Asawi

Like others have said, NCL has had some serious problems the last few weeks! Declined credit cards, wrong balance due/owed...

<sigh> Well, let's see the positive: One less night to get dinner schedule and entertainment to cooperate.

I haven't been able to choose cabin on NCL website this year. I just get "no other stateroom available" or something similar when using that choos adifferent room link. I have tried mock booking several 2024-25 cruises so it's not a last minute booking thing. I'm in EU if that matters. (Last year I could choose room.)

Or rather France in this case...

If you're solo Teppanyaki often has seats left for one even if "fully booked" because of how seating is done there.

OMG! Laughing out really loud here. YOU are the one not getting it! I was just about to write that I give up on trying.

Aren't you talking about the service charge now? That's not drinks! Check out post #48 as well.

No it's not! It clearly says service charge! In post #48 another person has this. And they state they hace been refunded for it.

While I agree that the wording of the headline and the picture of the receipt may have been misleading, I just got a bit fed up with all the talk of OP not having FAS. I would have thought it obvious that it wasn't about being charged for the drinks but for the VAT. Apparently I was wrong. Again...

Isn't DSC $20/day? 20+10% makes 22. And 22 is what's being charged. Hence I draw the conclusion VAT of 10% has been added. Why else the extra 2?

Well, seems like they might be now! OP points out that this is the first cruise it's happening on.

And noone has suggested otherwise! (Unless you count the pointing out that VAT is also charged on DSC as such. But hey...)

I hear you and see your point. But does it really matter? The topic is/should be the addition of VAT which clearly is happening. Whether those paper receipts match the onboard account or not. The sums in the onboard account match the VAT on the receipts. Isn't that what this should be about? VAT of 20% charged in France. (If the person hadn't had FAS there would also be the actual drinks charges.) And also the question of the DSC. Another person on the same cruise has the same thing, but they apperently got a credit or something matching the extra payment.

Well, KEEP READING the WHOLE thread then! Or at least browse it!

Not sure I agree. When at table service restaurants many (most?) leave an additional tip. My thoughts (that may very well be wrong) are that the DSC is meant to cover all the people that usually don't get tipped. Like for example the buffet staff. But to each their own!

So you¨re saying the picture showing the onboard account in another post is false? No drinks charged there. Just the VAT. (And the DSC+VAT)

There was a post about it a few weeks ago.

If you read the posts by the OP it's clear the they DO have FAS. So they are NOT charged for the drinks on their onboard account. Only the VAT. They do however get a receipt at every purchase where the drink does have a price so the VAT can be calculated. This is a new thing. It's the first time VAT is charged for a France departure. So people can't compare with what they have or have not run into before. (For example the receipt at every purchase.) And the 10% that has been talked about before is the SPAIN tax. This is FRANCE. VAT in France is 20% on restaurant purchases.

OK, more confudsion... About the cancelling of DSC: I could be wrong here, but I suspect the reason the customer service person mentioned cancelling that charge would have to do with not being charged twice. As can be seen on OP's origonal post the service charge+10% is being charged onboard EVEN THOUGH they have already prepaid them. I think the suggestion is about getting back the PREPAID amount while the amount added onboard stays.

Thank you for reporting @PollyMurg I did notice the service charge being 22/day. That means a 10% VAT on that too, doesn't it? Odd! Especially if you already paid it! Must be a lot of confused passenger on Epic right now!

Don't know, but maybe the topic was in another section of the forum in the beginning and got moved to this section.

You can't request a boarding time. Just a pier check-in time. Or rather, your arrival to the terminal. It's one of the last things in the online check-in flow. Anticipated starting time for boarding will be in your e-docs. FWIW, about that requested arrival time, doubtful anyone will check it when you arrive! Edit: Maybe the estimated start of boarding can be seen prior to checking in. I haven't looked for it so I really don't know!

Thank you @cerireeves for your report! Much appreciated! I think you may have answered some of what I'm wondering about. Those $0.84 probably are soft drinks, right? (So VAT on them as well. I've seen posts from other Med cruisers that it was just alcohol) Relieved to see speciality dining is not taxed! (Checked what my planned Le Bistro would come to and it was around $90. 20% comes to $18 plus VAT on service making it around $20. Not sure I'm prepared to pay that for a "free" meal! I'm not a foodie...) Also intersting that sea days are taxed as well. I do understand it's because it's all in EU, but still... I'll be cruising out of Civitaveccia in December on a TA (so obioulsy not all EU) and it will be interesting to se how things work then.

Have you tried using the boards on the free WiFi? I'm not saying it can't be done, but I sure didn't manage it on my recent Star cruise. Surfing around Cruise Critic's other parts - fine! I don't think they are keen on having us chatting on forums without using minutes. Just a guess though.

Thank you @PollyMurg for the update! PLEASE come back later with more reports. Id your WiFi minutes are getting low, come back when you're on free WiFi! Some things I want to know: How is it working in Italy? Is the VAT on soft drinks as well (I see you have a Starbucks. Did you get VAT on that?) How about speciality dinner? Everyone else: There has been much talk about the why there is a charge for drinks if you have FAS. Well, as I think someone mentioned briefly before, they need to ring in an amount to get the VAT calculated correctly. NCL's system the removes that amount before the charge gets to the onboard account.