Fueling profits, the best cruise lines have mastered the art of camouflaging an across the board price increase. Earlier this month most cruise lines decided to boost their bottom lines with a "fuel" surcharge added to the cost of your next cruise vacation.

On November 7, the Carnival Corporation & PLC announced a $5 per person per day fuel supplement on all of their lines - Cunard, Holland America, Princess Cruises, the Yachts of Seabourn and of course, Carnival - for all sailings after February 1, 2008.

Shortly after Jack Anderson, executive director of the "World's Leading Cruise Lines," took the giant step to protect and increase their record profits - $390 million for the 2nd quarter 2007 compared to $380 million for the same time in 2006 - most of the other cruise lines followed suit.

In addition to Carnival's lines, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), Orient Cruise Lines, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Azamara, Oceania, Windstar, Viking, Majestic America and Cruise West now have "fuel" surcharges in place. Crystal Cruises enacted a fuel surcharge in 2006 and increased it for 2008 sailings. A complete breakdown of each of the best cruise line's fees can be found at this comprehensive listing.

Few people read the fine print in the cruise contract documents. From comments on various insider travel sites, it seems the contracts hold the key to allowing the cruise lines to add whatever increased costs they can quasi-justify - in some cases, even after payment in full has been made.

Let the buyer beware. Checking several consumer-based internet sites and the major cruise lines' websites reveals that few are showing this added cost in their pricing. If you are shopping around to find the lowest pricing for your next cruise vacation, be sure the quoted price includes all the mandatory extras - port fees, taxes, and the fuel surcharge. Determining the true costs for each line is difficult as the surcharge is not included with the cruise fare.

The best cruise lines have set their surcharges ranging from $5 per person per day to $12 per person per day. In some cases this will add considerably to your vacation costs. A family of four who books a cabin during February vacation on an 11-night southern Caribbean sailing with NCL's Gem, will pay an additional $220. The same family would pay only $140 additional for the surcharge if they book the 12-night southern Caribbean sailing on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.

Anderson commented in his announcement that Carnival faced a difficult decision, but it was necessary in "today's challenging economic environment." The value offered by cruise trips becomes less attractive after adding this new fee to the growing list of "optional" onboard expenses - gratuities, beverages, cooking lessons, spa services, fitness classes, premium restaurants and more. It may be that many cruisers will opt to make their own difficult decisions and explore options other than the best cruise lines for their next vacations.