by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 2:35 PM ET, Tue May 14, 2024
Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises will change their advertised pricing policies to comply with a new California price transparency law.
Starting July 1, the two cruise brands will display prices that includes all taxes, fees and port expenses. Silversea, the third brand under the Royal Caribbean Group umbrella, will not make any changes because it already advertises the full price of its cruises.
The change will not affect the portion of the fare that travel advisors receive commission on, nor the price consumers pay for their cruise. Rather, it simply updates the way the fare is displayed—one lump sum, rather than the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses listed separately. The company is updating its internal systems and tools used by travel advisor to reflect the move to all-inclusive pricing displays.
The new law is an amendment to the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA). Passed by the California legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, the new rules prohibit businesses from displaying prices that do not include all mandatory fees. It takes aim at “drip pricing,” a phrase used to describe the practice of advertising a price that is less than the actual final price a consumer will pay.
“The law is simple: the price you see is the price you pay,” said Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, in a statement.
Though the new law only applies in California, the two brands are making the change nationwide.
“We strive for simplicity and clarity in our pricing,” according to an FAQ document. “Treating California differently than the rest of the United States could have created confusion and introduced unnecessary complexity.”
Last month, Carnival Corporation & plc announced that its cruise brands would also be updating their pricing display policies to comply with the new law.
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