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How do I bring back my alcohol from my cruise?


Turqoisblu
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I haven't been on a plane in a longgggg time. So help me out. The last time I cruised I came back home on the train. This time I'm flying in and out. How do I bring my alcohol back? Do I pack it and let security know I have it? HELP!

 

 

Carnival Liberty December 2017

Carnival Liberty December 2016

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I haven't been on a plane in a longgggg time. So help me out. The last time I cruised I came back home on the train. This time I'm flying in and out. How do I bring my alcohol back? Do I pack it and let security know I have it? HELP!

 

 

Carnival Liberty December 2017

Carnival Liberty December 2016

We pack anything liquid in our checked bags using a "Wine Diaper".https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Wine+diaper

Cabin bag liquids are limited and controlled by TSA. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-rule

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I've never used a dedicated tool like Alaskanb's recommendations, but what I usually do is just wrap it as much as possible in clothing, clothing, and more clothing. I've never had a problem, but it's probably a good idea to invest in one of those dedicated tools if it's really important to you.

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Has to be put in your checked luggage.

Cannot carry it on.

 

Technically this is incorrect. You can bring alcohol onto the aircraft, it is treated as any other permitted liquid and just has to be in less than 3oz containers.

 

FAA guidelines do not permit you to consume your own alcohol.

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If you are buying alcohol in the islands, most of the places will pack it for flying for you. (Basically bubble wrap around the bottles before they but it in the box. We did this in St. Thomas - on one airline we were able to check the box as luggage,...on another, Southwest, we had to rearrange our luggage to make room for it - luckily we had a reusable bag the cruise line I had "given" us so we moved clothing from the suitcase to that bag which made room in the suitcase for the liquor box and then we just carried on the "new" bag.

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Technically this is incorrect. You can bring alcohol onto the aircraft, it is treated as any other permitted liquid and just has to be in less than 3oz containers.

.

 

That's just a stupid post. (Unless of course the whole purpose was to show how much smarter you are than anyone else).

It only took an IQ above 2 to know the poster was asking about bringing bottles of alcohol (more that the 3oz allowed by TSA) on the plane.

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That's just a stupid post. (Unless of course the whole purpose was to show how much smarter you are than anyone else).

It only took an IQ above 2 to know the poster was asking about bringing bottles of alcohol (more that the 3oz allowed by TSA) on the plane.

 

Not so fast Captain Defensive...

 

The thread title was "How do I bring alcohol back from my cruise" and your response said you cannot carry it on, therefore implying that alcohol was not a permitted carry-on item. The original post did not specify the size of the alcohol bottles. Miniatures, anyone?

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If you wait until you get to airport you can purchase at duty free shop and put in carry on.

 

A simplistic answer that ignores several points:

 

1) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connetion in the USA, you will not be allowed to keep it in your carryon for your connecting flights.

 

2) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connection abroad, you may or may not be allowed to take your liquor with you. Completely depends on the specifics for any STEB usage.,

 

3) If your cruise ends in the USA, there's no duty free store for you to access and make purchases.

 

Other than that....spot on advice!

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1) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connetion in the USA, you will not be allowed to keep it in your carryon for your connecting flights.

 

 

This largely ended my purchases of alcohol in duty free shops all those years ago - 2006? It is even worse with today's limits on checked baggage.

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A simplistic answer that ignores several points:

1) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connetion in the USA, you will not be allowed to keep it in your carryon for your connecting flights.

 

2) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connection abroad, you may or may not be allowed to take your liquor with you. Completely depends on the specifics for any STEB usage.,

 

3) If your cruise ends in the USA, there's no duty free store for you to access and make purchases.

 

Other than that....spot on advice!

 

That rule was changed several years ago. If the liquids are in a tamper-evident bag and you have the original receipt you are allowed to carry it on your connecting domestic flight.

 

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-rule

 

Inbound International Flights

 

You may carry duty free liquids in secure, tamper–evident bags, more than 3.4 oz or 100 ml in your carry-on bag if:

  • The duty free liquids were purchased internationally and you are traveling to the United States with a connecting flight.
  • The liquids are packed in a transparent, secure, tamper-evident bag by the retailer and do not show signs of tampering when presented to TSA for screening.
  • The original receipt for the liquids is present and the purchase was made within 48 hours.

Liquids more than 3.4 oz or 100 ml not in a secure, tamper-evident bag must be packed in checked baggage.

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From my observations, TSA screeners often ignore that rule. Many a time, I have heard TSA agents calling out in an international recheck bag drop "All liquids into checked luggage, even if in a security bag". When challenged with printed documentation by a fellow traveler, I heard "That's not the protocol we follow". And we know that if you argue and complain, your name goes into the dreaded SSSS list. (These examples are within the last few years)

 

Whether these were isolated cases of power-tripping smurfs, I cannot say. All I know is that I won't risk my $100+ bottle of a fine rare Scotch whiskey to the vagaries of an ill-trained government drone.

 

YMMV.

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From my observations, TSA screeners often ignore that rule. Many a time, I have heard TSA agents calling out in an international recheck bag drop "All liquids into checked luggage, even if in a security bag". When challenged with printed documentation by a fellow traveler, I heard "That's not the protocol we follow". And we know that if you argue and complain, your name goes into the dreaded SSSS list. (These examples are within the last few years)

 

Whether these were isolated cases of power-tripping smurfs, I cannot say. All I know is that I won't risk my $100+ bottle of a fine rare Scotch whiskey to the vagaries of an ill-trained government drone.

 

YMMV.

 

If I actually heard them say that I suppose I would pack my liquor into one of my checked bags, but absent that I wouldn't.

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If I actually heard them say that I suppose I would pack my liquor into one of my checked bags, but absent that I wouldn't.

 

The problem arises if you leave your checked bags at the drop off, then head over to the screening and they pull the power trip. Now, you have no checked bag for it to go into, as it has been whisked away on a conveyor belt. So you can find a chicken and egg.

 

FWIW, the "not the protocol" line was used at the x-ray/WTMD station. And the TSA agents got a nice bottle of whiskey for the break room as there was no recourse for the passenger. Conspiratorial folks might think they pull that to stock the liquor cabinet when they see something "interesting". Who knows?

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A simplistic answer that ignores several points:

 

 

 

1) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connetion in the USA, you will not be allowed to keep it in your carryon for your connecting flights.

 

 

 

2) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connection abroad, you may or may not be allowed to take your liquor with you. Completely depends on the specifics for any STEB usage.,

 

 

 

3) If your cruise ends in the USA, there's no duty free store for you to access and make purchases.

 

 

 

Other than that....spot on advice!

 

 

lol I've been cruising in Europe lately. I forgot.

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Not so fast Captain Defensive...

 

The thread title was "How do I bring alcohol back from my cruise" and your response said you cannot carry it on, therefore implying that alcohol was not a permitted carry-on item. The original post did not specify the size of the alcohol bottles. Miniatures, anyone?

 

Your funny because sometimes, when a person post a question, they really aren't thinking about silly little exceptions like a trial bottle, or a bottle bought in a duty free shop. But if you read the question, it would have been logical to assume they were buying actual bottle of booze thus the need to have an IQ of 2 to understand it

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A simplistic answer that ignores several points:

 

1) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connetion in the USA, you will not be allowed to keep it in your carryon for your connecting flights.

 

Well, I brought wine back on two different occasions from France, and they packed it in a duty free bag, sealed it, and a visible receipt. Went through security with no issues whatsoever. They just looked at it, and I moved on.

 

2) If you are flying back from overseas and your itinerary involves a connection abroad, you may or may not be allowed to take your liquor with you. Completely depends on the specifics for any STEB usage.,

 

3) If your cruise ends in the USA, there's no duty free store for you to access and make purchases.

 

San Juan has a duty free shop, and that's the USA.

 

Other than that....spot on advice!

 

Other than that, you might be right on point number 2

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Other than that, you might be right on point number 2

 

If you do have a non-US connection point, you may or may not have an issue, correct.

So far, since the institution of the sealed baggie, I haven't had a smurf pull a power trip on me. Wine from France and Italy, with a connection at JFK. Bottles of rum at the duty-free at SJU, with a connection at JFK. I will say that the smurf at JFK did take my wine over to the magic wand machine, open the bag, wave the wand over the bottles, and then re-seal the bag.

My only food and beverage issue with smurfs happened at IAD - I had some just-picked tomatoes from an Eastern Shore farm stand and the smurf tried to tell me I couldn't take them because there was liquid inside of them and they could be squashed into sauce. :rolleyes:

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Your funny because sometimes, when a person post a question, they really aren't thinking about silly little exceptions like a trial bottle, or a bottle bought in a duty free shop. But if you read the question, it would have been logical to assume they were buying actual bottle of booze thus the need to have an IQ of 2 to understand it

 

Guess you haven't seen airport stores that sell miniatures. Definitely have them at the shop in Iceland, for those folks who might want Brennevin, but not a whole fifth. And elsewhere.

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Guess you haven't seen airport stores that sell miniatures. Definitely have them at the shop in Iceland, for those folks who might want Brennevin, but not a whole fifth. And elsewhere.
You guys stick together like glue and are experts at splitting hairs,lol.
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I have spent the last few years travelling the US and Caribbean in search of hard to find rums, so I have a little experience getting bottles home.

A few flying-with-booze tips:

--On US Domestic flights you may carry on as many less than 3oz containers of liquid - including alcohol - in your single quart size ziplock as you can fit. You may not, however, consume alcohol on a plane unless you purchase it from the airline.

--You may put as much as 5 litres in a checked bag before the TSA gets cranky. They may inspect your bag but 5 litres is within regulations.

--Most full size bottles will be 700-750ml, so you could pack 5 or 6 and a bunch of minis in a bag.

--A 750ml bottle weighs about 3 pounds, more or less. Keep that in mind when you're packing - it is usually cheaper to check a second bag than it is to check an overweight bag. I carry a small digital luggage scale and weigh my bags carefully.

--Wine diapers are magnificent. They zip closed and have a layer of absorbent material; on the off chance something breaks or a cork gets a little loose you won't soak everything else in your bag (or every other bag around). They also pack flat and weigh next to nothing when empty so if you don't use them it's not a waste of packing space. Bubble wrap and gallon size ziploc bags are almost as effective - especially for odd shaped bottles that may not fit in a wine diaper. Then pad everything with clothing. Well wrapped bottles will take a surprising amount of baggage handler abuse.

--Another benefit of zip-bags: if the TSA inspects, they may slice through your carefully bubble wrapped bundle to see what you've got in there. They will not tape it back up. If they have to get into a zip bag, they may just zip it closed and go on about their day; even if they don't re-seal it, your bottle is still better protected against mayhem.

--If you have to fill out a customs declaration form, claim everything, even if you go over your duty-free allowance (Mine usually says "5 litres assorted rum" - you don't have to be more specific - with an approximate $ value). The duty is usually not worth the trouble; I have yet to meet the customs official who was going to make a point over a couple of dollars, especially when there's a line of 800 cruise passengers behind me.

 

As with anything, your mileage may vary. Good luck and have a great trip!

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