Thread: Could Fuel Supplements Be Coming Back??

Unfortunately in Europe its not the high price of fuel, but the mammoth tax hikes Governments impose on oil products.

Yes, but the taxes in the 70's during the first oil crisis lead to a lot of the good mass transit you now see in Europe and to the use of more fuel efficient cars. We here in the US squandered the opportunity and are in a major mess of high reliance (with no alternative) to cars.

Norman, gas(petrol) prices in the Summer of 2008 was over $4 per gallon here in the US. Many people parked their cars and overwhelmed the Transit systems throughout the country. We are nearing, and in some places, it's over $4 per gallon now. Some stations in Hawaii & New York are selling gas at over $4 per gallon.
If the price of gas ever gets to $8 per gallon here, we would be beside ourselves, lol.

Originally Posted by MD11F

Norman, gas(petrol) prices in the Summer of 2008 was over $4 per gallon here in the US. Many people parked their cars and overwhelmed the Transit systems throughout the country. We are nearing, and in some places, it's over $4 per gallon now. Some stations in Hawaii & New York are selling gas at over $4 per gallon.
If the price of gas ever gets to $8 per gallon here, we would be beside ourselves, lol.

$8 you would still have a bargain in UK, it has just passed the £6 mark $9 a gallon.

Seriously though taxation has made fuel expensive all over Europe, and I feel sorry for you people cruising our side of the pond. Shore excursions are unbelievably expensive, and if you have a cruise with plenty of ports, naturally you want to see as much as you can and it costs a lot of money.

When you people cruise around the Bahamas and Caribbean any where you wish to see is affordable. Unfortunately in Europe it is different, last year on out transatlantic we called at Malaga, excursion from the ship to Alhambra Granada was €130. We went to Torremolinos and the company we went to Alhambra with two years ago were selling the same trip for €52. Unfortunately unless you do a private deal before depart you have to pay these prices. Not only do we have high taxation, but inflated prices by the cruise line.

These are one of the reasons we prefer land holidays in Europe, especially if we want to visit speciality places.

One other point if cruising in Europe or doing a transatlantic cruise, try to use a dollar ship, not one using Euros. Drink prices and on-board account are less.

Good points, Norman. What major ship lines use Euros or pounds beside P&O and Cunard?

According to an article in Cruise Critic, they say, "As various stimulants, including uncertainty in the Middle East, have pushed oil prices skyward, U.K.-based cruise lines, including P&O Cruises, Cunard, and Fred Olsen have brought back supplements".

Originally Posted by Sandie

According to an article in Cruise Critic, they say, "As various stimulants, including uncertainty in the Middle East, have pushed oil prices skyward, U.K.-based cruise lines, including P&O Cruises, Cunard, and Fred Olsen have brought back supplements".

Hi, Sandie;

You should know better than to believe everything you read on the Dark Side!

All of those cruise lines implemented their fuel supplements last year - the "uncertainty in the Middle East" occured after they implemented them, so whoever wrote the article was speculating after the fact. Plus, as has been stated here (and probably not on that other site), fuel taxes are higher in the U.K. and also have a major impact on fuel prices, so it's tough to compare what happens there versus here.

I did find the article interesting because they never did state anything about current oil prices. They mentioned prices have been over $65 a barrel for a year - nothing mentioned that oil prices have been over $90 a barrel for more than 6 months and over $100 a barrel for the last month. As usual, whoever writes their articles doesn't do it based on the full facts, but rather writes from generic information.

But as we all know, it's not a matter of 'if' other cruise lines will implement the supplement, but 'when'. Unlike the U.K.-based lines, those here negotiate long-term contracts that lock in fuel prices, usually for a couple of years.

Needless to say, it'll be interesting to see what happens and when.

Pete

Two years ago coming back to Europe from the States we were on Costa Fortuna.

This was a Euro ship.

At the end of the cruise I renamed the ship Cost a Fortune.