Swan Hellenic defends fuel surcharges of £14/$28 per head/per day

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Swan Hellenic's decision to increase fuel surcharges to £14 per person per day has been defended by its owner.

Roger Allard, chairman of All Leisure, which owns the cruiseline, said the increase from the current £2.50 will be added to all summer season sailings from May 23 and comes as the cost of oil continues to soar. The price is now about $120 per barrel.

However, he added the daily surcharge will be reduced as the operator, according to the European Union Package Directive, absorbs the first 2% of the entire cost of any booking, meaning Swan Hellenic will fund up to £6 of the daily cost of each individual's surcharge.

While Royal Caribbean is raising the surcharge to a maximum of £4 per person, Allard said this is largely down to economies of scale as Minerva carries only about 330 passengers.

Allard added that many Swan Hellenic itineraries are off the beaten track, meaning fuel costs increase as the ship is forced to fill up at less mainstream ports, where costs can be higher.

Swan Hellenic defends fuel surcharges

**Ally** · 05-07-2008, 07:25 AM

Although the surcharge does seem high compared to the larger lines, it is quite understandable when you consider how many passengers SH will be carrying against the lines such as RCI. Had RCI only had one small ship, I guess the charge would be the same as SH. Still causes a sharp intake of breath though for passengers, no doubt.

**richardm** · 05-07-2008, 12:30 PM

I suspect that if it's worked out as a percentage it won't look so grim as SH are more expensive then most lines.

Richard

swan · 05-08-2008, 06:46 AM

I like the , Stabilisers -the dfference between eating soup and wearing it ,my thoughts exactly.

**richardm** · 05-08-2008, 08:04 AM

I did an organised tour on the Pride of Bilbao, a ferry that travels the Bay of Biscay in all conditions (I've been on in Force 11). The Second Engineer took us round all the places you don't see and we watched the stabilisers from inside the ship which was when he made the comment.

Richard