This Just In: Fuel Surcharges

Several cruise lines have just announced they will soon start adding daily fuel surcharges to their fares.

Every line in the Carnival corporate empire (Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess, and Seabourn) will charge $5 per person per day (up to a maximum of $70) for sailings beginning February 1, 2008.

Oceania will charge $7 per passenger per day for sailings through April 2009, beginning December 1, 2007, for new bookings (or any not fully paid for by then).

And Regent Seven Seas is charging $7.50 per passenger per day for all 2008 voyages not fully paid for by December 1, 2007.

Expect other major cruise lines to follow suit soon -- it's the wave of the near future, at least.

Photo by Dennis Cox/WorldViews

Holland America three-day sale starts today

Holland America is holding a three-day sale November 14, 15 and 16, offering deals on dozens of 2007 and 2008 cruises ranging from the Caribbean to Europe to South America to Hawaii to Mexico, Alaska, the Pacific and points beyond.

For example, you can score a seven-day Mexican Rivera cruise roundtrip out of San Diego on February 2, 2008, for as little as $449 per passenger, or a 14-day Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia, cruise departing on the same date for as little as $1549 per passenger.

Or consider a ten-day Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Rome on April 29, 2008, for prices starting at $1399, or a 16-day transatlantic cruise from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon on April 4, 2008, for the same starting fares. In both cases, outside staterooms start at $100 more per passenger.

The fine print: Prices are for new bookings only. Taxes are additional and range from $39.50 to $556.69 per passenger, depending on itinerary. Prices quoted also don't include a new $5 per day per passenger (maximum $70) fuel surcharge for cruises leaving after February 1, 2008.

For bookings, go to Holland America's website or call 877/724-5425 or a travel agent. Ask for Promo FJ or FN.

Noordam photo from Holland America

Costa knocks two-thirds off Med cruise rates in January

The Costa Cruises website is featuring a deal for three 12-day Mediterranean cruises in January 2008 for rates as low as $749 to $849 per person in double occupancy -- that's 67 percent off their brochure prices.

The cruises aboard the Costa Concordia are roundtrip out of Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, and visit ports in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. Departure dates are January 5, 16, and 27, 2008; the latter cruise is the one priced at $749, while the first two are priced at $849 for interior staterooms.

The rates are for residents of the U.S. and Canada only, and are subject to change until the cruise is booked.

To book, click here or call Costa at 877/88-COSTA.

Photo courtesy of Costa Cruises.

Carnival offers free upgrades for 2007 and 2008 cruises

This Thursday, November 15, Carnival is offering free upgrades on almost all of its cruises from now through December 2008. Destinations include The Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Europe.

Not all categories of cabins are included in the offer, and upgrades are only available within like cabin categories (for instance, interior to interior, oceanview to oceanview, balcony to balcony). Some other upgrading restrictions apply, and the offer applies to new bookings only.

You must book the cruise on November 15, from midnight Wednesday to midnight Thursday. Ask for fare code CP1S.

Note: Past guests of Carnival are allowed "preview" privileges on Wednesday, November 14 -- meaning that you can book your cruises and get your upgrades one day ahead of everyone else.

To book, visit Carnival's website or call 888/CARNIVAL or a travel agent.

Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines.

Last-minute $30-a-night offer on Patagonia cruise

America'sVacationCenter.com is currently featuring an incredible offer for an 18-night Norwegian cruise from Santiago, Chile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, starting at just $599 for inside cabins and $799 for oceanview.

The voyage aboard the Norwegian Dream departs Santiago November 21, 2007, and reaches Buenos Aires on December 9, cruising the Chilean Fjords, the Straits of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, Cape Horn, the Falklands, and Montevideo, Uruguay, along the way.

If you can take advantage of this deal, call America's Vacation Center right away at 866/501-0959.

If you need a couple of more weeks, NCL's website (www.ncl.com) has a deal for a similar cruise (with itinerary reversed from Buenos Aires to Santiago) departing December 9, 2007, with prices starting at $699 for inside cabins and $749 for oceanview. Third and fourth guests in a stateroom start at just $399. Suites start at just $2099. Ask for promo code PGSD1.

Photo from Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Oceania puts Panama Canal sailings on sale

Oceania Cruises is offering its two 16-day Panama Canal Fiesta cruises in January 2008 at 40 percent off brochure rate and is throwing in free airfare to boot from 20 different cities across the U.S.

The cruises start either in Miami or Los Angeles (the routes are reversed depending upon starting city) and stop in Grand Cayman; Cartagena, Colombia; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; and Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, along with transiting the Panama Canal.

Per passenger costs aboard Oceania's Regatta start at $3,299 double occupancy for inside cabins. Some fees and taxes are additional.

The offer expires on December 31, 2007, but could be withdrawn earlier.

For more information, click here or call 866/765-3630 or a travel agent.

Photo from Dennis Cox/WorldViews

Hurtigruten offers variety of early-booking specials

Hurtigruten (formerly Norwegian Coastal Voyage) is offering a variety of early-booking specials for 2008 and 2009 voyages.

Book any 12-day Spitsbergen voyage before November 30, 2007, and save $350 per person; or any 16-day or nine-day Spitsbergen voyage before the same date and save $200 per person (good for new bookings only).

Book any Greenland cruise before January 31, 2008, and receive $500 off suites and $350 off regular cabins.

Save $350 per person if you book any 2008-2009 Antarctica cruise before November 30, 2007 (good for new bookings only).

Hurtigruten also offers discounts to AARP members of $100 to $150 per cabin.

And, if you book any northbound, southbound, or roundtrip voyage along the Norwegian coast for most departures from December 2007 through February 2008, your companion goes free (this represents a 50 percent savings off brochure prices). The offer is not valid on these five ships: Midnatsol, Trollfjord, Finnmarken, Lofoten, or Nordstjernen.

For more information or bookings, click here or call 800/323-7436.