Carnival Corp.'s six North American cruise brands reached a resolution with the Florida Attorney General's office to reimburse passengers $40 million in retroactively imposed fuel surcharges.
The attorney general's office said that Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruises would return about $40 million to consumers nationwide who were charged the fuel surcharge after they had booked their cruises.
The agreement with Carnival Corp. will affect more than 1.1 million bookings, the office said.
"I commend Carnival and its cruise lines for taking the necessary steps to ensure that this matter is resolved in their passengers' best interest," said Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in a statement. "I appreciate this company's commitment toward protecting not only our citizens and our guests but also Florida's reputation as an attractive vacation destination."
Carnival said that travel agents who were paid $10 per booking in administrative compensation for notifying their clients of the supplement would still receive that $10 per booking.
The company also said it would refund the fuel surcharge to customers who were already booked at the time the surcharge was announced and that the refunds would be implemented based on cruise departure date, according to the following schedule:
* For cruises departing on or prior to April 4, customers will receive a refund in the same form they used to purchase their cruise.
* For cruises departing from April 5 through June 2, guests will receive an onboard credit.
* For cruises departing on or after June 24, Carnival will delete the surcharge from the cruise price.
The fuel supplement remains in effect for all bookings made on or after Nov. 7, 2007.
The agreement comes several weeks after Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. agreed to issue $21 million in refunds to consumers who paid retroactive fuel surcharges on bookings for its three brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises.
Both decisions resulted from an investigation launched by the Florida Attorney General's Economic Crimes Division after it received several hundred complaints from around the country about the retroactive fuel supplement charges and cruise line industry, the attorney general's office said.
In the future, the cruise lines must ensure clear and conspicuous disclosure of any fuel surcharges at the time the reservations are made as well as in their advertisements, the attorney general's office said.
The office said that Carnival would contact consumers eligible for refunds and would report to the attorney general's office on the status of refunds within 30 days.
Carnival said the refunds will not affect the company’s previously reported first-quarter financial results or change its guidance for the second quarter and full-year 2008. The company explained that it did not include in its earnings report fuel surcharge revenue associated with bookings made prior to Nov. 7, 2007, while the Florida Attorney General’s Office was conducting its review.
To contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].