Fuel Supplement Charge

[trimix]

I'm so glad I posted this last night. I'm glad that it's helping some of you. I really hope that they do the right thing and waive the fuel surcharge for us December cruisers who paid it.

So am I - thank you for the notice!

I looked online and found the EB Transatlantic for a few hundred less than what I booked with the fuel surcharge eliminated, so I made a second reservation and canceled the first.

 

[Suz D]

I just want to assure anyone who is waiting to hear from DU concerning their cruise that we are working with DCL on this and will let you know what we find out

I am surprised that they haven't thought this through better but hopefully tomorrow we will have a better picture of how they intend to handle this.

I'm totally regretting not booking with DU for our December cruise. I will book with them from now on! It seems they have wonderful customer service. I booked with the agent I always use because she gives double onboard credit when you rebook with them. That's not worth it for me because I haven't heard anything from her. I e-mailed her yesterday to ask about the Disney Visa credit and because we haven't gotten our docs yet and leave a week from Friday. I then e-mailed her today about the fuel surcharge. No response for either e-mail. ARGH!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm so glad I posted this last night. I'm glad that it's helping some of you. I really hope that they do the right thing and waive the fuel surcharge for us December cruisers who paid it.

I also remember that they said something about if oil is below $70 per barrel for 30 days they would discontinue it but I didn't remember anything about the 1st day of the quarter statement. I'm guessing it was in there somewhere, but who knows?!

I recall it sounding something like this: To change the fuel surcharge to an OBC, oil must stay below $70/barrel for 30 days leading up to 2 weeks prior to each sailing. So at the 2 week mark, they look at the last 30 days, if it's under $70, you get an obc. If not, they keep the fuel surcharge. It was Royal Caribbean who was doing it quarterly (we're sailing with them in June too) but now DCL has switched to the quarterly method too?

Arrgh! We were just on the Magic last week and rebooked for 09 and 10 and we were still charged the fuel surcharge. Not so easy to just cancel and rebook as we would lose our onboard perks. Here we are just days later and there is now no surcharge.

 

[Suz D]

I recall it sounding something like this: To change the fuel surcharge to an OBC, oil must stay below $70/barrel for 30 days leading up to 2 weeks prior to each sailing. So at the 2 week mark, they look at the last 30 days, if it's under $70, you get an obc. If not, they keep the fuel surcharge. It was Royal Caribbean who was doing it quarterly (we're sailing with them in June too) but now DCL has switched to the quarterly method too?

Arrgh! We were just on the Magic last week and rebooked for 09 and 10 and we were still charged the fuel surcharge. Not so easy to just cancel and rebook as we would lose our onboard perks. Here we are just days later and there is now no surcharge.

That's exactly how I remember it. I wonder if they changed it somewhere along the line? I know there was a thread about the surcharge and it had that information in it. I'll go searching.

As an aside, we were supposed to be on the cruise with you last week but my mother was diagnosed with cancer in June. She passed away in August and we decided to book the December cruise just to relax after a very trying year. I hope it was a wonderful time!

Suz D

 

[MickeyAddict]

I am right there with you. They are FRUSTRATING me to NO END right now!

Don't sweat it! There is so much time between now and September 2010 -- anything could happen with the fuel surcharge. Either it will be completely gone, or we will all be paying it. Even if they take it off now, they could add it back again. The only way to be sure of not paying it, is to cancel the cruise....

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

That's exactly how I remember it. I wonder if they changed it somewhere along the line? I know there was a thread about the surcharge and it had that information in it. I'll go searching.

As an aside, we were supposed to be on the cruise with you last week but my mother was diagnosed with cancer in June. She passed away in August and we decided to book the December cruise just to relax after a very trying year. I hope it was a wonderful time!

Suz D

I am so sorry.
My mom is a 2 time survivor so every day is a gift in my eyes.
I hope you have a very relaxing cruise and enjoy precious time with your family.

 

[Suz D]

I am so sorry.
My mom is a 2 time survivor so every day is a gift in my eyes.
I hope you have a very relaxing cruise and enjoy precious time with your family.

Thank you for your kind words and a big hooray for your mom. I'd give almost anything for one more hour to visit with my mom.

 

[Suz D]

Here is an interesting piece of information that perhaps should be passed on to DCL. Check out posting #100 in this thread...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1978914&page=7

Okay, sorry, I didn't read it properly. They are dropping the charge with the April 2009 sailings and will check out the January sailings. I'm a dork. However, this would have been the way for Disney to do this. If they had dropped the surcharge starting in January and not messed with the December sailings it would have been much better for them. As it is, a can of worms has been opened.

 

[lbgraves]

They are not huge fans of the DIS boards. I am thankfuul for the DIS boards! They would have never told me about the fuel surcharge!

That is very true because it makes them look bad most of the time.

 

[lbgraves]

I'm totally regretting not booking with DU for our December cruise. I will book with them from now on! It seems they have wonderful customer service. I booked with the agent I always use because she gives double onboard credit when you rebook with them. That's not worth it for me because I haven't heard anything from her. I e-mailed her yesterday to ask about the Disney Visa credit and because we haven't gotten our docs yet and leave a week from Friday. I then e-mailed her today about the fuel surcharge. No response for either e-mail. ARGH!!

Just responding to the Disney Visa Credit. I have always been told that DCL will not allow you to have both the rebooking OBC and the Disney VISA OBC.

 

[lbgraves]

I remember when DCL decided that it was going to charge the 2008 PC repo cruises $100 per person to cover the charge to go through the canal after everyone had booked the cruises and they were sold out. Many many people emailed DCL demanding that this be dropped because it was unfair. I cannot recall the reasoning but there was a lot of research done and there was no such charge somehow. DCL responded and removed the charge from everyone's cruise cost. If they respond to people who write them concerning two cruises, surely the fact that this affects so many more of us should carry some weight with them. I for one will be anxiously waiting to see what John posts tomorrow!

 

[BabyRN]

My quote for the new booking was the same as when I booked it, and I got to keep the same rooms I booked. The problem is, there is NO GUARANTEE that Disney will give you on onboard credit! If fuel goes back up, there goes your OBC out the window!

 

[Pansy]

I just got off the phone with DCL as I'm cruising on the Magic on 1/10/09. I was told to check back with DCL on 12/18/08 to find out whether DCL will give us an OBC. The DCL rep quoted the standard language as in previous posts. When I told her that I first heard about this issue on the DIS Boards, she laughed and said to not believe things I read on the DIS???!!! I told her that the most valuable information I have received for the past 7 years has come from the DIS Boards. She didn't say any more......

Jan

We are on the same cruise. Have you noticed if the price has dropped since booking

 

[JanDave]

Pansy - we booked our cruise in September 08, while on board the Wonder. I think I'll do a search to find out gas barrel prices since September.

Jan

 

[JanDave]

12/1/08

Dear Dennis,
Thank you for choosing a Disney Cruise Line Vacation!

I am happy to assist you with information regarding the fuel supplement.
For previously booked cruises, the criteria for refund will be determined on a quarterly basis by the market price of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). If the closing price on the New York Mercantile Exchange of West Texas Intermediate fuel is below $70. a barrel two weeks prior to the beginning of the calendar quarter, the company will refund fuel surcharges. These will be paid in the form of an onboard credit.
*For those sailing in the third quarter of 2009, the fuel price determination date is: June 17, 2009

I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.

We look forward to sailing with you!
Have a Magical Day!
Francesca
Reservations Department
Disney Cruise Vacations

I just found the West Texas Intermediate website with lots of good info. www.wtrg.com/daily/crudeoilprice.html

Found this on the website:

Monday, December 1, 2008: NYMEX West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil for January delivery closed down $5.15 at $49.28 per barrel.



Jan

 

[orlandothebeagle]

I just want to assure anyone who is waiting to hear from DU concerning their cruise that we are working with DCL on this and will let you know what we find out.

Like you we are getting conflicting information.

I want to caution folks from cancelling a current reservation to rebook if the price difference is not at least the same amount as the fuel surcharge. For example if the price of your cruise goes up by $100.00 and the fuel charge is $213.00 then it will look like you will be saving $113.00 when actually if you let DCL give you the OBC you will save $213.00 when the fuel charge is removed. In addition, DCL is saying they reserve the right to add the fuel surcharge back in if they decide they need to - so you could wind up paying more overall if that happens.

I am surprised that they haven't thought this through better but hopefully tomorrow we will have a better picture of how they intend to handle this.

I did NOT cancel and rebook, they just removed after I said I was going to do this.(after checking price on the net)

 

[dta87]

I just want to assure anyone who is waiting to hear from DU concerning their cruise that we are working with DCL on this and will let you know what we find out.

Like you we are getting conflicting information.

I want to caution folks from cancelling a current reservation to rebook if the price difference is not at least the same amount as the fuel surcharge. For example if the price of your cruise goes up by $100.00 and the fuel charge is $213.00 then it will look like you will be saving $113.00 when actually if you let DCL give you the OBC you will save $213.00 when the fuel charge is removed. In addition, DCL is saying they reserve the right to add the fuel surcharge back in if they decide they need to - so you could wind up paying more overall if that happens.

I am surprised that they haven't thought this through better but hopefully tomorrow we will have a better picture of how they intend to handle this.

I like many others are anxiously awaiting a resolution on this. I have a military rate for my cruise in May so right now the only difference in cost between rebooking now and when the Military rates came out last month is the fuel surcharge (for the 3 rooms we have booked that adds up). The only risk I see in cancelling/rebooking at this time is being able to secure the same rooms.

The quickest and fairest way to resolve this is for DCL to remove the surcharge for all passengers, with the option to reinstate it. If Disney determines it is needed in their quarterly review they can bring it back (grandfathering the passengers that booked prior to May 28, 08)

 

[Brooklyn]

I like many others are anxiously awaiting a resolution on this. I have a military rate for my cruise in May so right now the only difference in cost between rebooking now and when the Military rates came out last month is the fuel surcharge (for the 3 rooms we have booked that adds up). The only risk I see in cancelling/rebooking at this time is being able to secure the same rooms.

The quickest and fairest way to resolve this is for DCL to remove the surcharge for all passengers, with the option to reinstate it. If Disney determines it is needed in their quarterly review they can bring it back (grandfathering the passengers that booked prior to May 28, 08)

I have been on the phone since I have been blue in the face! I finally talked to the head customer service manager this am. She said there is really nothing they can do, her hands are tied. She is however taking my reservation higher up as an example.

We are not cruising till Sept 2010. They have had $3,000 of my money (for my deposit) for about 6 weeks now. They have since raised the rates, not by much but enough. The reason they can raise the rates are because of people like me who booked early. We however are the ones who are getting the short end of the stick.

I can rebook now and save $90 for my two rooms or I can hold my breath and hope for an OBC of $490. What you anyone here chose???? It makes more sense just to wait and hope for the credit but it is just not right! They are forcing us to make a decision right now which is just WRONG! They should remove the charge all together.

I know there is one poster who said it was taken off all together. We are on the same cruise. You are lucky, I wish I was so lucky. The person I spoke to said that should not have happened. I did not push it any further bc I did not want the CM who did it for you to get in trouble. She said as of right now there instruction is to NOT remove it.

They can however reshop it for you at todays rates. They will keep your same stateroom (that was told to me last night by a supervisor). According to her she was "doing me a favor" Even though that was so genourous of her to give me what I worked so hard to get the 1st morning of booking I declined. At this point I am not sure if I am even going to take this trip. DCL is making my stomach turn with all of this. It is just not right.

They are taking a small group of people who booked for 2010 and holding there money hostage just in case fuel prices go up. Everyone else from today if and when they add it back again (lets hope not) will not be paying anything towards the extra cost of fuel!

The other thing that gets me SOOOOOOOOO mad is that the price of fuel has to stay below $70 for 2 consecutive quarters. I asked if it goes to $71 on one of those day do we lose the OBC, she said yes!!! Now that just kills me bc we could be paying $490 of fuel surcharge bc one day in about 120 days it went about $70 while the rest of the cruise pays NOTHING extra for fuel!!!!! How crazy is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Suz D]

Okay, after receiving my pretty much canned response this morning via e-mail from DCL which said whole the 1/4'ly pricing thing blah, blah, blah plus told me to contact my travel agent since that's who has my ressie (ummm I didn't know that my TA was in charge of making DCL policy since that's what my question was, not a reservation question) I was just getting a bit irritated.

I called and kindly asked right away to speak to a supervisor. The reservation agent asked if she could help me. "I don't think so, I'm calling about the fuel surcharge". "Ohhh" she replied, "You're being so sweet about it! I'll get you supervisor right away". LOL! They must have had some very angry people calling yesterday!

I told the supervisor that I didn't have a problem with Disney adding a surcharge, my issue is that they clearly made a determination SOMEHOW based on SOMETHING that no surcharge was needed for December sailings. They couldn't possibly be following their own published formula or they wouldn't be able to cancel any fuel surcharges until January (the first day of the calendar quarter after the December 18th fuel price check). All new booking fuel charges should not have been cancelled until they had the December 18th fuel information. If they aren't going to follow their own formula then they should reverse the surcharge for everyone.

Anyway, to make a long story just a bit longer, he said that our December 18sailing fuel surcharge will be included with the 1st quarter of 2009 and will be based on the price of fuel on December 18th. That's good news, except the canned e-mail says that it's for the CALENDAR quarter not the fuel charge quarter which also starts December 18th. That's great for our sailing, but those of you who are on earlier December sailings are still being assessed the fuel surcharge while new bookings for those dates are not. There doesn't appear to be any resolution for those with sailings AFTER the 1st quarter. I agree with the previous poster who said that they should just remove it with the option to reinstate it.

I told him that the canned e-mail response says calendar quarter and he had to go check for verification in case *I* was right and he was wrong He came back and verified that they had decided to include the December 18th and later sailings in the fuel surcharge reversal IF the price of oil stays below $70.00/barrel.

Okay, that's all but I probably should have asked him to e-mail me that so that I had it in writing. ARGH!

 

[tom31b]

Wait a minute ... didn't Disney say that if oil trades below $70/barrel for 30 days that they would automatically remove the surcharge and credit the cruiser with an OBC? Did I dream that they said that initially?

Now they're saying that it depends upon when you cruise? That it doesn't matter that oil trades below $70 for 30 days, but if it trades below $70 at some undetermined (and inconsistent) time before your cruise?


I can't cancel and rebook as we have suites lined up for 4/2009 and 9/2010. I know the fuel supplement isn't much compared to the cost of that, but still. Ticks me off that someone could book today without any charge, and we're still paying it.

http://www.eturbonews.com/2315/disney-cruise-line-adopts-fuel-surcharge

Disney Cruise Line adopts fuel surcharge
Apr 29, 2008
TALLAHASSEE - Disney Cruise Line said Monday it will begin charging passengers to offset soaring fuel costs, joining every other major operator in the cruise industry.

Disney's Celebration-based cruise company had for months resisted levying a fuel surcharge, which other cruise lines began adopting late last year. But Disney spokeswoman Christi Erwin Donnan said the charge has become a necessity with record oil prices showing no signs of abating.

"Fuel costs continue to affect many, and the impact on us has been no exception," she said.

Beginning with bookings made as of May 28, Disney will charge the first and second passengers in a stateroom $8 a day, up to $112 a person per voyage. Any remaining travelers in a cabin will be charged $3 a day, up to $42 a person.

A family of four staying in one stateroom would pay an extra $154 for a seven-day cruise.

Disney's fee matches the amount charged by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world's second-biggest cruise operator. It is higher than the amount charged by the world's largest cruise operator, Carnival Corp., which became the first company to enact a fuel surcharge in November 2007.

"It's in alignment with the industry," Erwin Donnan said.

Erwin Donnan said Disney intends to eliminate its fuel surcharge once oil spends 30 days trading below $70 a barrel. Oil closed at $118.75 a barrel Monday.