Heads up if Barcelona is on your bucket list for an upcoming Mediterranean cruise, because the city is making a serious move to thin out the crowds, and your wallet might feel it. Barcelona’s City Council, backed by several political parties in the Catalan parliament, has agreed to nearly triple the daily tourist tax for cruise passengers stopping in the city for under 12 hours, taking it from roughly €11 up to €30 per person. That’s not a typo, and it’s a much bigger jump than the original plan to gradually raise the fee over four years. Mayor Jaume Collboni has been vocal about wanting to discourage short cruise stopovers entirely, saying tourism should serve the city rather than the other way around.

Here’s the important nuance for cruisers, though, this hike specifically targets transit calls, meaning ships that are just popping in for a few hours. If your cruise actually starts or ends in Barcelona, you’re exempt from the higher rate, since those longer stays are seen as bringing more economic benefit through hotels, restaurants and local spending. There’s also a separate proposal floating around to cap the total number of annual cruise visitors to the city at 3.5 million, plus ongoing plans to shrink the number of cruise terminals from seven down to five by 2030.

This still needs final sign-off from the Parliament of Catalonia before it’s official, but if it goes through, expect it to take effect sometime in late 2026 or early 2027. The cruise industry, understandably, isn’t thrilled, with trade groups warning that steep fee hikes tend to push business toward other Mediterranean ports rather than actually solving overtourism.

Bottom line, this is part of a much bigger pattern playing out across Europe right now, from Venice to Santorini to Amsterdam, as popular destinations wrestle with how many cruise guests they can comfortably welcome. If a Barcelona stop is part of your itinerary, don’t panic, but don’t be shocked if you start seeing this fee show up as a line item either.