Cruise Port Fees and Taxes Explained: What You Pay in 2026

Quick answer: Port fees are what a port, a city or a government charges for a ship and its passengers. Most are already inside your cruise price as "taxes, fees and port expenses". A few newer ones are not. Greece, Iceland and Japan are the main examples: on MSC, those land on your onboard account after the call. And Venice's access fee you pay yourself. On a week in the Greek islands in July, that can add €50 per person. In Greece, MSC does not charge guests who stay on board. In Iceland, you pay either way.

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What the fees pay for

Which? put it simply in April 2026: ships are charged every time they dock, and the cost is passed on to passengers. The charges cover government fees, pilotage, docking and mooring, and baggage handling.

Which? gave two real examples of how that adds up: £286 in taxes and fees on a 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise in the Caribbean, and £237 on a Mediterranean cruise with Princess.

So this is not small money. But it is usually not a surprise either. Which? says taxes and fees are included in the headline cost, and you see a breakdown before you pay.

The surprise is the second kind of charge.

The two kinds of charge

In the fare. Port dues, passenger taxes and most city levies. You pay them when you book, or they are built into the price. You never see them on board.

Added afterwards. The line pays the authority for you, then bills your onboard account. MSC does this for Greece, Iceland and Japan. Which? calls these sustainability taxes and says they are generally charged only if you get off, and typically refunded or not charged if you stay on board. Iceland is the exception to that rule, as you will see below.

There is a third, rarer kind: you pay it yourself. Venice is the main one.

The same fee can move between these groups depending on the line. MSC bills the Greek fee after the call. AIDA has only just started passing it on: it applies to new bookings from 1 August 2026, and people who booked earlier are not charged. So read your own line's page, not a general list.

What the main ones cost (2026)

All of these come from our cruise port rules tracker, which has 36 fees, caps and bans with their sources. Amounts are per person.

Where	Amount (2026)	How it is charged
Santorini, Mykonos	€20 Jun–Sep, €12 Apr–May and Oct, €4 Nov–Mar, per call	Usually the onboard account
Other Greek ports	€5, €3 or €1 in the same seasons, per call	Usually the onboard account
Iceland (Reykjavik and others)	ISK 1,600 (about €11) per 24 hours	Onboard account, even if you stay on board
Japan	¥3,000 per departure	Onboard account
Cozumel and all Mexico	US$10, once per itinerary	Part of the fare
Nassau, Freeport	US$30 (US$32 from a private island only)	Taxes and fees
Bermuda	US$20–25 per 24 hours, capped at US$60–75, April to October; Dockyard adds a US$25 transport tax	Taxes and fees
Juneau	US$13 per visit	Not stated in the source
Boston	US$3	Not stated in the source
Amsterdam	€15 per day	Through the cruise line
Barcelona	City surcharge plus €6 regional, under 12 hours in port	Through the cruise line
Lisbon, Funchal	€2	Charged to the cruise operator
Venice centre	€5 or €10 on set days	You pay on the city's site

Three of these will change soon.

Mexico goes to US$15 on 1 July 2027 and US$21 on 1 August 2028. The charge has already doubled once, in August 2026.

Boston's fee was announced to rise by US$3 a year, to US$15 by 2030. That schedule comes from a February 2025 report, so check it nearer the time.

Barcelona is moving, but not yet settled. Sources differ on the city's part today: Catalan News says €5, Cruise Industry News implies about €8. On 25 September 2026 Catalan News reported that the council had given initial approval to raising it to €24, rolled out over four years through 2030. It is not final. If you sail in 2027, check your line's fee list before you go.

Norway has proposed letting towns charge NOK 100 per passenger per 24 hours from 1 January 2027. No fee applied in 2026. The law is in place, but the charge is still a proposal.

What a week in Greece really costs

This is where the fee is worth planning for, because it depends on the season and the port. Take a cruise calling at Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes and Katakolon, at the rates MSC publishes:

July: €20 + €20 + €5 + €5 = €50 per person
April: €12 + €12 + €3 + €3 = €30 per person
November: €4 + €4 + €1 + €1 = €10 per person

For two people in July, that is €100 on your bill at the end. It is charged per port, not per day. MSC says the fee applies to everyone who goes ashore, regardless of age, so a child costs the same as you.

It is not a reason to skip Santorini. But it belongs in your budget next to the cable car and the transport. If you have seen an island before and want a quiet day on board, MSC will not charge you for staying. Check first if you sail with another line.

How much does a cruise ship pay to dock?

There is no single number. I could not find a public figure that covers the whole bill for a call, because it is many charges added together: the port's own dues, a pilot, tugs, mooring and baggage handling.

What is public is the per-passenger part, and it shows how wide the range is. The Port of Hamina-Kotka in Finland lists €1.00 per passenger in its 2026 port dues. Boston charges US$3. Juneau charges US$13. Santorini takes €20 in summer. Bermuda can reach US$75.

Multiply by the people on board and you see why the lines list it separately. Three thousand passengers at US$13 is US$39,000 for one call in Juneau, from that one fee alone.

The money is often spent on the town, not the port. Proposals for Juneau's fees in 2027 include police, fire and emergency services, street maintenance, bus service and public toilets. Boston's are meant to fund most of a US$105 million project at Flynn Cruiseport.

Venice: the fee you pay yourself

Venice is the odd one out. In 2026 the access fee ran on 60 set days from 3 April to 26 July, for day visitors aged 14 and over entering the historic centre between 08:30 and 16:00. It cost €5 if booked at least four days ahead, and €10 after that. You pay on the city's portal and carry a QR code. Passengers only passing through the Stazione Marittima terminal do not pay.

MSC says its own excursions include the fee. If you go alone, you need the code yourself. The 2027 dates have not been published.

How to avoid a surprise

Before you book, look at the taxes and fees line in the price breakdown, not only the fare. Compare the total.
List your ports, then look each one up in the rules tracker. Greece, Iceland, Japan and Venice are the ones to look for.
Read your line's page on local charges. Who bills what differs from line to line, and so does the rule on staying on board.
Check your onboard account the day after a Greek call. It should match the table. If it does not, ask at Guest Services before the last night.
Keep the budget honest. Add these to your port day costs along with excursions and transport. On the July example above, a family of four pays €200 in fees before anyone buys a coffee.

FAQ

Are port fees included in the cruise fare?

Usually yes. Which? says taxes and fees are included in the headline cost. The exceptions are charges a line adds later to your onboard account, such as MSC's for Greece, Iceland and Japan.

Do I pay the Greek cruise fee if I stay on the ship?

On MSC and AIDA, no. Guests who stay on board are not charged. Check with your own line.

Do I pay the Iceland fee if I stay on the ship?

Yes. MSC says it applies even if you do not go ashore, because it is charged for each 24 hours in Icelandic waters.

Do I get port fees back if a port is cancelled?

Which? says taxes and fees are refunded if a port is skipped. How and when depends on your line, so check your booking terms.

Do children pay port fees?

It depends on the fee. MSC applies the Greek one regardless of age. Amsterdam's starts at age 2, and Japan's exempts under-2s. Venice's starts at 14.

Sources

Santorini is one day. Time the whole cruise.

Ships do not wait.

In March 2024, eight Norwegian Dawn passengers on a private tour came back to the pier in São Tomé more than an hour after all-aboard. Getting back on board took six days, seven countries and over $5,000. The details
The ship charges for the easy part.

Carnival sells a coach to Rome for US$129.99 a person. The train is from €9.20 return. PortTrip tells you which train, and the last one that gets you back. The details
On the day, it watches the clock.

Google Maps travel time from where you stand back to the pier, with alerts at 30, 15 and 0 minutes. The details

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