Italy’s top court rejects Civitavecchia passenger fee challenge
Roma Cruise Terminal remains liable for the fees and court costs after its final jurisdictional challenge failed.
Italy’s Court of Cassation has rejected Roma Cruise Terminal’s final challenge to passenger usage fees at the Port of Civitavecchia, confirming the legal basis for the charges and leaving the terminal operator responsible for court costs. The decision ends the remaining jurisdictional challenge to the ruling.
The court’s United Sections classified the charges as payments for port services serving the general interest, rather than as taxes. The fees were established in 2017 through Decree No. 255/2017 issued by the Port System Authority of the Central-Northern Tyrrhenian Sea. They apply to cruise passengers disembarking within concession areas and are linked to general-interest services associated with cruise traffic.
Roma Cruise Terminal operates Civitavecchia’s passenger facilities. It is jointly owned by Costa Crociere and MSC Cruises, with Royal Caribbean Group, also identified as RCG, as the third partner.
The port handled 3,556,559 cruise passengers in 2025, reported as a record and a 2.8% increase from 2024. Cruise ship calls also rose to 862 during 2025, compared with 841 the previous year.