Fuel surcharge refunds??

[crusinbanjo]

OK so I saw on one of the other boards that some fuel surcharges are going to be refunded. Does anybody know if HAL is planning to refund the fuel surcharge now that oil prices are falling rapidly?

 

Or more specifically, where might I find out if the fuel surcharge I paid for a January cruise will be refunded, and what is the process?

[scoobydu33]

You can find out the policy on the fuel surcharge refund policy which is posted on Carnival Corporations website.

 

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1208356&highlight=

 

Hope this helps.

[serendipity1499]

This is my post from Oct 30...The fuel surcharge question comes up every week or so..I quoted another poster from an earlier thread about a week before..The thread I posted on is on Page 5....

Quote

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=860096

 

It has to be below $70 for 25 consecutive days..See post No. 3..

 

This news has been out for a couple days.... straight from HAL's website !

 

FUEL SUPPLEMENT UPDATE

 

October 10, 2008

 

 

Holland America Line has announced that effective October 31, 2008, the existing fuel supplement will be eliminated for all new bookings on 2010 departures. At that same time, a price increase on 2010 sailings will become effective. Additionally, we have established specific guidelines under which the current fuel supplement may be reimbursed to our guests for 2008 and 2009 voyages.

For 2008 and 2009 departures, if the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) is $70 per barrel or less at the 2:30 p.m. close of business as reported by Reuters on each of the 25 consecutive trading days ending five trading days prior to the guest's cruise departure date, the fuel supplement will be refunded in the form of a shipboard credit. Guests who book a 2010 cruise prior to October 31, 2008, will be charged the current fuel supplement but will also be eligible for a refund of the fuel supplement in accordance with the same fuel price conditions that are being implemented for the 2008 and 2009 departures. Within the next few weeks, we will provide the daily NYMEX fuel price information at hollandamerica.com.

Holland America Line is implementing these initiatives due to the recent trends in declining fuel prices in an effort to migrate away from charging a separate fuel supplement. If fuel prices stabilize below $70 a barrel , we will be able to effectively eliminate charging a separate fuel supplement. However, there is still a risk that fuel prices could move higher which would require us to maintain or reinstate a fuel supplement but we are hopeful that the goal of eliminating the fuel supplement can be achieved. These industry-leading initiatives demonstrate our commitment to our guests and travel agents to make a cruise with Holland America Line the most attractive cruise vacation available.The fuel supplement is currently $9 per person per day for the first and second guest (not to exceed $126 per person per voyage) and $4 per person per day for third, fourth and fifth guests (not to exceed $56 per person per voyage).

 

So don't expect it anytime soon..Unquote

 

Betty

[sfocruiser]

It looks like it will close above $70 today.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Don't you just love it - $70.53! Sorry to all the people leaving early Dec.

 

Here is the prices straight from the official page:

http://www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com/AboutUs/FuelSupplementUpdate.aspx

[auntdana]

i wonder if i will get shipboard credit for Jan 4 sailing

 

i think they should give back a refund as I paid $ not

in shipboard credit

 

they always win the crusie lines

[RuthC]

i think they should give back a refund as I paid $ not

in shipboard credit

 

they always win the crusie lines

What difference does it make if a refund is OBC? You'll be charged more than that per day in service charges.

It's not like you have to spend it on something you don't want.

[pokeyjones]

Don't you just love it - $70.53! Sorry to all the people leaving early Dec.

 

Here is the prices straight from the official page:

http://www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com/AboutUs/FuelSupplementUpdate.aspx

 

Thanks for the condolences...we leave Dec. 9. Still a chance for those Holiday Cruisers, if the price drops again.

[Susie51]

We are cruising on Dec. 13. We still have a chance.

[auntdana]

I paid in money not shipboard credit

 

so i would prefer my $ back

 

consumers should be given a choice

[happyglobetrotter]

I paid in money not shipboard credit

 

so i would prefer my $ back

 

consumers should be given a choice

 

Are you one of those who does not tip ? I do not understand your insistence in getting a refund in cash. As someone else said earlier, the $ you prepaid for the fuel surcharge can easily become tip money. In the end, it comes back to your pocket.

 

As a consumer you already agreed to book a cruise and pay a fuel surcharge, if you are lucky the fuel surcharge is refunded - money you had already agreed to pay anyway. Then (luck helping) you can use it to reduce the amount you owe on your shipboard credit, isn't it like getting four quarter on the dollar and complaining it is not the same ?

[auntdana]

this isd America and I am entitled to my opionon

 

you do not have to like ot or agree with me, but

 

i have freedom of speech too like you do.

 

you have no business insulting me about a tip/

 

tipping and the fuel surcharge are 2 different issues.

 

IT IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS BUT I DO TIP .

 

if you have nothing nice to say keep your comments to yourself

[simplelife]

If you do not spend all of your OBC you will get the reminder at the end of the cruise. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect it, but personally, I would enjoy having a "cushion".

[Abel1337]

If you do not spend all of your OBC you will get the reminder at the end of the cruise. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect it, but personally, I would enjoy having a "cushion".

 

Yea the having a "cushion," as he said, is comforting to be able to fall back on.

[RuthC]

isn't it like getting four quarter on the dollar ?

Exactly. I don't get it, either. Return it in cash now, or reduce my credit card bill later. Works out the same. :rolleyes:

[m steve]

I just think their Alice in Wonderland explaination of the credit is full of loopholes. Why don't they just reduce the charge whether its a few cents above or below $70. I think the original $5 is fair.

[simplelife]

We are cruising on Dec. 13. We still have a chance.

I hope I hope I am reading and/or calculating it wrong, but it looks to me as if you will not get it. The key is 5 businesss days prior to your cruise - this is when the 25 day period ends. (For you this would be Dec 5). Count this day and the 24 business days prior (For you this is Oct 31 - remember that Thanksgiving day is not a trading day). Oil price must be below $70 on each of these days. (There has already been one day in this period that was above 70)

 

We have a very slim chance. We sail Dec 21 so our key date is Dec 12. counting back, our start date is today (Nov 7). If there is ANY day -even one -in this time period that is above $70, we are out of luck too.

 

This policy is ridiculous, making it almost certain that no one sailing in the near future will get the refund. Using an average would have made more sense. This policy is worse than offering no refund at all - dangling a carrot and then pulling it away:mad::(

[larsenbiz]

I agree that HAL should average it out also. I know that the 12/13 sailing won't get the refund. I was prepared to pay the surcharge when I booked the cruise, but I am disappointed that we won't get the OBC refund. Are you sure that Turkey Day is not a trading day? I looked at the NYMEX site and it appears that it is a trading day. Maybe I read it wrong.

[simplelife]

I may be wrong. I am repeating what was told to me.

[Mando_Matt]

Can you cash out your shipboard credit in the casino?

[richnorto]

Can you cash out your shipboard credit in the casino?

 

I like your optimism!:D Here's hoping we all get to find out!!!

[auntdana]

they really do not want to give the passengers a refund or shipboard credit a the policy is nearly inpossible to

qualify for.

 

even when the price of fuel skyrocketed they were and are making plenty of $ on ALL the extras

[ssminnow]

I hope you read what your customers are saying here

please update/refine your refund policy to reflect the industry standards.

[mistyflannigan]

I am sending them a certified letter requesting shipboard credit. When I cruised with HAL in August, 2007, oil was much higher yet there was no surcharge. If they want to keep my family as a customer, they will do what is right.

[abb4k]

As many of you no doubt know, CCL's large competitor is using an "average price" method in determining whether to refund fuel surcharges.

 

That does seem much more fair.

 

Too, why should CCL require the price of oil to stay below its $70 threshold for **25** days when my cruise is only 7 days? I realize some cruises are longer, but most are not 25-day affairs.