ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. -- When the client comes back from a cruise
with a stack of paperwork in hand, "You know it's going to be
trouble," said Lynda Reich, president of Master Travel and Cruises
here.
And trouble it was, for the agent, the client and the cruise
line.
During a Royal Olympic cruise, the line surprised passengers
with a "security surcharge" of $3 per person, per day.
"This was absolutely wrong," Reich said.
Apparently, Royal Olympic thought so, too, because the line
stopped the practice and is refunding those passengers $9 per
person, per day -- either in a straight reimbursement or towards a
future ROC cruise.
"People weren't happy with it," said Arne Egeland, the cruise
line's executive director for North America.
The new fee stemmed from a stepped-up security plan that went
into practice in December. Egeland would not reveal specifics of
the plan.
"Some of the expenses we incurred with it ... we tried to pass
on [to the guests] for a few voyages," he said.
Royal Olympic did not have time before the cruises to alert
passengers, he said.
A letter from Royal Olympic, which executives said came from the
line's Athens management, was available to passengers onboard
explaining the charge.
"We deeply regret having to pass on the increased costs," the
letter said. "But ... the surcharge is a small price to pay for
enhanced security."
The surcharge was added to passengers' bills on two South
American cruises: A Dec. 22 departure of the Olympia Voyager and a
Dec. 28 sailing of the Olympia Explorer. In the case of Reich's
clients, the charge -- $45 per person for a 15-day cruise -- showed
up at the end of the voyage on the passengers' onboard account.
Security has become a fresh concern for cruise lines after Sept.
11. According to the International Council of Cruise Lines, many
security costs are included in passengers' port fees.
Egeland said the ROC surcharge was for the line's "own specific
costs."
With the $3 per person costs, Royal Olympic would have recouped
about $37,000 on the 15-day cruise. In its goodwill gesture, the
line could pay out up to $112,860 on that sailing.
Reich said that was fine, although she has yet to hear from
Royal Olympic. She added that her clients "would want the money
back, rather than a future cruise credit."