Does HAL charge sales tax?

[Baseball Lover]

Does anyone recall if they are charged sales tax on a HAL cruise? I wondering if there is a difference between inside WA State and the other 49.....

[jhannah]

I know of no state (even their home state) where sales tax is charged on a cruise.

[jcrandle]

I know of no state (even their home state) where sales tax is charged on a cruise.

However, there ARE taxes charged on the cruise fare, but AFAIK, they are all US Govt. mandated, and would not vary by state. HAL, and almost all TAs quote the cruise price minus taxes and fees, and then when you are ready to book, the taxes and fees show up. Even my on-line TA that used to brag "The price you see is the price you pay", now doesn't show the taxes, etc. until you are ready to book, due to the way HAL's booking interface works.

 

I'm not a fan of more government regulation, but I believe that when a product is advertised at a price, and there are non-optional additional costs, they ought to be included in the advert, not the usual weasel-words in fine print.

[Grumpy1]

However, there ARE taxes charged on the cruise fare, but AFAIK, they are all US Govt. mandated, and would not vary by state. HAL, and almost all TAs quote the cruise price minus taxes and fees, and then when you are ready to book, the taxes and fees show up. Even my on-line TA that used to brag "The price you see is the price you pay", now doesn't show the taxes, etc. until you are ready to book, due to the way HAL's booking interface works.

 

I'm not a fan of more government regulation, but I believe that when a product is advertised at a price, and there are non-optional additional costs, they ought to be included in the advert, not the usual weasel-words in fine print.

It was explained to me that the taxes and fees are not shown BECAUSE of government regulations. I haven't researched it, so I can't say that with 100% certainty. You will notice that hotels, airlines, car rentals, etc, all do the same thing, along with all other cruiselines besides HAL.

[Baseball Lover]

I understand how Port Taxes vary from trip to trip, but I'm trying to get a handle on Sales Tax.

[sail7seas]

IF you purchase a drink on HAL while the ship is docked in Florida and before it has reached some number of miles out from shore, you are charged State of Florida TAX on that beverage. We purchased several bottles of wine prior to our sailaway and were charged tax. I forget the percentage but think it was in the range of 6%. I think the bartender who sold us that wine should have advised us to wait. We never said anything to him but all he had to say was wait ten minutes and don't contribute to Florida's tax coffers.

 

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

You have to be at least 10 miles out from Florida be fore they do not add on the 6% Florida tax.

 

I have been warning people about this for the last couple of years.

[Navy_Chief]

Pritty close KK, it's actually 12 Nautical Miles. A Nautical Mile is 6000 feet so it's a bit more than a Statute mile of 5280 feet. But what's a few feet between fellow americans :D It used to only be 3 Nautical Miles until about 1994 when the UN made it 12 Nautical miles.

[cruzincurt]

What's wrong with paying some of our taxes? Us Floridians provide all the visitors with a wonderful point of departure. Not fair letting you pass through without paying the troll.

[Jemima]

It was explained to me that the taxes and fees are not shown BECAUSE of government regulations. I haven't researched it, so I can't say that with 100% certainty. You will notice that hotels, airlines, car rentals, etc, all do the same thing, along with all other cruiselines besides HAL.

The HAL website does include the taxes and fees in the quoted prices for a given sailing. HAL doesn't include the add-on taxes & fees in mailed & e-mailed advertisements nor in Mariner Magazine.

[Marialivia]

If you are referring to items purchased on the ship, the answer is NO. I was not charged tax on anything I purchased on the ship, nor was there any tax on anything I bought in any port.

As for the original cruise price, I traveled with a group, and the quoted price was what I paid, plus the optional travel insurance.

[Islandbuoy]

The USA claims territorial rights 12 miles out on the gulf side of Florida and 3 miles on the Atlantic side..Actually the people on HAL are so nice that I've had a server not ring up my drink until we were 3 miles out from FLL. Treat those people nicely!!!