Carnival to implement fuel charge

MIAMI — Carnival Corp. said Wednesday that its North American cruise lines will implement a fuel surcharge of $5 per person per day.

The charge only applies to the first and second guests in a stateroom and will not exceed $70 per person per voyage, and is effective on all bookings for voyages departing as of Feb. 1.

The brands include Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and The
Yachts of Seabourn.

 CEO Micky Arison said the recent spike in fuel prices has dramatically affected the company's operating costs. The price the company pays for fuel has increased 140 percent over the last three years, with a
50 percent increase occurring in the last seven months.

"Earlier this year, we implemented a supplement for our European
brands,” Arison said. “We had hoped to avoid a similar supplement for our North American brands but with the price of oil approaching $100 a barrel this is no
longer possible.”

The surcharge will cover about a third of the company’s year-over-year fuel cost increases.