Breakaway RT NYC: Are you really charged NY sales Tax on drinks during sailaway????

[Squirty27]

So when are you not charged the tax? After you get through to open waters?

 

I understand the fee is minimal?

 

There is no charge while in Bermuda -is that right?

 

Thank you.

[mizLORInj]

Breakaway isn't the only one; on any cruiseline we departed from NYC we have paid tax on the drinks as long as we were in the harbor area. It's been this way for years. I remember last September some guy arguing with the bartender about it on Carnival Splendor while we were still at NYC pier.

Edited July 30, 2015 by mizlorinj

[tomk3212]

First off, DON'T blame NCL; blame Rudy Giuliani, Mike Bloomberg, Bill DiBlasio and, of course, the NY City Council....

 

Seriously, we have sailed out of NYC many times (see signature) and we've ALWAYS been charged sales tax on our drinks while in port. We don't do the UDP as we don't drink very much (1 drink each/day) but we always start the cruise with lunch in the MDR. While at our celebratory lunch I'll order a beer and when I go to sign the receipt, sure enough, it's the usual price PLUS the auto-gratuity PLUS NYC sales tax. Welcome to Fun City!

 

I agree it's annoying as you-know-what but the last two cruises out of NYC I've voted-with-my-feet, (as former President Reagan would say) and just ordered an ice tea and had my first beer in LeBistro that first night when we're out of NYC.

 

Tom

[hmsdos]

So when are you not charged the tax? After you get through to open waters? you are correct

 

I understand the fee is minimal? just whatever % you would pay if you bought something before you boarded

 

There is no charge while in Bermuda -is that right? correct

 

Thank you.

 

 

In the overall scheme of things.... just a little aggravation that has nothing to do with the cruise line ;)

[conandrob240]

It's possible you just got lucky. Someone posted scanned copies of receipts from Getaway (I think) where they purchased 3 drinks in like ten minutes and the first and third drinks showed port tax but the second didn't.

 

Did they have UBP? I am thinking that's the key. That at some point those extra taxes weren't passed on and now they are.

 

I doubt I just got lucky. I had multiple drinks from multiple bars across two cruises in May and Nov on UBP cruising from NY and never paid extra taxes. Not in Nassau or Port Canaveral either

[conandrob240]

And no ones blaming anyone. If there are taxes, there are taxes. I just know for sure that there weren't any new laws passed in NYC about this so the only explanation here is that NCL is now consistently passing the extra port taxes on to guests when they gave UBP.

[islesdave]

NCL and other lines are not "charging" tax, they are collecting it. When the ships are docked in US ports and until they are in international waters, the local jurisdiction's tax laws apply. You are paying NYC/NYS sales tax on any purchase made, drink or otherwise, just as you would if you were at a land based bar.

[conandrob240]

Not really the point. Don't think anyone was suggesting NCL was doing anything underhanded. It's a tax- I think we all get where those come from.

Edited July 31, 2015 by conandrob240

[juniortrooper]

We were on the Breakaway last week and yes, we were charged some sort of tax (port tax?) when we ordered drinks while in port in NY. This was approximately .75/drink. I think it totaled less than $3. We had the UBP (the promo). It didn't bother me much, considering it was so much less than the drink itself. The promo was still a great deal. It's just one of those things....

 

*I don't know if it was on sodas or just alcohol.

 

Amy

[WMQueenie]

Seems rather inconsistent - we were on the Breakaway this past March - had the UBP - which included the tips at that time and didn't pay a dime for taxes. Our bar bill was ZERO... :D

[conandrob240]

Exactly my point! I don't think it's inconsistent- I think people here are mucking it up. Recently, NCL seems to have decided to pass on a port tax for passengers using UBP. In the past, the taxes existed, they just weren't passed on to UBP holders. But they were charged always, just reversed on UBP.

 

If you ask me, seems like yet another example of NCL nickel and dining people. Passing a 75 cent tax on now to UBP users per drink seems like just another stupid way to annoy people.

[njhorseman]

It's not a port tax, it's NY State/City sales tax.

 

I can't recall patronizing a business that absorbed sales taxes it was supposed to be collecting from its customers, except as part of some special promotion. It's a money-losing business practice and makes little sense from a business perspective except as a gimmicky promotion.

 

I'm reasonably sure NCL changed its practice because a high percentage of cruisers now have a complimentary beverage package from the promotions NCL has been offering in recent months, and absorbing the sales tax would now be a substantial expense while previously it was a relatively small item.

[rogue 35]

 

If you ask me, seems like yet another example of NCL nickel and dining people.

 

Nickel and dining, is that what they are going to call the new room service menu? :D

[rogue 35]

It's not a port tax, it's NY State/City sales tax.

 

I can't recall patronizing a business that absorbed sales taxes it was supposed to be collecting from its customers, except as part of some special promotion. It's a money-losing business practice and makes little sense from a business perspective except as a gimmicky promotion.

 

I'm reasonably sure NCL changed its practice because a high percentage of cruisers now have a complimentary beverage package from the promotions NCL has been offering in recent months, and absorbing the sales tax would now be a substantial expense while previously it was a relatively small item.

 

It is a somewhat interesting case though, considering the drink unit "costs" the customer nothing, in a way it would be like going to Costco and eating one of their free samples and getting a bill for the sales tax on that sample.

 

At the end of the day I don't care, I'm comfortable assuming NCL knows what they are doing and are following the laws appropriately.