fuel supplement suspended by RCCL

[raringtogo]

i've just received notification from my Travel Agent as follows:

 

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

SUSPENDS FUEL SUPPLEMENT

MIAMI – December 5, 2008

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced the suspension of its fuel supplement for Royal Caribbean

International®, Celebrity Cruises® and Azamara CruisesSM sailings that depart on or after January 1, 2009,

anywhere in the world.

The decision reflects the recently sustained lower price of fuel.

Effective Monday, December 8, guests making new bookings for sailings that depart on or after January

1, 2009, will not be charged the fuel supplement.

Guests already booked on sailings that depart on or after January 1, 2009, will receive a refund of any fuel

supplement paid, as follows:

• Guests with existing bookings for sailings that depart on or after January 1, 2009, and who are now

paid in full, will have the supplement automatically refunded to them in the form of an onboard credit

during their sailing.

• Guests with existing bookings for sailings that depart on or after January 1, 2009, and who are not

yet paid in full, will have the supplement automatically removed from their outstanding balance.

The company reserves the right to reinstate fuel supplement charges if the price of West Texas

Intermediate fuel exceeded $65 per barrel, on the quarterly milestone dates mentioned in the company’s

October 24, 2008, press release.

The company announced on October 24, 2008, that no fuel supplement would be charged for new

bookings made on or after November 10, 2008, for sailings that depart on or after January 1, 2010, unless

there is an upturn in fuel prices. Today’s announcement does not affect those previous terms.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean

International®, Celebrity Cruises®, Pullmantur, Azamara CruisesSM and CDF Croisieres de France. The

company has a combined total of 38 ships in service and six under construction. It also offers unique

land-tour vacations in Alaska, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe and South America.

Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com, http://www.celebrity.com,

http://www.pullmantur.es, http://www.azamaracruises.com, http://www.cdfcroisieresdefrance.com or http://www.rclinvestor.com.

 

this is great news for everyone

[sayaguru]

What I don't understand is why they can't take it off for cruises from now if fuel is down. Why only the ones after January 1? :confused:

 

My cruise leaves in 2 weeks. I'll be dirty if I don't get the refund. I need that money for cocktails.:D

[aussiedisneyfan]

It is a shame that they aren't doing it from now. Carnival and its subsidiaries are cancelled from December 17 and there are a lot of dirty people who are on earlier ones.

[raringtogo]

yes, I cannot see why it's not from now- perhaps you should contact both your travel agents and RCI and ask the question...I hope you do get it back and have a wonderful cruise- it will sure go toward these ultra-expensive cocktails we're all hoping to enjoy

[arxcards]

What I don't understand is why they can't take it off for cruises from now if fuel is down. Why only the ones after January 1? :confused:

 

My cruise leaves in 2 weeks. I'll be dirty if I don't get the refund. I need that money for cocktails.:D

Their 3 monthly contract price for fuel (October to December) was set on the 18th September. The oil price was double then. Even though the price has come down, their current contract at the higher price is in effect till the end of the month.

[sayaguru]

What I'm dirty about is that I only booked last week and the TA told me we probably wouldn't have to pay the fuel levy as the price was down. I've written to RCI.

In light of this change I could have booked the exact same cruise leaving 3 weeks later for $300AUD cheaper so I'm not real happy. The later cruise was $50 cheaper minus $140 fuel.

[raringtogo]

Arx..thanks for clarifying..

 

sayaguru - that's crap :(

 

hope you have some luck by writing to RCI

[just hooked]

they say they can reinstate the charge does this mean on new bookings only or if they take it away they can put it back on later to all bookings ?

[raringtogo]

sounds like they will re-instate should the price of oil go up above..on 18th March for our particular cruise (which is April 2nd sailing) in other words, I guess for new bookings there will now be no charge added but should the price of oil go up, they will apply it to the booking. for existing, it will be deleted from the amount owing but re-instated should the oil go up. for people with money still owing on their cruise, it will be deducted from their balance. for those who have paid up front- we will receive obc's - either way, i'm happy.

[arxcards]

they say they can reinstate the charge does this mean on new bookings only or if they take it away they can put it back on later to all bookings ?

Any new bookings that occur from today will not be liable for the fuel charge. If they bring it back, it will only be for new bookings from a future announced date - after the announcement.

 

For any who have paid in full and awaiting refunds to onboard accounts:

18th December is the magic date for cruises Jan - Mar; 18th March is the magic date for cruises in April.

 

If the price goes above $65/barrel on those dates, there will not be any credits to those that have paid the supplement.