taxes for drinks in US ports

[jujuyu211]

So I read that Princess charges taxes for all drinks while in US ports… just want to confirm if that’s true or not? Is it just US ports? Is it only alcoholic drinks or all drinks?? I also heard that Princess will give onboard credit ($25) to make up for these taxes, is that still happening? 
 

I purchased the Plus package which includes drinks, Wi-Fi, and gratuities and the idea is to have the freedom to try many different drinks and potentially a $0 bill when disembarking. For example in my upcoming cruise we will be leaving out of SF and spending most of the day at two more US ports with taxes as high as 10.25% so that’s almost $1.50 average per drink. I know this doesn’t seem like a large amount but this is on top of what I paid for the Plus package already so it seems like the promotion for Plus saying how everything is included isn’t quite true in this case. 
 

I haven’t seen a lot of talk about drink taxes as the hot topic seems to be coffee cards lately but I’m wondering what people’s thoughts are about this extra tax? Especially if you already purchased a drink package.

[caribill]

Yes, some ports do tax onboard sales of anything while the ship is in port. But since all shops are closed in port, only beverages usually get taxed.

 

But the tax is on actual sales. Since you have a pre-purchased package, there should be no taxes charged on beverages you have while in port because you are not paying any money for them then.

 

No, Princess does not give any money to offset any sales taxes charged.

 

However, if you are sailing out of Galveston, due to Texas Liquor laws only a very limited choice of alcohol beverages are available in Texas waters. Princess does give $25 as OBC to compensate for the limited beverage menu.

[travelin.sisters]

These are our two experiences with taxes in ports:

 

We sailed late out of Los Angeles on our recent cruise & my BIL had a charge for tax on soda at dinner. 

 

Last year when we were docked in Maui (not Lahaina the other one that I never remember the name of) people with beverage plans were upset because there were taxes on beverages in their plans. 

[caribill]

38 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

 

We sailed late out of Los Angeles on our recent cruise & my BIL had a charge for tax on soda at d

 

Did he have a beverage plan?

[travelin.sisters]

9 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Did he have a beverage plan?

no not this cruise

[jujuyu211]

I’m just hearing a lot of inconsistencies so I’m wondering if it’s due to different ports/different rules or perhaps individual ships handling it differently?

what @caribill said makes a lot of sense. People who have beverage packages aren’t purchasing anything at port so they shouldn’t be charged taxes. I hope that is the case!!

[avonlady6390]

The tax amount is so small I wouldn't worry about it it's not like your buying a big ticket item.

[sunviking90]

I bought a coffee card (😞) while still docked in LA years ago and was charged local taxes on it. After that I made sure to pre buy or wait until we sailed.

Edited March 20, 2023 by sunviking90

[CruzeQueen2]

Here's a question for you all. 

Sailing out of Vancouver, I plan to purchase the Princess Plus plan. I am hoping to use up my OBC to pay for part of the package.

Will there be taxes???

No doubt, I will be having some beverages before we sail out. It is a late sailing, at 22:45. I wonder if anyone has done this yet. Ships have not yet sailed from Vancouver this year since the new option to purchase the package on the ship started.

TIA

[Crystabel]

On a couple of cruises, when we didn’t have a package, the bartender would hold on to our drink charge until we sailed and were in international waters. That kept us from having to pay taxes on our drinks. 

[lx200gps]

7 hours ago, jujuyu211 said:

I’m just hearing a lot of inconsistencies so I’m wondering if it’s due to different ports/different rules or perhaps individual ships handling it differently?

what @caribill said makes a lot of sense. People who have beverage packages aren’t purchasing anything at port so they shouldn’t be charged taxes. I hope that is the case!!

We always sail with the basic/Plus plan. On the Sky in Feb, out of Port Everglades, I had a pre-sail drink that came in a bit over the "deductible" for the Plus plan and was charged for both the difference ($1.77, so $1.50 + 18%) as well as a "Ft Lauderdale US Sales Tax" of a whopping $0.11.

[Cruise Raider]

7 hours ago, jujuyu211 said:

I’m just hearing a lot of inconsistencies so I’m wondering if it’s due to different ports/different rules or perhaps individual ships handling it differently?

what @caribill said makes a lot of sense. People who have beverage packages aren’t purchasing anything at port so they shouldn’t be charged taxes. I hope that is the case!!

Each port imposes their own taxes, it is not dependent on how the ship handles it.  
Some ports have higher taxes and some have no taxes. San Francisco is a port that does impose a tax, as they do with any and everything here.  But, that’s another story … 
You will not get charged for a drink that fits within your plus package as it is pre-purchased.  If your drink goes above the set limit (of $15 a drink), you will be charged the overage as well as the tax on that overage … not on the entire cost of the drink.  You will also pay the SF tax if you purchase a lobster roll up at the Salty Dog Grill but not once you are clear out at sea.  


 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

Here's a question for you all. 

Sailing out of Vancouver, I plan to purchase the Princess Plus plan. I am hoping to use up my OBC to pay for part of the package.

Will there be taxes???

No doubt, I will be having some beverages before we sail out. It is a late sailing, at 22:45. I wonder if anyone has done this yet. Ships have not yet sailed from Vancouver this year since the new option to purchase the package on the ship started.

TIA

This is what I was told when we were thinking of upgrading our package while in San Diego last month: 
The amount you pay will go onto your shipboard account so, you should be able to use your OBC 

Good question on the taxes … I hope someone can answer that as I’d also like to know.  Perhaps you might want to take a bottle of wine for your sailaway beverages.  I do know if you purchase the corkage while on the ship, you will also be charged tax on that.  But, if you do so at the wine table before boarding, you won’t pay the tax .. so bizarre, right?  I know that from personal experience.  

I know you can buy the package or upgrade on day one or day two.  
 

(PS .. I didn’t upgrade because I was perfectly happy with the wine choices they had on the Royal within the $15 limit).  

Edited March 20, 2023 by Cruise Raider

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, Crystabel said:

On a couple of cruises, when we didn’t have a package, the bartender would hold on to our drink charge until we sailed and were in international waters. That kept us from having to pay taxes on our drinks. 

That may be something that can get them into a world of hurt .. I probably wouldn’t announce that too often on any more public boards.  

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, Crystabel said:

On a couple of cruises, when we didn’t have a package, the bartender would hold on to our drink charge until we sailed and were in international waters. That kept us from having to pay taxes on our drinks. 

Highly illegal.  Princess is not paying their due sales tax to the county in question when they in fact sold a drink, and you consumed it.  

[startedwithamouse]

9 hours ago, jujuyu211 said:

So I read that Princess charges taxes for all drinks while in US ports… just want to confirm if that’s true or not? Is it just US ports? Is it only alcoholic drinks or all drinks?? I also heard that Princess will give onboard credit ($25) to make up for these taxes, is that still happening? 
 

I purchased the Plus package which includes drinks, Wi-Fi, and gratuities and the idea is to have the freedom to try many different drinks and potentially a $0 bill when disembarking. For example in my upcoming cruise we will be leaving out of SF and spending most of the day at two more US ports with taxes as high as 10.25% so that’s almost $1.50 average per drink. I know this doesn’t seem like a large amount but this is on top of what I paid for the Plus package already so it seems like the promotion for Plus saying how everything is included isn’t quite true in this case. 
 

I haven’t seen a lot of talk about drink taxes as the hot topic seems to be coffee cards lately but I’m wondering what people’s thoughts are about this extra tax? Especially if you already purchased a drink package.

They cannot charge sales tax on drinks pre-purchased using the beverage packages (stand alone or Plus/Premier since the purchase is not per drink, it's for a package.  They're not selling anything in port, so you can't be taxed. 

 

If you don't have a drink package or are purchasing any drinks (alcohol/coffee/water/cans) or any items not included in the package (cans), they will be charged any applicable county/city sales tax on top of the 18%.  

[skynight]

It does happen at some ports. But don't worry, the amounts are very small. 

[XBGuy]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

The amount you pay will go onto your shipboard account so, you should be able to use your OBC 

Good question on the taxes … I hope someone can answer that as I’d also like to know.  Perhaps you might want to take a bottle of wine for your sailaway beverages.  I do know if you purchase the corkage while on the ship, you will also be charged tax on that.  But, if you do so at the wine table before boarding, you won’t pay the tax .. so bizarre, right?  I know that from personal experience.  

I know you can buy the package or upgrade on day one or day two.  

 

 

I might have an explanation as to why tax is not added when corkage is paid at the pier--at least for California ports.

 

California sales tax is applied to goods that are sold.  I is not applied to services provided.  So, when I get a $15 haircut, the barber does not charge an additional 8.75% to that $15.  A restaurant corkage charge is considered to be a fee for services-opening the bottle and providing clean glasses are the services provided.  So, California sales tax (along with any additional municipal tax) should not be charged for the corkage fee that is paid at the pier. 

 

I am perplexed, however, as to why tax would be charged if the corkage fee is incurred on the ship.  If the ship is still in port in California when the bottle is opened, the same rationale should apply--the restaurant is providing a service, not selling something. If tax was, in fact, charge for a corkage service that was offered while docked at a California port, I would think that was a mistake made by the ship's restaurant management.  If the ship is at sea in international waters when the bottle is opened, then there is no taxing authority would have jurisdiction to collect any tax.

 

However, if at the time the bottle is opened, the ship is in a port where services are taxed, then I can understand that the tax should be rightfully charged.

 

Is there anybody out there who knows more about this?

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

They cannot charge sales tax on drinks pre-purchased using the beverage packages (stand alone or Plus/Premier since the purchase is not per drink, it's for a package.  They're not selling anything in port, so you can't be taxed. 

That's subject to interpretation.  Carnival does charge sales tax on the menu price of drinks from a package and wine from a wine package opened in US waters (as well as free Drinks On Us in the casino on New Orleans cruises until the ship reaches the Gulf of Mexico).

[CruzeQueen2]

My question is about the purchase of the Princess Plus package, while still in the Vancouver port. I plan to buy the package once onboard the ship.

Will be using up my OBC plus more to be charged to my account, once I board the ship. Late sailing that day - at 10:45pm. Will the package purchase be charged with extra taxes since I am buying it while sitting at the dock in Vancouver. My question is about the taxes...My purchase for an 8 day cruise will be $480 per person.

Thanks!

[DallasGuy75219]

5 minutes ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

Will the package purchase be charged with extra taxes since I am buying it while sitting at the dock in Vancouver. My question is about the taxes...My purchase for an 8 day cruise will be $480 per person.

No

[CruzeQueen2]

I appreciate the comments that people have about this scenario. However, at the moment, we have not yet had a sailing out of Vancouver since the new plans were initiated in Feb 2023.

I will definitely be bringing one bottle of wine on board. That can be consumed in the cabin. Got it.

However, when I go to dinner, should I just purchase my beverages a la carte for that full first day? 

I guess I can purchase the Princess Plus package on second day, once we are at sea...but where's the fun in that?

As some of you have noted, the taxes are really not that much. Agreed, per drink, not much. Wonder how much tax could be charged for purchasing the Princess Plus package while still in port???

A further question here -  if I purchase the package on the 2nd day, is the cost reduced by one day's costs, e.g., $420 instead of $480?

Thanks for responding.

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

6 minutes ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

My question is about the purchase of the Princess Plus package, while still in the Vancouver port. I plan to buy the package once onboard the ship.

Will be using up my OBC plus more to be charged to my account, once I board the ship. Late sailing that day - at 10:45pm. Will the package purchase be charged with extra taxes since I am buying it while sitting at the dock in Vancouver. My question is about the taxes...My purchase for an 8 day cruise will be $480 per person.

Thanks!

I’m not sure anyone on this thread has answered your question and it’s possible we just won’t know until someone has tried it.  The option to upgrade or buy a package online just opened up one month ago .. so, I’m also not really sure.  But, I can tell you that once upon a time, I purchased a wine package while we were still in port in Los Angeles and wasn’t charged the tax from the port.  
It’s still a good question and I will try to look into it on my Hawaii sailing next week.   

Edited March 20, 2023 by Cruise Raider

[CruzeQueen2]

1 minute ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

No

Well, I like your answer. No taxes to be paid on the package. Thanks @DallasGuy75219

[CruzeQueen2]

2 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I’m not sure anyone on this thread has answered your question and it’s possible we just won’t know until someone has tried it.  The option to upgrade or buy a package online just opened up one month ago .. so, I’m also not really sure.  But, I can tell you that once upon a time, I purchased a wine package while we were still in port in Los Angeles and wasn’t charged the tax from the port.  
It’s still a good question and I will try to look into it on my Hawaii sailing.  

@Cruise Raider I appreciate that you understand my question. Wait and see. Got it. More fun ahead. I just want to get on the ship!

I know that I will be so happy to board, so happy to be with my friends - new cruisers and all - that what will be will be. Taxes, no taxes, small amount of taxes - we will see. Bon voyage to us all!

Edited March 20, 2023 by CruzeQueen2
adding info