Silversea Hikes 2009 Fares

Silversea raised its fares on its 2009 departures, citing higher commodity costs. In a letter the luxury cruise line sent to travel agents, David Morris, Silversea’s executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, said that considering Silversea’s all-inclusiveness, it was an “exceptional challenge for us to keep our pricing unchanged when commodity prices continue to rise”.

“Our business partners, who supply the components of our all-inclusive amenities, are raising their prices in response to increased operational and transportation costs. For this reason, we are implementing a modest across-the-board price increase on our published fares for all cruises departing in 2009,” Morris wrote.

One top producer noted that Silversea’s decision to raise prices but not extend its $10-per-day fuel surcharge into 2009, would benefit travel agents, because the price increase was commissionable.

“It’s clear by now that fuel costs are never going to return to previous levels and basic cruise prices should reflect that reality,” the producer said. “It’s unfair to ask travel agencies to explain and collect surcharges from unhappy customers without compensation, and it’s a double hit because the commissionable portion of the cruise shrinks in direct proportion to the surcharge.”