davidcraig2003

And yet noones explains why only NCL apply this tax to consumers when other cruise lines don’t.

Not saying other lines don’t pay it, but it’s part of the cost of doing business. In europe such costs should be included in the sales price and not added afterwards 

Why d

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

But why should NCL pay taxes for you?

It’s more of a question of why don’t NCL include the taxes in the quoted all inclusive price, the same way that msc, Costa, royal caribbean, p&o, princess, Holland America, Fred Olsen and Carnival do?

2 minutes ago, greg2014 said:

 

What's your itinerary ? Where have you started and finishing your cruise ?

Basing on other post charging of VAT could depend where cruise is starting/finishing. If both ports are in Spain, it was reported that NCL charge VAT all the cruise including sea time.

Epic doesn’t leave the EU, hence VAT is charged in all ports. It must touch a non-eu port such as Gibraltar, Isreal or Turkey to avoid VAT, except in Spanish ports/waters, where it is always applied 

Just off the Norwegian Gem on Sunday, sailing Spain > Gibraltar > Spain > France > Italy. I don't want to get into the morality of it but I can explain how it worked. We had free at sea.

In Spanish ports and waters, we would order a drink, swipe our card, be given a receipt with the full drink cost including service charge and VAT to sign. Normally the waiter circled the VAT cost. That is all that was charged, despite having a receipt and signing for the full amount. Generally after leaving a spanish port at 7pm, the charging regime was dropped around 9pm and then there were no receipts issued. In restaurants <9pm we were not charged VAT on drinks, I assume they tallied up the bill upon completion of the meal, after 9pm, which was helpful.

We visited Gibralter which is not in the EU, therefore our cruise left Europe and we were not charged in France, Italy or Gibraltar.

On the Preziosa, it was set menus'

In the Galaxy restaurant it was the Saturn menu (otherwise 25EUR pp) and in Eately it was a set menu with a few choices. They certainly arn't small portions, just a limited choice!

On Harmony they also offered a bridge and engine control room tour for $50, which lasts 45-60 mins depending on how many questions the group ask. It saved me a fortune on the full tour as those were the 2 areas I was keen to see most!

We are visiting Malta on the MSC Preziosa in August, in Valetta from 8-5. We have been to Malta a few times and loved it, both on land and cruise holidays, but never yet made it to the Blue Lagoon at Comino.

I'd like to try this, but does anyone know how achievable this is within a day? We were last there in April and there was only 1 bus an hour from St Julians, and if the bus was full (which it was) it wouldn't stop, which would be quite a worry getting back to Valetta.

Is anyone aware of any tours which leave either from Valetta or Sliema?

Thanks,

David

We had pre-booked last week on the Harmony, and then slept through our 9am appointment and missed it.

Generally we were told most bookings are always full, but often people don't arrive. They require a minimum of 6 participants for the game to take place (6 are required for one of the puzzles), and the group size can be up to 12.

We were advised to come along to each start time (they are 90minutes apart), and if by the start time any participants hadn't arrived, that we would be accepted.

We were first time lucky :)

Another possibility to consider:

 

 

 

 

 

Harmony is currently sailing in Europe. She has to cross the Atlantic before she settles into her Caribbean routine. (I'm bringing her over.;))

 

 

 

Perhaps they are waiting until after the crossing to install the tables and umbrellas, due to weather considerations.

Do we know when these photos were taken? In principle I agree, if these photos were taken during the Southampton preview sailings then that would make sense. However now that she's in the med they will have temperatures touching 80-100 degrees through until the translate antic (except maybe the last few weeks in October.

I'm on her on the 17th, if we don't have an update by then I'll post a photo :)

I can help with the winter/weather question, having been on the Splendida and Preziosa in Winter within the Med.

The ship will still be as busy. For sure, it is a different experience to summer. That's not necessarily a negative however. I generally found the outer decks busy during sailaway. The pool bar was still open, with people choosing to sit and have a drink outside.

I'd say it's a little more relaxing in winter as it's a slightly slower pace. However, the interior of the ship is very lively and enjoyable.

I also found nighttime to be a little more lively/later, perhaps as people arn't so desperate to get up early to sit in the sun.

Could you please let me know who the Captain/CD is, if the aft pool is filled to the infinity pool level often, and finally :) if the bar at the aft pool is open at night (I recall it was on the Fantasia, with live music).

Many thanks,

David

This may help:

http://www.comune.roma.it/PCR/resources/cms/documents/tariffario_taxi_luglio_2012.pdf

Scroll down for English.

The regulated, fixed fare from fiumicino to the city centre is 48 euros. So the coliseum, at a distance of 18 miles, would be 48.

What hotel are you staying in?

It's an educated guess to be fair. As long as it is a legitimate taxi regulated by the city, I cannot imagine any combination or per km / surcharges which could come close to 70 euros for a mile and a half journey (4 minutes?)

Any metered taxi, of which there should be plenty, will do this for around 10 euros, in addition to probably being easier to locate!

Is the hotel in Civitavecchia, or at Fumicino?

On board Harmony right now and he takes over in a few weeks, forget the actual date, but his motor-bikes are already here !!

Great, hopefully he is there for the July 17th departure!

Does anyone know when Capt. Johnny takes over on the Harmony?

Do they fill the entire group so that you are working with other passengers? I had tried one in Barcelona, but with there only being two of us, it was a little challenging from a time perspective.

Very, dry sense of humour which made his lengthy, detailed PA updates rather amusing

Interesting that Rob Hempstead is returning to the Rhapsody - he had just moved to the Oasis in March

why not get off without an excursion? I've always felt I have seen more wandering around at my own pace than I do on an excursion. Walking is free :)

I recall getting Sierra for sure, but that was with the premium package, not sure if that has a bearing on it

Is captain Rob onboard?

A forecast last Thursday night (Feb 4) from the NWS Ocean Prediction Center said that by Sunday night, the Atlantic Ocean off the Carolinas would experience winds up to 50 knots (57.5 mph) and seas up to to 31 feet. By Saturday afternoon, forecasts were calling for 65 knot (75 mph)winds and seas to 11.5 meters (about 38 feet) by noon Sunday.

The Anthem has highly multiple sophisticated meteorological systems aboard.

On Saturday has was fully aware the monster was growing, (barometric pressure falling, isobars getting tighter and a defined "eye" was forming.

He knew this on SATURDAY. Armed with the information that the beast was growing, he just headed right into it.

On Sunday at 1 or 2, he could have turned around. pressure system

If you wish to back up your arguments with 1st hand marine meteorology, please present your credentials.

Otherwise your just another uneducated troll.

No quoting of mainstream news channels allowed.

You have a dubious source

............and a truly horrific writing style. :eek: