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Free alcohol drink plan

Sandi07054

By Sandi07054,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Kristi Barber

Kristi Barber

Posted
Posted
hiw do they calculate the gratuities on the free drink plan. My niece said her drinks cost 81 cents each

Thx

 

 

Our gratuities were automatically added when we purchased cruise and selected UBP as one of our perks. The charges for drinks the first day and last night are if you are still in US waters. They must charge TAX on all alcohol served in US waters. It ranges from (74 cents to 1.09 per drink was our experience). For us it was until 10pm the first day and from 11pm to morning the last night when exiting and entering US waters.

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zqvol

zqvol

Posted
Posted
hiw do they calculate the gratuities on the free drink plan. My niece said her drinks cost 81 cents each

Thx

 

That amount is the tax on the beverages while in port. You do not see the service charge on the beverages on your bill. The service charge on the beverage package is about $98 per person per week. It is collected with final payment if you get the beverage package as a perk. If you buy the beverage package it is collect when you make your purchase.

 

The only way to calculate how much it is per drink is total the number of drinks you have per day and divide the servie charge amount by that number.

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Waycoolrob

Waycoolrob

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You pay the gratuity along with final payment if you got it as a free at sea perk (assuming you're booking in the US) or you pay it whenever you buy the package outright. The $0.81 might have been the tax on the drink if your niece was still in port on the first day.

 

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Ok hold the horse on! Are you saying we will still get a bill for drinks at the end of the cruise? We got our drink package as part of our perks, when I paid I had to pay gratuities as part of the price however I do not remember if they charged me any tax?

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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

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No one with the UBP, whether purchased or received as a package, ever pays gratuity while on the ships for each drink. This has been the case since UBP was first introduced a few years ago, and it is still the case. Your niece is confused.

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sanger727

sanger727

Posted
Posted
Ok hold the horse on! Are you saying we will still get a bill for drinks at the end of the cruise? We got our drink package as part of our perks, when I paid I had to pay gratuities as part of the price however I do not remember if they charged me any tax?

 

 

No, you paid the gratuity upfront with your cruise payment. The only additional drink charges would be tax while in a US port - so your sailaway drinks... plus anything over $15 or not covered. Tax isn't on the entire package so they don't charge it upfront, only per drink while in port. Once you sailaway and get into international waters the tax goes away. $.80 sounds right for tax.

 

 

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Kristi Barber

Kristi Barber

Posted
Posted
Ok hold the horse on! Are you saying we will still get a bill for drinks at the end of the cruise? We got our drink package as part of our perks, when I paid I had to pay gratuities as part of the price however I do not remember if they charged me any tax?

 

 

May depend on where you port out of. I was just on the Dawn out of NOLA last Sunday. Yes, we got charged a small liquor tax on each drink on the first day until about 10pm and then again starting at 11pm on the last evening coming back into US waters. I also had UBP as our perk. This was a TAX on drinks consumed in US waters and NOT a gratuity fee. It came out of our OBC.

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Waycoolrob

Waycoolrob

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Ok, so we pay tax on drinks while in U.S. ports in in U.S. waters anyway. When I was on a RCCL ship last year and had a drink pkg. we were not charged while in port in Fort Lauderdale. So is this a NCL thing? or a New York thing? Just curious

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Kristi Barber

Kristi Barber

Posted
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Ok, so we pay tax on drinks while in U.S. ports in in U.S. waters anyway. When I was on a RCCL ship last year and had a drink pkg. we were not charged while in port in Fort Lauderdale. So is this a NCL thing? or a New York thing? Just curious

 

 

I have no idea. It may vary by port as well. Some ports you leave and are in International waters in a matter of minutes... others... like NOLA, it takes 6 hours to get down the Mississippi into international waters. That may be the difference?

 

It was less than a dollar a drink so paying about $10 total for tax on the many beverages we consumed between the 3 of us for the total.

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Kristi Barber

Kristi Barber

Posted
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I have no idea. It may vary by port as well. Some ports you leave and are in International waters in a matter of minutes... others... like NOLA, it takes 6 hours to get down the Mississippi into international waters. That may be the difference?

 

It was less than a dollar a drink so paying about $10 total for tax on the many beverages we consumed between the 3 of us for the total.

 

I found this:

 

*Applicable state and local sales taxes will be charged to the guest folio when this program is used within US waters. The tax is based on the state’s tax structure and the cost of the individual drink purchased (not the daily program rate). This applies to all US ports (embarkation home ports and ports-of-call).

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jtdlmc

jtdlmc

Posted
Posted
Ok, so we pay tax on drinks while in U.S. ports in in U.S. waters anyway. When I was on a RCCL ship last year and had a drink pkg. we were not charged while in port in Fort Lauderdale. So is this a NCL thing? or a New York thing? Just curious

 

 

We were not charged any tax on drinks leaving Port Canaveral on RCI. We purchased the drink packages as soon as we boarded. I had read on the RCI board that they do not input the sales into the computer system until later in the evening when they are out of the tax zone. I also read that if you were charged tax on RCI you could have it refunded after the cruise - we weren't charged any tax so not sure if that is correct or not.

 

 

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Eleteace

Eleteace

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It's worth noting that if you get the UBP perk in the U.K. you pay no additional gratuities. They're all included. If your from the US you have to pay them.

 

Agree with the above comments about port tax, I was charged around 80cents for a drink in the port of Miami.

 

 

More about this here: http://cruisingisntjustforoldpeople.co.uk/2016/09/10/ncls-ubp/ hope that helps! :-)

 

 

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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Unless I missed it, everyone so far has been talking about taxes in US waters. We have the UBP perk in September when the Getaway is in Copenhagen. Do we get extra taxes on drinks in Danish waters while in port after we board the ship?

 

You will get charged VAT until you hit a non-EU port.

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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How about Orlando? Do we charged this tax while in port in Orlando?

 

Since Orlando is about 50 miles from the nearest ocean water, you are not likely to be docked in Orlando. Maybe an airboat on the swamp. No cruise ships allowed in Orlando.

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reney313

reney313

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For the poster asking about VAT out of Copenhagen, we sailed in 2015 to Norway from Copenhagen with the drink package. We were not billed any VAT for individual drinks while in port before sail away.

 

I believe Barcelona charges VAT for cruises that depart there, which I will find out in May.

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