VAT on Mediterranean cruises?

[podgeandrodge]

Is it possible at all that passengers embarking in Spain on Epic would be auto charged and Rome passengers not? Technically easy for NCL I guess, but there would be Armageddon onboard I'd say.

[DCGuy64]

On 6/24/2023 at 5:48 PM, NeverNCLagain said:

I am on the NCL Epic now on a 10 day Med cruise, and despite having purchased the Premium Plus Package that covers all beverages long before we boarded, we are still charged VAT on EVERY drink transaction at port AND at sea, including water, coffee, etc.  Day 3 of the cruise and it’s an average of $90/day as I am paying for several people. The finance staff on the ship said there is no way to not pay it.  Needless to say, this will be my last cruise with NCL as the taxes will end up being almost $1000.  This was an unplanned expense and I am extremely upset. 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Edited June 26, 2023 by DCGuy64

[gregluk]

48 minutes ago, podgeandrodge said:

Is it possible at all that passengers embarking in Spain on Epic would be auto charged and Rome passengers not? Technically easy for NCL I guess, but there would be Armageddon onboard I'd say.

Other people on facebook on the Norwegian Epic said they boarded at rome and still got charged VAT on all drinks at all ports with the drink package.

 

It can't be to do with where you board surely. Because if you board in Barcelona, but then dock somewhere in spain, that no longer has anything to do with spain, you're totally outside their country and spanish waters.

[podgeandrodge]

11 minutes ago, gregluk said:

Other people on facebook on the Norwegian Epic said they boarded at rome and still got charged VAT on all drinks at all ports with the drink package.

 

It can't be to do with where you board surely. Because if you board in Barcelona, but then dock somewhere in spain, that no longer has anything to do with spain, you're totally outside their country and spanish waters.

So if Barcelona is AN embarcation port, you get stung. Off my list so!

[Pghcrews]

For situations where a cruise starts in the EU and never leaves the VAT laws that will be in effect are the VAT rules where the cruise originates to make it so multiple jurisdictions aren't involved.  This is to simplify things.  

 

Although all countries in the EU need to follow certain basic rules, the VAT laws can differ among EU countries.  My understanding is that most countries only assess a VAT at the time of sale, so a beverage package bought prior to going to Europe would not be taxed.  In Spain, however, the impose a VAT at the time of "use or enjoyment", hence the VAT when starting from Barcelona and for the entirety of the cruise if the ship only goes to EU ports.

 

Not sure why this doesn't apply to SDPs, but I'm certainly no expert.  Just what my understanding is with respect to the beverage packages after doing research on the VAT laws in Italy, Greece and Spain.

[UCLAman]

On 6/25/2023 at 1:09 AM, Asawi said:

Reminding you! (And hoping you had a wonderful time!)

Hey all, I just got home and they were charging VAT but only if you got drinks while the boat was docked. I have no idea what the actual percent was cuz I, nor my wife, was keeping count on number of drinks while we were docked. TBH, i didnt really care if they were going to charge me a dollar or 2 for drinks. Most of the time we were off the boat while docked. To

me it’s not a life changer. 🤷‍♂️ Here is my final bill and you can see the small charges from the different bars. 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by UCLAman

[steamboats]

18 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Could be, but does that make sense? Both Spain and Italy are EU countries, why should the application of the VAT tax be different?

 

No, it doesn´t make sense. And it shouldn´t be handled differently.

 

17 hours ago, insidecabin said:

When this started many years ago it was known as the Spanish tax, exclusive to Spain

 

UK had different rules when it joined the EU to protect the ferry industry.

 

 

As for a Rome V Barcelona

remember cruise lines like MSC embark in both on the same cruises

 

The Epic also embarks both ports  1/2 the ship paying tax the other 1/2 not?

 

 

It´s never been a Spanish tax... it´s just that the percentage of the VAT is a regulation of the country. That you have to collect the VAT is an EU regulation. The regulation is pretty complicated and obvioulsy ever country is interpreting it differently.

 

Spain wants it for all EU-only cruises starting in Spain for the whole duration of the cruise and on any other cruise as soon as the ship enters the 3 mile zone of a Spanish port.

 

I have different experiences regarding Italy - some cruise lines add the VAT, some not. I never found out a system.

 

MSC does not charge it extra but includes the VAT in the price (so they simply earn less). Same for Costa, AIDA or TUI Cruises. As the Europeans are not used to pay VAT extra (EU law is that it has to be included) those Europe based cruise lines don´t charge it extra.

 

steamboats

[insidecabin]

4 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

No, it doesn´t make sense. And it shouldn´t be handled differently.

 

 

It´s never been a Spanish tax... it´s just that the percentage of the VAT is a regulation of the country. That you have to collect the VAT is an EU regulation. The regulation is pretty complicated and obvioulsy ever country is interpreting it differently.

 

Spain wants it for all EU-only cruises starting in Spain for the whole duration of the cruise and on any other cruise as soon as the ship enters the 3 mile zone of a Spanish port.

 

I have different experiences regarding Italy - some cruise lines add the VAT, some not. I never found out a system.

 

MSC does not charge it extra but includes the VAT in the price (so they simply earn less). Same for Costa, AIDA or TUI Cruises. As the Europeans are not used to pay VAT extra (EU law is that it has to be included) those Europe based cruise lines don´t charge it extra.

 

steamboats

It was known as the Spanish tax by UK cruise community  as Spain was the first to start the charges on cruise ships in 2010.

[Binky0]

Came across this on last NCL cruise, this was their response when complained. Got all tax refunded. Sailed from Barcelona.

Dear
 
We understand your concern in regards to the taxes that have been charged during the cruise and appreciate you did not expect to pay an extra amount on the drinks you ordered. Unfortunately we were not made aware of that issue during the cruise and only learned of it when the first guests contacted us after the end of the voyage.
 
We have now received feedback from our head Office as well as from the colleagues on-board confirming the mistake. This sailing has been considered an intra EU sailing starting and ending within the EU and only touching EU ports of call. For such sailings the respective national VAT is applicable, but only for purchase sales - so e.g. if guests for example didn’t have a drinks package either pre-paid or complimentary and pay per drink, then these costs were subject to Spanish VAT for the whole duration of the cruise. By mistake also guests with included drinks packages were charged with the Spanish VAT, which shouldn’t have happened. We realized that indeed there has been misleading and incorrect communication on-board and you can be assured that different steps were taken in the meantime to avoid similar issues on future sailings. We already received feedback that a proper debriefing of the situation has been conducted. We fully appreciate the frustration this situation during the cruise caused and we sincerely apologize for this highly negative Impression.
 
I have reviewed your final invoice and found that you have been incorrectly charged for an amount of 142,30 USD. In order to refund you, would you please provide us with your bank account number and sort code? A refund back to the credit card is not possible.
 
Kind regards,
 
Mariano Calzada
Guest Relations Executive

[eileeshb]

The inconsistencies are due to a variety of factors

1. The embarkation port

2. The ports of call on the itinerary 

3. The applicable laws in the country where you made the booking/purchased the drink package

4. The cruiseline

 

3. Quite a few years ago the EU made it a requirement than inescapable taxes and fees had to be included in the advertised prices from service providers, aka the Ryanair law, European airlines were advertising fares of €5 but omitting the taxes and charges which the EU deemed to be misleading advertising. So for those of us in the EU the advertised price of FAS has to be all-inclusive but I did delve into the t&cs on the NCL European website and found NCL have stuck in a line to cover themselves for “local taxes” that they may not be able to predict. 
 

4. The cruiseline

as mentioned in this thread regular NCL guests have experience sales taxes on drinks in certain US ports like Miami, yet other cruiselines don’t charge their guests that same sales tax at the same port. 

[hawkeyetlse]

Thanks for posting that, Binky0. What sailing were you on? (And how many days did it take you to rack up $140 in taxes???)

 

I received a similar response a few years back (my refund was somewhat less…), so NCL have evidently been making this “mistake” for a long time now. Their strategy seems to be to take everyone’s money “by mistake” and then only refund it to those who go to the trouble of contacting them after the cruise. 

[Notts1964]

15 hours ago, Binky0 said:

Came across this on last NCL cruise, this was their response when complained. Got all tax refunded. Sailed from Barcelona.

Dear
 
We understand your concern in regards to the taxes that have been charged during the cruise and appreciate you did not expect to pay an extra amount on the drinks you ordered. Unfortunately we were not made aware of that issue during the cruise and only learned of it when the first guests contacted us after the end of the voyage.
 
We have now received feedback from our head Office as well as from the colleagues on-board confirming the mistake. This sailing has been considered an intra EU sailing starting and ending within the EU and only touching EU ports of call. For such sailings the respective national VAT is applicable, but only for purchase sales - so e.g. if guests for example didn’t have a drinks package either pre-paid or complimentary and pay per drink, then these costs were subject to Spanish VAT for the whole duration of the cruise. By mistake also guests with included drinks packages were charged with the Spanish VAT, which shouldn’t have happened. We realized that indeed there has been misleading and incorrect communication on-board and you can be assured that different steps were taken in the meantime to avoid similar issues on future sailings. We already received feedback that a proper debriefing of the situation has been conducted. We fully appreciate the frustration this situation during the cruise caused and we sincerely apologize for this highly negative Impression.
 
I have reviewed your final invoice and found that you have been incorrectly charged for an amount of 142,30 USD. In order to refund you, would you please provide us with your bank account number and sort code? A refund back to the credit card is not possible.
 
Kind regards,
 
Mariano Calzada
Guest Relations Executive

Thank you for posting this. I’ve seen mention of this “VAT” on Facebook pages and was certain it was being charged on the drinks package drinks illegally (well as far as the UK is concerned, where the drinks package price includes VAT when actually purchased before the cruise).

If I’m charged “VAT” on “free” drinks on board I’ll be complaining too.

[YORKI1]

18 hours ago, Binky0 said:

Came across this on last NCL cruise, this was their response when complained. Got all tax refunded. Sailed from Barcelona.

Dear
 
We understand your concern in regards to the taxes that have been charged during the cruise and appreciate you did not expect to pay an extra amount on the drinks you ordered. Unfortunately we were not made aware of that issue during the cruise and only learned of it when the first guests contacted us after the end of the voyage.
 
We have now received feedback from our head Office as well as from the colleagues on-board confirming the mistake. This sailing has been considered an intra EU sailing starting and ending within the EU and only touching EU ports of call. For such sailings the respective national VAT is applicable, but only for purchase sales - so e.g. if guests for example didn’t have a drinks package either pre-paid or complimentary and pay per drink, then these costs were subject to Spanish VAT for the whole duration of the cruise. By mistake also guests with included drinks packages were charged with the Spanish VAT, which shouldn’t have happened. We realized that indeed there has been misleading and incorrect communication on-board and you can be assured that different steps were taken in the meantime to avoid similar issues on future sailings. We already received feedback that a proper debriefing of the situation has been conducted. We fully appreciate the frustration this situation during the cruise caused and we sincerely apologize for this highly negative Impression.
 
I have reviewed your final invoice and found that you have been incorrectly charged for an amount of 142,30 USD. In order to refund you, would you please provide us with your bank account number and sort code? A refund back to the credit card is not possible.
 
Kind regards,
 
Mariano Calzada
Guest Relations Executive

Binky0 

 

Thank you for posting this letter, can you please confirm the year of your cruise and if you visited a country not in the EU?
 

Thank you.

[di T]

Received an email a couple of days ago from NCL

We are cruising from Barcelona in November all ports are EU,The email said there would be charges to all applicable purchases while onboard.21% on retail items from the shops, and 10% added to all drink and food bills.Including purchases made on the unlimited open bar and speciality dinning packages.I expect this to apply even on the pre purchased free at sea as we were charged on our last cruise in March on these while in Spanish waters. Strange on Oceania in June we were not charged the extra VAT even though we sailed from Barcelona.

[hawkeyetlse]

So much for “you can be assured that different steps were taken in the meantime to avoid similar issues on future sailings” 🙄

 

If the rule is that Spain charges TVA/VAT at the time goods/services are enjoyed (regardless of when/where they were paid for), the shouldn’t they collect 10% of the entire cruise fare as well, from every guest embarking from a Spanish port? And wouldn’t all cruise lines simply stop sailing from Spain?

 

Why is it specifically NCL that runs into this problem year after year, and specifically for drink packages (and not dining or internet or spa passes or any other add-ons that people pre-purchase to use during the cruise)?

[Rotie]

Hello, we are now in Spain on the Getaway and we have the premium plus beverage package. NCL is applying VAT, but an onboard credit of $40 each has appeared on our onboard account today…

Edited August 14, 2023 by Rotie

[YORKI1]

1 hour ago, Rotie said:

Hello, we are now in Spain on the Getaway and we have the premium plus beverage package. NCL is applying VAT, but an onboard credit of $40 each has appeared on our onboard account today…

What is the $40 onboard credit for?

[Rotie]

7 minutes ago, YORKI1 said:

What is the $40 onboard credit for?

I don’t know. I suppose to compensate for the VAT, but I am not sure

[cybergremlin]

I was on the epic 21/7 - 30/7, starting in Barcelona and staying in the EU and was charged for each drink, out bar bill was $103.95 for the 9 days

we also received an onboard credit but it was for $14.80 X2, this was the same for everyone within our group (10 people) I didn’t query this as you all know the lines for guest services 😁

[YORKI1]

15 minutes ago, Rotie said:

I don’t know. I suppose to compensate for the VAT, but I am not sure

Rotie,

 

Thank you. I am sailing on the Gem in a few weeks and have just received notification from NCL about VAT being added to drinks, including those part of my Unlimited Open Bar package. If you have time could you ask Guest Relations if the $40 is compensation for the VAT? Much appreciated.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by YORKI1
.

[TAZ_89]

1 hour ago, Rotie said:

Hello, we are now in Spain on the Getaway and we have the premium plus beverage package. NCL is applying VAT, but an onboard credit of $40 each has appeared on our onboard account today…

 

Where did you embark for this trip?

 

We are going on the Getaway from Rome on 27th Aug (All EU ports although for the Nice stop it says Nice/Monaco so assuming its still classified as an EU port) but there are 6 Spanish stops. Should we expect to pay VAT on any drinks when in the Spanish ports? We have already bought the drinks package. 

 

Thanks

[Rotie]

7 minutes ago, YORKI1 said:

Rotie,

 

Thank you. I am sailing on the Gem in a few weeks and have just received notification from NCL about VAT being added to drinks, including those part of my Unlimited Open Bar package. If you have time could you ask Guest Relations if the $40 is compensation for the VAT? Much appreciated.

 

 

I asked now and they confirmed that the credit is the compensation for the VAT

[YORKI1]

5 minutes ago, Rotie said:

I asked now and they confirmed that the credit is the compensation for the VAT

Rosie,

 

How bizarre. Thank you for asking.

[Rotie]

16 minutes ago, TAZ_89 said:

2 hours ago, Rotie said:

 

 

Where did you embark for this trip?

Southampton 

[JeanKC]

 

14 minutes ago, Rotie said:

I asked now and they confirmed that the credit is the compensation for the VAT

Maybe the NCL online POS systems can't cope with a dual system for charging drinks and so to ensure that anyone purchasing a beverage without a package is charged VAT, they have to set the system to charge VAT for everyone regardless of package or no package. Then they add a credit for those with a package to off-set. Seems a bit crazy, but why else would they be adding credit to people's accounts. That's almost an admission that they shouldn't be charging it to people with packages.