RCCL to Refund Some Fuel Supplements

March 11, 2008....  

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises have agreed to refund $21 million to consumers who were charged a fuel surcharge after booking a cruise, the Florida Attorney General's Office said.  The refunds apply to guests who booked their cruise before the Nov. 16 implementation of the supplement. 

"Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises are the first cruise lines to step forward and take actions to resolve this matter in their customers' best interest," Attorney General Bill McCollum said in a news release. "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."

Under the agreements, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will refund to all customers who were retroactively charged a fuel supplement charge the full cost of the surcharge, and consumers who have not yet sailed will receive their refund as an onboard credit.  In the future, the cruise lines must also ensure clear and conspicuous disclosure of any fuel supplement charges at the time the reservations are made, as well as in their advertisements.

The time table for refunds has not yet been announced.  It is expected that other cruise lines will follow, but none have yet announced their intentions.