No surprises then, as I think we’ve all seen it coming for a while. Fred Olsen have already increased their surcharges as have Cruise and Maritime, and today Cunard, P&O and Princess have increased their surcharges to £6.00 per person per day. Their reserves have run out, and now the cruisers are having to foot the bill for increased fuel prices, and with the current problems in the Middle East who knows when the next increase will happen, and how much it will be.
The real bone of contention has been Fred Olsen applying the increase retrospectively. I’ve had calls from so many clients asking how they can do this, but it’s all there in the small print (for those of you who read it). If it’s one thing the cruise lines are good at, it’s covering themselves.
This is all bad news for the people who haven’t booked yet for 2011. Not only have they missed the great January and February offers, but they have the Fuel Supplement to pay now.
It will be interesting to see what, if any, sweeteners the cruise lines will come up with to soften the blow, as Freds did during February – Free Parking AND On Board Credit. I think they are all going to have to do something or they run the risk of people looking at alternative holidays for 2011 and 2012.
As alway, I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!