KeithJenner

I don’t disagree with a word of that. To be clear, I was just saying how it is on NCL. I’m making no comment at all on how it should be (other than that NCL should be consistent but seem incapable of being so). You will find from previous postings that I am very critical of NCLs handling of these issues.

In our experience, yes.

When VAT is charged it is the percentage of the listed price, so your example sounds correct.

Charging people with the package hasn’t been consistent with NCL. We have cruised a few times with the package on all EU routes and never been charged the VAT. They have started and stopped doing it a few times over the years. It seems to be more consistent lately though. There were grumbles on here about it last year and they seem to be doing it again now.

As insidecabin says, it is more complicated than that. Are you asking whether they are charged on all purchases, whether in port or not? If so then it really depends, as this only happens on cruises that don’t leave the EU and it also possibly depends on where you embark. If you are talking about charges in port then this depends on the port. There is not a yes/no answer to these questions and also just because something is happening this week it doesn’t mean it will be the same next week. Unfortunately you need to sift through the information. The threads about this are not only about the UK or whether alcohol is served. There are quite a few discussions about the VAT issue as well.

There are various discussions here about this and other issues with purchasing alcohol in Europe. Id just review the first few pages of the message boards to see them. There is quite a bit of reading there. 🙂

This has been the rule in Greece for about a year now (on NCL cruises). It wouldn’t surprise me if it doesn’t change for a while.

As pointed out, it isn’t.

The website uses your location to decide which countries site to take you to For some reason it looks like your iPad still thinks it is in Europe. Check your location setting to ensure that it is set to update your current location. You haven’t got airplane mode on have you? I don’t know whether that affects location settings, but it’s possible I suppose.

Excursions that are fully covered by free at sea tend to be “on your own” options which are basically a list to the attraction. This is often our preference rather than a tour, but if you are looking for a guide then it doesn’t help much.

Yes, Suites are 130 days.

The Epic isn’t doing 7 day cruises in Aigust 2025. They are 10 day cruises (price is showing as just under £5k for me for a balcony). The Viva is doing 7 day cruises, balcony for £3,900 including free at sea, ocean view £3,200.

We are getting a lift to Pompeii and back in September for 1p each. For some reason it still charged us the 1p even though the cost was less than the discount. We are also using it in Santorini as the cost for the Oia excursion worked out at about £25 each after discount. It avoids paying for the cable car and makes getting onshore a lot more convenient. There are certainly some bargains available in places if you use the excursion discount (especially if free at sea plus is justified by the other things you get).

No, most of the speciality restaurants are a la carte. Rules are as above.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

You basically get one of each course. There are some items that have uncharges, which are noted on the menus. In some places like Food Republic you get four items, and Moderno/Teppanyaki are set price, so you get the standard meal there.

Aah, no we had two days in Haifa. That may make a difference, as they will do an all aboard before departure. I don’t know how much difference it will make, but you would certainly need to clear it with them in advance so they don’t just assume you have missed the ship and report you as having not come back/left your luggage etc. I don’t know for sure, but it may be that the Israeli authorities may not like that as they may assume that you are intending to stay on there for a longer period. I suspect your biggest problem is that the shoreside staff are likely to say they can’t confirm anything and it will have to be done onboard, which is likely to be to late to make arrangements.

I have stayed in port overnight on NCL ships a few times in various places (including Haifa) and there have never been any restrictions that I was aware of on when people can come or leave. I’m sure that when we were in Israel there were quite a few people doing the sort of thing you are planning.

MDR reservations have been available for many years and they don’t appear (as far as I can tell) to have made much difference to availability for those just turning up.

I have never seen the idea of freestyle as being that you can wait to decide what and when you want to do things. For me it is about being able to make those decisions myself, rather than being told by the cruise line when and where I am eating and what I need to wear. I understand that this is fairly standard these days on many lines, but it was a big difference when freestyle was introduced. NCL is still further down this road than many lines (no formal nights etc). Just like in real life, reservations are still required in popular places, and there is no real way of avoiding this. I may need that reservation to be guaranteed access to Cagney's on a particular night, but it is totally my decision to eat there. Again, just like in real life. As for the MDR's, I made my first reservation for one yesterday, just to check the booking system. It was no risk to me as we can always cancel/not turn up, and we will almost certainly use the booking anyway as we usually eat at around that time anyway and as we have no other plans that day we are unlikely to find going to Manhattan a problem. If being able to wait until the day to decide on dining is important to anyone then they will struggle on NCL (assuming they will want to eat outside the complementary places), as they would with most, if not all, other mainstream lines. Logistics means that these things are required for the places that have limited seating. But there is no requirement to book MDR's in my experience. We have rarely waited any time at all.

Sorry, just to clarify that I wasn’t answering your question. I have only ever needed to book for up to 4 people so can’t comment on your situation. I’d have thought that they can probably help if you call. There may be a department for larger groups. This has certainly been discussed on here a few times and I’m sure someone else will be able to help soon.