Drinks before leaving port

Hi All, We have the UBP. We plan on boarding the Escape as soon as we can. Before we get out to water where UBP kicks in... Do they charge you for the price of a drink or just the taxes. If taxes, what is the rate?

Thanks all!!!

The UBP kicks in as soon as you board.

You will probably pay the taxes, depending on the port. I'm sure others will be able to confirm the rate.

It's just sales tax. Usually less than $1.00 per drink

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If you are able to view my previous post on this, according to my reply from NCL UK you will not pay any additional tax.

If you are able to view my previous post on this, according to my reply from NCL UK you will not pay any additional tax.

That discussion was specifically about European cruises.

Obviously I don't know whether NCL thought that you were asking specifically about Europe, but can say from people's experiences that, whilst they appear to have been correct about European cruises, the answer was almost certainly incorrect about US ones.

In Miami for example, they consistently do charge tax on UBP purchases.

If you are able to view my previous post on this, according to my reply from NCL UK you will not pay any additional tax.

Incorrect

You will be charged Florida state taxes until you are in international waters. No idea what the tax rate is, but it is a very small amount per drink.

The drink is free but I believe the tax rate is 7% of the price of the drink you order.

The tax in Miami should be 7%, but looking back at our account from November, I think we were charged 8%. But since they don't make you sign anything and they don't give you a paper receipt, they can kind of charge whatever they want. :(

When we were on the Escape in Oct. we boarded about 11:15 started drinking at noon. Ship sailed at 7 p.m. Our tax for those 7 hrs. Was $12.00.

We had quite a few drinks.

I had a beer at lunch in Boston on the Dawn with the UBP - the waiter did inform me that there would be a tax on the drink. I also had to sign the sales slip that showed the tax and tip - when it reached the account the only charge was for the tax.

We sailed on the Gem twice in 2016.

In January departing from New York, we were charged sales tax on the drinks while still in port. No slips to sign, and we had the UBP.

In December, departing from San Juan, (again with UBP) we were not charged any sales tax on drinks while still in port.

I guess it depends on which port you depart from.

Regards,

Vinegarjoe

No offense intended to the original poster, but I find this question/discussion rather funny. Folks are paying thousands of dollars on a cruise, hundreds on excursions, tips, etc and they're concerned about a couple of bucks in tax while drinking their unlimited alcoholic beverages in port on Day 1 of this very expensive vacation. It's fascinating to me.

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No offense intended to the original poster, but I find this question/discussion rather funny. Folks are paying thousands of dollars on a cruise, hundreds on excursions, tips, etc and they're concerned about a couple of bucks in tax while drinking their unlimited alcoholic beverages in port on Day 1 of this very expensive vacation. It's fascinating to me.

 

 

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I am sure you would also be fascinated by the folks over on the Royal Caribbean forum when they complain about minor charges (under $20) from the minibar when they haven't even consumed anything - and in fact asked for the minibar to be emptied upon arriving in their cabin.

Just because people can afford a nice vacation, doesn't mean they can (or want to) spend extra money.

They are simply asking the policy. No need to insult people because you don't care about a few extra dollars. (And just because you said "no offense" doesn't mean you are not offending them.)

I am sure you would also be fascinated by the folks over on the Royal Caribbean forum when they complain about minor charges (under $20) from the minibar when they haven't even consumed anything - and in fact asked for the minibar to be emptied upon arriving in their cabin.

 

Just because people can afford a nice vacation, doesn't mean they can (or want to) spend extra money.

On the other hand, though, it is interesting that we (collectively) choose to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars with a company that we evidently can't seem to trust not to burn us for chump change. I get that the consumer has to be aware and all of that, but... damn, I'm dropping $7k with NCL this year. I'd sure as hell enjoy not having to look at every damn detail. But then, FDR did say he'd rob us blind for every nickel he could, so...there's that.

Bit of a rant, I guess, but sometimes I wish NCL (and the others) would simply work all of this sort of minutiae into the fares and leave the pax out of it. It's annoying to have to worry about when the ship will charge local sales tax. NCL should build it into the fare and/or eat it without anyone having to log onto a forum and ask such a stupid question. Not stupid on the part of the OP, stupid on the part of NCL for forcing it to be asked in the first place.

No offense intended to the original poster, but I find this question/discussion rather funny. Folks are paying thousands of dollars on a cruise, hundreds on excursions, tips, etc and they're concerned about a couple of bucks in tax while drinking their unlimited alcoholic beverages in port on Day 1 of this very expensive vacation. It's fascinating to me.

They are simply asking the policy. No need to insult people because you don't care about a few extra dollars. (And just because you said "no offense" doesn't mean you are not offending them.)

Not sure MidTex's post is insulting or offensive, but it certainly falls within the category of "If you don't like or care about the topic, why on earth would you post under it?".

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I read all of the posts on here. I understand hyper planning. I get it and do it myself which is why I read this board. I just found this one to be hyper hyper to the extreme which made me laugh a bit. If someone was offended by my post I apologize, although I don't see that what I said was offensive.

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No offense intended to the original poster, but I find this question/discussion rather funny. Folks are paying thousands of dollars on a cruise, hundreds on excursions, tips, etc and they're concerned about a couple of bucks in tax while drinking their unlimited alcoholic beverages in port on Day 1 of this very expensive vacation. It's fascinating to me.

 

 

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this made me giggle

One question I have is if that applies to all drinks or just alcohol? What about soda?

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I am sure you would also be fascinated by the folks over on the Royal Caribbean forum when they complain about minor charges (under $20) from the minibar when they haven't even consumed anything - and in fact asked for the minibar to be emptied upon arriving in their cabin.

What is wrong with asking for the minibar to be emptied on arrival, we do it every cruise? Not because we don't want to spend anything but because we want a fridge we can put food and water in.

I guess it depends on which port you depart from.

Yes, it is a local tax, so it depends totally on which port you depart from.

No offense intended to the original poster, but I find this question/discussion rather funny. Folks are paying thousands of dollars on a cruise, hundreds on excursions, tips, etc and they're concerned about a couple of bucks in tax while drinking their unlimited alcoholic beverages in port on Day 1 of this very expensive vacation. It's fascinating to me.

 

 

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The OP did not seem concerned about the cost to me, just curious.

What if buy a soda package the first day before leave port, do they tax that?

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I think they use this as a way of covering there port fees for the day.

On a ship with 4000 folks that is probably at least $50000 For the day.

But it all seemed to start with UBP. They didn't want to get soaked by the fees on the drinks they are giving away.

I think they use this as a way of covering there port fees for the day.

On a ship with 4000 folks that is probably at least $50000 For the day.

But it all seemed to start with UBP. They didn't want to get soaked by the fees on the drinks they are giving away.

No. It's a state tax, mandated by the government. It's not NCL's choosing.

It's the law. When the ship is in port it is in the jurisdiction of whatever city,state, or country it is connected to. It is therefore subject to collect and pay the sales taxes on the products that it sells. They are also need to meet the necessary licensing requirements of that jurisdiction. For example, New York requires every bar on the Breakaway to have a state liquor license.

To think that NCL is collecting the tax just to pad their income is false.

I also believe that if you are worried about the 7 or 8% tax on a few drinks, you shouldn't be drinking them on a cruise ship.

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