How dumb is that? That's how business operates.

[big_duck]

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but here goes.

While I do not agree with the "no tipping" group, we have to get something straight. Tips are for EXCEPTIONAL service and not an extra payment to get someone to do their job properly. They are already getting paid to do their jobs properly-it's called salary and the terms of the compensation are spelled out in their contract. The tips are for going above and beyond.

 

No where in any dictionary on the planet or tips defined as being for exceptional service.

 

The exceptional part is the shield of the cheapskate used to have any minor slight used as an excuse not to tip at all.

[J1mShorts]

So you're going to tell me that the server that makes errors on food orders and has an aloof attitude should be tipped the same as the server that addresses everyone by name, remembers their "favorites", and takes extra care to make sure the cuts of meat ordered are cooked properly?

And BTW, this happened on my last B2B Imagination cruises in the same dining room, two diffferent serving teams. One team was awful and the other was extraordinary.

 

I stand corrected...from Wordnet

Gratuity: a small sum of money given as a reward for good service

[AuntieBon]

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but here goes.

While I do not agree with the "no tipping" group, we have to get something straight. Tips are for EXCEPTIONAL service and not an extra payment to get someone to do their job properly. They are already getting paid to do their jobs properly-it's called salary and the terms of the compensation are spelled out in their contract. The tips are for going above and beyond.

 

The wage that the cruise workers make, albeit great compared to their home economy, are not that much and they depend on their tips to supplement whatever funds they get from the cruiselines.

 

You're taking your feelings about the fuel surcharge out on the wrong people. Vent all you want to the bean counters or show your disgust by walking away and taking your money with you.

[Cuizer2]

So you're going to tell me that the server that makes errors on food orders and has an aloof attitude should be tipped the same as the server that addresses everyone by name, remembers their "favorites", and takes extra care to make sure the cuts of meat ordered are cooked properly?

And BTW, this happened on my last B2B Imagination cruises in the same dining room, two diffferent serving teams. One team was awful and the other was extraordinary.

 

I stand corrected...from Wordnet

Gratuity: a small sum of money given as a reward for good service

I was going to comment, but the more I thought about it the more I realized this is a thread about the fuel supplement, not tipping.

[J1mShorts]

People do not read very well. I stated that I do NOT agree with the "no tipping" group. I will not reduce or deny gratuities because of the fuel surcharge. However, I do think that in time we will be nickel and dimed on various fees to make it look like the cruise fare itself is low (someone mentioned that earlier in posting). The vast majority of cruise line workers are dynamite and I love cruising (as indicated by my signature) because of the wonderful service.

[Cuizer2]

People do not read very well. I stated that I do NOT agree with the "no tipping" group. I will not reduce or deny gratuities because of the fuel surcharge. However, I do think that in time we will be nickel and dimed on various fees to make it look like the cruise fare itself is low (someone mentioned that earlier in posting). The vast majority of cruise line workers are dynamite and I love cruising (as indicated by my signature) because of the wonderful service.

Nice save. Now can we get back to the subject of the thread?

[abitaturbodog]

The key to the 1997 decision against the cruise companies is this line:

 

"Under the agreements, the cruise lines can no longer charge customers any fees in addition to the advertised initial ticket price except those fees actually passed on by the company to a governmental agency."

Since the fuel surcharge is not being passed on to a governmental agency it is most likely illegal.

 

It doesn't matter if Carnival's contract allows for the addition of a fuel surcharge. If it's illegal in the state of Florida, then Carnival's contract is moot and they can not charge a fuel surcharge and keep the money.

 

As a personal note, this is not going to keep my family from cruising (or tipping!) I just thought that the original article and AG agreement was newsworthy and I wanted to share it with my CC friends. Let's try to be nice to each other...:)

[VentureMan_2000]

The key to the 1997 decision against the cruise companies is this line:

 

"Under the agreements, the cruise lines can no longer charge customers any fees in addition to the advertised initial ticket price except those fees actually passed on by the company to a governmental agency."

 

 

Since the fuel surcharge is not being passed on to a governmental agency it is most likely illegal.

 

 

 

I think you are missing that the surcharge is not a fee... it's a surcharge. Looks like the cruiselines have this covered.

 

Just because this is the first time they are invoking their right to charge the fuel surcharge doesn't make it illegal. While I only have Carnival brochures dating back to 1993... I bet the fuel surcharge language has been in effect in the contract and brochures since 1997.

[big_duck]

I think you are missing that the surcharge is not a fee... it's a surcharge. Looks like the cruiselines have this covered.

 

Just because this is the first time they are invoking their right to charge the fuel surcharge doesn't make it illegal. While I only have Carnival brochures dating back to 1993... I bet the fuel surcharge language has been in effect in the contract and brochures since 1997.

 

Even that is irrelevant. The Fl case dealt specifically with charging more for PORT FEES then their actual cost.

 

" Butterworth accused the lines of charging consumers more for so-called "port charges" than necessary to cover actual dockage costs and keeping the difference. Port charges as defined by the cruise lines can equal nearly 30 percent of the price of the cruise itself."

 

That is the entire scope of the settlement.