Drink Taxes within US Boundaries

[esm54687]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

 You have paid gratuity on the package with final payment... not taxes. There are no taxes on the drink package, unless you are within a certain number of miles of a city/state that requires those taxes be paid (have seen it in the US, but not in other countries in the caribbean). So there's no way for them to pre-include that since a vast majority of your drinks won't incur the tax. Some cruise lines will just eat those small tax costs in port but Norwegian does not.

EU members charge a VAT......

 

Most cruise lines do not "eat" the tax but will add it to your beverage package cost so you may not see it. NCL is just up front about it per drink.

[esm54687]

3 hours ago, alrose251 said:

Wait they charge the passengers with drink packages the tax?  How can they do that?  The package was already paid with your final payment. 

I can see the tax if you go over the $15 limit, but the charge should be "0" if below the $15 limit.

Am I missing something?🤷‍♂️

As stated multiple times in this thread...... it is a state / city / municipality tax that is being charged.  This is not an NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Disney, etc tax. All the cruise line does is track, collect and pass along to the tax person. 

[cementhands]

On 3/1/2020 at 11:14 AM, DuckTollerFans said:

Hi all,

 

I remember that on sailings out of NYC there are taxes on the drinks until we're a certain distance out. Understood, not a problem, wasn't a surprise.

 

Just curious though - we are going to be on a Canada/NE cruise, with 2 stops in Maine and 1 in Rhode Island.  Will we have our drinks taxed throughout those last 3 days, too? I suspect that we never leave US waters once we get to Bar Harbor.  

 

 

 

 

On recent Bliss February New York City was an additional fee like 80 cents. But the Port Canaveral was over $1 and we had a delayed departure so it added up to a few bucks. I believe if you inquire about it onboard they can give you specific information.

[sanger727]

16 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

EU members charge a VAT......

 

Most cruise lines do not "eat" the tax but will add it to your beverage package cost so you may not see it. NCL is just up front about it per drink.

 

How do you figure that? I booked a cruise with celebrity in Hawaii with the beverage package included. I paid no gratuity and no tax on drinks in port. I believe celebrity never charges tax on drink in port when you have the beverage package - ie, they eat this cost.

 

I book a cruise with Norwegian with the beverage package included. I paid the gratuity upfront. When we were in port in Tampa and Key West I was also charged tax on the drinks I had in port.

[dmdiver]

I think Texas charges taxes on the drinks as well.  Seems like they did & also had a limited menu until we got far enough out into the gulf.  They also like to collect taxes on any booze you bring back.  It's very annoying.  I've never had a drink package before, so this will be new to me.  Good to know that there could be some charges on my account for taxed drinks.  My Alaskan cruise is round trip from Seattle.  So, I got to wondering if we were going to be paying taxes every time we have a drink, since we are near land.  

[esm54687]

3 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

How do you figure that? I booked a cruise with celebrity in Hawaii with the beverage package included. I paid no gratuity and no tax on drinks in port. I believe celebrity never charges tax on drink in port when you have the beverage package - ie, they eat this cost.

 

I book a cruise with Norwegian with the beverage package included. I paid the gratuity upfront. When we were in port in Tampa and Key West I was also charged tax on the drinks I had in port.

I use the word "most" which means not all eat it and unless you go line item by line item for every cruise company to determine price differences.....   the tax that they "eat" may very well be buried in your cruise fare.....     but you give ONE itinerary example (Celebrity in Hawaii) to defend your case that only NCL does not "eat it"

[smplybcause]

8 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

How do you figure that? I booked a cruise with celebrity in Hawaii with the beverage package included. I paid no gratuity and no tax on drinks in port. I believe celebrity never charges tax on drink in port when you have the beverage package - ie, they eat this cost.

 

I book a cruise with Norwegian with the beverage package included. I paid the gratuity upfront. When we were in port in Tampa and Key West I was also charged tax on the drinks I had in port.

 

Have you ever gone to a bar and they say $10 for a drink and it's actually $10 not $10+tax? It's because they bar calculated the price with tax and just told you the end price. Much like if you go over to Europe the price you see on the shelf already includes the tax and shows you the final price. 

 

Sales tax on drinks in state waters would likely equal millions on larger cruise lines. The states will not forgo collecting that money and the companies won't just "eat this cost". It is definitely calculated and in the final price you just don't see it. 

[smplybcause]

9 minutes ago, dmdiver said:

I think Texas charges taxes on the drinks as well.  Seems like they did & also had a limited menu until we got far enough out into the gulf.  They also like to collect taxes on any booze you bring back.  It's very annoying.  I've never had a drink package before, so this will be new to me.  Good to know that there could be some charges on my account for taxed drinks.  My Alaskan cruise is round trip from Seattle.  So, I got to wondering if we were going to be paying taxes every time we have a drink, since we are near land.  

 

Just until around 9pm the first night (assuming you leave on time at the 4pmish time frame) and then another handful of hours the day of your Victoria stop (you travel in Washington waters for a bit on the way there). 

[esm54687]

9 minutes ago, dmdiver said:

I think Texas charges taxes on the drinks as well.  Seems like they did & also had a limited menu until we got far enough out into the gulf.  They also like to collect taxes on any booze you bring back.  It's very annoying.  I've never had a drink package before, so this will be new to me.  Good to know that there could be some charges on my account for taxed drinks.  My Alaskan cruise is round trip from Seattle.  So, I got to wondering if we were going to be paying taxes every time we have a drink, since we are near land.  

and if you take a cruise out of New Orleans....   you get taxed all the way down the Mississippi until you hit international water which can be about 3 hours. 

 

The tax won't be that much so enjoy and don't worry !!

 

 

[sanger727]

1 minute ago, smplybcause said:

 

Have you ever gone to a bar and they say $10 for a drink and it's actually $10 not $10+tax? It's because they bar calculated the price with tax and just told you the end price. Much like if you go over to Europe the price you see on the shelf already includes the tax and shows you the final price. 

 

Sales tax on drinks in state waters would likely equal millions on larger cruise lines. The states will not forgo collecting that money and the companies won't just "eat this cost". It is definitely calculated and in the final price you just don't see it. 

 

Ok. But if I have the drink package and the price of the  drink is $10, and drinks up to $15 are included; the cruise line gets $0 from me. NCL charges me extra anyway. Celebrity does not. Maybe I was mistaken to use the word most. But Some cruise lines (I know NCL) do charge the in port tax on included drinks when you have the beverage package and some cruise lines (I know Celebrity) does not charge the in port tax on inluded drinks when you have the beverage package.

[smplybcause]

5 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Ok. But if I have the drink package and the price of the  drink is $10, and drinks up to $15 are included; the cruise line gets $0 from me. NCL charges me extra anyway. Celebrity does not. Maybe I was mistaken to use the word most. But Some cruise lines (I know NCL) do charge the in port tax on included drinks when you have the beverage package and some cruise lines (I know Celebrity) does not charge the in port tax on inluded drinks when you have the beverage package.

 

But if you don't have a drink package, does Celebrity charge you tax separately on the drinks? Because that's the difference. If you don't have a drink package NCL still charges you the cost of the tax. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by smplybcause

[alrose251]

27 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

and if you take a cruise out of New Orleans....   you get taxed all the way down the Mississippi until you hit international water which can be about 3 hours. 

 

The tax won't be that much so enjoy and don't worry !!

 

 

It takes like 8 hours to hit the Gulf of Mexico!  Not sure when they stop charging you.

[sanger727]

31 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

But if you don't have a drink package, does Celebrity charge you tax separately on the drinks? Because that's the difference. If you don't have a drink package NCL still charges you the cost of the tax. 

I don’t know. I was only discussing the scenario of having the drink package and purchasing a drink within the limits. Ncl charges you tax on it when at least some other lines do not. Presumably the tax reporting is the same for everyone so the lines that don’t charge the tax must be paying it. I think NCL is being a bit cheap in this scenario considering they have the highest priced drink package on the market and they also charge gratuities on that ‘free’ drink package when some other lines (specifically celebrity) do not.

[esm54687]

13 minutes ago, alrose251 said:

It takes like 8 hours to hit the Gulf of Mexico!  Not sure when they stop charging you.

You are correct..... I mis-typed 

[smplybcause]

41 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I don’t know. I was only discussing the scenario of having the drink package and purchasing a drink within the limits. Ncl charges you tax on it when at least some other lines do not. Presumably the tax reporting is the same for everyone so the lines that don’t charge the tax must be paying it. I think NCL is being a bit cheap in this scenario considering they have the highest priced drink package on the market and they also charge gratuities on that ‘free’ drink package when some other lines (specifically celebrity) do not.

 

Maybe they're being cheap, maybe the other lines have $0.05 of each drink ear marked for state taxes even though they're not all sold in state waters. Frankly I'd say the one that's specifically calling it out is way more likely to collect the actual amount of taxes you owe for what you got vs a company that pays for it out of an opaque price that stays the same the entire cruise. 

 

And they may not charge a gratuity but the last time I checked Celebrity prices based on people saying that the price for the same exact cabin on a regular fare vs the fare that included the drink package was a couple hundred more. So it's not like they aren't charging you money overall to have the perk. 

[chrisdar1]

So I’m on the Sky for three nights this weekend.  We leave Miami and sail to Key West and Nassau.  Will the ship travel to Key West from Miami in “international waters” or will we be within 3 miles from the coast the entire time?

 

That could end up being an expensive two days...

[smplybcause]

28 minutes ago, chrisdar1 said:

So I’m on the Sky for three nights this weekend.  We leave Miami and sail to Key West and Nassau.  Will the ship travel to Key West from Miami in “international waters” or will we be within 3 miles from the coast the entire time?

 

That could end up being an expensive two days...

 

Don't know for sure, but I'm guessing they want to open the casino that night so they'll cross over into international water. Also have to for any duty free shopping. 

[chrisdar1]

23 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

Don't know for sure, but I'm guessing they want to open the casino that night so they'll cross over into international water. Also have to for any duty free shopping. 

Ahh, great point!   I hadn’t thought about that.

Thanks!

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, chrisdar1 said:

So I’m on the Sky for three nights this weekend.  We leave Miami and sail to Key West and Nassau.  Will the ship travel to Key West from Miami in “international waters” or will we be within 3 miles from the coast the entire time?

The ship will get into international waters as fast as it can so you won't have to pay taxes on your drinks

 

...actually to open the stores and casino as fast as they can... and stay in international waters as long as they can between ports. 

[mnventure]

Are drinks taxed when in port in Alaska?

Alaska does not have a sales tax, we were only charged a sales tax while in the state of Washington’s waters (near Seattle and on our way to Victoria).


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[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, dmdiver said:

So, I got to wondering if we were going to be paying taxes every time we have a drink, since we are near land.  

I didn't notice them charging taxes in Alaskan ports. HOWEVER, the state of Washington cashes in for the first few hours as you leave Seattle. Then then entire last day of the cruise since the Washingtonians can see you from their front porch as you spend the day getting to Victoria, then to Seattle. There are signs at every bar.