Cruise lines may add fuel surcharges in late 2026 due to rising oil prices related to the Iran conflict.
After the ceasefire, oil prices fell and gas prices stabilized.
Oil prices have fallen following the ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran, impacting global market share. Gasoline prices are stable in the news.
Rising oil prices during the war with Iran will lead to higher costs for air travelers, and cruises could be next.
Major U.S. airlines are raising baggage fees in response to soaring jet fuel prices, and drivers at filling stations are seeing average gas prices above $4 a gallon. Major US cruise lines have not yet introduced fuel surcharges, but uncertainty remains even after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Patrick Sholes, a lodging and leisure analyst at Trust Securities, said cruise lines have historically added premiums when oil prices have risen. “History may not necessarily repeat itself, but what do they say? It rhymes,” he told USA TODAY.
Here’s what travelers need to know:
Are rising oil prices affecting cruise lines?
The price of Brent crude, the world oil benchmark, fell by about $17 per barrel from the end of April 7 to the morning of April 8. But prices are still about 26% higher than before the war started in late February.
Fuel costs account for about 20% of costs for major cruise lines, Scholes said. Most of them hedge by buying contracts to lock in prices. “By the way, why they do this is essentially to protect against fluctuations in revenue,” he said. “It creates more certainty about what the spending will look like.”
Carnival Corporation, which owns major brands such as Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises, is the only major U.S. cruise company without such a practice, and as of April 8, it was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500.
“Cruise lines and so many businesses are the most affected by fuel prices because they don’t lock in fuel prices,” Sholes said. “So they take that risk. And when fuel goes down, it’s great for the stock price, but when the stock price goes up, it hurts the most. So they’re making money today, but in order to make money today, they worked a lot to get here.”
Will cruise fares increase due to rising fuel prices?
Scholes said cruise lines have two main options to cover their costs. He said the airline could raise cruise fares across the board, but that is unlikely given the possibility that the rise in oil prices is temporary, or it could add additional fees. The latter may appear as an additional charge to travelers at checkout.
“Cruise lines are kind of saying to their customers, ‘This is out of our control,’ ‘Yes, we’re sorry, but we have to do this.’ As a consumer, you understand why we’re doing this instead of just raising prices here,” he said.
These are typically charged per passenger per day.
Surcharges were introduced after oil prices soared in 2007 and 2008, with cruise lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean adding $5 to $10 in fees, The Points Guy reported. But Scholes said the amount could be anywhere from $20 to $50.
In response to the war with Iran, Asian cruise line Stardream Cruises introduced fuel surcharges in March, Travel Weekly reported.
“Like many sectors of the global economy, from logistics to tourism to manufacturing, the shipping industry is monitoring changing fuel market conditions,” the Cruise Lines International Association, a leading industry trade group, told USA TODAY. “The impact on fuel prices will vary by operator depending on a variety of factors, including itinerary and vessel type.”
The group also noted that each cruise line makes commercial decisions regarding pricing.
Carnival told USA TODAY it has no plans to change its pricing model. Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, similarly said in a statement: “While many factors contribute to our pricing, we do not intend to change our strategy.”
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings did not say whether it intended to introduce fuel surcharges or other price increases, but noted in its March earnings call that as of mid-January, the company had hedged about 51% of its projected tonnage fuel consumption for 2026 and 27% for the following year. NCLH is the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
“The company’s total fuel consumption for the full year 2026 is expected to consist primarily of heavy oil and marine gas oil, as well as other types of fuel,” the company told USA TODAY. “Also, as we stated in our earnings call, a 10% change in fuel prices, excluding hedges, would have a 7 cent impact on adjusted (earnings per share) for full year 2026 and a 1 cent impact in the first quarter of 2026.”
How quickly can cruise prices increase?
Scholes said it’s difficult to know when cruise lines will make such changes, if at all. But he expects them to happen “sooner rather than later,” given that oil prices have been rising for more than a month.
He noted that cruise lines are heavily booked for much of the year and said they can’t be expected to add those fees retroactively. As such, travelers are likely to see them on cruises operating in the third and fourth quarters of 2026.
“Even if geopolitical tensions continue to ease, I don’t think anyone expects oil prices to return to where they were two months ago anytime soon,” Sholes said.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. Please contact us at ndiller@usatoday.com.
