The Florida Attorney General’s Office, responding to more than 150 consumer complaints, is looking into whether the fuel supplement fees that major cruise lines began charging last fall are appropriate and properly disclosed to passengers.
”Our office has received more than 150 complaints about this issue and we are engaged in ongoing discussions about this with the cruise lines,” said Sandi Copes, press secretary for Attorney General Bill McCollum.
Copes said the Attorney General’s Office “is conducting a preliminary review. We’re looking into whether or not it’s appropriate and whether or not they are accurately disclosed at the point of sale.”
Tim Gallagher, a spokesman for Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise operator, acknowledged that Carnival and other cruise lines are under review. ”We believe our fuel supplement complies with applicable laws and we are cooperating with the review,” he said.
Last Nov. 7, as fuel prices soared to record highs, Carnival Corp., which operates 11 brands, announced it was tacking on a $5-per-person, per-day ”fuel supplement” at Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. Those lines will carry some 8 million passengers this year.
The cruise giant, which capped the charge at $70 per person per voyage, had previously added a fuel charge on European brands.
Other big cruise operators, including Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises and Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line, soon followed suit with their own versions of fuel-supplement fees.
Logo from Carnival.
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