Carnival cuts some fuel supplements

While some Carnival brands have removed their fuel supplements, Cunard, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises will actually increase prices. The company says it now has specific guidelines under which the current fuel supplement may be reimbursed to passengers for 2008 and 2009 voyages but details of how to claim a refund have not yet been made public. Other UK brands, P&O Cruises and Ocean Village have followed suit with the cuts. The system is complicated - if the price of light sweet crude oil according to the New York Mercantile Exchange Index is $70 per barrel or less at the 14.30 close of business as reported by Reuters on each of the 25 consecutive trading days ending five trading days prior to the guest's cruise departure date, the fuel supplement will be refunded in the form of a shipboard credit – hardly a straightforward offer. Additionally, if you book a 2010 cruise prior to the end of this month, you’ll be charged the current fuel supplement but will be eligible for a refund of the supplement in accordance with the same fuel price conditions that are being implemented for 2008-2009 departures.