Flying Home With Duty Free Liquor

[Elizabeth Gillian]

I am sure that this has probably been discussed ad nauseum on the boards but I haven't been able to find a thread about it. In today's world of airport security and TSA restrictions, how does one bring back duty free liquor? We drove to the port our last cruise and obviously had no problems bringing home bottles. This cruise, we will be flying to our embarkation port and as a matter of curiosity, I am wondering what is done now.

[euro cruiser]

Any liquid over the 3.2 oz. limit must go in checked baggage. If you purchase it in the airport at a shop after the security check, you can carry it on the plane.

[Talisker92]

The only way is to pack it carefully in your checked baggage. What we have done sometimes is pour the liquor into empty water bottles and take the empty glass bottles, then pour the stuff back in the bottles when we got home.

We had a problem on a flight from Rio to LAX where we had to change planes in Miami, go through immigration, then go through security again. I bought some liquor in Rio, then realized i could not take it through security in Miami. Fortunately, I had a carry on I could check after putting a bunch of padding around the bottles.

Euro cruiser is correct. If you bought it after security you can carry it on. But this will not be the case if you bought it on the ship or at a duty free during your cruise. If you get off the ship at a US port you cannot buy anything in the duty free if you are going to another US airport.

[Colorado Kat]

I would not risk it, since it has to be placed in checked bags. If I really wanted to , it would be padded with lots of clothes, and inside a couple of zip-lock bags in case of breakage.

 

You also have to be careful of it not putting your suitcase over the 50? pound limit.

 

Does it really save you that much money?

[Elizabeth Gillian]

Thank you for your responses. Bringing home liquor isn't a major prirority but it is good to know and be prepared.

[SadieN]

Checked thru a 'Chianti'-style bottle of Melon Liqour from Rome last summer. Packed it in a bubble wrap wine container. Enjoyed it for New Years. Also packed smaller ones in cardboard (and prayed). Nothing broke. I guess I packed the suitcase so tight that nothing short of a car crusher would affect it.:D

[imsulin]

Remember when you could walk through the streets of St. Thomas and buy duty-free bottles of liquor and have them not only delivered to your ship, but to your cabin!! There was a convenient heavy cardboard "4-pack" with a carry-handle that you could stow in the overhead bin on your flight home! Of course, leaving the ship, you had to LUG the thing from your cabin, search for your luggage, haul it to the airport, and LUG it home! This is why my left arm is much longer than my right arm :)!! I will forever miss those $10 bottles of Kahlua and those $12 bottles of Bailey's!

 

I am dating myself..............

[Treven]

The only way is to pack it carefully in your checked baggage.

 

I always put a bottle of some sort of "adult beverage" in one of my checked pcs of luggage. I simply wrap the bottle in a pair of jeans or a beach towel, and place the bundle in the center of one of my pcs, then I have additional clothes all around for additional cushioning.

[spny84]

If it's something you drink frequently at home, we actually use rum runners to get the alcohol home in checked luggage. No breakage and it reduces weight. We then transfer into bottles at home that are empty.

 

If it's something unique/special like limoncello from Italy they have these blow up type containers where you put the bottle in and then inflate to pad.

 

I personally travel with self sticking bubble wrap around a cheap small plastic trashcan. This has allowed me to get many souvenirs home without worry. Wrap in bubble wrap and stick inside the trashcan.

[miklinga]

If you arrive in the US at an airport you would go through Immigration first and then gather your checked bags before going through Customs. You can put any duty free purchases (liquids over 3 ounces) in your checked bags before you go through Customs. After Customs you would re-check your bags.

 

Atlanta is our home airport. There you go "back" into the airport after Customs and through TSA security screening before you "leave" the airport. The only way you won't get your liquids over 3 ounces discarded by TSA is to re-check your bag and then pick it up again at baggage claim.

 

It seems to me the process was similar in San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis when we came home from foreign countries. It also seems like a waste of time and taxpayer's money for this extra screening, but it is a fact of life in today's airport scene.