A class action suit has been filed against several cruise lines including Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line claiming the lines acted in cahoots to fix questionable fuel surcharges. The suit comes only a week after the Florida attorney general's office said it was investigating Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean over improperly disclosed fuel surcharges.
The class action suit was filed last Tuesday on behalf of a New York resident who said hr was negatively affected by the fuel surcharges. The suit seeks action on behalf of anyone who purchased cruise fares after January 1 from one of the cruise companies named in the complaint.
Carnival Corp. was the first to announce fuel surcharges of $5 per day per passenger that would go into effect February 1. More cruise lines soon followed with fuel supplements of their own as high, in some cases, as $8.50 per person per day.
The suit claims that the domino effect of nearly identical fuel hikes is proof of collusion and price fixing. (DE)