The new tourist tax for cruise guests visiting Mexico has been slashed to a far lower fee than the original $42 per person proposal, but the low rate won’t last long.
The “non-resident fee” was first passed in December 2024 at a rate of $42 per person, which would apply for a full sailing rather than individual ports of call. Still, for a family of four, the extra $168 could be a bit of sticker shock for any cruise vacation.
Outcry from the cruise industry quickly followed, including the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), which represented 23 major cruise lines and asked for reconsideration.
The implementation of the new fee was quickly delayed from January 1, 2025 to July 1, 2025 while various compromises were explored.
Now, a more gradual introduction of the fee has been approved. The fee will begin at just $5 per cruise passenger from July 1.
In 2026, however, the fee will be raised to $10 per passenger, while in 2027, it will be $21 per person. It is not clear whether those increases will be one year from the initial July 1 implementation date or if they will begin on January 1 of their respective years.
The fees will be collected by cruise lines, likely by adding them to cruise fares as part of the existing port fees and taxes. Cruise lines pay those fees for docking in different ports, and typically estimate the fees when cruise fares are published and voyages are offered for sale.
If fees are dramatically overestimated, refunds are given to guests, usually as onboard credit. If a cruise line underestimates the fees and taxes, that cost could be deducted from a sailing’s profit margin (and the estimate adjusted accordingly for future sailings!).
Similar tourist taxes are not uncommon in many destinations, thought not all of them impact cruise guests. The non-resident tax in Mexico, for example, has been in effect since 1999. Travelers who spent fewer than seven days in Mexico, however, were previously exempt – including cruise guests.
The new tax will now impact cruise guests beginning in just a few short weeks, just in time for the busy summer sailing season.
In exchange for lowering the fee from the initial $42 charge, cruise lines have agreed to increase the number of calls and guests to Mexican ports, as well as support local infrastructure projects – like the controversial fourth pier for Cozumel. More Mexican products may also be sold aboard cruise ships.
Will Cruise Lines Adjust Itineraries?
In 2025 alone, more than 10 million cruise guests are expected to visit Mexico, with thousands of ship visits to popular destinations like Cozumel, Costa Maya, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and more.
There has been speculation that as the new fee is implemented, cruise lines might adjust itineraries to avoid visiting Mexico.
For a moment, consider the profit motive for cruise lines to avoid Mexico if such a hefty fee was implemented so fast. For a ship carrying 3,500 guests – relatively small by today’s cruise ship occupancy standards – the new fee would cost $147,000 per sailing, if each cruise visited Mexico.
Read Also: The Top Mexico Cruise Ports – Are You Visiting Any?
For larger ships, such as Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Jubilee sailing from Galveston, the fee could be even more extreme. If the ship was fully booked with 6,600 guests aboard during a summer cruise, the original fee would cost an extra $277,200 in taxes.
Now, the lower fee would be just $33,000 for the same Carnival Jubilee sailing, at least for this year.
Because cruise lines publish and begin selling itineraries roughly two years in advance, time is necessary for the fee to be added to cruise fares. For sailings in 2025, many are already past final payment deadlines or else cruise guests have fully paid for their vacations in advance.
Will cruise lines take a slight financial hit for this new fee? This year and into next year, most likely, yes. The impact will be far less than if the full $42 fee were to have begun in January, however, and this provides enough time for the cost of cruises to be adjusted accordingly.
