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Florida Attorney General announces sellout “settlement” with Royal Caribbean

March 10, 2008

Are the illegal fuel surcharges imposed by cruise lines about to be scuttled? Don’t hold your breath. Royal Caribbean today announced a settlement with Florida’s Attorney General to eliminate its controversial fuel surcharge for bookings made before Nov. 16 and to refund any fees already collected. Other major cruise lines are expected to follow.

“There’s gonna be a lot of happy cruisers,” Sandi Copes, spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill McCollum, told the AP.

Wrong, Sandi.

It’s a terrible deal for consumers. According to the Royal Caribbean announcement, the so-called “fuel supplement” remains in place for North American bookings made on or after Nov. 16.

And look closer. The Royal Caribbean 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.

So Royal Caribbean refunds $21 million to a few thousand customers. But in exchange, it gets to charge millions — potentially hundreds of millions — to customers in extra fees.

What do you think of this settlement? Oh, don’t bother telling me. Let the Florida Attorney General know.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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10 comments

  • Jesse

    Should people from other states email him?

  • Jaxon

    I am doing jumping jacks!!!!! Thanks to everyone who wrote the AG!!!

  • Jaxon

    Just read the rest of your article — didn’t come up the first time. Their new contracts, post implementation day, allowed for adding extra charges, anyway. RCL’s for most anything — Carnival’s for fuel only. The fact that the old contracts were upheld is a victory! Kudo’s to you for being the only travel writer to mention “illegal” in your writing. And kudos to all of us who wrote the AG to have the contract upheld.

    If you actually read the 1997 agreement, it is a bit more complicated and only held their collective feet to the fire until one of them broke the agreement. I read it some time ago.

  • Joe Farrell

    Well, Chris, at least now you know about it. This is the best you can expect in the legal world right now. Contract law does matter – and if the fee is disclosed, then its ok. RCCL’s contract permits new fees, but, you see, the new fees are not ‘disclosed’ unless they are referenced specifically in a booking.

    Trust me, you are not going to start seeing fees for red meat surcharge, food surcharge, buffet surcharge, etc etc. since those fees are not disclosed n advance. The remainder of the 1997 settlement is in effect. and that requires specificity of charges. Its not perfect, but then nothing ever is. That all being said, you can decide to cruise with a company or not – personally, the not remains an option. There is ZERO reason to do business with companies that modify their promises in the middle of a transaction and then expect you to hold the bag for them.

    If enough people simply refuse, then they change the way they do business or lose the business.

    I just turned down a British airways flight that had an airfare of $238 and fees, fuel surcharges, booking fees, and security fees and taxes of $371. Yes, the fees and charges exceeded the airfare by $140. I went somewhere else. Oh, and I passed on the carbon offset as well. I figured I’d plant a tree instead for free.

  • Cheryl Emerson

    So how do we get the money back?

  • http://mgoldinger15209yahoo.com mike gee

    We get a credit on the the ship. I called and wrote to AG of Florida about the surcharge and talked to a lawyer. We was looking at a breech of contract if something was not done to remove the surcharge that was placed before Nov 16 th booking.

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  • Sherrie Platt

    I am confused – I booked and paid in full for a 30 day cruise on the Mariner of the Seas next Jan 4, 2009. My credit cards were charged for the full payment on June 11, 2008.

    My invoice from the travel agent only lists “taxes” in addition to the basic cost of
    my cabin. No WRITTEN mention of the fuel surcharges are listed on my invoice.
    I was charged a total of $ 560 for the fuel surcharges (this was by verbal communication from my travel agent).

    Do I have a refund due me
    and who should I contact?? RCCL directly or my travel agent?? (My agent says
    this refund of fuel surcharges is ONLY for cruises in 2010. However, RCCL’s
    latest press release also mentions cruises for 2009).

    Thank you.

  • Pingback: tripso.com | Surprised? You must not get out that often

  • Guest

    They can sure try to add more charges, but long time cruisers and some new to cruising folks we know will not take it…and after the recent incidents in the storm hit Caribbean (where RCCL first left pasengers behind,with no supports – and only backtracked after public complaints on boards like this one) buyers are in charge, If the cruise lines want to stay in business, they will start treating customers respectfully – as well as their staff. Enough is enough. (PS thanks for always keeping the public informed and alerted on these pages!) 

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