joandy2425

We were on the Epic, the same itinerary I think, the week before......I wonder if we'll have our VAT charges refunded??

Indeed! If only NCL had been more up front about it, guests would have known to expect it and would have paid it without even thinking about it. Anyhoo, time to get the next cruise researched and booked 😀

I agree to a certain extent but when there's a lack of consistency and, in fact, knowledge from NCL staff it makes it tricky to know what charges to expect. Whether its a cruise or any other type of holiday, I don't think its a stretch to expect people to want to have a rough idea of what its going to cost. I had a call yesterday from our Cruise Consultant who told me she couldn't give me a full explanation of how/why the VAT is charged. To be clear, I absolutely was not making any complaint, just asked for an explanation to understand it better. Her understanding was that it only applied in Spanish waters and she didn't think it would be charged in France. She had apparently just come from a meeting which was covering the topic as they have had lots of correspondence about it.....the upshot being that they "are trying to iron out the kinks". When we discussed future cruises she finished up by saying "hopefully it'll be resolved by then and VAT won't be an issue". Price hikes incoming I imagine!

The VAT isn't a "make or break" for us but I do understand how it might be for some. The cruise we've just returned from was a last minute itinerary and very cheap and may well have seemed like an affordable cruise for anyone who might be on a stricter budget. Judging by some of the conversations we overhead, the unknown or uncertain issue of VAT on drinks clearly changed the element of affordability for some on board. For the record, we did have enough for the meal and the tip! And we will be booking another cruise with NCL😃

Which is fine....unless you're trying to budget for your holiday 🤷‍♀️

That's what it seems like 🤔🤷‍♀️

It's getting more and more confusing! I don't have any issue with paying anything that's due but it certainly doesn't seem very transparent or consistent. I wonder if I'll receive any response to my email asking for a full explanation of the charges?! 🤔

But is this not an NCL issue? France haven't just started charging VAT on drinks in the last month...or maybe they have? The charges differ quite a bit from our Med cruise in June?

Agreed. I felt really sorry for the staff, particularly at Guest Services, who were inundated with cross guests. The person I spoke to at GS told me the staff had only been told on 25th September of the change to charges?! Its not a massive deal for us but I can see how the lack of transparency made it a big deal for some.

We've just returned from a Med cruise on the Epic (on the FAS package) which sailed from Marseille and didn't include any Spanish ports. VAT at 20% was charged on every drink with 10% of the VAT charge added on top. I was told by Guest Services that VAT is payable on all drinks consumed in ports or in the waters of any EU country. We didn't receive any prior communication from NCL about it. It didn't spoil our holiday but it did for many other guests. The queues at Guest Services were lengthy and everyone we spoke to was complaining about it. We sailed on the Epic at the beginning of June from Barcelona visiting Spanish, French and Italian ports and at that time only 10% was added. I've emailed to ask for a full and honest explanation of the charges......who knows when I'll receive a reply!!