Fuel Surcharges

This was on MSN.com yesterday. More news to follow:


Cruise passengers to get fuel refund
Cruise lines to reimburse $21 million for improperly disclosed surcharges

MIAMI - Cruise lines Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. have agreed to reimburse passengers for fuel surcharges that were not adequately disclosed, the Florida attorney general announced Monday.

The settlement affects 300,000 bookings — the number of customers involved was not immediately available — and will return $21 million to people who made trip deposits as of Nov. 15.

"There's going to be a lot of happy cruisers," said Sandi Copes, spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill McCollum.

The world's top two cruise operators announced in November they would start billing passengers to offset rising fuel prices — $5 per person, per day — for voyages beginning Feb. 1.

Attorney General Bill McCollum received more than 300 complaints about the fuel surcharge, which other cruise operators also added, and launched an investigation into whether customers were made aware of the new fee when they made their bookings.

In a statement released late Monday, McCollum praised the two Miami-based cruise lines for being proactive and taking steps in the best interest of their customers.

"This resolution will serve as a model for the rest of the cruise line industry and I expect the other companies to take this example and follow suit," McCollum said.

The cruise lines will contact customers eligible for the reimbursement, Copes said. Those who have not yet sailed will receive their refund as an on-board credit; those who have sailed will receive the money back. The cruise lines also agreed to clearly disclose the charges in advertisements.

The settlement amends a 1997 agreement that cruise lines were not to put extra charges on their bills unless they were for taxes or government fees. The companies now may add surcharges as long as those costs are properly disclosed to customers, Copes said.

Royal Caribbean did not immediately comment. Phone calls and e-mails to Carnival were not immediately returned Monday night.