With diesel prices climbing amid ongoing tensions with Iran, travelers sailing out of Port Canaveral are asking a reasonable question: will fuel surcharges show up on their cruise bills? The short answer is that it depends heavily on which cruise line you've booked.
Geraldine Blanchard, a travel agent with 30 years of experience and owner of Global Tours & Travel for more than two decades, broke it down: Carnival and Disney do not pass fuel surcharges on to customers. Royal Caribbean, however, reserves the right to assess fuel charges under the terms of its passenger contract.
Part of what cushions cruise lines — and their passengers — from immediate price shocks is that companies typically buy fuel well in advance to lock in rates. But Blanchard notes that the timing of those purchases matters. If a line bought fuel just as prices spiked, the cost pressure might show up indirectly through changes to dining options, onboard amenities, or onboard credits rather than as a direct surcharge line on your bill. For context on the scale involved: a single cruise ship can burn around 200,000 gallons of diesel in a single day.
Blanchard says she makes a point of going over each cruise line's fuel surcharge policy with her clients before they book, a habit worth borrowing whether you're using a travel agent or planning on your own.
This story was originally reported by Spectrum News/My News 13.
