Time for a little honesty.

[chicasarita]

Carnival did tell us they have to supply a manifest of onboard purchases. So I would alway be honest on the form....not worth the penalty.

 

I was just wondering if anyone had an agent really say to them glad you had a good time and let you through without paying the duty tax.

 

Looks like the next cruise will not include any larger on board purchase.

 

The last cruise, my boyfriend got carried away buying duty-free liquor. You can only bring one back and he bought 6. We split it up 3 and 3 in our luggage. The customs guy asked us how much we had, and we told him honestly. He gave us a lecture for 5 minutes about it, but then told us to have a nice day. I guess it wasn't worth his time.

 

Everything was great until we got to the airport and our checked bag was overweight-sigh. I think my boyfriend learned his lesson for the next cruise though.

[jetskier]

The last cruise, my boyfriend got carried away buying duty-free liquor. You can only bring one back and he bought 6. We split it up 3 and 3 in our luggage. The customs guy asked us how much we had, and we told him honestly. He gave us a lecture for 5 minutes about it, but then told us to have a nice day. I guess it wasn't worth his time.

 

Everything was great until we got to the airport and our checked bag was overweight-sigh. I think my boyfriend learned his lesson for the next cruise though.

 

Not true, you can bring back as many as you can carry. You are allowed one liter duty-free per person over 21 yrs of age. Anything over that limit, you might be charged a duty on. (the only exception is TX but that is a State law not a Federal one)

 

Dave

[stevenr597]

Custom duties are like income tax. If is your responsibility to honestly report to US Customs and Imigrations all purchases made outside the U.S. You may hear stories about how individuals were able to "outsmart" the U.S. Customs Inspector. If you are able to get by Customs if an incorrect declaration it is because they do not feel that it is worth the time or effort to go after an individual for an extra bottle of alcohol or for a watch. However the agent may elect to be more diligent and if caught they can make an example of you with you winding up having to pay the duties and penalities which can add up to quite a bit of money.

 

I used to be a U.S. Customs agent.

 

My advice: DON'T LIE, AND IF ABOVE YOUR LIMIT EXPECT TO PAY ANY NECESSARY DUTIES.

[EastTex]

I could tell DH was beginning to get irritated and he's a BIG guy - 6'4" and 260 pounds - most of which is muscle. He stepped in and asked what this was about and what the problem was, in a controlled voice but one that definitely meant business. The guy, just said, OK, and waved us through. No, have a nice day, nothing.

 

 

Had to chuckle about this.

[EastTex]

We take a couple of cruises a year as well as periodic trips to Europe to visit friends. My experience with customs agents have, without exception, been positive. More often than not, customs agents have smiled and welcomed us back to the US.

 

We also declare all our purchases, including small items, which we tend to lump together as one item because of limited space on the form. I can think of only one time I was charged duty (for liquor). That was in North Dakota when I flew my bomber back from a deployment to England.

 

On our December cruise on the Legend, my wife fell in love with an emerald/diamond necklace in the ship's store so I bought it for her as her Christmas present. I haggled the store manager down to just over 6K and declared it on my customs form along with the excess liquor I bought. To date, I have not been charged duties on the necklace.

 

Bottom line, I encourage honesty on customs declarations.

 

On a side note, a couple of thoughts. The retail prices claimed on jewelry in the ship's store are way high (my necklace was appraised at 7.5K by my gemologist but had a "retail value" of 11.8K posted on the ship) and store managers do haggle especially on their high ticket items.

[CWcruisers]

See how the story changes when you actually state the full story of what happened? I'm sure that you and your husband filled out one customs card, your husband wasn't with you, which is probably why the customs agent chewed you out. The agent shouldn't have chewed you out, he should have been professional about it - but if you are traveling on one customs card, then your husband should have stayed with you. He could have waited for you on/at the end of the gang plank? I'm sure they don't take you off through some secret magical door at the other end of the ship. Sounds like it's a 50/50 fault here. People lie on their customs forms all the time. It's not like everyone is perfectly honest on their customs forms. So yes, sometimes CBP agents might have to assume or think that someone who purchased a high end piece or jewelry, or large amounts of jewelry might either be under-declaring or not declaring all purchases. It's a minor inconvenience - why let something like that ruin your day or end to your cruise? Certainly wouldn't stop me. They have a job to do, granted he wasn't as professional as he could or should have been, but it's no skin off my back and I don't let petty things like that get to me. Hell, my friend got stopped when crossing from Canada to USA because the agent though he smelled weed on her. She doesn't smoke, never has, is asthmatic, so she can't smoke anyways, but the agent was insistent. After about a 5 minute delay, she was on her way. It didn't ruin her day, and in fact, we laugh about it, because it's kind of funny that they would question a short 23 year old girl, who looked nothing like anyone who would do any type of drugs.

 

It is always easy, after the fact, to see what was actually going on, but when you are in the situation, and being detained and your husband being told to keep moving and he has no idea why I'm being detained and I have no idea why I'm being detained, I don't always think clearly. My hands were shaking so badly that I could barely fill out the new customs card that they insisted I fill out because they couldn't find the one my husband had already turned in. And why did customs let my husband through on the customs card and allow him to leave the building with the luggage and without me? Seems as if they should have been the ones to tell him to wait. 50/50 fault? I don't think so. And IMHO, I didn't want to make the story into a novel, and apparently, based on a few post, I am not the only one using the moron word.

 

It wasn't funny then, and it still isn't today and I am entitled to that opinion.

[LHP]

I won't mention which port to protect the innocent....

 

but we have had a porter helping us with Debark ask for another agent as we were being directed to one...

 

he said the one we were being directed to was a horse's behind....and our porter got us changed to an easy one....

[txponycruiser]

Not true, you can bring back as many as you can carry. You are allowed one liter duty-free per person over 21 yrs of age. Anything over that limit, you might be charged a duty on. (the only exception is TX but that is a State law not a Federal one)

 

Dave

 

What is the law in TX because DH and I are thinking of picking up a couple bottles on our next cruise?

[jetskier]

What is the law in TX because DH and I are thinking of picking up a couple bottles on our next cruise?

 

TX State law says only 1 liter for a resident and 3.75 liters for a non-resident. Custom's agents do not enforce State laws as they are Federal agents. So it would have to be a TABC (Texas Alcohol & Beverage Control) officer to cite you for it.

 

Dave

[EastTex]

What is the law in TX because DH and I are thinking of picking up a couple bottles on our next cruise?

 

One of the reasons we avoid going out of Galveston. By Texas law, Texas residents are limited as to how much liquor they can bring into the state. One time we got stopped by a Texas Revenue Agent, asked what state we were from and how much liquor we had. Texas doesn't charge extra duty, they confiscate! Also, even legal liquor is subject to an "administrative fee".

 

I understand it all started cause folks in the border towns would cross into Mexico to get liquor for a lot less than in their own towns and this was the state legislature's way of fixin things.

 

It's a crying shame in my opinion.

 

I've attached a link for those interested.

 

http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/faq/personal_importation.asp