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Royal Caribbean Sued for Charging Fraudulent Taxes
Aired May 19, 2003 - 06:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A little business buzz for you right now. From the skies to the seas, the cruise company, Royal Caribbean, has encountered some very rough waters.
Let's go back to New York and Susan Lisovicz.
How rough are they -- Susan?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty rough, because you know it's -- it could be a class action lawsuit, Carol, to the tune of $150 million. It's the kind of thing that makes a lot of consumers crazy, you think you're paying one set price and then you get nickel and dimed with all these hidden taxes. That's the story behind this lawsuit that Royal Caribbean and its subsidiary, Celebrity Cruise Lines, overcharged passengers.
Instead of just simply raising the fares to offset rising operational costs, put in all these hidden taxes, charging each passenger up to $35 in additional fares. The lawsuit accuses the company of appropriating from $15 to $25 per passenger in fraudulent charges. Royal Caribbean has no comment on anything involving litigation -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well that sounds so familiar in many things. Like hotels, you go to a hotel and you get a room and they tact on all those taxes. And before you know it, it's 50 bucks above where you expected to pay.
LISOVICZ: Right, and if you don't put it in the brochure, if you don't put it in the invoice, that's where you get into trouble.
COSTELLO: Got you. Well it'll be interesting to see how that lawsuit turns out.
Quick look at the futures.
LISOVICZ: More of the same from Friday. Futures are lower right now, Carol, and stocks ended lower on Friday across the board after new data fueled fears of inflation. But the markets did manage to close higher for the week. The Dow industrials finished a third of a percent lower on Friday, but added nearly 1 percent for the week. The Nasdaq composite closed nearly 1 percent lower but gained 1.2 percent for the week, fifth straight winning week.
Keep an eye on Lowe's today. The No. 1 home improvement retailer expected to report earnings today. It's been really coming on strong against Home Depot in the markets where they both compete -- Carol. COSTELLO: Interesting. Susan Lisovicz, many thanks. We'll check back with you tomorrow.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 19, 2003 - 06:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A little business buzz for you right now. From the skies to the seas, the cruise company, Royal Caribbean, has encountered some very rough waters.
Let's go back to New York and Susan Lisovicz.
How rough are they -- Susan?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty rough, because you know it's -- it could be a class action lawsuit, Carol, to the tune of $150 million. It's the kind of thing that makes a lot of consumers crazy, you think you're paying one set price and then you get nickel and dimed with all these hidden taxes. That's the story behind this lawsuit that Royal Caribbean and its subsidiary, Celebrity Cruise Lines, overcharged passengers.
Instead of just simply raising the fares to offset rising operational costs, put in all these hidden taxes, charging each passenger up to $35 in additional fares. The lawsuit accuses the company of appropriating from $15 to $25 per passenger in fraudulent charges. Royal Caribbean has no comment on anything involving litigation -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well that sounds so familiar in many things. Like hotels, you go to a hotel and you get a room and they tact on all those taxes. And before you know it, it's 50 bucks above where you expected to pay.
LISOVICZ: Right, and if you don't put it in the brochure, if you don't put it in the invoice, that's where you get into trouble.
COSTELLO: Got you. Well it'll be interesting to see how that lawsuit turns out.
Quick look at the futures.
LISOVICZ: More of the same from Friday. Futures are lower right now, Carol, and stocks ended lower on Friday across the board after new data fueled fears of inflation. But the markets did manage to close higher for the week. The Dow industrials finished a third of a percent lower on Friday, but added nearly 1 percent for the week. The Nasdaq composite closed nearly 1 percent lower but gained 1.2 percent for the week, fifth straight winning week.
Keep an eye on Lowe's today. The No. 1 home improvement retailer expected to report earnings today. It's been really coming on strong against Home Depot in the markets where they both compete -- Carol. COSTELLO: Interesting. Susan Lisovicz, many thanks. We'll check back with you tomorrow.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM AT www.fdch.com
