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2008
2008, Feb. 19: Both Royal Caribbean and
Carnival cruise lines have denied allegations that they were in collusion in
setting artificially high fuel surcharges.
A federal lawsuit was filed in Miami last week
Tuesday alleging that a number of cruise lines came together to fix the
surcharge which they subsequently charged to passengers. According to the Miami
Herald newspaper, web edition, the lawsuit seeks class-action status for
passengers who had to pay the new fuel surcharge. It alleges antitrust
violations and seeks triple damages, costs, and attorneys' fees, the newspaper
reported..
Miami-based Royal Caribbean and Carnival said the
suit is without merit. Royal said it set its fuel charge ''independent of the
other parties.''
According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the
lawsuit was filed by Coral Gables attorney Harley Tropin on behalf of New York
resident Jason Ablelove, who was affected by the fuel price hike. It said anyone
who purchased tickets after January 1 from one of the several cruise companies
named in the complaint paid an unreasonably high fuel surcharge illegally set by
the companies.
The Tampa Bay Journal reported that Royal
Caribbean and Carnival Corp. had announced a $5-a-guest fuel charge in November
and began applying it on voyages starting February 1. Also in November,
Oceania Cruises said it would implement a fuel surcharge of $7 per person, per
day. Windstar Cruises and Majestic America Line raised fuel fees to $8.50
per person per day.
The lawsuit claims that the string of nearly
identical fuel hikes, within a short period of time, is proof that the cruise
lines are engaging in price fixing. the Journal reported.
The lawsuit claimed: "Defendants agreed to act in
concert with one another by imposing these fuel surcharges based on purported
increased fuel costs," it says. "In doing so, defendants sought to
opportunistically leverage their cartel power to charge their customers higher
fuel surcharges."
Carnival Cruise Lines is a member of the
Caribbean Shipping Association.
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