Comments on: Florida Attorney General announces sellout “settlement” with Royal Caribbean

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

tripso.com | Surprised? You must not get out that often — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:18:16 +0000

[...] shouldn’t surprise anyone that these two companies settled. About a year ago, Royal Caribbean made a similar deal with Florida under terms that were less-than-favorable to the [...]

By: Sherrie Platt

Sherrie Platt — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:05:22 +0000

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.

By: tripso.com | Cruise passengers battered by unethical surcharges

tripso.com | Cruise passengers battered by unethical surcharges — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:56:37 +0000

[...] Cruise lines have wanted this for a long time, and they are clearly delighted that they’ve finally gotten their way. [...]

By: mike gee

mike gee — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:27:42 +0000

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.

By: Cheryl Emerson

Cheryl Emerson — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:09:10 +0000

So how do we get the money back?

By: Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:17:39 +0000

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.

By: Jaxon

Jaxon — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:43:25 +0000

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.

By: Jaxon

Jaxon — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:36:40 +0000

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

By: Jesse

Jesse — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:31:53 +0000

Should people from other states email him?