VAT charged on British Isles cruise?

[Luv2Diz]

If you have done a British Isles cruise, was VAT charged onboard? Our cruise group for the September 2019 cruise is discussing this and there are conflicting opinions on whether it is charged or not. I did a Google search and the articles I found addressed European cruises but not cruises that do the UK only.

Further, I wonder how Brexit changes anything if that moves forward starting in March 2019?

Thanks for any info you have regarding VAT and cruising the British Isles.

 

[MasonDuo]

Hi there, just got off the British Isles cruise this past weekend. Yes VAT was charged on the ship - there was a notice in our room stating that the ship was required to charge VAT. For any purchase in the store over $40, you could get a tax form to take with you to the airport to be refunded the VAT. We are still in London so I have not attempted to get our refund yet however I did see others mention that they were struggling with timeframe to get through the VAT refund at the airport. Hope that helps.

 

[scgustafson]

If you have done a British Isles cruise, was VAT charged onboard? Our cruise group for the September 2019 cruise is discussing this and there are conflicting opinions on whether it is charged or not. I did a Google search and the articles I found addressed European cruises but not cruises that do the UK only.

Further, I wonder how Brexit changes anything if that moves forward starting in March 2019?

Thanks for any info you have regarding VAT and cruising the British Isles.

We did the inaugural 12-night British Isle cruise in 2016 and had a VAT, but we did also visit Ireland (Dublin), Guernsey (St Peter Port), and France (Le Havre) on our cruise in addition to England and Scotland. I am not sure which of these countries (if not all) triggered the VAT being imposed onboard.

 

[Luv2Diz]

Hi there, just got off the British Isles cruise this past weekend. Yes VAT was charged on the ship - there was a notice in our room stating that the ship was required to charge VAT. For any purchase in the store over $40, you could get a tax form to take with you to the airport to be refunded the VAT. We are still in London so I have not attempted to get our refund yet however I did see others mention that they were struggling with timeframe to get through the VAT refund at the airport. Hope that helps.

Thank you. This helps a lot and does confirm what a couple of people in the group were saying.

We’ve always had an easy time of filing for the VAT refund at Heathrow. Usually have to wait in line 15 - 20 minutes and give them the paperwork. I believe we have only once had to show them our purchases.