altriperin Posted May 25, 2023 #126 Share Posted May 25, 2023 11 hours ago, macattack1111 said: My question to you professional lurkers...are passengers being charged Tax..vat or whatever you want to call it when purchasing a drink with or without a drinks package in Spanish ports. Today we returned from the Epic. We had to pay 10% 'VAT' for all drinks all the time. In italien, spanish and french ports and also on sea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ollienbertsmum Posted May 25, 2023 #127 Share Posted May 25, 2023 2 minutes ago, altriperin said: Today we returned from the Epic. We had to pay 10% 'VAT' for all drinks all the time. In italien, spanish and french ports and also on sea. Thanks for this information. Just to clarify, did you have a package? I have been on the Epic numerous times (with a drink package) from about 2012 to 2018 same route, but never had to pay any VAT. I wonder why the change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ollienbertsmum Posted May 25, 2023 #128 Share Posted May 25, 2023 Just now, ollienbertsmum said: Thanks for this information. Just to clarify, did you have a package? I have been on the Epic numerous times (with a drink package) from about 2012 to 2018 same route, but never had to pay any VAT. I wonder why the change just re read Keith Jenner’s previous post. So maybe in the old days we were not charged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted May 25, 2023 #129 Share Posted May 25, 2023 2 minutes ago, altriperin said: Today we returned from the Epic. We had to pay 10% 'VAT' for all drinks all the time. In italien, spanish and french ports and also on sea. We encountered this tax several years ago during a Mediterranean cruise on the Star. The original itinerary included a port stop in Turkey, but that was changed after final payment to become an all EU voyage. When passengers complained about being charged taxes even on sea days, the Captain informed us that EU laws required NCL to collect the tax throughout the cruise because we never venture outside of the EU. That may be the circumstance on some recent NCL cruises. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altriperin Posted May 25, 2023 #130 Share Posted May 25, 2023 8 minutes ago, ollienbertsmum said: Thanks for this information. Just to clarify, did you have a package? I have been on the Epic numerous times (with a drink package) from about 2012 to 2018 same route, but never had to pay any VAT. I wonder why the change Yes, we had the free at sea package. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ollienbertsmum Posted May 25, 2023 #131 Share Posted May 25, 2023 14 minutes ago, altriperin said: Yes, we had the free at sea package. And I suppose the next question has to be ‘did you know before your cruise that you would be paying the tax. I have no issues with paying tax when due, but had ncl let passengers know up front 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pc_load_letter Posted May 25, 2023 #132 Share Posted May 25, 2023 I wonder if NCL has been hit by this because of their Free at Sea. The drinks were essentially comp'd so I wonder if these countries wised up so to speak and wanted to eliminate the NCL loophole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macattack1111 Posted May 25, 2023 #133 Share Posted May 25, 2023 Does this mean....if you do for example a 10 day cruise that does not leave the EU at all in the 10 days you will pay VAT for every single drink you have even though you have paid £199 for the so called Free At Sea. BUT if during your 10 day cruise you go to Morocco for one day which is outside the EU then these Taxes would not be collected...I hope somebody has the answer to this question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted May 25, 2023 #134 Share Posted May 25, 2023 28 minutes ago, macattack1111 said: Does this mean....if you do for example a 10 day cruise that does not leave the EU at all in the 10 days you will pay VAT for every single drink you have even though you have paid £199 for the so called Free At Sea. BUT if during your 10 day cruise you go to Morocco for one day which is outside the EU then these Taxes would not be collected...I hope somebody has the answer to this question. Basically, yes that could well be what happens. On the second cruise it is very possible that you will be charged tax whilst in port, but if ships don't leave the EU then the tax will likely be charged for the entire time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregluk Posted May 25, 2023 Author #135 Share Posted May 25, 2023 (edited) Are the drink gratuities in the free at sea package that you prepay not technically optional or should be? The other gratuities that you can prepay before the cruise they are optional and you can remove and change them at the end of the cruise if you wish So what's different between the drink package gratuities and the gratuities you pay at the end or can prepay, and shouldn't both follow the same rules? Edited May 25, 2023 by gregluk .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoopie17 Posted May 25, 2023 #136 Share Posted May 25, 2023 (edited) Charging tax at sea???? Since when?? And which country collects the tax in the middle of the sea? We were on a TA last November on the Escape out of Rome with a stop in Livorno, four stops in Spain, one in France and three in Portugal. The only place we were charged tax on drinks was in the four Spain ports (yes, we had the drink package and yes, they had signs up at the bars informing us of the tax in Spain). Once we escaped the Spain waters, no tax was charged in any other port or at sea. Edited May 25, 2023 by schmoopie17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted May 25, 2023 #137 Share Posted May 25, 2023 27 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said: Charging tax at sea???? Since when?? And which country collects the tax in the middle of the sea? We were on a TA last November on the Escape out of Rome with a stop in Livorno, four stops in Spain, one in France and three in Portugal. The only place we were charged tax on drinks was in the four Spain ports (yes, we had the drink package and yes, they had signs up at the bars informing us of the tax in Spain). Once we escaped the Spain waters, no tax was charged in any other port or at sea. I suspect that you left the EU, which is why you only paid the tax in port. NCL have been charging the tax on the entire cruise when it doesn’t leave the EU for at least a decade now. The change is that they have started charging those with the beverage package (previously it was only those paying by the drink). They also charge tax in the shops etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoopie17 Posted May 25, 2023 #138 Share Posted May 25, 2023 1 minute ago, KeithJenner said: I suspect that you left the EU, which is why you only paid the tax in port. NCL have been charging the tax on the entire cruise when it doesn’t leave the EU for at least a decade now. The change is that they have started charging those with the beverage package (previously it was only those paying by the drink). They also charge tax in the shops etc. So France, Italy and Portugal are now outside of the EU?? As I said, the ONLY ports we paid the tax were the four in Spain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted May 25, 2023 #139 Share Posted May 25, 2023 4 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said: So France, Italy and Portugal are now outside of the EU?? As I said, the ONLY ports we paid the tax were the four in Spain. I just said that I suspected you left the EU, as that would have explained it. Not making a statement or anything like that, just trying to understand why these things may be. Not sure why they didn’t charge for the whole trip then. The usual procedure is to charge for the whole cruise in these cases. It may be to do with where the cruise started. We have paid tax for the whole cruise when sailing from Italy and Spain, but I do recall discussion in the past that it can depend on that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare luv2kroooz Posted May 25, 2023 #140 Share Posted May 25, 2023 7 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said: So France, Italy and Portugal are now outside of the EU?? As I said, the ONLY ports we paid the tax were the four in Spain. I think what KeithJenner is saying is that you left the EU when you crossed the Atlantic. As a result, you were not charged tax throughout the entire cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted May 25, 2023 #141 Share Posted May 25, 2023 5 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said: I think what KeithJenner is saying is that you left the EU when you crossed the Atlantic. As a result, you were not charged tax throughout the entire cruise. Actually, I didn’t notice that it was a transatlantic, but yes, that’s exactly what I was saying. For the tax to be charged on the whole cruise the ship needs to stay within the EU for the entire time. Obviously a transatlantic doesn’t do that. As an example, we once did a B2B from Venice. Week 1 went to Istanbul and therefore tax was only charged in port (if even there, I don’t recall), but week 2 was just Greek Isles so we had tax for the entire week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoopie17 Posted May 25, 2023 #142 Share Posted May 25, 2023 18 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said: I think what KeithJenner is saying is that you left the EU when you crossed the Atlantic. As a result, you were not charged tax throughout the entire cruise. So which country collects the tax when you're not in port and out "at sea", if you don't leave the EU?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted May 25, 2023 #143 Share Posted May 25, 2023 The suggestion from what NCL said back in 2013 is that the tax is imposed by the country where the cruise originates. This may be why there was discussion regarding whether it didn't happen for some cruises. I've attached some excerpts from the leaflet handed out on our cruise in 2013. They refer to "Spanish VAT" (we embarked in Barcelona). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
podgeandrodge Posted May 27, 2023 #144 Share Posted May 27, 2023 What about where cruise "originates" from both Barcelona and Rome i.e. if you embark in Rome the tax shouldn't apply? But that would be impossible to manage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted May 27, 2023 #145 Share Posted May 27, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 2:50 PM, macattack1111 said: Does this mean....if you do for example a 10 day cruise that does not leave the EU at all in the 10 days you will pay VAT for every single drink you have even though you have paid £199 for the so called Free At Sea. BUT if during your 10 day cruise you go to Morocco for one day which is outside the EU then these Taxes would not be collected...I hope somebody has the answer to this question. That is exactly the way the Captain of the Star explained it during an all-EU cruise of the Mediterranean in 2016. The rules may have changed since then. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted May 27, 2023 #146 Share Posted May 27, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 4:03 PM, schmoopie17 said: Charging tax at sea???? Since when?? And which country collects the tax in the middle of the sea? As it was explained to passengers on the Star on a cruise in 2016, the port of origin, in our case Barcelona, would be due the tax for the duration of the cruise if the ship never docks at a port outside the EU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted May 27, 2023 #147 Share Posted May 27, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 4:33 PM, KeithJenner said: I suspect that you left the EU, which is why you only paid the tax in port. NCL have been charging the tax on the entire cruise when it doesn’t leave the EU for at least a decade now. The change is that they have started charging those with the beverage package (previously it was only those paying by the drink). They also charge tax in the shops etc. My wife and I each had the beverage package while on the Star in the Mediterranean in 2016. We were charged tax on every beverage we ordered throughout the 11 day cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted May 27, 2023 #148 Share Posted May 27, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 4:03 PM, schmoopie17 said: Charging tax at sea???? Since when?? And which country collects the tax in the middle of the sea? We were on a TA last November on the Escape out of Rome with a stop in Livorno, four stops in Spain, one in France and three in Portugal. The only place we were charged tax on drinks was in the four Spain ports (yes, we had the drink package and yes, they had signs up at the bars informing us of the tax in Spain). Once we escaped the Spain waters, no tax was charged in any other port or at sea. Yes, but when you crossed the Atlantic and docked at a US port, your cruise left the EU territorial waters. The practice of charging tax on beverages served while the ship is at sea appears to apply only when the entire cruise is within EU waters, with no ports of call other than those in EU countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krydstosser Posted May 29, 2023 #149 Share Posted May 29, 2023 I got this from a current guest on NCL Epic in the Port of Livorno today! looks like NCL has paid for their Alcohol License and this is solved, Better late than never... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ollienbertsmum Posted May 29, 2023 #150 Share Posted May 29, 2023 20 minutes ago, Krydstosser said: I got this from a current guest on NCL Epic in the Port of Livorno today! looks like NCL has paid for their Alcohol License and this is solved, Better late than never... I am still not convinced. They have thrown out a badly written sign. It includes typos. The sign says that extra tax will be charged when drinks are served. It does not say IF drinks will be served or not. NCL have made such a hash of this, I no longer believe them. I do not feel valued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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