Value added tax on onboard purchases

We are on Italy intensive voyage 06 Oct from Rome to Barcelona. E docs state VAT is collected on select onboard purchases on itineraries that sail only to European Union ports. Is this tax added to drink, dining, and internet package purchases, bottle wine purchesed in restaurants, or only on gift shop purchases? What percent is the VAT? Thank you.

We are doing a similar cruise in a few weeks, and it is my understanding that it is only applied to shop purchases at the rate of 22%

We are on Italy intensive voyage 06 Oct from Rome to Barcelona. E docs state VAT is collected on select onboard purchases on itineraries that sail only to European Union ports. Is this tax added to drink, dining, and internet package purchases, bottle wine purchesed in restaurants, or only on gift shop purchases? What percent is the VAT? Thank you.

We were on a similar itinerary in May, Italian VAT at 22% was added to all purchases in the shops and photo gallery. Fortunately it didn’t apply to drink purchases or packages however it does apply to internet but Azamara did reduce the internet package cost to absorb part of the VAT impact. I’m not sure about dining and dining packages but I don’t think it applies.

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It didn’t apply to speciality dining last month on our Rome to Venice cruise

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On our cruise out of Barcelona we paid an additional 21% on all product purchases on board. Not on excursions.

I do not quite understand this additional charge. I do not recall paying such a tax on mediterranean cruises with other cruise lines.

On Azamara, the already expensive products at the shop, became more expensive due to this tax.

The Spanish VAT was also included in purchases of photographs.

EU tax rules allow member countries to apply VAT to cruises originating from their country as long as there are no non-EU countries on the itinerary. Spain, Italy, Malta and the U.K. have implemented this (although I don’t know if the U.K. still do) unfortunately each have applied different rules so it’s difficult to know what is covered.

It applies to all cruise lines so Azamara is not unique, Kotor in Montenegro and Gibraltar have become important to the cruise lines as being non EU they circumnavigate the VAT requirement now that North African ports have been removed from itineraries.

Our upcoming Croatian Intensive itinerary is round trip Venice but because we have a call at Kotor there’s no Italian VAT.

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Cruises which include St Petersburg are also VAT free on purchases.

I have read that if you purchase your internet before you cruise there is no VAT, but I have never done it, as I rely on my LCV allowance ( Discoverer)

This link is from the Carnival U.K. brands but explains the Spanish & Italian VAT quite well: https://ask.completecruisesolution.com/help/ext/cunard/on-shore/iva_tax

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EU tax rules allow member countries to apply VAT to cruises originating from their country as long as there are no non-EU countries on the itinerary. Spain, Italy, Malta and the U.K. have implemented this (although I don’t know if the U.K. still do) unfortunately each have applied different rules so it’s difficult to know what is covered.

On our Celebrity cruise in July, starting and ending in Amsterdam, VAT was applied in the shops onboard. Our ports were Belgium, Ireland, England & Scotland. They said we had the option of applying for a VAT refund but since we didn't buy anything from the shops we didn't look into how that works.

EU tax rules allow member countries to apply VAT to cruises originating from their country as long as there are no non-EU countries on the itinerary. Spain, Italy, Malta and the U.K. have implemented this (although I don’t know if the U.K. still do) unfortunately each have applied different rules so it’s difficult to know what is covered.

It applies to all cruise lines so Azamara is not unique, Kotor in Montenegro and Gibraltar have become important to the cruise lines as being non EU they circumnavigate the VAT requirement now that North African ports have been removed from itineraries.

Our upcoming Croatian Intensive itinerary is round trip Venice but because we have a call at Kotor there’s no Italian VAT.

 

 

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Turkey used to be another country that would trigger no VAT. I notice some cruise lines are including Sarande in Albania on their Eastern Med Itineraries, Albania is currently not in the EU. Other popular stops that qualify for VAT free cruising around the Med - The Canaries, Israel, Northern Africa (e,g, Morocco). Further north The Channel Islands and Norway..... and it looks like from next year the UK

Thank you everyone for your answers. Very helpful information.