You knew it would happen. Travel industry experts have warned that extra charges for fuel are coming. Cruises are not immune from the political mess that’s strangling oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
A couple of small cruise lines based in Asia, where fuel supply routes are sharply affected, have already instituted fuel surcharges. StarCruises and Dream Cruises, both operated by Resorts World Cruises, have brought in fees of US$12–$25 per day.
But in North America, the big lines have held back on added fuel fees—so far.
With global crude stockpiles rapidly depleting, the fuel market complicating, and the supply situation deteriorating, you shouldn’t expect that generosity to last much longer.
Which cruise lines are most likely to impose fuel charges?
“We do not expect any immediate impact on ticket prices or the guest experience due to current oil market disruptions,” a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean told the press in early April.
By early May, Royal Caribbean had announced that rising fuel costs had indeed eaten into its expected earnings.
But so far, the brand is avoiding the public relations mess of demanding surcharges from passengers who have already booked vacations. No doubt the cruise lines know that if they hit vacationers with added fuel fees, then guests are likely to reduce onboard spending, a major profit center in the mainstream lines’ current pricing strategy.
Some lines are in a position to hold back added fuel charges, at least in 2026. Royal Caribbean is one of the cruise corporations that hedges fuel prices by locking in pre-negotiated rates for most (about 60%) of its fuel purchases.
Other major cruise brands, like the ones owned by Carnival Corporation, don’t hedge and are more exposed to the political catastrophe in the Middle East.
How much will cruise fuel surcharges be?
The amount of your potential last-minute fuel surcharge may be buried in the contract you signed with the cruise line when you reserved your cabin.
Royal Caribbean reserves the right to slap extra fees on passengers at any time before sailing, as long as West Texas Intermediate fuel costs more than $65 a barrel. It’s over $100 now.
The cruise line’s right to charge extra for fuel is explained in the Ticket Contract that every booked guest agrees to.
“If at any time after booking,” the contract reads, “the closing price of: (i) West Texas Intermediate Fuel exceeds US$65.00 per barrel; or (ii) Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price exceeds US$3.00 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit on the New York Mercantile Stock Exchange, Carrier may impose a Fuel Supplement of up to US$12.00 (or its equivalent in the currency of the booking) per Guest, per day.”
For a family of four sharing a cabin on a 7-day cruise, the maximum added fuel charge allowed by the customer contract would be $48 a day for the group. That would add $336 to the final tab—just for new fuel charges.
To be clear, Royal Caribbean, which also controls Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, is not yet charging this. But given the high market price of fuel, the company already has the contractual right to pull the trigger at any moment.
The cruise lines have done it before. In 2008, many lines imposed fuel surcharges—and that was when oil prices were far below what they are today.
Norwegian Cruise Line, which hedges about half its fuel consumption, has similar language in its own Ticket Contract, but Norwegian’s ability to charge extra for fuel is capped at $10 per passenger per day. NCL, too, has so far held back on imposing fuel fees, though rising fuel prices have already given it the legal right to do so.
Hedging by Royal Caribbean and Norwegian (and by a few small lines such as Swan Hellenic and the U.K.’s Ambassador Cruise Line) gives them a temporary buffer from escalating fuel rates.
But Carnival Cruise Line, despite some recent advances in fuel efficiency, has only offered this faint statement about adding surcharges to passengers’ bills: “We have no plans to change our current pricing model,” a representative said.
Having “no plans” is not a promise of anything, of course.
Carnival, which does not hedge fuel prices, has the most exposure to fuel price volatility of the three major cruise corporations. The company, which includes Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Cunard, expects to spend more than $2 billion on fuel alone in 2026.
It’s anyone’s guess how much Carnival might have to charge travelers in added fuel fees, but since it doesn’t pre-negotiate its fuel costs, don’t be surprised if, in the short term, Carnival decides to hit customers for more than Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, which do hedge costs.
Also bear in mind that even the short-term guaranteed fuel prices negotiated by Royal Caribbean and Norwegian for 2026 will run out. Once the companies emerge from their current fuel contracts, the new mathematics of higher expenses will force the lines to shift more costs to the customer in order to keep shareholders happy.
It’s bad enough for the cruise lines that flight cancellations resulting from the global fuel situation have made flying to European ports from North America into a dicier proposition.
And don’t expect travel insurance to get you out of fuel surcharges.
“Travel insurance almost universally does not cover war-related claims,” insurance expert Melanie Musson told consumer advocate Christopher Elliott in April. “Since the fuel shortage is directly related to a war, travel insurance has the out it needs to not pay your claim.”
As oil prices skyrocket, cruise lines will, sooner or later, have passengers over a barrel, so to speak. And it’s almost a sure thing that we’ll be paying hundreds more per weeklong cruise.
