First time had to pay duty on liquor

[flem1064]

Hi all, just got off the Dream on the 5/29 voyage. Great time all week, nice ship all clean and new, but not much different from the Glory layout.

 

Bought liquor on-board, pretty much best prices without shopping on land. Picked up Bacardi rums for $10/liter, Ketel One at about $17/liter. Cash register error seems to have given me the Ketel for about $12/liter, unbelievable!

 

Anyway, leaving ship with 12 liters of liquor in 3 boxes, customs agent asks me if I have any alcohol and tobacco. I only heard the latter part of the question and say "no". Another agent walks up and says "YOU HAVE NO LIQUOR?" (now I really look stupid)...Escorted into customs office, and they tally up the duty at about $27.

 

We didn't visit St Thomas, so we didn't get the extra 5 liters of alcohol exemption. So paid my $27 and went on my way, still way ahead of the game versus retail.

[viaggi_per_mare]

Hi all, just got off the Dream on the 5/29 voyage. Great time all week, nice ship all clean and new, but not much different from the Glory layout.

 

Bought liquor on-board, pretty much best prices without shopping on land. Picked up Bacardi rums for $10/liter, Ketel One at about $17/liter. Cash register error seems to have given me the Ketel for about $12/liter, unbelievable!

 

Anyway, leaving ship with 12 liters of liquor in 3 boxes, customs agent asks me if I have any alcohol and tobacco. I only heard the latter part of the question and say "no". Another agent walks up and says "YOU HAVE NO LIQUOR?" (now I really look stupid)...Escorted into customs office, and they tally up the duty at about $27.

 

We didn't visit St Thomas, so we didn't get the extra 5 liters of alcohol exemption. So paid my $27 and went on my way, still way ahead of the game versus retail.

 

If they think you are making a fool of them, they hit you hard. We live on the Canadian border and use duty free all the time. We find they are the same coming off a cruise. If we have 10 bottles, we say we do, and more often than not, they shake their head and wave you by. If you obviously lie or they feel you are playing games, get the wallet out. Most times, even with the duty it is worth it. We've had the border agents tell us it isn't worth the pages of paperwork for them, so they will wave you by with a bottle or two extra.

[wadethegringo]

I have moved to Belize. The customs here is the worst. 25-50% on everything. computers cameras smokes and booze. if you have more than two liters they will charge you 100%. We are using a Belize stop on our upcoming cruise to take some stuff home. There is no cusstoms at the cruise ship port.

[klfrodo]

I agree, the mistake was when you didn't hear the question about alcohol.

You said "No", they heard, "You guys are idiots" :D They thought " we'll show you who the idiots are" :D

 

Thankfully you only had to pay the $27 duty. Could have resulted in a full cavity search. :eek:

[jetskier]

You are lucky especially if you did not have it listed on your custom's form. They could have confiscated everything and fined you.

 

I lucked up in New Orleans in Feb. I got pulled to secondary search for having 16 liters listed on my form. It was early and the cashier was not in yet. After the officer talked with the Major for a second, they told me we were free to go without having to pay the duty.

 

You got off cheap at $1.93 per liter (2 duty free and charged on 14). In NOLA and Mobile it is $3.09 per liter.

 

Dave

[firefly333]

12 liters ...wow. I never heard of anyone buying that much to bring thru customs. I heard if it was a bottle or two they let you go ..yep 3 boxes of liquor would be kinda obvious. Never heard of kettle brand ..Ill have to google it.

 

I wonder what they would do with us Texans since there is no provision to buy extra liquor or pay the duty.

 

thanks OP good to know.

[kew1031]

12 liters ...wow. I never heard of anyone buying that much to bring thru customs. I heard if it was a bottle or two they let you go ..yep 3 boxes of liquor would be kinda obvious. Never heard of kettle brand ..Ill have to google it.

 

I wonder what they would do with us Texans since there is no provision to buy extra liquor or pay the duty.

 

thanks OP good to know.

 

We just have to pay regular retail at the Oasis liquor store down the road! So, when I sail the Triumph out of NO in September, how much booze will Louisiana let me bring back?

[firefly333]

We just have to pay regular retail at the Oasis liquor store down the road! So, when I sail the Triumph out of NO in September, how much booze will Louisiana let me bring back?

 

Texans only can bring back one liter per adult, no overage. I was on Triumph too ... and hoped that the customs folks in New Orleans wouldnt notice I was from Texas under different customs rules than the rest of the U.S. Its only Texans who are limited... but Iv heard out of Florida they didnt enforce about Texans.

 

I brought back 5 liters last time (7 day Triumph), so I was worried. I didnt list them either on the back of the customs form, (didnt see I was supposed to). I filled out the form fast during the Legends show and I guess didnt turn it over and read it properly. Luckily I didnt get stopped.

[30knotsCruzinspeed]

This thread brought back a happy memory for me when our family was leaving the Legend in '07. I had taken advantage of the ship's liquor store sale on Rum and bought 4, 1 liter bottles of it.

As we were all leaving, an agent looked at my box of booze and asked, "Is that all yours?". Me, being the totally honest type, I meekly replied, "Yes sir." He looks at me and says, "Didn't you mean to say....no, some of it is mine, some of it is hers and his (pointing to my daughter and son-in-law)" . I replied, "Yes sir, some of it's theirs". I caught on quick. ;)

[LovesCruising]

Not meaning to be mean - but if I bought 12 bottles of liquor I would expect to pay - wow:)

[Bunkie103]

When we cruised out of NOLA it was the first cruise for the Sensation and there were no customs officers there when we returned. Had we known we may have bought just a tad more than we did!:eek:

[bptex]

I brought back 5 liters through NOLA last September, was upfront with the customs guy and he waved me through. I don't think he even realized that Texas laws are different. Part of the reason I go to NOLA instead of Galveston.

[Frank12]

Not meaning to be mean - but if I bought 12 bottles of liquor I would expect to pay - wow:)

 

I brought 12 liters back from St. Marten and fully expected to pay duty.

They waved me right through and said the few dollars they would collect was not worth the paperwork!:)

[jetskier]

We just have to pay regular retail at the Oasis liquor store down the road! So, when I sail the Triumph out of NO in September, how much booze will Louisiana let me bring back?

 

You can bring back as many liters as you can carry through all ports except those in Texas. In TX, 1 liter for residents and 3.5 liters for non-residents.

 

The most I have come back through with is 19 liters through Mobile. Most of the time if you are under 6 liters, they will wave you through.

 

Also when filling out the custom's form, list LITERS and not BOTTLES. Some bottles are less than 1 liter.

 

Dave

[pokergirl34]

Yeah I'd say you are ahead over retail. Did you declare the liquor on your customs form?

 

I had totally forgotten that you get extra liquor allowance if you go to USVI. Woohoo. We'll have port stops in St. T on both our cruises this year. We will be set for liquor for awhile. Then again, I will have to probably pay to check more luggage though :( Hmm we'll see if it pans out for us. It might be worth the extra $15 to check a bag. Last year I had 3 bottles of liquor in my suitcase and was a teensy bit overweight, but the airline agent didn't charge me (I know, I was very lucky).

[Jay B]

Texans only can bring back one liter per adult, no overage. I was on Triumph too ... and hoped that the customs folks in New Orleans wouldnt notice I was from Texas under different customs rules than the rest of the U.S. Its only Texans who are limited... but Iv heard out of Florida they didnt enforce about Texans.

 

I brought back 5 liters last time (7 day Triumph), so I was worried. I didnt list them either on the back of the customs form, (didnt see I was supposed to). I filled out the form fast during the Legends show and I guess didnt turn it over and read it properly. Luckily I didnt get stopped.

 

Sorry about changing the subject, but we're going to be in Mexico later this year (not on a cruise) and will fly back to Denver with a change of flights in Dallas. When we go through customs in Dallas with several bottles of booze, can we just pay duty on it since we're not from Texas or does the one bottle per person apply to anyone coming into Texas? (I tried finding this answer on line but no luck) Thanks

[kjunea]

Sorry about changing the subject, but we're going to be in Mexico later this year (not on a cruise) and will fly back to Denver with a change of flights in Dallas. When we go through customs in Dallas with several bottles of booze, can we just pay duty on it since we're not from Texas or does the one bottle per person apply to anyone coming into Texas? (I tried finding this answer on line but no luck) Thanks

 

I don't know about the airport since you are not from Texas, but I will warn you that if you can't put it into your checked bag, they will take it from you before you board your next flight! My sister in law found out the hard way. she came back from Cabo, got on the plane carrying all her alcohol like we used to be able to do in a box. After going through customs, she rechecked her bags and then when she tried to get on her plane in Dallas, they wouldn't let her take her alcohol! Lost some great tequila that way. If she had known, she would have put it in her checked bag and not worried about it!

[Raven Days]

Since this thread is about customs and liquor rules, can someone tell me if I can mail it back to TX from PR? I will be flying in and out of FL and I know that on the return trip I wont be allowed to carry it on board the plane in my carry on and I am sorta afraid of putting it in my checked bags in case it breaks.

 

I would also like to buy a bottle on the ship and mail it home from Miami...just wondered what everyone's experience has been.

[Jay B]

I don't know about the airport since you are not from Texas, but I will warn you that if you can't put it into your checked bag, they will take it from you before you board your next flight! My sister in law found out the hard way. she came back from Cabo, got on the plane carrying all her alcohol like we used to be able to do in a box. After going through customs, she rechecked her bags and then when she tried to get on her plane in Dallas, they wouldn't let her take her alcohol! Lost some great tequila that way. If she had known, she would have put it in her checked bag and not worried about it!

 

Thanks for the warning, but I plan to carefully pack the bottles and put them in my checked luggage. I was just wondering if the customs agents in Dallas would even let me into their state with more than one bottle per person, considering that I was just there to change plane en route to another state.

 

j

[chickie_mite]

Ok, I have a question (since this is a thread about paying duty).

 

On any of our trips to the Caribbean, whether it's a cruise or whether we stay in Cozumel (we go there 2-3 times a year), we've never purchased enough to really be concerned about the $800.00 limit per person....so I guess you could say we're amateurs when it comes to this duty-free stuff.

 

On this last cruise on the Dream, we met a couple who bought an incredible diamond wedding set at Diamonds International (nearly 3 ct total weight) while in St. Thomas. They didn't claim it (she took it off and put it in her wallet while going through customs).

 

My questions:

 

1) If a purchase is several thousand dollars, is duty paid on anything over the first $800.00? How does that work?

 

2) Will customs ever know that this purchase was made? I mean, does Diamonds International report to the Carnival that this purchase was made and by whom? (I ask this because while in Cozumel once a shop keeper told us that cruise ships get 25% of the purchases if the store is contracted by the cruise ships)

 

I was looking at a yellow diamond ring on the ship, and the sales person told us that it was duty-free (but the price was over $7,000). Thanks for shedding any light on this for us! :)

[jetskier]

Ok, I have a question (since this is a thread about paying duty).

 

On any of our trips to the Caribbean, whether it's a cruise or whether we stay in Cozumel (we go there 2-3 times a year), we've never purchased enough to really be concerned about the $800.00 limit per person....so I guess you could say we're amateurs when it comes to this duty-free stuff.

 

On this last cruise on the Dream, we met a couple who bought an incredible diamond wedding set at Diamonds International (nearly 3 ct total weight) while in St. Thomas. They didn't claim it (she took it off and put it in her wallet while going through customs).

 

My questions:

 

1) If a purchase is several thousand dollars, is duty paid on anything over the first $800.00? How does that work?

 

2) Will customs ever know that this purchase was made? I mean, does Diamonds International report to the Carnival that this purchase was made and by whom? (I ask this because while in Cozumel once a shop keeper told us that cruise ships get 25% of the purchases if the store is contracted by the cruise ships)

 

I was looking at a yellow diamond ring on the ship, and the sales person told us that it was duty-free (but the price was over $7,000). Thanks for shedding any light on this for us! :)

 

If bought on the ship, there is some sharing of information with custom's on purchases. If bought ashore, there is none. BUT if you are caught and have not reported it, it can be confiscated.

 

On your question about the shop having to pay the ship, that is the extortion money the ship charges the shops in order to promote them onboard during the shop talk.

 

Another way around it is to buy the stone and setting seperate. The stone is not considered part of the quota as the govt considers it to be a rock. You would have to pay a duty on the setting if over $800.

 

Dave

[LovesCruising]

I brought 12 liters back from St. Marten and fully expected to pay duty.

They waved me right through and said the few dollars they would collect was not worth the paperwork!:)

 

Exactly - but how nice they waived you thru!