10% VAT tax added to all "free at sea drinks" on NCL while in Med?

[steamboats]

@BunnyHutt when you purchase something onsite or online in Europe you definitely pay the VAT rate of the country of purchase. It's just that the VAT ist already included in the price tag. When I buy something online in the US the local sales tax is added (because I don't have an US address the sales tax of the point of sale is added like I bought it onsite).

 

You can buy a bottle of wine in Italy and take it back home to the US but you pay the Italien VAT when you buy the bottle. It doesn't matter where and when you consume it. When you check the receipt it will show the VAT but the amount you pay is the amount shown on the price tag.

 

steamboats 

[BunnyHutt]

8 minutes ago, steamboats said:

@BunnyHutt when you purchase something onsite or online in Europe you definitely pay the VAT rate of the country of purchase. It's just that the VAT ist already included in the price tag. When I buy something online in the US the local sales tax is added (because I don't have an US address the sales tax of the point of sale is added like I bought it onsite).

 

You can buy a bottle of wine in Italy and take it back home to the US but you pay the Italien VAT when you buy the bottle. It doesn't matter where and when you consume it. When you check the receipt it will show the VAT but the amount you pay is the amount shown on the price tag.

 

steamboats 

I can get a refund of the VAT of anything I take out of the EU… when I take it out. Though I admit that I cannot remember if alcohol purchases carried out of the EU are subject to different rules than other goods. It’s been a while. Of course I’m going to pay the tax at point of purchase - I never said I didn’t - and couldn’t claim a refund (if applicable) if I drink it before leaving. 
 

Regarding your payment of local US sales tax on purchases made online and shipped to Europe, I’d really like to see an example of that. 

[steamboats]

@BunnyHutt Usually food and drinks are not eligable for a tax refund. You can buy a leather jacket or a bag and get a refund.

 

steamboats 

[SteveH2508]

VAT refunds for non EU visitors are subject to several rules and limits.

 

https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/guide-vat-refund-visitors-eu_en

[BunnyHutt]

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

@BunnyHutt Usually food and drinks are not eligable for a tax refund. You can buy a leather jacket or a bag and get a refund.

 

steamboats 

Thank you. 
 

Like I said, it’s been a while. Last time I brought alcohol home from Europe was 1998, when I was still in college. 🙂

[cruiser2015]

On 9/14/2023 at 2:14 AM, rattla said:

I think there may be some bearing on where you sail from as the letter Someone copied suggested.

This is an example of one of our receipts for drinks in June on Anthem of the seas when we were in Bilbao, Spain.  We left from the U.K. and went to stops in France and Spain and it was only while in the 2 Spanish ports the tax was required

 

 

There's been all this talk about a 10% VAT.

Did anyone notice that the pictured receipt has a tax at 8.46%?

[rattla]

3 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

There's been all this talk about a 10% VAT.

Did anyone notice that the pictured receipt has a tax at 8.46%?

I think this is because it’s in a sailing from Southampton in the U.K.

Because in U.K. laws, prices must be shown inclusive of mandatory service charge.

So the tax doesn’t include this part of the price which is  about 18% on RC.  I.e. take the service charge off and it would be about $22, hence $2.20 tax

[joandy2425]

We've just returned from a Med cruise on the Epic (on the FAS package) which sailed from Marseille and didn't include any Spanish ports.  VAT at 20% was charged on every drink with 10% of the VAT charge added on top.  I was told by Guest Services that VAT is payable on all drinks consumed in ports or in the waters of any EU country.  We didn't receive any prior communication from NCL about it.

 

It didn't spoil our holiday but it did for many other guests.  The queues at Guest Services were lengthy and everyone we spoke to was complaining about it.

 

We sailed on the Epic at the beginning of June from Barcelona visiting Spanish, French and Italian ports and at that time only 10% was added.  

 

I've emailed to ask for a full and honest explanation of the charges......who knows when I'll receive a reply!!

[DCGuy64]

22 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

Regarding other lines not charging the customer VAT, that is simply not true. You just don’t like seeing it as a separate line item and that is your preference. I can guarantee you that companies are not absorbing this expense (which they are still required, by law, to file and pay) out of the goodness of their heart. It’s baked in somewhere - either in the cost of the cruise, the cost of the package or the cost of the drink. I personally appreciate the transparency offered by NCL and can control my own cost exposure versus paying some trumped up number.

Exactly. Every time I read a comment like "RCI doesn't charge this" I'm like "yes, they do, you just don't see it." (As if a major cruise line is going to break the law in a flagrant manner like that).

 

22 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

And it’s still laughable to me that people who pay thousands of dollars for a vacation are crying over a $100 tax bill.

Right???? Folks think nothing of dropping $10,000 on a fancy cabin and then whine about $2 on a drink? But of course, it's not about the money, it's about the principle. Sure it is. 🙄

[rachiem]

2 hours ago, joandy2425 said:

We've just returned from a Med cruise on the Epic (on the FAS package) which sailed from Marseille and didn't include any Spanish ports.  VAT at 20% was charged on every drink with 10% of the VAT charge added on top.  I was told by Guest Services that VAT is payable on all drinks consumed in ports or in the waters of any EU country.  We didn't receive any prior communication from NCL about it.

 

It didn't spoil our holiday but it did for many other guests.  The queues at Guest Services were lengthy and everyone we spoke to was complaining about it.

 

We sailed on the Epic at the beginning of June from Barcelona visiting Spanish, French and Italian ports and at that time only 10% was added.  

 

I've emailed to ask for a full and honest explanation of the charges......who knows when I'll receive a reply!!

Yep, my brother has just boarded in Marseille and is being charged too. They've had enough time to email their clients but haven't? 

We've just come back from a Celebrity sailing and never had any VAT added...cruising Italy, Greece and Spain.

These cruise lines need to be clearer as their drinks prices are already ridiculously priced!

[rachiem]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Exactly. Every time I read a comment like "RCI doesn't charge this" I'm like "yes, they do, you just don't see it." (As if a major cruise line is going to break the law in a flagrant manner like that).

 

Right???? Folks think nothing of dropping $10,000 on a fancy cabin and then whine about $2 on a drink? But of course, it's not about the money, it's about the principle. Sure it is. 🙄

Sorry, but it's more of a transparency problem.

NCL should be emailing people in advance rather than letting the poor staff onboard deal with the aftermath!

[joandy2425]

5 minutes ago, rachiem said:

Sorry, but it's more of a transparency problem.

NCL should be emailing people in advance rather than letting the poor staff onboard deal with the aftermath!

Agreed.  I felt really sorry for the staff, particularly at Guest Services, who were inundated with cross guests.  The person I spoke to at GS told me the staff had only been told on 25th September of the change to charges?!  

 

Its not a massive deal for us but I can see how the lack of transparency made it a big deal for some.   

[rachiem]

3 minutes ago, joandy2425 said:

Agreed.  I felt really sorry for the staff, particularly at Guest Services, who were inundated with cross guests.  The person I spoke to at GS told me the staff had only been told on 25th September of the change to charges?!  

 

Its not a massive deal for us but I can see how the lack of transparency made it a big deal for some.   

As it's VAT, can you claim it back as we are a non EU country?

[DCGuy64]

17 minutes ago, rachiem said:

NCL should be emailing people in advance rather than letting the poor staff onboard deal with the aftermath!

 

2 minutes ago, joandy2425 said:

The person I spoke to at GS told me the staff had only been told on 25th September of the change to charges?!  

Kinda hard to email 1,000s of guests in advance when the staff only heard about it a week ago. I'd reckon this is a good reason to follow Cruise Critic. We've known about this for more than a month! I disagree it's a transparency problem, the stuff about VAT is already covered on NCL's website.

[rachiem]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

 

Kinda hard to email 1,000s of guests in advance when the staff only heard about it a week ago. I'd reckon this is a good reason to follow Cruise Critic. We've known about this for more than a month! I disagree it's a transparency problem, the stuff about VAT is already covered on NCL's website.

I disagree....If CC knew, then NCL must have also known that this would be introduced or maybe they should start following CC?

[Asawi]

2 minutes ago, rachiem said:

As it's VAT, can you claim it back as we are a non EU country?

Not on food and drink

[Asawi]

1 minute ago, rachiem said:

I disagree....If CC knew, then NCL must have also known that this would be introduced or maybe they should start following CC?

I didn't see anything here about the French VAT. Most, if not all, discussed here has been about "the Spanish tax".  Some here still don't understand that it's not about Spain any more.

But emails with "generic" wordings have been sent out. Oddly enough it seems not to everyone. Or maybe it's in their spam folder. Don't know...

[DCGuy64]

11 minutes ago, rachiem said:

I disagree....If CC knew, then NCL must have also known that this would be introduced or maybe they should start following CC?

I disagree with you, passengers can't just demand that a cruise line email them about every little eventuality. What's next? "Dear Guests, there's a possibility of rain during your cruise a month from now, so make sure to pack an umbrella." VAT can be and is a reality and passengers are responsible for paying it. Just like missed ports, strikes, bad weather, diseases, etc. Here's an article I found helpful. It dates from 2018. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/what-is-a-vat-tax-and-where-will-you-find-it-on-a-cruise . I find this sentence interesting: "Cruise lines generally notify passengers through the daily newsletter of major changes in taxes as the cruise progresses, including tax changes that occur due to missed ports of call." 

Edited October 2, 2023 by DCGuy64

[joandy2425]

But is this not an NCL issue? France haven't just started charging VAT on drinks in the last month...or maybe they have? The charges differ quite a bit from our Med cruise in June?

[rachiem]

22 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I disagree with you, passengers can't just demand that a cruise line email them about every little eventuality. What's next? "Dear Guests, there's a possibility of rain during your cruise a month from now, so make sure to pack an umbrella." VAT can be and is a reality and passengers are responsible for paying it. Just like missed ports, strikes, bad weather, diseases, etc. Here's an article I found helpful. It dates from 2018. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/what-is-a-vat-tax-and-where-will-you-find-it-on-a-cruise . I find this sentence interesting: "Cruise lines generally notify passengers through the daily newsletter of major changes in taxes as the cruise progresses, including tax changes that occur due to missed ports of call." 

but it doesn't even mention this on new bookings going forward. Someone had an email stating Spanish ports...but it's clearly extending beyond those now

[jvd1971]

Today we are leaving Marseille. This was added 

when we orded a a drink

20% grat / service charge

Vat 20%
Vat 10%

 

I had a promo code - service charge - premium beverage package SCPBP quantity 2.

 

got no explanation or email from NCL. And big lines by the service desk.

 

I read it was only in Spanish waters? But now the added everything the whole cruise

[rachiem]

1 minute ago, joandy2425 said:

But is this not an NCL issue? France haven't just started charging VAT on drinks in the last month...or maybe they have? The charges differ quite a bit from our Med cruise in June?

We've literally just stepped off a Celebrity cruise and never encountered this?

[rachiem]

1 minute ago, jvd1971 said:

Today we are leaving Marseille. This was added 

when we orded a a drink

20% grat / service charge

Vat 20%
Vat 10%

 

I had a promo code - service charge - premium beverage package SCPBP quantity 2.

 

got no explanation or email from NCL. And big lines by the service desk.

 

I read it was only in Spanish waters? But now the added everything the whole cruise

My brother is also on this cruise! So VAT is added to the VAT 🤷‍♀️

 

[hoops71]

Really confused now.  Been following this thread for about month because I was sure I would have to deal with the issue.  However, just got off the Viva Rome to Lisbon yesterday.  It stopped in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.  Yet we were never charged VAT on any of our drink package or even on a couple of upgraded drinks.  Whatever is happening seems to be ship to ship.

 

[joandy2425]

10 minutes ago, hoops71 said:

Really confused now.  Been following this thread for about month because I was sure I would have to deal with the issue.  However, just got off the Viva Rome to Lisbon yesterday.  It stopped in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.  Yet we were never charged VAT on any of our drink package or even on a couple of upgraded drinks.  Whatever is happening seems to be ship to ship.

 

It's getting more and more confusing! I don't have any issue with paying anything that's due but it certainly doesn't seem very transparent or consistent. I wonder if I'll receive any response to my email asking for a full explanation of the charges?! 🤔