Higher oil prices amid the conflict in Iran have already led some airlines to raise flight prices. Now, cruise vacations could get more expensive too.
At least one international cruise line has started adding fuel surcharges to some voyages in order to help cover the elevated cost of oil: Malaysia-based StarDream Cruises announced last week that it will add fuel surcharges to new bookings made after March 20 for its voyages through Asia. The extra fees will be about $19 to $26 per night for every guest age 2 and older, depending on the itinerary, the cruise line said.
Experts say it’s possible that cruise companies around the world could implement similar fee structures. And unlike airline fuel surcharges, cruise lines are able to retroactively add fees to voyages that have already been booked. It’s not unprecedented: “Fuel surcharges are not a stranger to the cruise industry,” says Leslie Fambrini, a Condé Nast Traveler travel specialist and the founder of Personalized Travel Consultants.
In fact, most cruise lines reserve the right to add fuel surcharges to fares that have already been purchased before the voyage takes place, Chris Woronka, director and senior equity analyst at Deutsche Bank, tells Traveler. “It’s in the fine print of the terms and conditions,” Woronka says. “What seems increasingly likely is that a surcharge might begin to be added to new itineraries.”
However, not all cruise lines will be equally affected by elevated oil prices. Some major lines participate in an industry process known as fuel hedging, in which they spend money upfront to lock in the cost of future fuel purchases in the hopes of creating pricing stability. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line both hedge, and both lines said on their fourth quarter earnings calls that they were at least 50% hedged for 2026 fuel consumption. “That means they are absorbing only about half of the rise in fuel prices,” Woronka says. (Norwegian Cruise Line also owns luxury lines Regent Seven Seas and Oceania, and Royal Caribbean is the parent company for Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises.)
Other major cruise brands, like Carnival, don’t hedge at all, and “thus fuel is having a greater impact on their bottom line financially right now,” according to Woronka. (Carnival owns Princess Cruises, Holland America, Cunard, and Seabourn.)
When will cruise lines start increasing prices?
Travelers should brace themselves to see those higher fares or surcharges imminently. “The lines have been dealing with significantly higher fuel prices for about three weeks now, and there isn’t much high conviction clarity in terms of potential de-escalation, and thus lower fuel prices,” says Woronka. “So we would not be surprised to see the spike in fuel prices get passed along to the consumer within a few weeks.”
Lines could also embed the higher cost of fuel into future fares by simply raising the ticket prices overall, Woronka says. It’s potentially a more likely scenario, especially because travelers don’t like the idea of surcharge, and they expect it to be removed when oil prices come down. “If the lines don’t use that term, but just raise prices, they don’t necessarily have to lower those prices when the cost of fuel retreats,” he explains.
Whether through fuel surcharges or higher overall fares, cruise companies are likely confident that they can pass on the elevated costs to travelers without risking canceled bookings due to this year’s strong demand for cruises, Woronka says.
