Published on 12/09/08

As the price of oil plummets, cruise lines continue to alter their fuel surcharge policies, and recently, several cruise lines have announced further plans to America's Vacation Center to completely eliminate fuel supplements, as others reveal new procedures to refund surcharges. Below is an updated version of a previous article written in November on Cruise Lines Dropping Fuel Surcharges and their specific fuel supplement policies.

• Carnival Corporation (Carnival Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Cruises, Holland America, Princess Cruises, and the Yachts of Seabourn) – Fuel surcharges will be eliminated on all departures on or after December 17, 2008. If you have already paid in full or are within your 'final payment period' your fuel surcharge will be refunded in the form of Shipboard Credit. If you are outside of the 'final payment period' and are sailing on or after December 17, 2008, the fuel surcharge will be removed from the final payment.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Cruises) – Beginning December 8, 2008, fuel surcharges will be eliminated on all new bookings for departures on or after January 1, 2009. If you are already paid in full for a sailing on or after January 1, 2009 you will be refunded in the form of Shipboard Credit. If you are booked for a sailing on or after January 1, 2009, but are not yet paid in full, the fuel surcharge will be removed from your final payment.
• Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) – Fuel surcharges will be suspended on all departures on or after January 1, 2009. If you have already paid in full or are within your 'final payment period' your fuel surcharge will be refunded in the form of Shipboard Credit. All other bookings outside of the 'final payment period' sailing on or after January 1, 2009 will have the fuel surcharge removed from the final payment.
• Regent Cruises and Oceania Cruises – Fuel supplements will be suspended on all sailings departing in 2009. If you have already paid in full, your fuel surcharge will be refunded in the form of Shipboard Credit. All other bookings will have the surcharge removed from the final payment.
• MSC Cruises – Fuel surcharges have been dropped for all sailings on or after April 1, 2009. If you are already booked on a cruise departing on or after April 1, your final payment will be adjusted accordingly, and the surcharge will be removed. In addition, for bookings of sailings between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009, MSC Cruises will refund surcharges in the form of Shipboard Credit if the price of a barrel remains at $65 or below.
• Crystal Cruises – Fuel supplements will be refunded in the form of Shipboard Credit for departures in 2009 if the price of a barrel remains at $65 or below at the beginning of each calendar quarter.
• Disney Cruises – Beginning December 1, 2008, fuel supplements will be eliminated for all new bookings on cruises through the end of 2010. If you have already booked your sailing, Disney Cruises will base refunds on a quarterly calendar – if the price of a barrel remains below $70, the fuel surcharge will be refunded in the form of Shipboard Credit.

For more information, call 1-888-447-8459 and mention Discount Code 9094# to speak with an AVC Personal Vacation Planner today!