Thread: Cruise ships sued over fuel surcharges

Several Miami-based cruise giants -- including Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, Carnival Corp, and Norwegian Cruise Lines -- have been named in a complaint seeking class action status alleging the cruise companies colluded to fix unreasonably high fuel surcharges.

Cruise ships sued over fuel surcharges - Orlando Business Journal:

I heard that the airlines and cruise lines bought their fuel a year in advance to lock in the price. If this is true, then they shouldn't be popping this fuel surcharge on their passengers at the last minute.

It's true they buy fuel a year in advance to lock in the prices. I worked for a fleet management service and they did the same thing. Bought the fuel at current prices and then charged the customers the higher rate, when fuel cost began to rise. Also my local gas supplier has the same deal. If you signed up a year and a half ago, the price would remain steady. If the prices dropped, you got the lower price. Those who didn't sign up have seen their fuel bills go through the roof. With oil reaching $100 a barrel today (2/19), things are not going to get better. It seems that the economic stimulus plan was approved just in time for oil to reach record levels.

The lawsuit is the first step in getting a class action suit going. When you consider how little each person would recover in the suit, you see that the true motivation is lining the attorney's pockets.