Personal Injury Law

Cruise Lines Reach Settlements with Attorney General Over Fuel Surcharges

By Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A.

TALLAHASSEE, FL ? Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has reached a resolution with two cruise lines over the imposition of a retroactively-imposed fuel surcharge on cruise passengers. Oceania Cruises and Classic Cruises Holdings, which does business as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, have separately agreed to refund approximately $3 million to consumers nationwide who were charged the fuel surcharge after they had booked their cruises.

?Our guests and our residents deserve the most accurate information about the costs of their vacations,? said Attorney General McCollum. ?I appreciate this resolution, which will not only return funds to the affected consumers, but will also uphold Florida?s reputation as an attractive vacation destination.?

The agreements were reached after the Attorney General?s Economic Crimes Division received several hundred complaints from around the country about the entire cruise line industry because cruise lines were retroactively charging a fuel supplement charge after cruises had been booked and deposits had been made by consumers. Under the agreements signed today, all consumers who were retroactively charged a fuel supplement will be refunded the full cost of the surcharge. In the future, the cruise lines must also ensure clear and conspicuous disclosure of any fuel supplement charges at the time the reservations are made, as well as in their advertisements.

Oceania will pay over $2.1 million in restitution and Classic Cruise Holdings will pay more than $1 million in restitution, a small portion of which may be in the form of onboard credits for consumers who have not yet sailed. The two companies ? both of which fully cooperated with the investigation ? will contact consumers eligible for refunds and must report to the Attorney General?s Office on the status of refunds within 30 days. Consumers who believe they have been improperly charged surcharges may file complaints with the Attorney General?s Office by calling the fraud hotline at 1-866-966-7226 or by visiting the Attorney General?s website at http://myfloridalegal.com.

Similar settlements were reached last year with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Carnival and its subsidiary cruise lines, resulting in another $61 million in consumer reimbursement.

A copy of the agreement with Oceania is available here.

A copy of the agreement with Classic Cruise Holdings is available here.

Full post as published by Cruise Ship Law on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).