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Fuel surcharge refunds??

crusinbanjo

By crusinbanjo,
in Holland America Line

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BigGreenFan

BigGreenFan

Posted
Posted
[quote name='serendipity1499'][B]Would you be kind enough to give us the URL of the page which stated closing prices will not be posted on Thanksgiving & will not count as one of those days..:confused: I've been reading closely & still can't find it..[/B]

[B]Thanks..Betty[/B][/quote]

I can't find the Notice to Members for this Thanksgiving (there are so many Notices this year they seem to have stopped posting) but the language for last year is as follows (I added the emphasis for several bullets):







[I][B]Thursday, November 22, 2007 (Thanksgiving Day) [/B][/I]
[LIST]
[*][I][B]DME Intraday Settlement Price (OSP) to be published at normal time of 3:30 AM Eastern for November 22nd Calendar Date. No Post-close settlement will be published[/B][/I]

[*][COLOR=red][I][B]NYMEX/COMEX products on CME Globex®, NYMEX ClearPort® Clearing, and NYMEX ClearPort® Trading (DME Direct) all open for trading/trade submission until trading halt at 5:15 PM (November 23 Trade Date) [/B][/I][/COLOR]
[*][I][B]Day/Session orders entered on CME Globex® or on DME Direct on NYMEX ClearPort® Trading are for the November 23 Trade Date and will continue working until Friday’s Close at 5:15 PM EST [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]NYMEX Softs TAS Products (CJT, KTT, TTT, YOT) unavailable for trading on CME Globex®. All other TAS products follow normal schedule [/B][/I]
[*][I][B][COLOR=red]NYMEX/COMEX Trading Floors closed[/COLOR] [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]NYMEX TMS up/available for Trade Management for November 23 Trade Date [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]NYMEX Cleared Trades API will be available [/B][/I]
[*][COLOR=red][I][B]Markets will not be settled and final settlements will not be published, as November 22 is not a Trade Date or Processing Date [/B][/I][/COLOR]
[*][I][B]NYMEX Intraday files will not be produced, no clearing will occur, no clearing functionality will be available [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]Daily SPAN and Erosion (NERC Holiday) files will not be produced [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]Options can not be exercised [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]There will not be any allocation of Energy and Metal Deliveries or Delivery Notices and related forms will not be accepted [/B][/I]
[*][I][B]First normal intraday file generated on calendar date November 23 will contain trades from calendar date November 22 [/B][/I][COLOR=red][I][B](as all trades are for November 23rd trade date) [/B][/I][/COLOR]

[*][I][B]NYMEX/COMEX products on CME Globex®, NYMEX ClearPort® Clearing, and NYMEX ClearPort® Trading (DME Direct) all re-open for trading/trade submission at 6:00 PM (November 23 Trade Date) [/B][/I]
[/LIST]What this means is that the physical exchange is closed, electronic trading that takes place on Thursday will be posted with a trade date of Friday, not Thursday, and there will be no settlement on Thursday.

I can also tell you that while I don't have access to Reuters, I am sitting in front of a Bloomberg and there is no closing price for NYMEX light, sweet crude for 2008 for New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day. The exact language I quoted above is also quoted in the Notices to Members for those holidays.

If the Notice to Members for this Thanksgiving appears, I'll post the link for those of you who are still doubters.
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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted

If I were running HAL I wouldn't be too quick to eliminate the surcharge entirely---it could be too difficult to reinstate it quickly, should the need arise.

Remember, HAL held off a log time before it tried to institute the fuel surcharge. And when they did, they had to backtrack on implementation. If the surcharge were to be eliminated entirely, they could have the same delay (costing them $$$$$) if they wanted to reinstate it. By leaving it in place, with a convoluted formula determining whether or not it's charged, the rules can be changed at will.

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Terpnut

Terpnut

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Posted
If I were running HAL I wouldn't be too quick to eliminate the surcharge entirely---it could be too difficult to reinstate it quickly, should the need arise.

 

Remember, HAL held off a log time before it tried to institute the fuel surcharge. And when they did, they had to backtrack on implementation. If the surcharge were to be eliminated entirely, they could have the same delay (costing them $$$$$) if they wanted to reinstate it. By leaving it in place, with a convoluted formula determining whether or not it's charged, the rules can be changed at will.

With the price of oil at its lowest level in 3 1/2 years, the only thing that seems reasonable to me is: there wasn't a fuel surcharge in 2005, so there shouldn't be one now. And even if it's necessary to keep the fuel surcharge "infrastructure" in place "just in case", then at least simplify the formula and triggers so regular people can both understand and track it. For example, if the price of oil is over $70/barrel precisely 30 days before you sail, you will pay a $xx.xx fixed fuel surcharge. The current method probably costs the cruiselines lots of staff and computer time to track and manage it all (costs passed on to us), and the customer time and a spreadsheet to figure it out.
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BigGreenFan

BigGreenFan

Posted
Posted
I am slow - can someone tell me what date I need to start watching for our 1/2/09 cruise, when does the clock actually start ticking on the oil countdown? I'm not clear on weekend or holiday inclusion. Thanks!

 

I'm on a 1/4/09 cruise and I calculated that the count for me started yesterday (11/19). So for you, it should be 11/17. Weekends don't count. So far, so good for those of us with early January cruises and with crude dipping below $50 this morning and the economy slumping, there doesn't seem to be much risk that we will see the $70 level before we sail.

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nini

nini

Posted
Posted

I have the Fax # for HAL, but does anyone have the appropriate Fax # for CCL? Or has anyone called or written? Any responses yet? Oil is below 50.00 a barrel today. This refund would be the best marketing dollar ever spent for HAL. Thanks ( We are on 12/13 Oosterdam)

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secrui

secrui

Posted
Posted
I have the Fax # for HAL, but does anyone have the appropriate Fax # for CCL? Or has anyone called or written? Any responses yet? Oil is below 50.00 a barrel today. This refund would be the best marketing dollar ever spent for HAL. Thanks ( We are on 12/13 Oosterdam)

 

I think it is a waste of time to contact HAL since it is their parent company, Carnival, that made the policy. I did write CARNIVAL but the letter just went out Monday so too early for a reply. Their address is:

 

Carnival Corporation

3655 N.W. 87th Avenue

Miami, Florida 33178-2428

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auntdana

auntdana

Posted
Posted

hi

Thanksgiving is not a day to count or christmas. no trading on those days

 

Also I spoke to osmeone at HAL it is not the stock exchange price it is the NY mercantile.

They need to have a simple POLICY that does not

need to be read and re read and studied.

 

They need to DO THE RIGHT THING a and drop the fuel charge now.

 

 

business is hurting for ALL with this economy

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aussiedisneyfan

aussiedisneyfan

Posted
Posted

When you look at the cruiseline website that tracks the daily closing price it lists Thanksgiving as a date. I would have thought if it wasn't going to be included it either wouldn't be listed or have a notation beside it.

 

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

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BigGreenFan

BigGreenFan

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When you look at the cruiseline website that tracks the daily closing price it lists Thanksgiving as a date. I would have thought if it wasn't going to be included it either wouldn't be listed or have a notation beside it.

 

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

 

Read the whole thread. There will be no closing price on Thanksgiving.

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waASPCrusier

waASPCrusier

Posted
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Read the whole thread. There will be no closing price on Thanksgiving.

 

 

While the markets will not be open on Thanksgiving, that doesn't mean there won't be a closing price on the CCL page...they may choose to use previous days close or they may choose to say "n/a". Just think it will be like Christmas come early:D...maybe they will post it Wednesday evening, maybe not till Friday. In the end till something is posted in that slot it is just speculation what will happen.

 

Tayo and Kristy

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nini

nini

Posted
Posted

Thanks for CCL address. I wrote HAL CEO and VP/ Marketing. I mentioned that no amount of marketing dollars could touch the Good Will for eliminating the surcharge while prices are so low. We will robably miss the OBC by one Trading Day.

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secrui

secrui

Posted
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Thanks for CCL address. I wrote HAL CEO and VP/ Marketing. I mentioned that no amount of marketing dollars could touch the Good Will for eliminating the surcharge while prices are so low. We will robably miss the OBC by one Trading Day.

 

Nini - I salute you for for writing HAL. Alone, your letter and my letter won't do much, but if all on this board who raised objections do write, it could make a difference. Thanks again!

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LoveHAL

LoveHAL

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Posted

Keep in mind that the "refund" is a policy of Carnival Corp - for all their brands. Not HAL. I have tried to contact HAL about this. While they express understanding they say it is a Corporate policy. I have tried to find an e-mail address to send my concerns to Carnival Corp - can't find anything. We sail 12/7. Oh well.

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secrui

secrui

Posted
Posted
Keep in mind that the "refund" is a policy of Carnival Corp - for all their brands. Not HAL. I have tried to contact HAL about this. While they express understanding they say it is a Corporate policy. I have tried to find an e-mail address to send my concerns to Carnival Corp - can't find anything. We sail 12/7. Oh well.

 

You can find an EMAIL address at

 

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=200767&p=irol-contact

 

It's for the media but I'm sure it will get forwarded to the appropriate office.

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ski2cruise

ski2cruise

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Posted

I am not going to waste any time trying to figure out whether HAL is or is not going to credit my account the amount charged for the fuel surcharge on my cruise. I plan to simply have my final onboard charges adjusted exactly by the amount charged for the total fuel surcharge on my final billing. I know it won't be fair to those impacted by my decision, but I have found that dealing with unfair and unrealistic practices, that money talks, and I refuse to pay for service not needed or not rendered. And if HAL has a problem with that, let them deal with American Express when the charges are contested.

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joe122

joe122

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Posted

My view of this is that I’m being penalized for booking a cruise six months in advance. The fuel surcharge on my trip is $252. I thought it was outrageous when the original charge was applied and I think it is highway robbery now. The convoluted method of calculating a refund is deliberate to make sure they pay out as little as possible.

 

As someone mentioned earlier, this is an opportunity for the cruise line to spread a little goodwill. If they choose not to do that, I may choose to consider other vacation options in the future. Unlike the previous poster, however, I am not willing to risk a collection agency and possibly ruining my credit. The guarantees provided by the credit card company do not cover all challenges to the merchant.

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