Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Carnival Caves on Fees, Avoids Lawsuit?
Carnival Corporation caved on its plan to retroactively charge people for fuel surcharges today, according to USA Today. This move saves the company a lot of future trouble and allows them to back out gracefully of a bad faith $40 million windfall the company had basically extorted out of their consumers.
Here's the back story. On November 7, Carnival announced a $5 per passenger per day fuel surcharge to cover the rising cost of fuel. This is a common way for travel providers to hide a fare increase without having to share the increased fare with travel agents who are often paid commission. What made this particular fuel surcharge so awful, was that Carnival applied the fee retroactively. If the traveler has yet to sail, but has a cabin booked, extra charges of up to $140 per cabin applied. The only exception was for people who were already paid in full by the day before the announcement was made. Thousands of travelers lost, Carnival Corporation won to the tune of $40 million. Royal Caribbean soon followed, reaping $21 million of their own.
Other cruise lines jumped on the surcharge bandwagon, but did so for new bookings only. (Disney Cruise Line is the only major cruise provider not to charge a fuel surcharge.) The move, as you imagine, was not only highly unpopular, but also borderline illegal. After multiple complaints, both Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean were being investigated for unfair business practices with the Florida Attorney General.
Royal Caribbean quickly backed off as the investigations started to happen, refunding all retroactive charges. (Fuel surcharges booked after the November start date still apply.) However, Carnival hung tough until today, more confident that the terms of their Contract of Carriage would allow their surcharges to stand. Or maybe they were more confident in the large political donations given to Governor Charlie Crist's campaign in 2006, while he was Attorney General.
It turns out, Carnival approached the then Attorney General about this proposed Fuel Surcharge and got the thumbs up from the Crist machine. Two weeks later, two Carnival subsidiaries - Princess and Holland America Line - sent a check to the Florida Republican party for $125,000 according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Once this came out, rumors had been swirling in the industry that Carnival was about to cave, and today they did - now avoiding both a class-action lawsuit from angry travelers, but also potential pursuit of some real serious action by the Florida Attorney General. But is this story over? Or will it start sticking to Florida's Governor? Stranger things have happened.
Here's the back story. On November 7, Carnival announced a $5 per passenger per day fuel surcharge to cover the rising cost of fuel. This is a common way for travel providers to hide a fare increase without having to share the increased fare with travel agents who are often paid commission. What made this particular fuel surcharge so awful, was that Carnival applied the fee retroactively. If the traveler has yet to sail, but has a cabin booked, extra charges of up to $140 per cabin applied. The only exception was for people who were already paid in full by the day before the announcement was made. Thousands of travelers lost, Carnival Corporation won to the tune of $40 million. Royal Caribbean soon followed, reaping $21 million of their own.
Other cruise lines jumped on the surcharge bandwagon, but did so for new bookings only. (Disney Cruise Line is the only major cruise provider not to charge a fuel surcharge.) The move, as you imagine, was not only highly unpopular, but also borderline illegal. After multiple complaints, both Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean were being investigated for unfair business practices with the Florida Attorney General.
Royal Caribbean quickly backed off as the investigations started to happen, refunding all retroactive charges. (Fuel surcharges booked after the November start date still apply.) However, Carnival hung tough until today, more confident that the terms of their Contract of Carriage would allow their surcharges to stand. Or maybe they were more confident in the large political donations given to Governor Charlie Crist's campaign in 2006, while he was Attorney General.
It turns out, Carnival approached the then Attorney General about this proposed Fuel Surcharge and got the thumbs up from the Crist machine. Two weeks later, two Carnival subsidiaries - Princess and Holland America Line - sent a check to the Florida Republican party for $125,000 according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Once this came out, rumors had been swirling in the industry that Carnival was about to cave, and today they did - now avoiding both a class-action lawsuit from angry travelers, but also potential pursuit of some real serious action by the Florida Attorney General. But is this story over? Or will it start sticking to Florida's Governor? Stranger things have happened.
Labels: carnival, cruises, florida, holland america line, princess, royal caribbean, travel
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Norovirus and Holland America:
Over 100 passengers were sick at sea on the latest cruise on the Holland America Ryndam. And it isn't because of the waves, but the dreaded norovirus. News goes in cycles and it seems like two years ago, you couldn't swing a cat without hearing about the latest virus attack on a cruise ship. The news isn't as prevalent these days, but these outbreaks still happen and on a regular basis. The Ryndam herself has had four confirmed outbreaks since early 2007 of the nasty stomach bug. So why do they hit cruises so hard? There are a few reasons that these problems hit cruises, and one big way to help you avoid getting sick at sea.
Norovirus and other illnesses have "epidemic" effects on cruise ships for pretty simple reasons. The biggest reason: thousands of people share the same limited space for days at a time. The sickness is probably shared just as often at restaurants, hotels and other public places. But people generally aren't together for long periods on an airplane. The longest flights last 14 or 15 hours. In many cases, people who stay at hotels and eat at restaurants have different destinations and when sick see different doctors in different parts of the world. On a cruise, people eat in the same dining room, they are served by the same people, and see the same doctors when they are sick. Norovirus becomes an epidemic on a ship because the same doctors are able to spot the outbreak as it happens.
Is the virus lying dormant on the ship? Maybe, but that's less likely than most would think. When a norovirus is suspected, the ship is literally coated in anti-viral disinfectant. Cruise lines are aggressive in getting rid of these illnesses, because in a competitive world nobody wants have the buzz of being "Stomach Flu Cruise Line." Some passengers tell stories of how when a virus is suspected on the ship, they take away any shared items on the table. Salt and pepper shakers? Gone. The waiter will salt your dish for you to taste. Passengers are quarantined to their cabin for long portions of the cruise as to avoid infecting other passengers. Once in port, the ship is often held in port longer to disinfect cabins and public areas thoroughly before the next passengers are allowed on the ship.
If this clouds your opinion of whether to cruise or not, don't let it affect your decision. Stomach flu happens everywhere. The truth about norovirus is that it's annoying and makes you sick, but it won't kill you. It generally doesn't have any lasting effect beyond a couple unpleasant days of bowing to the porcelain gods and dehydrating the sick. But it can be avoided. The best way to fight it? Hygiene. Washing hands regularly. Using the hand sanitizer provided before and after visiting the dining rooms. Sometimes the bug still gets through, but its a fair bet that those who are careful about cleaning will stay healthy.
Norovirus and other illnesses have "epidemic" effects on cruise ships for pretty simple reasons. The biggest reason: thousands of people share the same limited space for days at a time. The sickness is probably shared just as often at restaurants, hotels and other public places. But people generally aren't together for long periods on an airplane. The longest flights last 14 or 15 hours. In many cases, people who stay at hotels and eat at restaurants have different destinations and when sick see different doctors in different parts of the world. On a cruise, people eat in the same dining room, they are served by the same people, and see the same doctors when they are sick. Norovirus becomes an epidemic on a ship because the same doctors are able to spot the outbreak as it happens.
Is the virus lying dormant on the ship? Maybe, but that's less likely than most would think. When a norovirus is suspected, the ship is literally coated in anti-viral disinfectant. Cruise lines are aggressive in getting rid of these illnesses, because in a competitive world nobody wants have the buzz of being "Stomach Flu Cruise Line." Some passengers tell stories of how when a virus is suspected on the ship, they take away any shared items on the table. Salt and pepper shakers? Gone. The waiter will salt your dish for you to taste. Passengers are quarantined to their cabin for long portions of the cruise as to avoid infecting other passengers. Once in port, the ship is often held in port longer to disinfect cabins and public areas thoroughly before the next passengers are allowed on the ship.
If this clouds your opinion of whether to cruise or not, don't let it affect your decision. Stomach flu happens everywhere. The truth about norovirus is that it's annoying and makes you sick, but it won't kill you. It generally doesn't have any lasting effect beyond a couple unpleasant days of bowing to the porcelain gods and dehydrating the sick. But it can be avoided. The best way to fight it? Hygiene. Washing hands regularly. Using the hand sanitizer provided before and after visiting the dining rooms. Sometimes the bug still gets through, but its a fair bet that those who are careful about cleaning will stay healthy.
Labels: effects of travel, health, holland america line
