Taxes on drinks

That is a silly tax. The cruise line charged you $0.00 for the drink. 5=6% local tax on $0.00 is $0.00.

You pay $0.00 for the drink with the package but when NCL rings the drink in the full price is rung in and then credited.

That is correct, but you won't find a $5.00 drink. I'm guessing you used those numbers to make it easy.

 

You're on the right path though.

Yep....easy math to paint a picture.

We had the UBP and our drinks were taxed the first day in Seattle on the Pearl. Our waiter said the tax is in effect until about 11:00 pm.

I would say the State of Florida among others would disagree about them passing on the tax. When they undergo a sales and use tax audit, they will have to provide backup showing that tax was collected and remitted on these drinks or will have to pay the sales tax direct to the state.

But easily covered up by ringing the drink through the next day. And questionable they should be charging it even if they do pay it. I paid for a drink package pre cruise in the UK at booking time. As a result my drinks are zero charges onboard. Why would I want to pay sales tax on something I had already bought? 6/7/8 or whatever percent of zero is zero!

But easily covered up by ringing the drink through the next day. And questionable they should be charging it even if they do pay it. I paid for a drink package pre cruise in the UK at booking time. As a result my drinks are zero charges onboard. Why would I want to pay sales tax on something I had already bought? 6/7/8 or whatever percent of zero is zero!

You are paying the tax on the retail value of the drink. Just as all those game show winners pay tax on the retail value of the prize.

That " whatever percent of zero is zero" doesn't work.

Complaining on approx $10 or so when people have spent $$$$$ on a cruise is just plain crazy

Sorry, but the notion of NCL defrauding the State and County over some drink taxes is completely absurd.

The 3 busiest cruise ports in the world are in Florida and there is no way even a State bureaucrat would believe no one is buying drinks until the ship is 3 miles out.

On 8/22/2018 at 11:55 AM, boatseller said:

Sorry, but the notion of NCL defrauding the State and County over some drink taxes is completely absurd.

 

The 3 busiest cruise ports in the world are in Florida and there is no way even a State bureaucrat would believe no one is buying drinks until the ship is 3 miles out.

Well why does NCL charge the tax but Celebrity, MSC, and Royal Caribbean all not charge that amount?

A combination of different accounting methods and using a price-includes-tax paradigm.

They're all for sure paying the tax, RCC just chooses to not break it out.  Next time I'm on board or see a friend on the inside, maybe I'll ask.  If you really press the issue, they should be able to show you the breakdown.

On 8/22/2018 at 7:03 AM, beerman2 said:

 

You are paying the tax on the retail value of the drink. Just as all those game show winners pay tax on the retail value of the prize.

 

That " whatever percent of zero is zero" doesn't work.

 

Complaining on approx $10 or so when people have spent $$$$$ on a cruise is just plain crazy

This boards are proof that folks will whine about any and everything.  I agree, why sweat it?

I am seeing all the info about taxes while in port. Always charged taxes in NYC and FL ports even with the UBP. My question is for Alaska Ports-Not sure if the ship is far enough out while cruising to not charge. I was told they didn't but wanted to double check. Has anyone done an Alaskan Cruise that can let me know?

On 2/7/2019 at 1:05 AM, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Well why does NCL charge the tax but Celebrity, MSC, and Royal Caribbean all not charge that amount?

Other lines add the tax into the cruisefare. Even non-drinkers pay the tax.

I can't fathom how someone, who is on vacation, could possibly worry about taxes on a  drink while in port? What could it cost, 60 or 70 cents per drink???

3 hours ago, NCLetscruise said:

I can't fathom how someone, who is on vacation, could possibly worry about taxes on a  drink while in port? What could it cost, 60 or 70 cents per drink???

$10.00-$12.00 would at the high end. I believe that's what it cost me once and that was boarding around noon for a 7:00 p.m. Departure.

It's crazy how people complain about it. You've spent $$$$$ on a cruise and yet complain about a ridiculously minor amount.

6 minutes ago, beerman2 said:

$10.00-$12.00 would at the high end. I believe that's what it cost me once and that was boarding around noon for a 7:00 p.m. Departure.

It's crazy how people complain about it. You've spent $$$$$ on a cruise and yet complain about a ridiculously minor amount.

Crazy, right? 

19 hours ago, momofgoldens221 said:

I am seeing all the info about taxes while in port. Always charged taxes in NYC and FL ports even with the UBP. My question is for Alaska Ports-Not sure if the ship is far enough out while cruising to not charge. I was told they didn't but wanted to double check. Has anyone done an Alaskan Cruise that can let me know?

We are also sailing on an Alaska cruise and was wondering how the tax works while doing the inside passage. Are we going to be charged tax on drinks throughout the whole cruise?

40 minutes ago, suntangirl said:

We are also sailing on an Alaska cruise and was wondering how the tax works while doing the inside passage. Are we going to be charged tax on drinks throughout the whole cruise?

We went to Alaska in 2013 and are scheduled to return this summer. When we were on the Jewel, we only paid taxes on drinks while in Seattle and headed out to sea. We never had taxes added to our drinks in Juneau, Skagway or Ketchikan. That said, we also didn't have a UBP back then, so my bar bill was WOW!
 

As far as taxes go, they've never amounted to much, in my opinion. Certainly not something I'd skip cruising over. Most land based vacations charge tax on everything, all the time.

4 hours ago, GrabMyWrist said:

We went to Alaska in 2013 and are scheduled to return this summer. When we were on the Jewel, we only paid taxes on drinks while in Seattle and headed out to sea. We never had taxes added to our drinks in Juneau, Skagway or Ketchikan. That said, we also didn't have a UBP back then, so my bar bill was WOW!
 

As far as taxes go, they've never amounted to much, in my opinion. Certainly not something I'd skip cruising over. Most land based vacations charge tax on everything, all the time.

It won't ruin my cruise this June to Alaska. 

On 7/24/2016 at 11:03 PM, purpletequila said:

 

It's local/state law so it is always technically charged but not all cruise lines pass this onto their customers via their onboard account. For example, Celebrity. You will never see such a tax charges to you. They must have figured out the average cost and built it into their beverage package or cruise cost. NCL? Apparently they want to let you know they are charging you personally every penny they can despite the fact that they have the most expensive beverage package by far, of the major lines.

Oh come on. Don’t cruise them then! For heaven’s sake all this crying and moaning about NCL is so boring after awhile. I know I am leaving myself open to nastiness but it really is just tiring. 

The Alaska ports don't charge. Washington State does and it's a long sail out of Seattle. Tax went away around 4 hours after departure. The tax came back for a few hours on our way to Victoria as we were in Washington waters. And when docked in Victoria a lot of bars were closed - one bar per deck could be open. 

Also Seattle is a higher tax than Miami. Out of Miami it was rare for a drink to be over $1 tax, while out of Seattle all my drinks were over $1 - around $1.50 since I was drinking liquor. Even thought I ordered the same drink the tax somehow varied by bar. lol Still not a ton of money, maybe $30 for both times they were charging it. 

On 7/24/2016 at 1:50 PM, meh56 said:

I read that even with the UBP if the ship is in port you are charge a tax on drinks. Can you tell me is this done on all cruise lines or just on NCL. We have done a lot of cruising but never paid attention to this. Is this charge when they are tied up to a dock only or does it continue on til the ship is a distance from shore?

This is standard practice for all cruise lines.  If you are in a US port, you are subject to local sales tax rules and regulations.  Nothing you can do about it.  Big brother wants his share.  Only option is to stay dry until the ship enters international waters.  

5 hours ago, onthegem1019 said:

This is standard practice for all cruise lines.  If you are in a US port, you are subject to local sales tax rules and regulations.  Nothing you can do about it.  Big brother wants his share.  Only option is to stay dry until the ship enters international waters.  

Why did you decide to respond to a post from 7 years ago? The author got an answer long long ago. Bumping very very old threads causes confusion because the information is old and out of date. 

Well, excuse me!!!!!