Oil Ante - Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azmara Cruise lines Increase Fuel Surcharges

Get ready to pay more for a cruise on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara, the latest lines to hike fuel surcharges.

The three brands, all owned by Royal Caribbean, unveiled plans late Tuesday to boost their fuel surcharge on ships from $5 to $8 per person per day for the first and second passengers in a cabin. The line also is adding a new fee of $3 per person, per day for "third" and "fourth" passengers in cabins.

The change will apply for new bookings that come in on or after May 1.

The increase in fuel surcharges at Royal Caribbean brands comes just five days after Norwegian Cruise Line raised its fuel surcharge by $2 to $9 per per person, per day. Rival Carnival Corp. also recently announced that it will hike fuel surcharges by $2 to $7 per person, per day at six lines that it owns, including Carnival, Princess, Cunard and Holland America.Cruise lines began adding fuel surcharges last November as oil prices approached $100 a barrel, and industry executives say they have no choice but to raise the fees again as oil prices push even higher. Fuel is one of the biggest costs at cruise lines, and the soaring cost of oil is having a notable impact on industry earnings.

In a recent conference call with Wall Street analysts, Carnival noted that its cruise ship brands alone are paying more than $500 million more for fuel this year than in 2007. Royal Caribbean announces their earnings today.