Local News

[cicopo]

Wow. that would have a huge effect on Mexico's ports of call. If the Cdn $$$ stays where it was last week add another 40-41% to that cost for Canadian Cruisers.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Wow. that would have a huge effect on Mexico's ports of call. If the Cdn $$$ stays where it was last week add another 40-41% to that cost for Canadian Cruisers.

I guess it depends on if it is $42 per port they dock or $42 immigration fee to Mexico (one time fee).

 

[JFS]

I guess it depends on if it is $42 per port they dock or $42 immigration fee to Mexico (one time fee).

It will be federal immigration fee for entry to Mexico by ship. There is also another state tax that is supposed to kick in for the cruise ship passengers entering Quintana Roo and will match the same as what airline passengers are supposed to pay which is around $19usd (visittax)

 

[rmssetc]

I guess it depends on if it is $42 per port they dock or $42 immigration fee to Mexico (one time fee).

Exactly.

I've never been on a cruise or looked at their cost, but I do wonder if $42 (one-time-fee) is something that a passenger would really notice, or if it's enough to impact bookings. If cruise prices are advertised before taxes and fees, then it's hard to imagine someone beginning to book a cruise and then backing out when they are about to finalize their payment just because of $42 (is that almost 5% of a typical cruise cost or less than 1%?).

If the fee is $42 per port, and is included in the advertised price by the cruise line (rather than a separate fee like Visitax) then just maybe it is significant enough to affect bookings. Aren't most of the cruises that stop in CZM fairly short -- 5 ~ 8 nights (ie., 4~6 ports)...probably less than $250 additional even if the new tax is per-port. Someone in the travel industry could easily look up average cruise cost, average spend/day in port, average tips, etc and see if the $42 (even $42/day/port) is really meaningful.

Getting back to something closer to diving, this is analogous to the [proposed?] increase in marine park fees...is $12/day vs $5/day really enough to deter someone from diving in Cozumel?

 

[ggunn]

Exactly.

I've never been on a cruise or looked at their cost, but I do wonder if $42 (one-time-fee) is something that a passenger would really notice, or if it's enough to impact bookings. If cruise prices are advertised before taxes and fees, then it's hard to imagine someone beginning to book a cruise and then backing out when they are about to finalize their payment just because of $42 (is that almost 5% of a typical cruise cost or less than 1%?).

If the fee is $42 per port, and is included in the advertised price by the cruise line (rather than a separate fee like Visitax) then just maybe it is significant enough to affect bookings. Aren't most of the cruises that stop in CZM fairly short -- 5 ~ 8 nights (ie., 4~6 ports)...probably less than $250 additional even if the new tax is per-port. Someone in the travel industry could easily look up average cruise cost, average spend/day in port, average tips, etc and see if the $42 (even $42/day/port) is really meaningful.

Getting back to something closer to diving, this is analogous to the [proposed?] increase in marine park fees...is $12/day vs $5/day really enough to deter someone from diving in Cozumel?

It may be more of an issue for a cruise line that will have to fork over an additional $168,000 to bring a 4000 person boatload of passengers into Mexico, but like you I have no personal experience with cruise lines and I don't know what their margins are.

 

[Shawn C]

Well this may very well reduce the number of cruise ships heading to Cozumel and other Mexican ports. With about 4.1M pasengers last year this gringo tax would pull in close to $200M USD next year, just from Cozumel. I suspect the cruise lines will start more port visits to other Caribe destinations. Like the near $50M in gringo taxes at the airport, and the marine park fees, these funds do not stay on island but go to Mexico City.

Mexico's congress votes to charge cruise ship passengers $42 per head for port calls

Cruise ship industry players are up in arms after the lower house of Mexico's Congress voted this week to charge a $42 immigration levy for every passenger on cruise ships that dock in Mexico

www.google.com

Not only do the funds go to Mexico City but there's also this little tidbit:

"The group called on Mexico's Senate not to approve the measure, which calls for two-thirds of the income from the immigration charge to be handed over to the country's defense department, for reasons that are unclear."

 

[ggunn]

... handed over to the country's defense department, for reasons that are unclear.

Ummmm... I am figuratively biting my tongue.

 

[Shawn C]

Ummmm... I am figuratively biting my tongue.

Right?

 

[ReefHound]

I'm just shocked that they weren't already paying an immigration fee. Or maybe they were if they disembarked but this applies to every passenger whether they stay on the ship or not.

Will $42 more deter anyone? Of course. We know from economics that price affects demand. The question is how much. And it adds up. I think they are already paying over a hundred dollars in additional fees and taxes.

 

[Shawn C]

I wouldn't be upset, in any way, if this reduces the number of cruise ships docking in Cozumel.