Key Aspects:
- Disney Cruise Line is notifying guests on select Disney Wonder sailings that their taxes have increased by hundreds of dollars for visiting Hawaii.
- This is the result of the new Transient Accommodations Tax passed in May 2025, which is the first time the state has applied such taxes to cruise ships.
- The new tax takes effect from January 1, 2026 and will impact all cruise lines and ships visiting Hawaii from that date forward.
Guests looking forward to an outstanding cruise aboard Disney Wonder in February 2026 are receiving a bit of sticker shock with notifications about the new taxes being implemented in Hawaii.
The impacted cruise is the ship’s February 16, 2026 voyage, a 10-night, one-way sailing from Honolulu to Vancouver after the ship finishes her season in Australia.
Disney Cruise Line has reached out to booked guests just over three weeks before their final payment is due to alert them to the increased charge.
“We are writing to you with important information related to your upcoming cruise, which includes a visit to Hawai’i. The State of Hawai’i will be implementing an 11% Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT), as well as a 3% Local County TAT, on a portion of your cruise fare based on the time spent docked in Hawai’i,” the email explained.
These new taxes were approved in May and are set to take effect from January 1, 2026. This is the first time cruise ships have been included in the TAT.
Guests booked on sailings that include Hawai’i will now have their taxes, fees, and port expenses updated to reflect the new taxes.
For this particular Disney Wonder cruise, the visits to Nawiliwili, Maui, and Hilo will all be taxed.
The exact amount of the increase in taxes will depend on the individual fare rates guests have booked. Some guests are already reporting increases of $400-450 and higher, which can be quite a chunk for a family budget.
The final payment date for the sailing is October 19, 2025, which will include all the new taxes.
Failure to pay the increased taxes may result in reservation cancellations and the loss of a cruise vacation that guests may have been looking forward to for months, if not years.
Can Cruise Lines Increase Fares?
Cruise Lines have the authority to adjust fares and pricing at any time, for any reason. Once a guest confirms their reservation, their fare rate is generally locked in, but taxes and fees are set by ports and may still change.
Most cruise lines attempt to estimate these fees as closely as possible so there are no surprise increases so close to a sailing date. If the cruise line were to overestimate such fees, they might refund the few extra dollars to guests as onboard credit.
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Many times, if cruise lines underestimate fees by a small amount, they will simply absorb that increase without changing what guests have already paid.
This new TAT in Hawai’i, however, is far from a small increase. Just for this one Disney Wonder sailing, if every stateroom were to have a $400 increase in taxes, that would total $350,000 in extra fees.
The previous Disney Wonder sailing, the February 2, 2026 departure from Sydney to Honolulu, will likewise have a fee increase, though not likely quite as high. While the ship will still spend some time in the Aloha State before debarking in Honolulu, there is just a single port visit to Nawiliwili on February 15.
Ships from many cruise lines will be impacted by this change starting in January 2026. Just in January, this will include Ruby Princess, Holland America Line’s Zaandam and Nieuw Amsterdam, Carnival Radiance, Emerald Princess, and Coral Princess.
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Of course, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America will be impacted most of all, as that ship sails 7-night Hawaiian itineraries year-round.
In August 2025, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) filed suit against the State of Hawaii challenging the constitutionality of the new tax, but it could be many months before that federal lawsuit is resolved.
