coneyraven Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 Very interesting conversation going on within the Grandeur of the Seas fan page .... Apparently some folks are being charged Sales Tax on drinks purchased while in the Chesapeake Bay (in Maryland and Virginia). And yet, I've never paid sales tax on either one of my past cruises on Grandeur. The only common denominator that I've been able to figure out is that those that pre-purchase a drink package won't be charged the tax since the act of purchasing is occurring in a different state, however, those that purchase their drinks a la carte style will be charged sales tax while in the Chesapeake Bay. Can anyone provide any insight into this? Is it true/false? Have you seen this? My wife and I always get the combo package (drink and voom) so apparently this doesn't apply to us (I guess this makes one more reason why a drink package makes sense). Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 3 minutes ago, coneyraven said: Apparently some folks are being charged Sales Tax on drinks purchased while in the Chesapeake Bay (in Maryland and Virginia). That is the strangest thing I've ever heard! You are right Mark, glad we got the drink package and Voom too. Sailing on her May 5th, I'll try to confirm then too. Living in Delaware you get extremely spoiled not having any state tax! LOL WAAAYTOOO and coneyraven 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 I've heard of it happening but rarely buy anything onboard these days on the first day while still in port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 5 hours ago, Matt said: I've heard of it happening but rarely buy anything onboard these days on the first day while still in port. I think the concern is with the period of time while within the borders of Maryland/Virginia after leaving port, rather than while still in port. Definitely something I'm interested in since we are sailing Grandeur in October. With an afternoon sailing time, the entire first evening/night could be impacted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 20 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said: I think the concern is with the period of time while within the borders of Maryland/Virginia after leaving port, rather than while still in port. Definitely something I'm interested in since we are sailing Grandeur in October. With an afternoon sailing time, the entire first evening/night could be impacted. If you pre-purchase the drink package ..... it's a non-issue ...... never been charged a sales tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 27, 2018 Report Share Posted March 27, 2018 When I used to cruise on Carnival with their drink package (Cheers!) they charge local sales tax in all US ports. I first encountered this in Port Everglades. You are presented a bill much like Royal except it isn't zero, it was usually something in the $1.18 - $1.88 area listed as "Tax". When we sailed away from PEV and once we were 12 miles out, the tax went away and drinks under the package were $0. Once at Key West the tax re-appeared. As soon as we were 12 miles out of Key West, $0 again. People often dump on Royal and complain of nickel and diming etc, but when I 1st sailed Royal I was impressed they didn't charge tax on drink package orders in US ports. I don't suppose this person is getting it confused with Carnival out of Baltimore are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSoxFan Posted March 27, 2018 Report Share Posted March 27, 2018 I seem to recall many years back being charged tax on drinks while in port in Miami. I never purchase the drink package and I honestly haven't paid attention to the charges on my more recent cruises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted March 27, 2018 Report Share Posted March 27, 2018 Never been charged out of any port in Florida so far....and I have both bought in advance and on board. This is an issue for sailing out of Texas though....with all cruise lines isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted March 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2018 11 hours ago, twangster said: When I used to cruise on Carnival with their drink package (Cheers!) they charge local sales tax in all US ports. I first encountered this in Port Everglades. You are presented a bill much like Royal except it isn't zero, it was usually something in the $1.18 - $1.88 area listed as "Tax". When we sailed away from PEV and once we were 12 miles out, the tax went away and drinks under the package were $0. Once at Key West the tax re-appeared. As soon as we were 12 miles out of Key West, $0 again. People often dump on Royal and complain of nickel and diming etc, but when I 1st sailed Royal I was impressed they didn't charge tax on drink package orders in US ports. I don't suppose this person is getting it confused with Carnival out of Baltimore are they? I would have no idea if they're confusing Carnival with Royal ....I know personally, my internal GPS drags my body to the R Bar the minute we board, no tax has ever been shown........ Boston Babe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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