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Oil Hits 12 Month High Will Fuel Surcharges Return in 2010?

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Yesterday evening while reading the newspaper I noticed that the price of a barrel of oil had surpassed 75 dollars per barrel. What this means is we are once again heading into the territory where the cruise lines start getting nervous about how much moolah it takes to fill up the tank. If you can remember back to early 2008, you know the price of a barrel of oil was skyrocketing and the cruise industry decided they weren’t going to foot the bill. So, they decided to pass the buck to the passengers in the form of a fuel surcharge. These fuel surcharges cost anywhere from 5 to 8.50 per day per person. The fuel surcharges were also capped at 70 dollars for most sailings. The decision was final and there was no getting around it. However, the surcharges were short lived because as we approached 2009 all of the fuel charges were eliminated.

Could the Fuel Surcharge Make a Comeback?

When the price of a barrel of oil plunged the cruise lines were very fast to respond by suspending the charges, but they weren’t eliminated. Knowing that its impossible to predict the future, the cruise lines left the door open for the return of the fuel surcharge. Most of the lines set a price at which they had the right to re-institute the surcharge. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises (parent company of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara) set their trigger price at 65 dollars per barrel while Carnival Corporation (parent company of Holland America, Princess, Carnival, Cunard, Costa, and Seabourn ) set their trigger price a little higher at 70 dollars per barrel. As of Wednesday the price of a barrel of oil sits at 75 dollars per barrel. In other words, if the price of oils stays at these levels the fuel surcharge can be re-instituted at any time.

The reality is with the current levels of unemployment, (for many people) the money to spend on travel and leisure does not exist resulting in a soft travel and tourism sector. As you all know a soft travel and tourism sector combined with higher costs usually equals us getting screwed. While no cruise lines have publicly talked about fuel surcharges, supposedly the economy is on the upswing. The combination of that upswing and the higher price of oil will cause the price of real fuel to increase. If that increase happens I do expect the surcharge to return, especially with the level of unemployment which exists.

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Does Size Matter?

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I’m talking about cruise ship size, get your mind out of the gutter. With Royal Caribbean set to debut its newest megaship the “Oasis of the Seas” in just a couple of months the question comes to mind, is there a such thing as being too big?  This December the 5,400 passenger Oasis of the Seas will be making it’s four day maiden voyage out of Fort Lauderdale.  After the conclusion of that voyage the Oasis will spend the foreseeable future making seven day trips sailing an itinerary consisting of St. Thomas, St. Maarten with an alternate itinerary of Bahamas or Labadee, Costa Maya and Cozumel being added in the future.  Not the most exciting ports but then again where the hell do you park a 220,000 ton cruise ship.

Personally, I like big cruise ships and I know many others share my point of view.  I like having limitless entertainment options, numerous places to eat and the hermit portion of my personality enjoys being a nameless face in the crowd.  While I do enjoy some ports more than others in my opinion even the worst Caribbean port is better than being in Delaware, in other words a lame itinerary doesn’t bother me in the least.

However, there are an equal amount of people who enjoy small ships for the personalized service you receive as well as an undoubtedly higher standard of service.  There are also a huge percentage of cruisers who view the ship as a means of travel.  These cruisers look for certain ports of call and don’t really care which ship is taking them to those ports.  My best friend is one of these cruisers.  Due to the size restrictions of most ports, she has no interest at all in the Oasis of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean has spent several months telling us about how great their newest ship is.  The seven neighborhoods, 20 dining options, two-deck loft suites and numerous sizzle features (moving bars, foliage filled central park and zip lines).  What seems to get glossed over are all of the drawbacks that come with traveling on a ship this size.  The limited itinerary options are the most obvious drawback but there are numerous others.

How much will service suffer on a ship this large? Will crew members be able to adequately service nearly 6,000 passengers at the level we have become accustomed to expect.

What kind of physical limitations are there to traveling on this type of ship? How will people with various physical limitations navigate a ship as large as some small towns?

Is Royal Caribbean exiting the cruise business and entering into the resort business? At what point does cruising stop being about cruising to ports and start to become about vacationing on a floating resort?

How do you feel about the “Oasis of the Seas” and the arms race cruise lines are engaging in to build the shiniest new ship.

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How Do You Save Up For Cruising?

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My first cruise of the year normally takes place in the early spring.  I always call it, my free cruise.  Its not that I get the cruise for free, but it is payed for by money not earmarked for anything else.  Since my job tends to have long hours around the holiday season what I do is put aside any money I make from overtime.  Since this is “extra money” there is no way better way to spend it than on a reward for myself.  Usually, I end up with more than enough to cover the full cost of the cruise and all expenses without changing any of my spending habits.

Another thing I like to do is keep a keep a large jar at the bottom of my stairs.  This is my change jar.  Anytime I end up with loose change I toss it in the jar.  When the jar gets full, or its time to take a cruise I take the change to the bank to exchange for bills.  While it won’t buy you a cruise it’s not uncommon for the change jar to cover the airfare or a pre-cruise hotel.  The keys are to not dip into the jar (or let any nieces or nephews), and to try to put something in every day.  I usually pay for everything in bills, even if I have exact change.  This always leaves me with a donation for the change jar.

I used to buy lunch every day, now I bring my own.  Although the lunches I bought were never that expensive, anytime you can find a way to save six dollars a day its a good deal.  This small change probably saves me about 1,000 dollars a year.  It also has allowed me to cut my caloric intake and maintain a weight 8 pounds lighter than my old weight.

Some other low impact ideas for saving for your cruise:

Just say no to Starbucks and bring coffee from home.  Put the 4 dollars you would have spent into an envelope for your next cruise.  If you are someone who buys coffee every day you will save roughly 700-900 dollars per year (the cost of a cruise).

Shop at the farmers market.  Not only are you supporting the local economy but the produce is often fresher and better tasting.  Savings for 30-50% are not uncommon at the farmer’s market.

Round all of your debits up and credits down in your check book.  Then at certain intervals during the course of the year transfer the “found money” into your savings account.

These are only a few of the ways would be cruisers can save up money.  Some of them are common sense while others are a little more outside the box. The best part about all of them is they are all made to impact your disposable income as little as possible.  In fact, most of them are designed so that you see no difference in the amount of money you have in your pocket.

If you have used any of these techniques or know of any more that may be useful to someone else, let us know.

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