Med FlyCruise VAT

[Brayman]

What is the non-EU port that you are calling at? You definitely don't get charged the spanish VAt if you call at Gib

 

Well we certainly did in 2011 when we called in to Barcelona before Gibraltar.

[terrierjohn]

Well we certainly did in 2011 when we called in to Barcelona before Gibraltar.

This was probably because you bought a drink whilst still in Spanish waters, once outside the 3 mile limit this stops, and some cruise lines apply it more rigorously than others.

[daiB]

This was probably because you bought a drink whilst still in Spanish waters, once outside the 3 mile limit this stops, and some cruise lines apply it more rigorously than others.

 

 

Well there is a thing I have just read that P&O have told someone yesterday that the new rules will mean VAT on drink in the bars on the cruise which does not go outside the EU.

 

Puts a different complexion on things.

 

Glad I am not doing fly cruises in the Med. :) :) :)

 

 

Of course it may be wrong.

 

 

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[tom_uk]

Well there is a thing I have just read that P&O have told someone yesterday that the new rules will mean VAT on drink in the bars on the cruise which does not go outside the EU.

 

Puts a different complexion on things.

 

Glad I am not doing fly cruises in the Med. :) :) :)

 

 

Of course it may be wrong.

 

 

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Dai, can you tell us where you read that?

[Host Hattie]

Well there is a thing I have just read that P&O have told someone yesterday that the new rules will mean VAT on drink in the bars on the cruise which does not go outside the EU.

 

Puts a different complexion on things.

 

Glad I am not doing fly cruises in the Med. :) :) :)

 

 

Of course it may be wrong.

 

 

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If that's true that is worrying. I'm still thinking of booking 14 days out of Genoa but that might be enough to put me off.

[CCFC]

There is quite an interesting article that Captain Greybeard has written in the Mirror:

 

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/

 

A 10 per cent levy will be added to all bar purchases, restaurant cover charges and room service charges when the ship is in Spanish waters.

 

Duty at the Spanish rate of 21 per cent is payable on shop purchases, photo gallery, and spa products - but not spa treatments - when the cruise starts from a Spanish port.

 

Tax at 22 per cent will be due on shop, gallery and spa purchases (but not spa treatments) when the cruise starts from an Italian port.

 

On one cruise, the rate will be at the Spanish 21 per cent during the first seven days, and at Italian 22 per cent for the second week. To complicate matters further, no VAT is payable during a number of cruises which visit the Montenegran port of Kotor, and therefore leave the European Union temporarily.

 

Price tickets will show the cost without the tax, which will then be added to the bill. Just as on flights within the EU, passengers will not be able to purchase duty-free alcohol or tobacco to take home.

 

It's possible to avoid the duty by purchasing items in advance. For example, the 21 per cent tax would not be levied on a reservation for Ventura's White Room restaurant if the reservation was made and paid for before embarkation. However, any drinks ordered with the meal would be subject to 10 per cent tax.

 

 

Looks like there is a tax on the bar bill if you stay in the EU.

Edited March 18, 2014 by CCFC

[tom_uk]

There's no change at the moment to the published information:

 

a) there is 10% on drinks and select meals if th purchase is made when the ship is in spanish waters;

 

b) there is 21% VAT on purchases from the shops, photo gallery and of spa items throughout cruises starting from Spanish ports, unless the cruise visits a non-EU port;

 

c) there is 22% VAT on purchases from the shops, photo gallery and of spa items throughout cruises starting from Italian ports, unless th sport visits a non-EU port.

 

So no mention there of VAT on drinks, etc, on the cruises defined in b) and c).

[Host Hattie]

That seems clear enough, I wonder where the story about tax on drinks for the whole cruise has come from ?

Edited March 18, 2014 by hattie the cattie

[jeanlyon]

Yes that's what I remember about it being applied to drinks when you are in Spanish Waters. It never affected us, because we go to the bar about 7 pm and the ship is long gone by then, having left at about 5 pm.

[tom_uk]

There is quite an interesting article that Captain Greybeard has written in the Mirror:

 

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/

 

Looks like there is a tax on the bar bill if you stay in the EU.

 

And an equally-interesting one - and posted slightly-earlier - on mine!

 

I think there is some confusion arising over the VAT being levied at 21% (Spain) and 22% (Italy) for cruises starting at Spanish or Italian ports and not leaving the EU, and the long-standing practice of being charged 10% on everything, including drinks, when actually in Spanish waters. All the information so far says that the 21% and 22% VAT charges will only be on retail items: shop-bought items, photos, and stuff bought in the spa (but not treatments). Things bought for immediate consumption, e.g. meals, drinks and spa treatments, will not attract the 21% or 22% VAT charges.

[terrierjohn]

And an equally-interesting one - and posted slightly-earlier - on mine!

 

I think there is some confusion arising over the VAT being levied at 21% (Spain) and 22% (Italy) for cruises starting at Spanish or Italian ports and not leaving the EU, and the long-standing practice of being charged 10% on everything, including drinks, when actually in Spanish waters. All the information so far says that the 21% and 22% VAT charges will only be on retail items: shop-bought items, photos, and stuff bought in the spa (but not treatments). Things bought for immediate consumption, e.g. meals, drinks and spa treatments, will not attract the 21% or 22% VAT charges.

That is my understanding as well.

Our Central Med cruise last year had a 20% VAT charge on retail items only, not bar bills, because the cruise started and finished in the UK but did not visit a non EU port. Clearly P&O did not realise Croatia was joining the EU last year when they planned the itineraries and therefore the Dubrovnik stop no longer gave the cruise VAT excemption.

[daiB]

Dai, can you tell us where you read that?

 

 

Hi Tom, been out so could not reply sooner. I saw this in a post on a social networking site. A lady said her other half had rang P&O and had asked the question about VAT on bar drinks. After some time the agent came back and said that it would on the cruises not leaving the EU, as happens with cruises ex Spain and not outside the EU.

 

On returning home I find that another lady has contacted her TA and asked the same question. The TA has contacted P&O and got exactly the opposite answer.

 

So there you are. The website is fairly clear as no mention is made of bars at all.

 

I think people will have to 'suck it and see'.

 

I think that is all quite clear now, Yes you will have to pay VAT in the bar and of course, No you will not have to pay VAT in the bar.

 

Simples as they say.

 

Happy cruising, especially those of us who will not touch fly cruising with a barge pole. :) :) :) ;)

 

 

 

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Edited March 18, 2014 by daiB

[tom_uk]

Hi Tom, been out so could not reply sooner. I saw this in a post on a social networking site. A lady said her other half had rang P&O and had asked the question about VAT on bar drinks. After some time the agent came back and said that it would on the cruises not leaving the EU, as happens with cruises ex Spain and not outside the EU.

 

On returning home I find that another lady has contacted her TA and asked the same question. The TA has contacted P&O and got exactly the opposite answer.

 

So there you are. The website is fairly clear as no mention is made of bars at all.

 

I think people will have to 'suck it and see'.

 

I think that is all quite clear now, Yes you will have to pay VAT in the bar and of course, No you will not have to pay VAT in the bar.

 

Simples as they say.

 

Happy cruising, especially those of us who will not touch fly cruising with a barge pole. :) :) :) ;)

 

 

 

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Thanks Dai - that clears it up perfectly....:D

[supergran]

Booked a cruise on Ventura from Genoa on April 2nd. Travel agent started to tell DH about the VAT and was very impressed when he said that he already knew about it as I had seen the comments on Cruise Critic. According to the lady at Jetline the VAT is only on goods from the shops and spa, not on services or drinks.

[sjcsviola]

If you plan on buying any photos from formal nights or anything like that, make sure you buy them in the first week (the week where the vat isn't added) - we've had the same thing for our cruise in July Genoa-Genoa

 

 

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