CRUISE LINES
Florida sues Imperial Majesty for refund of surcharge
BY DAVID SMILEY
dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com
In yet another stand against the state's cruise industry, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Imperial Majesty Cruise Line, accusing the company of making about $4 million in the past two years by sneaking a surcharge onto its customers' bills.
The Broward County cruising company, known for two-night jaunts to the Bahamas, has added fuel surcharges of $20 to $30 onto bills since late 2006 without adequately disclosing the fees to its customers, McCollum said during a news conference Wednesday.
Imperial Majesty either did not include information about the fees in its brochures and on its website or indicated that the charges were government taxes or fees, McCollum said.
''That's certainly not what it was,'' he said outside his Brickell Avenue office.
The lawsuit demands that Imperial Majesty refund the approximately $4 million collected through retroactive surcharges and revise its advertising practices to be upfront about all charges.
The attorney general's office said it looked into the cruise line's surcharges after receiving complaints from customers, many of whom learned about the extra fees when arriving for their cruise.
Wednesday's lawsuit was filed about half a year after McCollum reached multimillion- dollar settlements with Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises over the same issue.
Attempts to reach Imperial Majesty by phone and e-mail were unsuccessful Wednesday.
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