Cruise friends visiting Lisbon, Portugal will quickly be required to pay a brand new vacationer tax, with the payment starting in January 2024. Whereas particulars of the fee process are nonetheless being finalized, this tax is the most recent in additional charges increasingly ports are imposing on cruise vacationers as a part of efforts to both curb visits or increase funds to help native infrastructure.
Lisbon to Start Cruise Passenger Tax
Port of Lisbon is poised to start charging cruise guests a €2 (roughly $2.20 USD) per particular person vacationer tax starting in January 2024. The precise date for tax assortment to start has not been introduced, as fee particulars are nonetheless being finalized.
Cruise ship operators will seemingly be the collected charges for passengers by way of the Janela Única Logística platform, a digital port logistics community. Particular person friends is not going to must pay the payment when debarking in Lisbon, however as a substitute the additional cost will probably be related as a part of the cruise fare, and the cruise line can pay the payment upon arrival in Lisbon.
That is just like the method used to gather “port taxes and charges” for a lot of cruise ports all over the world. Lisbon Metropolis Council officers are nonetheless understanding the fee process, however do anticipate that the brand new tax will increase roughly €1.2 million ($1.32 million USD) yearly.
How the funds might be used has not been disclosed. Many port communities use taxes and charges from cruise visits to assist enjoyable port initiatives, resembling common upkeep, upgrades, or new building, in addition to to revitalize native areas that will attraction to cruise passengers to assist create a fair better financial increase.
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, has made obscure threats towards cruise operations if the strains refuse to pay the upcoming charges.
“I’ll make entry considerably tough. I can hinder the mobility of buses (on the port), and I’ll achieve this in the event that they don’t pay,” he stated.
Restrictions resembling limiting port docking hours, limiting how tour buses can entry the port, or in any other case impeding actions may make it tough for ships to plan visits to Lisbon, or trigger challenges with supply shore tour alternatives for friends to take pleasure in. If this turns into too tough, cruise strains could merely drop Lisbon as a port of name.
Cruising to Lisbon
Lisbon is a well-liked vacation spot for each western Mediterranean and northern European cruise itineraries, in addition to a standard stopover for Canary Island voyages, relying on the voyage’s level of origin. Many transatlantic cruises additionally embrace a port go to to Lisbon.
In January 2024 – one of many slower months of the yr for the cruise port – ten ship visits are scheduled, together with vessels from P&O Cruises, Cunard Line, TUI Cruises, and MSC Cruises, in addition to different strains.
The spring, summer time, and autumn months are the busiest for Lisbon and embrace calls from each massive and small strains, together with Disney Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Superstar Cruises, Royal Caribbean Worldwide, Carnival Cruise Line, and extra.
Extra Ports Imposing Charges
Cruise vacationers are accustomed to port charges and taxes, which might usually add as much as $100 (USD) or extra per passenger on every crusing, relying on the size of the itinerary, the variety of ports visited, and what charges are charged. Totally different locations could use completely different payment constructions relying on the scale of a cruise ship, how lengthy will probably be in port, and the way busy the docking schedule could also be.
As extra ports add these charges, nevertheless, the prices are rapidly including up and should grow to be insurmountable for budget-conscious vacationers, notably households and teams.
Only recently, the Mexican state of Quintana Roo – residence to the favored locations of Costa Maya and Cozumel – Proposed including a $5 per particular person cruise traveler tax starting in January 2025.
In the meantime, authorities in Scotland are additionally pushing for brand spanking new taxes on cruise ships, although particulars haven’t but been decided.
Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam is mountain climbing tax charges on cruise vacationers and can quickly have among the highest of such charges anyplace within the European Union, together with greater than these proposed for Lisbon, Portugal.
Will ever-increasing cruise charges make you rethink your cruise plans or locations? Share your ideas on the Cruise Hive boards!
