Disney Cruise Line said this morning that it will begin charging passengers to offset soaring fuel costs, following every other major cruise operator.
Disney will charge the first two passengers in a stateroom $8 a person per day up to a maximum of $112 per person per vacation. It will charge any remaining passengers in a cabin $3 a person per day up to a maximum of $42 per person. It will begin levying the fuel surcharge on any new bookings made on or after May 28.
The surcharge amounts match Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and are slightly higher than charged by Carnival Corp.
Disney Cruise Line had been the last major holdout since Carnival, Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines adopted fuel surcharges late last year. But Disney spokeswoman Christi Erwin Donnan said the company finally decided to adopt its own fuel fee with record oil prices showing no signs of abating.
"Fuel costs continue to affect many, and the impact on us has been no exception," she said.
Like Carnival, Disney says it will rescind its fuel surcharge once oil spends 30 days trading below $70 per barrel. It has recently been trading near $120 per barrel.
