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And this guy asked me what ship is being built next to the QA when he returned back home 🤣. steamboats

That´s what I thought too! steamboats

Cunard invited media and travel agents 6 months before the inaugual cruise of the Queen Anne to the shipyard. Here's a video (by my DH) Hope you enjoy it! More photos can be seen here. steamboats

And the start is delayed again... Victoria Cruises Delays Residential Cruise ‘Start Up’ Again - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News steamboats

As far as I see the Norwegian Gem should have been in Haifa today but has a day at sea on her way to Limassol, Cyprus. steamboats

@BunnyHutt actually in Europe you are taxed in the price of the package too. So when I book a cruise with the Free At Sea package I already pay VAT for both (I might not see it as the VAT has to be included in the price tag). It's not about that we all her broke paying this extra VAT but especially we Europeans are Not used to pay taxes added to the price tag. Plus we so book a package to have all included and not to worry about any extra cost coming as a surprise. Plus the other thing is whether this practice is correct (as no other US cruise line is doing this in Europeans waters). steamboats

And your question was answered in this thread too. The recent Epic cruise started in Marseilles / France and only had French and Italian ports on the itinerary - so all EU ports. The current trip should be out of Marseilles and back again with ports in Italy and Spain - so again all EU ports. The next one is Marseille to Trieste with all EU-ports. Then it´s Trieste - Civitavecchia with Kotor/Montenegro as non EU-port. steamboats

@navybankerteacher it´s more that you really don´t want to drive on your own along the Amalfi Coast unless you are an experienced mountain driver. This route is very stressful. A couple of years ago the Italians did forbid any non local bus drivers to go on this route. The streets are narrow and you hardly see around a corner. You need to know the local traffic rules - stop when you hear a bus or truck honking!! There´s hardly any parking space. And on one side it´s going steeply down the mountain to the sea. Been there done that... O.k., I didn´t drive on my own (back then I got my license a couple of days prior to the trip). My dad did the driving and he was very experienced in the mountains but even he said that´s it - only once. steamboats

The Unlimited Open Bar Package is 109 USD/day (plus 20%), the Premium Plus Beverage Package is 138 USD/day (plus 20%) - if you don´t have Free At Sea (at least those were the last prices I saw). And it´s not about add in any gratuities or VAT it´s simply that the taxable purchase is the purchase of the package and not the order of a single drink (as you can´t tax an amount of 0). steamboats

Maybe you should read the other 7 pages of this thread ;-). steamboats

Correct! steamboats

Yes, of course, 20% are the service charge and the rest is tax. steamboats

As others said before... When you do have a package you are only charged the two lines saying "VAT 20%" (3.40 USD) and "VAT 10%" (0.34 USD) - so a total of 22% or 3.34 USD. You are not charged the price of the drink (17 USD) or the "Grat/SVCCG (20%)" (3.40 USD). Those amounts are only to account the VAT -> 20% of the drinks price and 10% of the Service Charge. When you don´t have a package you are charged the full amount of 24.14 USD, which is 42% of the price of the drinks. steamboats

Check out this thread showing a receipt of your cruise. steamboats

Pozzuoli and parts of Naples are built on an active super volcano (Campi Flegrei). This is a 150 skm area and two thirds are in the sea. So it´s still 50 sqm which are more or less completely filled up with buildings. A 4.0 earthquake is noticable there and there are minor damages. The whole area is on warning stage 2 (out of 4) but for a longer time already. They are now checking their evacuation plans. Some science guys think there will be a major eruption more or less soon (which will be a major disaster). Others say no worries... steamboats

@Alba1 you were charged 20% VAT on the price of the drink (so 4 USD for two 10 USD drinks) plus 10% on the 20% Service Charge (10 % of 4 USD = 0.40 USD) which totals to 4.40 USD. You were not charged at total of 30% which would be 6 USD for the two drinks. steamboats

I was referring to my post you quoted 😉. steamboats

The part of my post you quoted was referring to what is done on land in France ... in France there are no mandatory service charges which can be taxed with a VAT. I know what NCL is doing. steamboats

You have to pay the Spanish VAT as long as you are in Spanish waters/ports (usually within the 3 miles zone) as Gibraltar is a non EU port (therefore you don´t have to pay it for the full cruise). With a drinks package you shouldn´t pay any VAT on an ordered drink. If you do order a drink which is not included in the package and therefore you have to pay the difference, then you have to pay the VAT on the upcharge/difference. steamboats

Exactly, "should be" 😉 steamboats

Also Italy, UK or Gibraltar... The only cruise line saying that there are "local" taxes (which there aren´t in Italy) and not selling alcohol or even other non alcoholic beverages. RCI/Celebrity are charging the VAT in Spanish waters (or for the whole duration of the cruise when there is no non EU port). But they are charging only when you buy a single drink and not for drinks ordered with a package. That´s an NCL problem. We Europeans have to pay VAT on our cruise price (and yes, I don´t "see" as it´s included in the cruise fare) and therefore the European cruise fares are usually higher than the same cruise sold in the US. Some Europeans do book with an US TA to get a cheaper US price. steamboats

I haven´t read anything about mandatory service charges in France yet. But I remember that I had notices about the Italian VAT with RCI and recently with Oceania. But Italy was always pretty inconsistent. steamboats

@KeithJenner the interesting part is that they haven´t charged the VAT for the drinks or even the service charge until recently (for those who have the package). The VAT is being charged for more than 10 years for single bought drinks. But even there the service charge wasn´t part of the VAT. steamboats

This was only a 4.0 earthquake... there was a 4.2 one a couple of weeks ago. So far I haven´t heard of any changes regarding the port of Naples. steamboats

At least for one day it´s worth staying in Trieste. We didn´t have too much time to explore but here you find some sights. steamboats