Reminder..vat is charged if all ports are in the eu

[ghstudio]

Currently on constellation Rome to Barcelona....all ports in eu.  If you purchase on board, 23% VAT is added.  It is not added to specialty restaurant prices or excursions.  Sorry, I don’t know if it’s added to drink prices because our TA surprised us with the premium package upgrade. We are b2b...our previous cruise stopped in Malta, so no vat was charged for purchases on that cruise.

 

one more thing.  The on board liquor store is closed for this entire voyage...apparently they can’t sell on an eu only cruise.

[Highpeaklad]

4 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Currently on constellation Rome to Barcelona....all ports in eu.  If you purchase on board, 23% VAT is added.  It is not added to specialty restaurant prices or excursions.  Sorry, I don’t know if it’s added to drink prices because our TA surprised us with the premium package upgrade. We are b2b...our previous cruise stopped in Malta, so no vat was charged for purchases on that cruise.

 

one more thing.  The on board liquor store is closed for this entire voyage...apparently they can’t sell on an eu only cruise.

 

Just to be pedantic, Malta is in the EU. It was your stop in Kotor, Montenegro which is not EU which meant VAT wasn’t charged. 

 

Im on late August with an EU only itinerary (which also calls at Malta) and don’t have a drinks package so hoping it doesn’t apply to drinks too, although if you can’t buy booze in the shop I’m not hopeful. 

 

PS regarding your other post - hope you haven’t broken the ship!

[Cruise Junky]

Interesting it doesn’t apply to the specialty restaurants. We’re on an all EU cruise next year. 

[Gordoncruickshank]

I don't know why vat is not added to the speciality prices. As far as I am aware it should be along with drinks and drink packages. The trick is to pre buy what you want before the cruise starts via the cruise planner as Vat does not apply to those purchases.

 

I thought Malta was in the EU and was about to look it up.

 

As the drinks shop sells goods duty free i suspect they would need to add both local alcohol duties and VAT which would probably make the items too expensive. 

[ghstudio]

I obviously need to brush up on my eu countries..

 

now i have 2 reasons to cruise to kotor 

 again...the other is that it’s just a wonderful city to walk around and enjoy...we preferred it to Dubrovnik...less people, more compact...just a great cruise port.

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by ghstudio

[laticmon]

The "duty-free" store is usually sealed by Customs. Happened to us on 10 day Constellation Venice-Venice last year. We didn't leave the EU but as we had package for drinks we were not charged any extra vat.

 

[cruisestitch]

a passenger (mrsemmapeel) on edge just posted the letter they got in their stateroom about VAT, unfortunately I can't figure out how to cut and paste it -- maybe someone with more computer skills can do it.

 

 

vatnote.pdf

Edited July 14, 2019 by cruisestitch

[phoenix_dream]

Does anyone know if the VAT tax is applied to drink packages purchased when you board?  We are sailing out of England, and visiting Norway.  If so, I will want to purchase mine prior to sailing.  Was waiting (and hoping) for a pre-sail discount but haven't gotten any notifications of that so far.   Sometimes we can get a discount onboard if we wait a day or two, but if we have to pay a VAT tax that would cancel out any savings and then some.

[clarky213]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Does anyone know if the VAT tax is applied to drink packages purchased when you board?  We are sailing out of England, and visiting Norway.  If so, I will want to purchase mine prior to sailing.  Was waiting (and hoping) for a pre-sail discount but haven't gotten any notifications of that so far.   Sometimes we can get a discount onboard if we wait a day or two, but if we have to pay a VAT tax that would cancel out any savings and then some.

As Norway is not in the EU, there will be No VAT to pay.

[phoenix_dream]

5 hours ago, clarky213 said:

As Norway is not in the EU, there will be No VAT to pay.

But we would be purchasing it the first day, as we leave England, which still is.  That is why I was wondering.  Does it only depend where you’re going, not where you board?

[nikel]

 

We are going from Lisbon to Barcelona.....all in the EU.  But we have one stop in Gibralter.  Does this mean that that is where I want to spend all my OBC  so I won't be taxed?

[cruisestitch]

Nikel, No. What it means is that for the duration of the entire voyage, no VAT will be collected.

 

Phoenix Dream, having the one port outside the EU means that the entire voyage is exempt from the VAT

 

Basically the same question, just different localities.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by cruisestitch

[Host Jazzbeau]

You might wonder why Saint Peter Port is such a popular stop on cruise itineraries:  same reason, to avoid VAT.  Also any stop in Turkey.  Gibraltar, despite being a British possession, avoids VAT.  

[upwarduk]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You might wonder why Saint Peter Port is such a popular stop on cruise itineraries:  same reason, to avoid VAT.  Also any stop in Turkey.  Gibraltar, despite being a British possession, avoids VAT.  

I bought an iPad in 2015 as we left Southampton which was VAT free, as we had St Petersburg included on our itinerary. The staff in the iLounge were not allowed to hand it over to me until we were outside the 3 mile limit. 

[G.M.T.]

18 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Does anyone know if the VAT tax is applied to drink packages purchased when you board?  We are sailing out of England, and visiting Norway.  If so, I will want to purchase mine prior to sailing.  Was waiting (and hoping) for a pre-sail discount but haven't gotten any notifications of that so far.   Sometimes we can get a discount onboard if we wait a day or two, but if we have to pay a VAT tax that would cancel out any savings and then some.

Norway is not in the EU, in the near future England (United Kingdom - for how long) will also not be in the EU.

[phoenix_dream]

But I am sailing in September, less than 2 months from now.  Wondering if England is still in EU will I need to pay VAT tax on a drink package purchased the first day.

[Highpeaklad]

7 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

But I am sailing in September, less than 2 months from now.  Wondering if England is still in EU will I need to pay VAT tax on a drink package purchased the first day.

 

No you won’t. If you have  non EU call the whole cruise is VAT free.  

 

Its a bit like the USA ship registration rule. If the ship is only visiting US ports it has to be registered in the US. (eg NCL Pride of America which only sails around Hawaii.)

If the itinerary includes a foreign port, the ship can be foreign registered.  

[cruisestitch]

Phoenix Dream, since your itinerary visits Norway, which is outside the EU, the whole VAT problem doesn't exist for you.  It doesn't matter that it starts in Southampton.  It only matters that it visits at least one non-EU location.

 

If (and this is probably impossible) Great Britain leave the EU in the next two months, that certainly takes care of any future problems with VAT even for cruises that don't visit Norway or St. Peter Port. 

 

VAT is only charged if you DO NOT visit a port outside the EU.  If Great Britain is suddenly outside the EU, there would not be any VAT charged on those itineraries.

Edited July 15, 2019 by cruisestitch

[phoenix_dream]

Thanks for all the information.  Glad to hear that is one less problem to worry about.

[nikel]

18 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Nikel, No. What it means is that for the duration of the entire voyage, no VAT will be collected.

 

Phoenix Dream, having the one port outside the EU means that the entire voyage is exempt from the VAT

 

Basically the same question, just different localities.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you...didn't want to have t use some of my OBC on VAT.

[homeofthehound]

We will be sailing on the Aug 13 Reflection British Isles Cruise. We leave from Amsterdam, stopping in Dover, Inverness, Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, overnight in Cork and then back to Amsterdam. I guess we will be subject to VAT as Britain won't like leave the EU in the next 30 day 😕 

 

Having said that, does anyone know if you can claim back the VAT after the cruise either in Amsterdam or when we return home to Canada? Will VAT be charged on everything we buy on board (we were thinking of upgrading our beverage package, shore excursions not already paid for, and ship experiences such as the speciality restaurants or activities onboard)? Any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[cruisestitch]

You can only claim the VAT refund on items that you will be taking with you out of the EU.  High end jewelry, purses, clothing yes.  Beverages and dining, no.

 

it appears that shore excursions have the VAT built into to their price.