No Alcohol in any UK ports - what! 😱

[gregluk]

12 minutes ago, Norwayfan1 said:

My relative has just completed a live chat with NCL.

 

After consulting a supervisor, the agent said that restrictions had been lifted in Livorno.

 

When asked about the situation specifically in the UK he said there was no update to the previous company statement. When asked what the previous statement said, as my relative hadn't seen one, he wasn't able to produce it.

 

When asked if he knew what the problem was in the UK, he said this was a situation of the UK's making. He said he was aware that other cruise companies were serving alcohol but that those companies were putting themselves at risk of being fined. 

 

The agent ended the chat before any follow up questions could be asked.

 

 

Anyone in livorno soon can they confirm this, and if spirits are now allowed? I think EPIC is in livorno right now

Edited May 18, 2023 by gregluk
.

[podgeandrodge]

42 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Another wrinkle to this, as I see it, is the following: as far as I can tell, no one sailing in Italy, Greece or the UK has been denied a drink. They've only been disallowed from getting a "FREE" drink, or to put it more accurately, a pre-purchased drink due to the service being suspended on board. But has anyone attempted to go on land to a pub or restaurant and pay for one out of pocket? Is all alcohol forbidden? No. And as I see it, one of the points of going on a cruise is getting off the ship in port, where the beverage package doesn't work, anyway. Heck, NCL doesn't honor the UBP at Harvest Caye at all due to the local regulations. Where's the outrage over that? Back to my point, this isn't really an issue of whether or not passengers can get drinks, but the fact that they might have to pay twice (once by purchasing the beverage package and again on land, should they choose to do so). I've certainly bought cocktails at bars on land before, during a port stop. That's just part of the price of cruising. But here's the thing: Many people who post on CC cruise multiple times a YEAR, and many reserve fancy suite cabins and/or stay in the pricey Haven. So it seems odd to me that they'd fuss about having to buy drinks off the ship due to a local regulation preventing NCL from serving them onboard. Sure, I get the "but I already paid for it and I expect to get what I paid for." I'm not discounting that, that's very true, but if getting your cocktail is that big a deal, pay locally and just deal with it, but don't let it ruin your vacation. Just not worth it, in my opinion.

This is a discussion about the potential to get a drink (either by purchasing on board or getting from the beverage package) and you are now trying to derail it into a discussion on why people don't just go on land to get a drink because, as you see it, the point is to get off the ship in port (notwithstanding that many will be back on the ship long before it leaves port, and not be able to get a drink).  

 

 

"""""""Back to my point, this isn't really an issue of whether or not passengers can get drinks, but the fact that they might have to pay twice (once by purchasing the beverage package and again on land, should they choose to do so).""""" ---->>>>>>  NO, it's not. 

 

[gregluk]

8 minutes ago, gregluk said:

Anyone in livorno soon can they confirm this, and if spirits are now allowed? I think EPIC is in livorno right now

Well it's not because on facebook, spirits are still not allowed in livorno according to people on the epic right now in livorno

Edited May 18, 2023 by gregluk
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[Greener123]

9 minutes ago, gregluk said:

Anyone in livorno soon can they confirm this, and if spirits are now allowed? I think EPIC is in livorno right now

Yeh Epic today and Breakaway on Thursday. 
 

MSC Magnifica in today too, I’ll check in the MSC Facebook group if there’s any restrictions in Livorno. 

[Norwayfan1]

17 minutes ago, Greener123 said:

Ahh yes it makes much more sense that P&O, Cunard, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Viking, Hurtigruten, Princess, Celebrity etc are all in the wrong and breaking the law and NCL are the only ones diligently observing whatever this new unheard of law is 🤣

I think I'll contact that lot, to let them know the bother they are in....😁

[hawkeyetlse]

There is zero relevance in the fact that drinks are available on land. So the UK isn't Saudi Arabia, what's your point?

 

There are also grocery stores and restaurants on land, so the ship could shut down the buffet while in port, and that would be no problem, right? You can also get a day room at a hotel with a pool on land, so they can go ahead and drain the pools and hot tubs and lock everyone out of their staterooms for the whole day, yes? There are toilets available right in the terminal building, so… guess what?

 

It wouldn't be the end of the world, and unless it's the end of the world, we have no right to complain, right?

[DCGuy64]

20 minutes ago, Greener123 said:

Ahh yes it makes much more sense that P&O, Cunard, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Viking, Hurtigruten, Princess, Celebrity etc are all in the wrong and breaking the law and NCL are the only ones diligently observing whatever this new unheard of law is 🤣

Wow, all of them are in Southampton at the same time as NCL's ship? Must be a whole lot of berths at that cruise port!

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

There is zero relevance in the fact that drinks are available on land. So the UK isn't Saudi Arabia, what's your point?

 

There are also grocery stores and restaurants on land, so the ship could shut down the buffet while in port, and that would be no problem, right? You can also get a day room at a hotel with a pool on land, so they can go ahead and drain the pools and hot tubs and lock everyone out of their staterooms for the whole day, yes? There are toilets available right in the terminal building, so… guess what?

 

It wouldn't be the end of the world, and unless it's the end of the world, we have no right to complain, right?

Thoroughly unserious post, I shall not dignify it with any reply save this one.

[Greener123]

1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Wow, all of them are in Southampton at the same time as NCL's ship? Must be a whole lot of berths at that cruise port!

Southampton is a large port - all of these lines have been operating in UK ports that NCL have restricted alcohol in the time we’ve been talking about it. 

[DCGuy64]

26 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

That sounds like a day stop? Embarkation day (when the problem was) is a totally different ball game.

Embarkation day, if anything, gives the punters even more of a chance to have their tipple before the cruise. Another non-issue.

[SteveH2508]

1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thoroughly unserious post, I shall not dignify it with any reply save this one.

You don't really get irony, do you?

[SteveH2508]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

Embarkation day, if anything, gives the punters even more of a chance to have their tipple before the cruise. Another non-issue.

Thoroughly unserious post, I shall not dignify it with any reply save this one.

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thoroughly unserious post, I shall not dignify it with any reply save this one.

Everything @hawkeyetlse listed is a legitimate concern if the logic you're applying to alcohol in port is applied to other areas of NCL's operations. 

Why not shut down the buffet? Folks should get off the ship and sample the fine cuisine of Southamptonoh wait, English food. That's why it's not serious. Gotcha!

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, Greener123 said:

Southampton is a large port - all of these lines have been operating in UK ports that NCL have restricted alcohol in the time we’ve been talking about it. 

Yes and apparently all of them neglecting to pay required VAT!

[SteveH2508]

1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Yes and apparently all of them neglecting to pay required VAT!

Only on your planet...

[DCGuy64]

Just now, cruiseny4life said:

if the logic you're applying to alcohol in port is applied to other areas of NCL's operations. 

But that's just it, I'm NOT applying that logic to those other issues because they aren't happening and are therefore irrelevant. This is what is known as whataboutism, in which the speaker dodges answering the question at hand by attempting to say "well what's your solution to all of these other, hypothetical issues." I don't have to answer a question that isn't germane to this discussion.

[johala_reewi]

1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Yes and apparently all of them neglecting to pay required VAT!

You mean UK customs duty on alcohol.  UK VAT isn't a problem for NCL.

[Algie21]

I think you need a drink mate.

Wow you don't like having your buttons pushed.

 

 

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, johala_reewi said:

You mean UK customs duty on alcohol.  UK VAT isn't a problem for NCL.

Whatever it's called, VAT or customs duty, it comes down to something cruise lines are required to remit to HM government for the privilege/right to serve alcoholic beverages while in UK ports. I don't work for the UK government, I'm not an accountant and I don't work for a cruise line, so I don't know the official procedure for how this gets paid. It's certainly possible that other lines operating in the UK without incident paid their customs duty well in advance, maybe they already charge their passengers for that fee as part of the cruise fare, or maybe they charge more in the first place so they can hire lots of people to make sure this is done and there's no interruption in service. I really don't know.

[DCGuy64]

3 minutes ago, Algie21 said:

I think you need a drink mate.

Wow you don't like having your buttons pushed.

 

 

Not sure whom this was directed towards, since so many have commented.

[Cruising Lynne]

Just now, Algie21 said:

I think you need a drink mate.

Wow you don't like having your buttons pushed.

 

 

I think he does like it. He keeps coming back to argue that this NCL issue really isn't an NCL issue. I keep coming back to see if there is any new info. 

 

I agree that he needs a drink.

[Algie21]

The comment was for you

[DCGuy64]

Just now, Cruising Lynne said:

I think he does like it. He keeps coming back to argue that this NCL issue really isn't an NCL issue. I keep coming back to see if there is any new info. 

 

I agree that he needs a drink.

Ha, I just think it's funny seeing the number of people who keep arguing with me that somehow I'm the one with an issue. Very odd reasoning, I'd actually say that a LOT of people don't like having their buttons pushed. This is a highly selective point of view, frankly.

[podgeandrodge]

2 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

I think he does like it. He keeps coming back to argue that this NCL issue really isn't an NCL issue. I keep coming back to see if there is any new info. 

 

I agree that he needs a drink.

Rumour has it that he is changing his name on here to NCLGuy

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, Algie21 said:

The comment was for you

Ah, well then I invite you to peruse the 33 pages of comments preceding this one and see just many people's buttons are getting pushed. You'll find MANY of them. 😉 It's not even that big of a deal, but it does seem odd to me how many people can't stand someone who doesn't fall in line with the established narrative.