Mljstr Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 I'm getting confusing information from various sites including a phone call to RCCL. I’m booked on a 12 night Mediterranean cruise. I understand that onboard purchases including food and drink, spa services and retail products will have the VAT added to the stated price. Does this apply to excursions purchased onboard too. The RCCL agent would only say” we recommend you purchase the excursions before you depart because the price might increase onboard. “ What experience have you had with VAT and excursions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 My understanding is in Europe any onboard purchases are subject to the VAT (in addition to gratuity where applicable). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mljstr Posted June 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 Yes you would think so but another site( maybe cruise critic?) said the VAT was built into the price of the excursions because they would be used on land like in restaurants etc at port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 13 minutes ago, Mljstr said: Yes you would think so but another site( maybe cruise critic?) said the VAT was built into the price of the excursions because they would be used on land like in restaurants etc at port. That very well may be the case. After all, tourists in general pay the VAT, regardless of if they are visiting on a cruise ship or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnUK Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 VAT is included in the price of excursions published by RCCL so the price you see is the price you pay. A more interesting nuance concerns VAT with on board purchases. If a cruise only visits ports that are in the Schengen area, prices will be higher as VAT is added. However, if there is just one port of call that is outside of the Schengen area, VAT will not be added. We found this out on B2B sailings, the first of which included a non Schengen port and the second did not. Prices were higher in the on board shops for the second cruise. Usually you would not be aware of it as the VAT is not shown separately - only the total prevailing price. But the difference in prices between one cruise and the next was significant. So my tip to anyone sailing in Europe would be to try and ensure the itinerary includes a non Schengen area destination. A list of Schengen area states and the overlap with EU and non EU countries can be found here: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/ As you can see, the Schengen area is NOT the same as the EU. For example, the UK has never been part of the Schengen area but has been (and is for a little longer, at least) part of the EU. henrysea13 and JLMoran 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 I'm worried about drink purchase as well. I will pre-purchase drink packages if individual drinks have this tac...it could make bit son that each cocktail drink issues over $14. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnUK Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 15 hours ago, mom2mybugs said: I'm worried about drink purchase as well. I will pre-purchase drink packages if individual drinks have this tac...it could make bit son that each cocktail drink issues over $14. Jane Good question - and I am wracking my brains to try and remember whether bar prices changed between our B2B cruises. We don't purchase many drinks at the bars so we may not have noticed. If your cruise calls into a port outside of the Schengen area (and most do) there will not be any risk of additional taxes. On our last cruise around the Med, which was just a few weeks ago, bar prices were normal. So I think you are likely to be safe from taxes. It may still be a good plan to purchase the drinks package ahead of time, through Cruise Planner, as they are often offered with a discount (during the many "sales"). That will be cheaper than buying the package on board and the price will definitely be fixed. It does assume, though, that you will consume enough drinks to make it worthwhile (Matt's analysis on this subject is very helpful). The tax situation in Europe is a bit confusing, even to us who live here (!) and we were caught out in the past. Our B2B was on Rhapsody and we had decided to purchase a couple of bottles of spirits from the on board shop on the second cruise. When we came to purchase, we were surprised to find that the prices were about 20% higher than they had been the previous week. We didn't make the purchase! Sorry I can't be absolutely definitive in my response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayley_bopp Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 I'm a Brit - the VAT will be included in any advertised prices not added on at the point of purchase like the sales tax in the US. I believe for anything you buy to take back home to the USA, such as bottles of spirits, electronic goods etc, there is a form you can fill in and present at the airport before flying home which allows you to claim back the VAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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