Your Opinion on Fuel Supplement Charge

[pepelapew]

Now that gas prices are coming down don't you think the Fuel Supplement charges should be adjusted as well? I think the charges should be per cabin per day not per person per day. JMO.......

Debbie

[G'ma]

Now that gas prices are coming down don't you think the Fuel Supplement charges should be adjusted as well? I think the charges should be per cabin per day not per person per day. JMO.......

Debbie

 

They aren't going to adjust the surcharges until oil prices fall below 100.00 a barrel and stay there for several months.

 

The market is still volatile with prices fluctuating almost daily.

 

Their prices are as unstable as what we see at the pump.....

[DHADEN]

I think the "Cost of fuel per gallon/liter" is more important than the "cost of oil per barrel".

 

You need to understand that these ships use HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of gallons of fuel. When the price goes from $2 to $3, that's $100,000's more expense.

 

The fuel surcharge is simply an increase in the price of a cruise to cover the increase in their cost. If one cruiseline uses that instead of a higher price, then all the others have to do it that way to appear competitive.

 

Hope This Helps.

[cruisePRN]

I think the fuel surcharge is ridiculos. When a merchant pays more for his wares he raises the price of the product. RCL should adjust the cruise price to reflect their cost and their profit and knock it off with fuel surcharges.

[Host Kewlguy]

Now that gas prices are coming down don't you think the Fuel Supplement charges should be adjusted as well?

 

Don't hold your breath.

[FitzLA]

This has been discussed A LOT lately. Oil prices are still at record highs. 8 years ago, oil prices were $32 a barrel. I think they held off the fuel charges as long as they could. You are not going to see a drop in fuel charges for a long time to come. I am still paying $4.00 a gallon, and I would hardly call that "down". I can guarantee that after the election, prices will go right back up again. You may be seeing a SLIGHT difference at the pump, but RCI is not seeing much of a difference yet. And how upset do you think everyone would be if they lowered the prices and then they had to raise them again because the price of oil went up again. Moral of the story, the fuel charge will be around for some time to come. Better get use to it.

[realtreebar]

church it up all you want I think fuel surcharges are here to stay!:)

[mamaza]

I think the fuel surcharge is ridiculos. When a merchant pays more for his wares he raises the price of the product. RCL should adjust the cruise price to reflect their cost and their profit and knock it off with fuel surcharges.

disagree ...

 

for now. I think if the current fuel prices become the permanent norm, then you should and probably will see prices of bookings change to reflect that. Until then, this allows the companies to made adjustments, up or down, as the market adjusts.

[pcur]

church it up all you want I think fuel surcharges are here to stay!:)

 

If the oil prices go down they will roll the surcharges back. They did it the last time. I agree with G'ma: the price has to be lower and more stable before they will eliminate the fuel surcharge.

 

I consider it a necessary evil of doing business, and it doesn't really mater if it's a surcharge or not. It IS included in the price of the cruise. My peeve is I wish they would include the taxes, fees, and surcharge in the posted price in their advertising.

[Brad1185]

The fuel surcharge will never be lowered. Its here to stay. They are too used to the extra income. NCL said that fuel would have to go to $50 a barrel before they would relook at it.

 

So if your waiting for the surcharge to go down, dont hold your breath, it could be very bad for your health.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

The fuel surcharge will never be lowered. Its here to stay. They are too used to the extra income. NCL said that fuel would have to go to $50 a barrel before they would relook at it.

 

So if your waiting for the surcharge to go down, dont hold your breath, it could be very bad for your health.

 

It's not even a question of "extra income"; it's a question of making up lost net income. There's no way that the surcharge will be dropped anytime soon.

 

Would people rather that the fare price just go up to include the surcharge? Would the questions then cease?

[jackdiamond]

I would prefer that they include both the fuel charges and the standard tips in the total price. This would eliminate a considerable amount of concern for most folks. As you are aware, some of the luxury lines include the tips in the fares; and, they suggest no additional tipping.

[dutchess43]

RCCL is now charging for tomato juice for breakfasr in the windjammer. Dnning room is now closed on port days all cost cutting procedures! So do you really think that after the extra income from fuel charges that they are going to go back? Another way to nickel & dollar us!

[moojar]

It's not even a question of "extra income"; it's a question of making up lost net income. There's no way that the surcharge will be dropped anytime soon.

 

Would people rather that the fare price just go up to include the surcharge? Would the questions then cease?

 

Nope, don't want an end to fuel surcharge combined with a corresponding increase in fares.

 

As a newbie cruiser, I get zero discount. Seems many people are loyalty-club members / stock holders with big discounts, which means us new entrants are subsidizing those discounts. At least we all pay the same fuel surcharge! :D

[Lightsluvr]

RCCL is now charging for tomato juice for breakfasr in the windjammer. Dnning room is now closed on port days all cost cutting procedures! So do you really think that after the extra income from fuel charges that they are going to go back? Another way to nickel & dollar us!

 

I don't drink Tomato juice, so have no experience there...I could have had a V-8.

 

The dining room is only closed for LUNCH on port days...unless that has changed since June.

 

Personally, I don't feel nickled and dimed on RCI.

 

I can cancel a cruise if I don't want to pay the fuel surcharge. I don't have to play Bingo, buy art, portraits, souvenirs, sodas or adult beverages. If there is a service I don't want, I keep the SeaPass card in my pocket.

 

LL

[cds2423]

I'm a transport broker in Montreal, Canada. We've had no choice but to charge our customers fuel surcharge for the last few years. The price of fuel effects every single item that we all consume every day, when you go to the supermarket and buy your weekly groceries the prices have increased, there's no fuel surcharge shown at the bottom of your bill but believe me it's part of the price increase. The cost to transport goods around the country via truck because of the cost of fuel is not to be believed.

I for one have no problem, paying the surcharge as an additional charge on a daily basis, for those of you that think that you'd rather have it included in the cruise fare, are you confident that when the price of fuel gets back to whatever "normal" is, that the cruise lines would reduce the fare, i think not, you're much better off to know what the additional charge is on top of your fare, & then hope or trust that they will reduce or eliminate the surcharge.

I truly believe that the daily surcharge that we're all charged makes a dent in the additional cost that the cruise lines incur but doesn't cover it completely, they have to adjust in other areas as well.

Like it or not, for now the surcharge is here to stay, you can choose to cruise or not - JMHO :)

[klingoncruiser]

Agreed, it is only fair. I understood the rapid climb in fuel and the need to offset it. However.... as it drops, so should the surcharge.

[NCMtnBoys]

It really makes no difference whether you pay a $70 "surcharge" or have the cruise fare increased by $70, does it? Why quibble over wording? Actually for me, psychologically I think it sounds better to say "$639 plus taxes and fees" rather than "$709 plus taxes and fees" (if you added the surcharge to the rate) when referring to the price I paid for my cruise. The fact is, it's a necessary charge to keep the company operating. No, I don't like the fact that they now have the surcharge, but if it means keeping RCCL afloat, I'll gladly pay the additional amount, regardless of how they package their rates/fees. Soo many companies have been driven to the brink of failure by rising fuel prices, what else are they supposed to do to raise revenue to cover their skyrocketing expenses? It's not just their own fuel they have to cover; you can bet even RCCL PAYS fuel surcharges to some of their vendors!

 

While cruising is widely considered one of the best vacation values, perhaps it's been under-priced for years.

[pcur]

Nope, don't want an end to fuel surcharge combined with a corresponding increase in fares.

 

As a newbie cruiser, I get zero discount. Seems many people are loyalty-club members / stock holders with big discounts, which means us new entrants are subsidizing those discounts. At least we all pay the same fuel surcharge! :D

 

Actually, if you watch the promowave and specials each week, you can get a discount, too. You aren't subsidizing anybody, my friend. I have spent beaucoup bucks over 35 years on cruising, and will continue to do so.

 

Again, if any of you think the poop hit the fan when this surcharge started, and people had to pay it when they already had a cruise booked, AND they went to the FL Attorney General about it, you ain't seen nothing yet. If they don't roll back the surcharge, there will be one big humonguous class action suit about it.

 

They have already set the precedent by rolling back the first surcharge. They will just find other ways to increase their profits, and not by charging fuel surcharges that they cannot justify.

[moojar]

Actually, if you watch the promowave and specials each week, you can get a discount, too. You aren't subsidizing anybody, my friend. I have spent beaucoup bucks over 35 years on cruising, and will continue to do so.

 

I hear what u r saying, but there's a whole rest of the world out there that is not North America. And we are not able to use your TAs and most of whatever those promos and specials are. No offense, but if you had to pay the prices we pay ... you may not have spent 'beaucoup bucks' (whatever those are. :confused:)

 

'Cost takeout' helps keep fares down, and fuel surcharges are just an extension of that - we all pay it 100%, no discounts, and the lines don't pay TA commission on it. I'm fine with that, but I ain't a TA. :p

[madforcruising]

I hear what u r saying, but there's a whole rest of the world out there that is not North America. And we are not able to use your TAs and most of whatever those promos and specials are. No offense, but if you had to pay the prices we pay ... you may not have spent 'beaucoup bucks' (whatever those are. :confused:)

 

'Cost takeout' helps keep fares down, and fuel surcharges are just an extension of that - we all pay it 100%, no discounts, and the lines don't pay TA commission on it. I'm fine with that, but I ain't a TA. :p

 

 

I´m not in the US and I can take advantage of all that and use an US TA. Why can´t you? Are there regulations for Australia to forbid this? I think I´ve seen people from Australia that used US based TA´s, but I might be wrong.

[pcur]

I hear what u r saying, but there's a whole rest of the world out there that is not North America. And we are not able to use your TAs and most of whatever those promos and specials are. No offense, but if you had to pay the prices we pay ... you may not have spent 'beaucoup bucks' (whatever those are. :confused:)

 

'Cost takeout' helps keep fares down, and fuel surcharges are just an extension of that - we all pay it 100%, no discounts, and the lines don't pay TA commission on it. I'm fine with that, but I ain't a TA. :p

 

Neil, we need to bring you into the fold of the "crazy price checking cruisers"!!:D Please join us in our obsession to get lower prices for our cruises:

 

Join the Crown and Anchor society, if you haven't already. One cruise and you're in. Then, you can access the RCCL coupons online at their web site, and get the snail mail ones, too! This is loads of fun waiting every 3 months to see if your cruise is one of the lucky ones on the list of coupons.

 

But, the fun has just begun: each week check these sites online for the Tuesday and Thursday specials, again hoping your cruise (booked or potential) is on the list:

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/RCI_Sales_Event/rci_sales_event.pdf

 

and

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/promowave/RCL.pdf

 

THEN, daily (if not more often), check your prices on rccl.com to see if they have gone down.

 

I sound sarcastic because I am poking fun at myself and all my fellow "pricehounds". However, after years of doing this I recently snagged a better cabin and saved DH and myself $1,234, so the random reinforcement is constant to keep doing this. Others report their price drops, too, and RCCL does honor them.

 

Then, if you're REALLY lucky, the Upgrade Fairy will visit you!! Have fun!

 

Also, if you're interested, I wrote a newbie guide for my sis and I send it out to anyone who's interested: pcurri at yahoo dot com.

 

Now, back to fuel surcharges, which I still believe they will roll back if the oil prices go down and stay down for a while.

[moojar]

Haha, didn't mean to upset anyone! Don't worry, I'm a bargain-hunter from way back.

 

Most of the US online TAs I have looked at require you to be a resident of North America. I have found one that will deal with me / that I plan to deal with, they tell me: "Technically, Cunard Lines, Princess Lines, Holland America Lines will not allow (xxxxx TA) booking outside of North America, UNLESS you have a North American address or residency in Canada or U.S." But there are ways around most of those, and I'm on to it! So don't worry, I'm on the pricehound downward spiral, obsessing over every dollar! :p

 

The US and Oz signed a free trade agreement not so long ago, so there should be no government regulation restricting this trade. I have no qualms about attempting to bypass the cruise lines' artificial barriers.

 

I booked directly with RCI before I knew any better (advice of ex-American friend now resident in Oz), saved me around 15% over using an Oz TA. Woo hoo! See, it has already begun and I have not even done one cruise yet. :D

 

I don't know if the last minute discounts you mention help me - not so much competition over here, so as far as I can figure most ships sail near to full. But I will keep an eye on them, thank-you. Will certainly be useful if my dream of a couple of North America cruises comes to fulfilement, anyway.

 

AND ... that newbie guide sounds real good. Thank-you Peggy, I will take you up on your offer :) ; will send you an email right away. (I am bindog at optusnet dot com dot au)

[TEXASMUNK]

Those that rail about "just include it in the price" are not seeing the whole picture!

 

If it gets lumped into the "price" then it becomes commisionable. if it becomes commisionable, YOUR total cost goes up becuase the fuel surcharge would ahve to be HIGHER to cover the commission paid.

 

Keeping it seperate means they do not have to tack on 10-15% more to cover commissions.

 

Want the problem solved?

 

Then DEMAND your representative stop politics and vote to DRILL!!!!

[pepelapew]

I think the charges should be per cabin per day not per person per day. JMO.......

Debbie

 

Okay so by the looks of it Fuel Supplement most feel these charges won't ever go away, but they should adjust them so the fuel charge is per cabin no? Next year with 7 of us in a cabin per person it adds up to an additional $155.00 dollars in fuel charges alone. :eek: We booked before June 08 so we pay $8.00 for 1st and 2nd pass/ and $3.00 additional passenger. If they charged per cabin per day @ $10.00 now like they do we'd only have to pay an additional $50.00 (Bermuda 5 nt) I think that's fare enough for fuel charge increases........I just wanna get to my destination on a ship, I dont' wanna own the ship itself...........:D

Debbie