It ultimately has very little to do with the actual purchase costs for fuel as it is averaged over time. The point in my request to Mark Conroy is to not make the 6 (7?) yet-to-sail Regent cruises this year the only ones that will sail after knowing the surcharges have gone away...in some cases very early in the cruise. This appears to be what Carnival Corp. did since their 17 December effective date cancels all surcharges for their cruises that haven't yet sailed. In my second round of messages to Mark (he replied to the first message with a promise to look into it and see how/why the date was chosen), I suggested that Regent match Carnival (with includes Seabourn...so it isn't just about matching a LCC).