Cruises to Mexico just got more expensive — but you won't notice

06.12.2024 - 02:03 / thepointsguy.com

Starting in 2025, cruises to Mexico will cost passengers $42 more per person if they book a sailing that includes calls on any of the country's ports.

Mexico's Senate on Dec. 3 voted to include cruisers in an already existing tourist tax if their voyages stop at even one of the country's ports, as reported by the Associated Press. Those ports include Caribbean Coast and Gulf Coast destinations like Cozumel, Costa Maya and Progreso, often found on Caribbean itineraries; and Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada along the West Coast, which are most often part of Mexican Riviera and California coastal sailings.

This general tourist tax — which will increase from $35 to $42 per person, starting in 2025 — has been in place for other travelers for years. Until now, cruisers have been exempt because they stay on the ship instead of ashore, and not every passenger chooses to disembark when their ship visits a port.

In addition to the base cruise fares, passengers already pay government taxes and port fees when they cruise. Since Mexico's new fee will be baked into that lump sum, it's unlikely passengers will notice the extra $42, which will be charged just once per passenger, regardless of the number of Mexico ports on the itinerary.

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association says that more than 10 million people arrive in Mexico's top five ports via cruise ships each year. At $42 each, they'll be paying Mexico $420 million a year, two-thirds of which will go to support the country's military, according to the AP.

This isn't the first time cruise passengers have been charged a per-person fee to cruise to Mexico. In 2007, Mexico's Senate voted to impose a $5 per-passenger head tax on cruisers, as reported by Travel Weekly. It's also not the first or only region to charge cruise travelers simply for visiting; Alaska has had per-person fees in place at both the state and port levels for years.

Despite the extra fee levied on cruise passengers, it's unlikely cruise lines will stop calling on Mexico. Cozumel, one of the busiest cruise ports in the world, is a popular stop on Caribbean itineraries whose other ports are already crowded, which could make it difficult for lines to find alternatives.

On the West Coast, lines hoping to continue operating California coastal itineraries need to call on Ensenada to comply with the United States government's Passenger Vessel Services Act, which requires foreign-flagged vessels to call on at least one foreign port during itineraries that both begin and end in U.S. ports.

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