You knew when Carnival announced a surcharge, the rest of the industry could not be far behind. Royal Caribbean has done well in hedging against the spikes and increases in fuel costs. It bought fuel options well ahead of the current rise in costs. To the extent that it can, it continues to do so. But the point was reached where the line felt it had to introduce a fuel surcharge (the line prefers the term “supplement.”)

Per the official press release:

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Announces Fuel SupplementMIAMI, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — In an effort to deal with the sharp increase in fuel prices, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced the implementation of a fuel supplement of $5 per guest per day for sailings that depart on or after February 1, 2008.

“I thank our guests for understanding our need to implement this fuel supplement,” said Brian Rice, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “We have gone to great lengths to minimize the impact of rising fuel costs, for example, designing and building more fuel-efficient ships, installing energy-saving lighting, and using air conditioning more efficiently. Unfortunately, as fuel prices have reached record highs, we are forced to take this extraordinary step to offset those costs.”

The company has taken measures to soften the impact of this decision. For example, the company will not apply the supplement on any bookings where the guest has already paid the full cost of the cruise. In addition, guests who were booked before November 16, and who do not agree to pay the supplement, may cancel their reservation prior to December 7, 2007, for a full refund of all monies they have paid to the company, and they will not be subject to any cancellation charges that would normally apply. Those guests who do not cancel their reservation and pay in full will receive one logo item per stateroom, onboard their cruise. Finally, the supplement will apply only to the first and second guests in each stateroom and will not exceed $70 per person, per sailing.

The supplement will assist the company in offsetting the widespread increases in fuel prices, which have more than doubled in recent years. The supplement will be periodically reviewed, with the intent of being temporary, and may be adjusted as fuel prices fluctuate.

The company will provide travel agents with an administrative fee of $12 per existing booking to help offset the costs associated with contacting guests with existing reservations and collecting payment of the supplement for each booking that sails on or after February 1, 2008.

The charge will involve three Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises. Pullmantur Cruises, the Madrid-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd, has also implemented a fuel supplement of (euro) 50 for its tours and cruises that depart on or after January 1, 2008.

“We know the rising cost of fuel has affected everyone, and, unfortunately, our company is no different,” Rice said. “We hope the options we are providing, including additional time for guests to finalize vacation plans, will underscore our commitment to our guests.”

The supplement is effective for new and existing North American bookings. The company cannot predict the impact of the fuel supplement on its earnings, as it does not know the number of new or existing bookings that will accept the proposed supplement.

****
For my part, its obvious Royal Caribbean knows this is a sensitive topic. They do seem to be going a lot to help buffer any passenger frustration. Before anybody complains as well, it would do well to remember we could see oil at twice the cost it stands at today. This isn’t an issue that is going to go away soon.

****

Seeing this page alone? By RSS? Then Visit Royal Caribbean Fan, and see what the fun is about!

At Key West, I went snorkeling again, which was even more fun than at Coco Cay. I didn’t take any time to shop in the town itself, and frankly its not of much interest to me. I can drive down there someday. A major storm kicked up near the time the last shuttle conk trains left the town, which left a few people to brave strong winds and rain to get back on board. The wind also made it hard for Sovereign to push itself away from the dock.

The main shopping district in Key West is very compact. You can walk most of it with ease.
The snorkeling excursion uses the catamaran you see below.

A top notch port draws a lot of people off the ship, but as the day drew to a close, and people returned from shore excursions, the pool deck got busy.

There are two main modes of transportation from the dock. Shuttle buses and the “Conk Train.”

In this case, the last of the passengers made it aboard just before the rain squall hit the area.

****
Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Nassau.

****

Seeing this page alone? By RSS? Then Visit Royal Caribbean Fan, and see what the fun is about!

Formal Night. A staple, tradition, celebrated institution, and for some, a dreaded moment of awkward fashion Armageddon. People who can name the chemical composition of their sun tan lotion, calculate the exact number of Q-tips to pack in their luggage, and know to the second, what they’ll do on a cruise, have been reduced to whimpering masses, trying to determine exactly what formal night means.

Some rail against formal night as a wanton attempt to dictate how they spend their vacation time. Others fear not being dressed well enough. Others fear people not being dressed well enough. The truth is that the definition and accepted level of dress on formal night isn’t much more than what you might wear to a special church service. If you think this spoils the vacation, you would be wrong.

You have to look at formal night, like the formal dinning room itself, as an experience. For a public accustom to casual dinning in countless restaurant chains, with food, service, and decor where been appropriate to wear a tie and jacket too 30 years ago, the formal dinning room might not have the same mandate it once did. Yet, the crew puts on its best show, the food remains better than what you, I, or most anybody would eat in a given year. The experience of being surrounded by more than a thousand people dressed well, minding their Ps and Qs, is a rare one in this life. As it happens on a cruise, it is fun and amazingly memorable.

Among other things, formal night includes a chance to get photos taken. These are often some of the most cherished photos anybody takes or buys on a cruise.

****
Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Key West.

****

Seeing this page alone? By RSS? Then Visit Royal Caribbean Fan, and see what the fun is about!

The open seating in the main dinning room during lunch.

The meaning of Blue Ocean.

The ships photographers video tape parts of the cruise for a video which can be bought during the last day of the cruise.

****
Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Formal Night.

****

Seeing this page alone? By RSS? Then Visit Royal Caribbean Fan, and see what the fun is about!