When to Purchase Bev Package Barcelon and Venice

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

Hey I have a friend who is dong two cruises this summer on Norwegian one departing from Barcelona and the other departing from Venice.  She is the 3rd person in the cabin, so the 1st two have the beverage package and she does not.   She is however planning purchasing it for herself.   At what point can she purchase on board, cause she wants to use some of her TA provided OBC. She want to avoid paying taxes while in port, but we can't fin out any information about at what pint she can or can't purchase the package on board.

 

She called Norwegian and the agent was so clueless she had no idea that there were ever taxes charged on beverage when a ship is still docked in port, so didn't really get a good answer there.

 

We have seen her on CC that there is definitely a tax in Miami, but we are wondering about Barcelon and Venice, and if it at any point in day or cruise it becomes too late to purchase the package.   Can she wait till they are out at sea the first day????

[smplybcause]

The should check the current price on the cruises. NCL updated the free at sea T&Cs that give the package to include the beverage package to up to 8 guests over 21 in the package. Considering the huge cost of buying the package, unless the cruise cost increased exponentially that's probably the best way to do it. 

[BirdTravels]

I thought that since the ship does not leave the EU, you pay VAT throughout the cruise (in port and at sea). And that you should purchase pre-cruise to avoid taxes. 

[TX_Atlantis_Cruiser]

17 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I thought that since the ship does not leave the EU, you pay VAT throughout the cruise (in port and at sea). And that you should purchase pre-cruise to avoid taxes. 

I'm on a RC Allure cruise from Barcelona this July and have pre-purchased the bev package for exactly this reason--the package and/or any drinks bought on board would include the VAT but pre-purchasing avoids it

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

But she can't use her OBC from her TA to cover part of the  pre-purchase it as that will not show on her account until she is on board the ship.   Any idea what the VAT tax % is?

Edited February 20, 2020 by WesternBroncoCruiser

[smplybcause]

I wanna say those post I've seen are either 8 or 10%.

 

I still think repricing the cruise under current promo perks is the most economical choice unless she has like $700 of OBC. 

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

The first and second guest in the room have the included beverage package promotion. I am not aware of any promo that includes it for the 3rd or 4th person in the cabin.     My friend is the 3rd person in the room so she doesn't get the promo and is planning purchasing it either ahead of time or on board and we are trying to figure out if it is better for her to use her TA provided $300 OBC and purchase on board, or is the VAT tax going to be more than that?   

[smplybcause]

1 hour ago, WesternBroncoCruiser said:

The first and second guest in the room have the included beverage package promotion. I am not aware of any promo that includes it for the 3rd or 4th person in the cabin.     My friend is the 3rd person in the room so she doesn't get the promo and is planning purchasing it either ahead of time or on board and we are trying to figure out if it is better for her to use her TA provided $300 OBC and purchase on board, or is the VAT tax going to be more than that?   

 

NCL changed the T&Cs on their free at sea at the beginning of December. As I stated in ALL of my posts on this thread. Now if you select the beverage package then guests 1-8 in a cabin get the free beverage package (and has to pay the gratuities) if they're over 21.

 

https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/promotions

 

I don't know why you think I'm lying. (Especially when I reiterated it.) There's several threads on it if you don't believe the link above. All you have to do if your cruise was booked under the old T&Cs is to just reprice/rebook the cruise and you'll have the new promos which will get her the package for the $138 in gratuities. Unless the cruise is $500+ more expensive than when they booked this is cheaper way to go. 

 

Unless the cruise is in early summer they're before final which makes this even easier. 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by smplybcause

[BirdTravels]

You get the promotion as of the time you booked. So, unless you cancel and rebook (which you can do prior to final payment), the 3rd person will NOT get the beverage package. 

[smplybcause]

Most of summer is more than 120 days away - which means before final. Unless you're on Florida season schedule and then summer starts in approximately 12 days 😉

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

She has already made final payment, sailing the in Late April Early May,  so re-pricing or cancel and rebook is not an option.   So back to my original question,  and I think someone answered it earlier that there is no point at which they will be out side the EU where she could purchase with-out the VAT, so any idea what the VAT tax % is?    She called Norwegian and they rep she talked to had no clue what a VAT tax even was, so not help there.  I guess she could keep calling until she got someone who had a clue?

[Catchum]

There is a long thread about this which though not recent is still relevant as the rules haven't basically changed.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2290141-drink-tax/

 

Each  country sets its own rate of VAT.  When and if it is applicable to on board sales depends on the itinerary and  apparently on how clued up the cruise line/ship is.  To avoid Spanish tax 21% or Italian 22% why not purchase before boarding whilst you are in the US?

 

I got the rates from mr google at the link below.

 

https://www.avalara.com/vatlive/en/vat-rates/european-vat-rates.html

[KeithJenner]

On 2/20/2020 at 8:46 PM, BirdTravels said:

I thought that since the ship does not leave the EU, you pay VAT throughout the cruise (in port and at sea). And that you should purchase pre-cruise to avoid taxes. 

That only applies on a few itineraries, principally the Barcelona round trips. Most other Med cruises include ports which are outside of the EU VAT area, so tax isn’t charged for the whole cruise.

 

Other than that Epic itinerary, I have only ever done one other Med itinerary that had VAT charged all cruise.

[KeithJenner]

On 2/20/2020 at 8:33 PM, WesternBroncoCruiser said:

Hey I have a friend who is dong two cruises this summer on Norwegian one departing from Barcelona and the other departing from Venice.  She is the 3rd person in the cabin, so the 1st two have the beverage package and she does not.   She is however planning purchasing it for herself.   At what point can she purchase on board, cause she wants to use some of her TA provided OBC. She want to avoid paying taxes while in port, but we can't fin out any information about at what pint she can or can't purchase the package on board.

 

She called Norwegian and the agent was so clueless she had no idea that there were ever taxes charged on beverage when a ship is still docked in port, so didn't really get a good answer there.

 

We have seen her on CC that there is definitely a tax in Miami, but we are wondering about Barcelon and Venice, and if it at any point in day or cruise it becomes too late to purchase the package.   Can she wait till they are out at sea the first day????

It is impossible to give definite answers, as these things do depend on itinerary, and can change over time.

 

I believe that the beverage package can be purchased in the evening on day 1. I have a feeling that it may be possible on day 2 as well. However, I’ve never done this myself, and am not sure as to what happens with drinks you had before the purchase.

 

As for tax, it does depend on the itinerary. As mentioned above, there are some itineraries which never leave the EU VAT area, in which case tax is charged for the whole cruise. I suspect that this isn’t one of those, but without seeing the ports, I couldn’t say for sure.

 

I have certainly been charged tax in the past whilst in port at both Barcelona and Venice, but not for a while. Not being charged lately may have more to do with not making any purchases whilst in port, but I don’t recall seeing anything about tax in the dailies etc, which I had in the past.

 

I did buy a dining package onboard recently after boarding in Rome (which should have the same rules as Venice). I didn’t even consider the tax (which shows how little I even think about it these days). No tax was charged, but they were having problems with their system so maybe it didn’t go through until later anyway.

[sanger727]

She really might want to rethink this idea of buying the beverage package. It doesn’t include anything over $15, bottled water, or specialty coffees. Last time I checked it was around $100 a day, plus gratuity, and if she has to pay vat too it would come in around $140 per day. I don’t see how she could possibly drink that much onboard on a med cruise. Just my 2 cents. If she likes wine she could bring on a bottle a day and pay a fraction of that between the wine cost and the corkage charges.

 

also, I don’t know if she will have to pay VAT over the whole cruise. The med cruise I took included turkey and we did not have to pay VAT. But I believe she will if it never leaves the European Union area. The VAT will be more than the OBC so those two things will cancer each other out (assuming she has $300 total, not $300 per cruise)

Edited February 22, 2020 by sanger727

[insidecabin]

Agree buying a package needs a rethink.

PAYG could well work out cheaper on port intensive cruise  if you have to pay full price for package. 

 

 

 

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

Here is her Itenerary:  BCN, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Cannes, Palma de Majorca, BCN.   That looks like it never leaves the union.   Maybe she should just pay as she goes.  

Sun May 3, 2020 Barcelona, Spain Embark - Time subject to change ---- 6:00 PM Mon May 4, 2020 At Sea   ---- ---- Tue May 5, 2020 Naples, Italy   7:00 AM 7:00 PM Wed May 6, 2020 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy   6:00 AM 7:00 PM Thu May 7, 2020 Florence/Pisa, Italy Livorno 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Fri May 8, 2020 Cannes, France   8:00 AM 6:00 PM Sat May 9, 2020 Palma, Majorca (Spain)   1:00 PM 8:00 PM Sun May 10, 2020 Barcelona, Spain Disembark - Time subject to change 5:00 AM

Edited February 22, 2020 by WesternBroncoCruiser

[KeithJenner]

8 hours ago, WesternBroncoCruiser said:

Here is her Itenerary:  BCN, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Cannes, Palma de Majorca, BCN.   That looks like it never leaves the union.   Maybe she should just pay as she goes.  

Sun May 3, 2020 Barcelona, Spain Embark - Time subject to change ---- 6:00 PM Mon May 4, 2020 At Sea   ---- ---- Tue May 5, 2020 Naples, Italy   7:00 AM 7:00 PM Wed May 6, 2020 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy   6:00 AM 7:00 PM Thu May 7, 2020 Florence/Pisa, Italy Livorno 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Fri May 8, 2020 Cannes, France   8:00 AM 6:00 PM Sat May 9, 2020 Palma, Majorca (Spain)   1:00 PM 8:00 PM Sun May 10, 2020 Barcelona, Spain Disembark - Time subject to change 5:00 AM

Ok, this is the Barcelona round trip referred to earlier, so tax will be charged for the entire cruise on everything that they purchase, including individual drinks.

 

It is also a very port intensive cruise, with long port times, especially in the Italian ports. If they are intending to spend all that port time off the ship then I would certainly agree that they would struggle to get value out of the beverage package.

 

In your original post you referred to Venice as well. That may be different.

[badgermom]

I would not pay for the drink package with only 1 day at sea. Even if she drank 4 a day on port days she wouldn’t come close to the price.  Just have her cabin mates get a drink for her once in a while. They always let us get 2 drinks at a time even with my husband not standing near me. 

[BirdTravels]

She will break even if she orders more than $100 of bar drinks a day (before 20% gratuity and VAT). She will pay tip and VAT on both the package and individual drinks. 
 

Example prices 

Edited February 23, 2020 by BirdTravels