25% tax in Brazilian waters?

[Mura]

I have never paid any tax on the corkage fee ... whether levied by Oceania or the country in question.

 

It's always been the flat $25.

 

Mura

[Cahpek]

Does anyone know If OBC can be used for corkage fees without getting the Brazil tax?

 

 

It may be possible.

 

Recently, when we were cruising along the Adriatic on the Riviera , and when we were in Italian waters, there was a similar ridiculous tax by the Italian govt.

 

However, if we remembered correctly, we found that if we brought our own wine and allowed Oceania to charge us the corkage fee; the corkage fee was fixed, and there was no additional tax nor any other additions to the basic fee. As we had some on-board credit, we could also use that too pay for the corkage fee.

 

So, it is possible that you may find the same practice would apply when you are in Brazilian waters.

 

It is best to contact Oceania just to be sure.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Cahpek

[LHT28]

on your invoice in the fine print

it does not mention the corkage fee so I am gussing you just pay the flat rate

 

 

Due to various governmental requirements, guests sailing on cruises calling on Brazilian ports, as well as some European ports, are subject to the Value

Added Tax (VAT) on purchases made in the gift shop, spa services and merchandise, and alcoholic beverages during their cruise. Purchases subject to VAT,

as well as the amount of the VAT, varies by itinerary and venue and is dictated solely by the government. Oceania Cruises remits 100% of all sums collected as VAT to the local government.

[Itsallaboutholidays]

So just finished our cruise...the tax only applies to products not services so spa and corkage fees are excluded. Made my drinks bill rather big so suggest getting a drinks package before you enter Brazilian waters. Would be helpful if the cruise lines advised of this prior to booking or embarkation at least!

 

 

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[LHT28]

So just finished our cruise...the tax only applies to products not services so spa and corkage fees are excluded. Made my drinks bill rather big so suggest getting a drinks package before you enter Brazilian waters. Would be helpful if the cruise lines advised of this prior to booking or embarkation at least!

 

 

It is noted on my invoice page 4

Edited November 20, 2016 by LHT28

[curtdesilets]

I noticed that Oceania is offering an extremely discounted cruise to Brazil early 2017 that includes O-Ultimate (all three perks: drinks, credit, excursions). Looks like an astounding deal.

 

Also, just last week, the WHO downgraded the threat of the Zika virus. We have no intention of getting pregnant so it may be a moot point. But that is welcome news.

 

Anybody here taken Oceania to Brazil that can comment on their experience?

Edited November 22, 2016 by curtdesilets

[Softball20]

We did Oceania to South America last year. The itinerary was pretty interesting - several places that I'd never heard of, and the majority of the ports were in Brazil (also including Argentina and two ports in Uruguay.) We had a great trip and overall Oceania was very good. It did not, however, knock me out enough to justify that the price was significantly higher than what we could pay on a Celebrity sailing. We tried O because the itinerary looked really interesting, and we had always heard that the food was amazing. Service was good; at some points really good and at others marginal at best. While the food was generally very good, I didn't find it to be that much better than Celebrity, if at all. To us, certainly not worth the higher price tag. Otherwise, as far as the Brazilian experience was, some ports were better than others, as one would expect with any itinerary. I liked the fact that it was port intensive and we went to some pretty interesting places.

[pinotlover]

Curt;

 

The reason that Feb 2017 cruise is so inexpensive is because it goes to the Amazon in the middle of monsoon season. It rains constantly! The rains start in mid January and last until mid April or early May. The Amazon rises 65 feet in height on average during that time ( if you want a perspective on how much it rains!!!). The forests along the river are completely submerged under water.

 

Not a good time to be taking that trip, to say the least! I guess that O wants to get a ship from point A to point B and that was in the middle so they decided to make a little money off it. I would highly recommend you not oblige them. Have you ever been in a equatorial rainforest during the rainy (monsoon) season? :eek:

[Paulchili]

We did Oceania to South America last year. The itinerary was pretty interesting - several places that I'd never heard of, and the majority of the ports were in Brazil (also including Argentina and two ports in Uruguay.) We had a great trip and overall Oceania was very good. It did not, however, knock me out enough to justify that the price was significantly higher than what we could pay on a Celebrity sailing. We tried O because the itinerary looked really interesting, and we had always heard that the food was amazing. Service was good; at some points really good and at others marginal at best. While the food was generally very good, I didn't find it to be that much better than Celebrity, if at all. To us, certainly not worth the higher price tag. Otherwise, as far as the Brazilian experience was, some ports were better than others, as one would expect with any itinerary. I liked the fact that it was port intensive and we went to some pretty interesting places.

 

Sorry to hear that you didn't care that much for O's food.

Maybe the O class ships with 4 different specialties, larger Terrace Café with more choices and La Reserve might make some difference to you in the future?

OTOH, if you are happy on Celebrity it might not make any sense for you to spend more money for "less".

Edited November 22, 2016 by Paulchili

[Softball20]

Sorry to hear that you didn't care that much for O's food.

Maybe the O class ships with 4 different specialties, larger Terrace Café with more choices and La Reserve might make some difference to you in the future?

OTOH, if you are happy on Celebrity it might not make any sense for you to spend more money for "less".

 

It's not that we didn't care for the food - it was quite good. I just didn't think it was that much better, if at all better, than what we have gotten on Celebrity, especially in Blu. Others have also said that the "bigger" O ships might be a different experience. It's all good - no shortage of cruising options!! For us, I'd rather cruise more often on Celebrity or Holland than spend more for one sailing.

[curtdesilets]

Curt;

 

The reason that Feb 2017 cruise is so inexpensive is because it goes to the Amazon in the middle of monsoon season. It rains constantly! The rains start in mid January and last until mid April or early May. The Amazon rises 65 feet in height on average during that time ( if you want a perspective on how much it rains!!!). The forests along the river are completely submerged under water.

 

Not a good time to be taking that trip, to say the least! I guess that O wants to get a ship from point A to point B and that was in the middle so they decided to make a little money off it. I would highly recommend you not oblige them. Have you ever been in a equatorial rainforest during the rainy (monsoon) season? :eek:

 

Good to know. I also keep seeing some good deals to India, albeit in the summer time. Our friends from India say you never want to go to India after April. Sweltering heat and how do I put it, not the best of sanitary conditions, may make for a miserable time.

[mjobtx]

We just visited 4 ports in India (Kochi, Mangalore, Goa, Mumbia) as well as Yangon, Myanmar. It was warm and humid but as long as you stay hydrated and don't mind perspiring you will be fine. A couple of people on one of our shore excursions failed to stay hydrated. One was taken back to the ship. The other was taken back to the air conditioned bus.

 

It is important to know and accept your physical limitations. We enjoyed the ports and except for barefooting through the marble floored temples, the heat was manageable -- in the low to mid 90s Fahrenheit.

 

We are in the middle east now. Even hotter but also dryer. We will eventually get to Luxor where the forecast high for our first day is 109.4. Now that's hot.

 

Michael and Patricia

Plano TX

 

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[hotrod610]

We are Canadians do we require a Visa to enter Brazil

[ORV]

30 minutes ago, hotrod610 said:

We are Canadians do we require a Visa to enter Brazil

That seems to be the 64k question these days. One we discuss regularly on our Roll Call for the 1-21-24 cruise that leaves from Rio. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, hotrod610 said:

We are Canadians do we require a Visa to enter Brazil

https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-toronto/visas/visitor-visa