On December 31, 2025, a two-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction blocking Hawaii from applying its new climate-focused tourism tax to cruise passengers — hours before the law was set to take effect. The Hawaii Department of Taxation followed on January 2, 2026, with Announcement 2026-01, instructing taxpayers not to report or remit the transient accommodations tax (TAT) on cruise fares until further notice. For anyone booking a Hawaii cruise in 2026, the result is straightforward: no new state cruise-fare tax is currently being charged, and your invoice should not include one.
The Ninth Circuit’s injunction arrived hours before Act 96’s cruise provisions were set to take effect, sparing cruise lines from recalculating invoices for New Year departures and later sailings.
This article covers what the halted tax was designed to do, why it was blocked, and exactly what that means for your 2026 Hawaii cruise booking. The legal fight isn’t over — but for now, the status quo has been restored, and passengers can book with more certainty than they could a month ago.
Cruise passengers booking 2026 Hawaii sailings
Travelers weighing Hawaii vs. other itineraries
Anyone tracking how the legal challenge unfolds
How the Cruise Tax Was Supposed to Work
Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed Act 96 in May 2025. The law raised the state’s transient accommodations tax from 10.25 percent to 11 percent for the period January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030, and — for the first time — extended that tax to cruise fares. The state projected the cruise provisions alone would generate roughly $100 million annually for climate resilience projects including shoreline erosion control, wildfire prevention, and infrastructure repair.
The tax was structured as a prorated levy. Under the enacted formula, the taxable base was calculated as: cruise fare × (days docked in Hawaii ÷ total voyage days). The state TAT of 11 percent would then apply to that prorated base, and counties were authorized to add up to 3 percent more, pushing the potential total to 14 percent of the prorated portion. For a seven-day Hawaii itinerary with all seven days in port, 100 percent of the fare would have formed the base. For a fifteen-day repositioning cruise with three Hawaii dock days, only 20 percent of the fare would have been subject to the tax.
To put concrete numbers on the suspended mechanism: an assumed $1,500 fare on a seven-day itinerary with seven Hawaii dock days would have produced a $1,500 statutory base and a theoretical $165 state TAT. On a fifteen-day itinerary with three Hawaii dock days, the same fare would have produced a $300 base and a theoretical $33 state TAT. Those figures describe the suspended formula only — they are not predictions of what any passenger will actually be charged while the injunction remains in place.
The non-cruise portions of Act 96 remain in effect. The TAT rate increase from 10.25 percent to 11 percent on hotel rooms and vacation rentals took effect January 1, 2026. A pre-cruise Honolulu hotel bill can therefore reflect the higher lodging tax even though the cruise-fare application is enjoined.
The Legal Fight Behind the Halt
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), representing most major global cruise brands, filed a lawsuit in 2025 arguing that Act 96 violates the U.S. Constitution’s Tonnage Clause, which restricts states from taxing vessels for entering or using ports, and conflicts with federal laws governing navigation and harbor charges. Several Hawaii-based businesses that serve cruise ships or rely on cruise visitors joined the suit. The U.S. Department of Justice sided with the cruise industry, arguing that Hawaii’s scheme improperly targeted vessels and intruded on federal authority over maritime commerce.
U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake rejected CLIA’s request to block the tax in late December 2025, allowing the law to proceed. CLIA filed an emergency appeal to the Ninth Circuit. On December 31, 2025, a two-judge panel granted the preliminary injunction, signaling that the challengers had raised serious questions about the law’s legality and that allowing the tax to begin January 1 could cause immediate economic disruption and irreparable harm. The panel clarified its order on January 2, 2026.
The Hawaii attorney general’s office responded through spokesperson Toni Schwartz: “We remain confident that Act 96 is lawful and will be vindicated when the appeal is heard on the merits.” The state has not indicated whether it will seek further review or propose a revised tax structure if the Ninth Circuit ultimately strikes down the cruise provisions.
The injunction does not permanently cancel the tax. It restores the status quo while the appeals court reviews full written arguments and potentially hears oral argument. The process is expected to take several months, with no firm timetable for a final ruling. For 2026 sailings, the injunction is the controlling legal fact; for 2027 and beyond, the outcome of the appeal will determine whether the tax can be reinstated.
What This Means for Your 2026 Booking
For cruises already booked or on sale for 2026 with Hawaii stops, no new state “green fee” will be added to the ticket price while the injunction is in place. The Hawaii Department of Taxation’s Announcement 2026-01 explicitly instructs taxpayers to refrain from reporting cruise-fare income on Forms TA-1 and TA-2 and to refrain from remitting TAT on cruise fares. It also suspends enforcement of the temporary administrative rules that addressed apportionment of cruise-fare income for general excise tax purposes.
This does not mean a Hawaii cruise is tax-free. Cruise invoices can still include government taxes, port expenses, harbor fees, security-related charges, pilotage, dockage, and charges imposed in other jurisdictions — all of which are separate from the enjoined TAT provision. When reviewing your fare, compare the same fields on the initial confirmation, the final-payment statement, and any revised invoice. Look for the base cruise fare, taxes and port expenses, optional packages, gratuities, shore excursions, and any separately described Hawaii tax line. If the total changes, ask the cruise line or travel adviser to identify the authority and calculation for the new line item.
Norwegian Cruise Line had estimated that the tax could add $50 to $500 per passenger depending on itinerary length and fare cost, and had emailed guests stating that the expansion of the TAT was unconstitutional. Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line did not issue similar public warnings to guests. With the injunction in place, those projected increases should not materialize on 2026 invoices.
A generic “taxes and fees” label on your invoice is not enough to conclude that the 11 percent TAT has been imposed. If a new line item appears, request the name of the tax, the taxable base, and the effective date in writing. The injunction does not prevent a cruise line from adding other lawful charges, but it does block the specific cruise-fare TAT created by Act 96.
Booking contracts may contain language giving cruise lines the right to pass through new government taxes and fees. With the Hawaii cruise tax blocked, those charges should not appear. If you have already received a revised invoice that includes an unexplained adjustment, ask for a written breakdown rather than assuming the description in an older article still applies.
Note: The cruise line’s live, itemized price is your working total. Keep a record of what it includes. If your booking is refundable or permits repricing, save the original confirmation and review the line’s change rules before final payment.
Before You Book a 2026 Hawaii Cruise
Is the Hawaii cruise tax permanently canceled?
No. The Ninth Circuit’s preliminary injunction blocks enforcement while the legal challenge continues. The underlying statute still exists, and the state could reinstate the tax if it wins on appeal or enacts a revised law that complies with federal rules. “Enjoined” is more accurate than “canceled.”
Will I see an 11 percent charge on my Pride of America booking?
You should not. The all-Hawaii itinerary would have produced a large taxable base under the suspended formula, but the Department of Taxation currently instructs taxpayers not to report or remit TAT on cruise fares. Use the itemized price provided by the cruise line as your working total.
What about county taxes on cruise fares?
County surcharges on cruise fares are also suspended. Announcement 2026-01 suspends the temporary rules used to apportion cruise-fare general excise tax income to Hawaii and allocate it among counties. Other county or port charges that may lawfully appear on an invoice are separate from these suspended rules.
How do I verify the current status before I pay?
Check the Hawaii Department of Taxation announcements page and read any notice that supersedes Announcement 2026-01. Then compare that guidance with the cruise line’s current itemized invoice. The controlling public notice as of this writing is Announcement 2026-01, dated January 2, 2026.
Could the tax come back for a 2027 or 2028 sailing?
Yes. If the Ninth Circuit ultimately sides with Hawaii, or if the state enacts a revised levy that passes federal muster, the tax could be reinstated for later years. Any change would likely be announced well in advance by the state and by cruise lines. Keep a modest contingency for distant sailings, but do not treat a suspended calculation as a confirmed future charge.
Closing
The New Year’s Eve injunction lifted a cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over 2026 Hawaii cruise bookings since Act 96 was signed. For now, passengers can plan around the cruise line’s advertised fare rather than an unpredictable double-digit surcharge, and the legal debate over who should pay for climate resilience in paradise continues — with Hawaii’s beaches, harbors, and communities as the backdrop. For more on how current events are shaping travel across the Pacific, see our roundup of cruise hot spots in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico.
References
Hawaii Department of Taxation. “Tax Announcement No. 2026-01.” January 2, 2026. ↗
We On Cruise. “Hawaii Cruise Tax Halted for 2026 – 11% TAT Not Enforced.” August 16, 2026. ↗
Hawaii Aloha Travel. “Hawaii Cruise Passengers Face a New Climate Change Tax in 2026 – What It Really Costs.” 2026. ↗
The Traveler. “Appeals Court Pauses Hawaii’s 2026 Cruise Green Fee, Keeping Fares Lower for Now.” 2026. ↗
If you are weighing a Hawaii cruise against other Pacific options, our comparison of cruise hot spots can help you decide. For tips on experiencing the islands authentically once you arrive, see our guide to experiencing Hawaii authentically. And if you are tracking other recent changes to Hawaii travel costs, our article on new fees at Hawaii parks covers what has changed on land while the cruise tax remains on hold at sea.
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