Is there still a tax on alcohol in Spanish ports?

[Froggitt]

Any idea which country's VAT authorities NCL remit their VAT receipts to? Or is it "leaving Spanish port" goes to Spain, "leaving French port" goes to France etc?

[nomad098]

All EU countries charge VAT on alcohol purchases as far as I can see.

 

Under the rules which have been in place since 2006 any country can charge

VAT on alcohol for a ship who's port of origin is in their country and does not

travel outside of the EU.

 

However back then the Cruise line Industry Association (CLIA) brokered an agreement

with various countries so they would not be charged VAT so muddying the waters.

 

I did read an article back in 2011 about this deal but cannot find it now.

 

If you check I see no complaints about Spanish VAT on drinks before 2011.

 

In 2011 Spain caved under financial pressure as their economy collapsed

and started collecting VAT from cruise lines.

 

I think Italy started collecting this VAT but now seems to have stopped.

[sanger727]

 

NCL is the only cruise line charging the VAT on drinks ordered with a drink package. All other cruise lines only charge the VAT when you buy a single drink without a package and they add the VAT when buying the package (on the price of the package - even when bought online - at least that´s what RCI is doing).

 

steamboats

 

 

I don't think this is completely correct. There has also been a lot of threads on the carnival board about being charged the VAT in the same way NCL is. I believe they actually stopped letting people get the beverage packages on this sailings for a period of time due to the complaints.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[wales4ever]

Just contacted NCL UK for an answer to this. Told them I would cancel my gratuities on board if they charge me additional tax and pay cabin staff in cash at the end of my cruise if they do.

[KeithJenner]

I think Italy started collecting this VAT but now seems to have stopped.

 

 

 

We did a b2b on the Jade out of Venice in 2014 and were charged tax for one of the weeks as we didn't leave the EU.

 

The other week we went to Turkey, so not tax was charged.

 

So Italy certainly did charge it. I don't know whether they still do, but as these cruises aren't visiting Turkey now I'd have expected to see questions on it if they were.

[hawkeyetlse]

At this point I think there's no telling what's going to happen when the Epic and the Star return to the Mediterranean next spring, since NCL will have to figure things out all over again when the time comes.

 

It's true that Carnival ran into the same issue last year, but I don't know if I would trust them to have any more expertise in this area than NCL. The mainstream cruise lines with the most experience in the Mediterranean (Costa, MSC) don't seem to have any problems, as far as I know, but it could just be an effect of the fact that we get a lot fewer reports about those lines on CC.

[Jetlagged787]

Just contacted NCL UK for an answer to this. Told them I would cancel my gratuities on board if they charge me additional tax and pay cabin staff in cash at the end of my cruise if they do.

 

As a matter of interest, what was their answer to your question?

[cclarke12]

I did two Barca to Barca cruises in 2016 with free UBP. No additional taxes payable on either, in fact they don't even bother asking for a receipt to be signed anymore. Anything we bought outside the package, e.g. Bottled water, did have the VAT added on.

[hawkeyetlse]

There were no paper slips for UBP orders on our TA out of Barcelona last October, either, but we were still charged Spanish VAT on every drink ordered in Spanish waters (and Florida tax on the other end of the cruise). No one signed anything, but the charges appeared all the same.

[cclarke12]

There were no paper slips for UBP orders on our TA out of Barcelona last October, either, but we were still charged Spanish VAT on every drink ordered in Spanish waters (and Florida tax on the other end of the cruise). No one signed anything, but the charges appeared all the same.

 

Very odd. We sailed at end of October and no charge. I wouldn't pay for anything I hadn't signed for.

[lachelli]

Very odd. We sailed at end of October and no charge. I wouldn't pay for anything I hadn't signed for.

 

We also sailed the end of October on the Epics Transatlantic from Barcelona and had no tax added or charged to any drinks ordered under the UBP

[wales4ever]

Just received a reply from NCL UK: "Please be informed that guests are not charged on-board for VAT for the Packages we offer as part of our Freestyle Promos. VAT and 18% gratuity will not be charged on beverages up to the value of $15 per glass."

[nomad098]

Just received a reply from NCL UK: "Please be informed that guests are not charged on-board for VAT for the Packages we offer as part of our Freestyle Promos. VAT and 18% gratuity will not be charged on beverages up to the value of $15 per glass."

 

Good to know :)

[TrumpyNor]

Just received a reply from NCL UK: "Please be informed that guests are not charged on-board for VAT for the Packages we offer as part of our Freestyle Promos. VAT and 18% gratuity will not be charged on beverages up to the value of $15 per glass."

 

Thank you! :)

[KeithJenner]

I would just add a note of caution. If you had asked NCL UK the same question last year before the Star headed off to the Med then I'm pretty certain you would have got the exact same answer.

 

Having that email would probably help your cause onboard if they do charge, but it isn't a guarantee you won't have trouble.

 

Hopefully they will apply the rules correctly in future.

 

For those of you on the Epic, I think the biggest reassurance is that they haven't been charging the tax on that ship doing the Western Med for the whole of last year, so I'd hope the systems are set up correctly.

 

My assumption why there were problems on the Star was because it was new for that particular ship, although you can't say that for the Spirit.

[SullytheBFG]

We cruised out of Barcelona last October on the Epic, we had the free UBP.

 

The only VAT I paid was on two drinks that I had which were over the $15 price. That was on the difference of the $15 to the price and then the VAT. So a very small amount.

 

They were the only drinks I had to sign for.

[Jetlagged787]

Just received a reply from NCL UK: "Please be informed that guests are not charged on-board for VAT for the Packages we offer as part of our Freestyle Promos. VAT and 18% gratuity will not be charged on beverages up to the value of $15 per glass."

 

Thanks for that. I will now contact them and try to get the same in writing. As others have pointed out, there is no guarantee that you won't be charged so it's always handy to have it in writing.

[jardin29]

Thank you! :)

Just finished NCL cruise out of Barcelona on NCL spirit, sail date 3rd Dec 2017....vat charged on every drink while in Spanish waters even though we had a free drinks package...vat amounted to around 40 dollars charged to our onboard account.

[Smurf2017]

Just finished NCL cruise out of Barcelona on NCL spirit, sail date 3rd Dec 2017....vat charged on every drink while in Spanish waters even though we had a free drinks package...vat amounted to around 40 dollars charged to our onboard account.

 

There is another thread on this subject somewhere. It seems that NCL changed their process 3 to 4 weeks ago and now charge the tax whether you have a drinks package or not.

 

Found it. Here you go :

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2572284

[Eileensteph]

Never bought drink over 15 dollArs but charged vat whenever in Spanish waters, quite a to-do on board by everyone about this, I reiterate paid around 40 dollars over 10 days charged to my account on 10 day cruise on 3rd December sailing...that included a few tea and coffees purchased from cafe.

[Visigoth]

We've been in Spanish ports 6 time on three separate NCL cruises on two different ships (Epic and Star). We, and our traveling companions, always had the UBP and none of us has ever paid a VAT tax to Spain or any other European country. The most recent trip was a transatlantic on the Star, last month.

[KeithJenner]

We've been in Spanish ports 6 time on three separate NCL cruises on two different ships (Epic and Star). We, and our traveling companions, always had the UBP and none of us has ever paid a VAT tax to Spain or any other European country. The most recent trip was a transatlantic on the Star, last month.

 

 

 

You have been fortunate with your consistency. I have sailed sailed from Barcelona a number of times on the Epic and Spirit, both with and without the UBP. These are the results I have had.

 

Without the UBP tax has been charged whilst in port if the cruise leaves the EU VAT area and all cruise if it doesn’t. That has been consistent.

 

With the UBP, if the ship leaves the VAT area, we have sometimes been charged tax in port and sometimes not. It seems fairly random, and I always go with the knowledge that it may be charged and treat it as a bonus if it isn’t.

 

With the UBP, if the ship doesn’t leave the VAT area then we have sometimes been charged tax for the whole trip and sometimes not. Recently we haven’t, but I would always go with the knowledge that it may happen.

 

As the discussions on these threads show, there is no definitive answer to the question. We can give our experiences, but you do just never know for sure until you start ordering.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Catchum]

Just back off the Spirit Barcelona to Barcelona 10% tax on all drinks (we had the UBP as a perk) in Spanish waters. The tax is on the cost of the drink on the menu so about $1 per glass of wine.

 

Because of the route, which followed the coast quite a bit, it was often three or four hours after all aboard time before the tax stopped.

 

PACKING TIP take extra empty water bottles and make sure they are filled with beverage of choice whilst in international; Portuguese, or Moroccan waters so you have a stash for sail away.

[mu12]

I remember the last time we sailed in the Med there was an extra charge on every drink on board while in any Spanish port. Is this still the case? Does it affect drinks packages if it does?

Yes it does, we were on all inc drinks package but every time in spainish port or not 4 Miles out we had to sign for to pay the 10% spainish tax and this was Dec this year,

[stephpodge]

I remember the last time we sailed in the Med there was an extra charge on every drink on board while in any Spanish port. Is this still the case? Does it affect drinks packages if it does?

 

 

Yes, it does. I had a free drinks package included on my recent ncl spirit cruise. We enjoyed it thoroughly. Despite the small 10% spanish value added tax. It isnt alot, considering NCL GAVE us each a drinks package for 10 days (worth well over 600 €.) We drink more at night, so by then one is well out at sea. As you only pay when visiting spanish territories or when 12 nautical miles away from spanish land.I didnt find it a problem at all. Crew were all very charming and served fantastically.