Alcohol

[Cecelia Phelps]

My husband and I are taking our very first cruise the end of November.  My question is if we purchase alcohol at a port are we allowed to bring it aboard and put it in safe keeping until the cruise is over?  And if so, how much is allowed to take home with us.  We are flying.  

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, Cecelia Phelps said:

My husband and I are taking our very first cruise the end of November.  My question is if we purchase alcohol at a port are we allowed to bring it aboard and put it in safe keeping until the cruise is over?  And if so, how much is allowed to take home with us.  We are flying.  

It varies by cruise line.  Some lines, you must check in any alcohol purchased onshore to be claimed at the end of the cruise.  Others, you can take it back to your room.

 

You'll need to contact your cruise line and ask them.

 

As to how much, that depends on the customs limits.

[George C]

Most ships will take it then return it to you last night of the cruise, the amount duty free depends on where you buy it, even if you go over the limit you can just pay the extra fees.

[John Bull]

28 minutes ago, George C said:

Most ships will take it then return it to you last night of the cruise, the amount duty free depends on where you buy it, even if you go over the limit you can just pay the extra fees.

 

As George's reply,, on most ships at any port you declare what you've bought when you return to the ship, and they'll store it for you & return it at the end of your cruise. No ship's limits on how much - presuming it doesn't need a forklift 

Most lines also allow you to take aboard at your embarkation port two bottles of wine per cabin to drink in your cabin . balcony.. You'll find your cruise line's policy on their website.

 

On how much you can take home, do I detect from "My husband and I" that you may be Brits?

If so, post back, (include your cruise line if you can't find their alcohol policy).

If not, my American cousins have answered.

 

JB 

Edited November 1, 2019 by John Bull

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Cecelia Phelps said:

My husband and I are taking our very first cruise the end of November.  My question is if we purchase alcohol at a port are we allowed to bring it aboard and put it in safe keeping until the cruise is over?  And if so, how much is allowed to take home with us.  We are flying.  

Welcome to CC. No worries. Most cruise lines will keep it in a nice and safe place for you until the last evening of your cruise. 

[George C]

27 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

As George's reply,, on most ships at any port you declare what you've bought when you return to the ship, and they'll store it for you & return it at the end of your cruise. No ship's limits on how much - presuming it doesn't need a forklift 

Most lines also allow you to take aboard at your embarkation port two bottles of wine per cabin to drink in your cabin . balcony.. You'll find your cruise line's policy on their website.

 

On how much you can take home, do I detect from "My husband and I" that you may be Brits?

If so, post back, (include your cruise line if you can't find their alcohol policy).

If not, my American cousins have answered.

 

JB 

I was very surprised to read msc does not allow any wine to be brought on board, agree almost everyone else allows a couple of bottles. Even if you want to buy the liquor on board you can not normally pick up liquor until last night, some lines will match prices. And of course bottles must be in luggage . 

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, Cecelia Phelps said:

My husband and I are taking our very first cruise the end of November.  My question is if we purchase alcohol at a port are we allowed to bring it aboard and put it in safe keeping until the cruise is over?  And if so, how much is allowed to take home with us.  We are flying.  

As others responded, the policy varies by cruise line. Our preferred cruise line permits unlimited alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages at every port and will also serve you your own wine & beer in the restaurant. However, sadly in the cruise industry, this is definitely the exception.

 

When flying home, any bottles must be in checked baggage.

[ReneeFLL]

We did a rum cruise last November and came home with 21 bottles. Another in the group ended up with 31 bottles. Royal didn't have a problem with the amounts. We have done this 2 times and both times customs looked at the list of rums and didn't even bat an eyelash. He just sent us on our way. Luckily we disembarked where we live in Fort Lauderdale. I don't know of the experiences of others with customs. I've heard some places the customs people can be strict.

[sverigecruiser]

10 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

We did a rum cruise last November and came home with 21 bottles. Another in the group ended up with 31 bottles. Royal didn't have a problem with the amounts. We have done this 2 times and both times customs looked at the list of rums and didn't even bat an eyelash. He just sent us on our way. Luckily we disembarked where we live in Fort Lauderdale. I don't know of the experiences of others with customs. I've heard some places the customs people can be strict.

 

Do you know if the penalty for not declaring everything is severe and do they only check Americans?

 

My luggage has never been checked when arriving to the US.

 

People in Sweden often bring more than allowed after short trips to Finland and most of the time customs don't seem to care about it.

[SRF]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Do you know if the penalty for not declaring everything is severe and do they only check Americans?

 

My luggage has never been checked when arriving to the US.

 

People in Sweden often bring more than allowed after short trips to Finland and most of the time customs don't seem to care about it.

 

Yes, you could be fined several thousand dollars.  And if a non-US citizen/resident, you could be prohibited from entering that time and even in the future.

 

And no, they do not just check Americans.  They can and may check anyone.

 

Unless they see some reason to check you, you will not be checked.  So don't look guilty. 😄

 

The duty is pretty small, so a lot of times, they don't want to deal with the paperwork for that amount of money.  I think that last time I checked, it was around $1 - $1.25 per excess bottle.

[ReneeFLL]

18 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Do you know if the penalty for not declaring everything is severe and do they only check Americans?

 

My luggage has never been checked when arriving to the US.

 

People in Sweden often bring more than allowed after short trips to Finland and most of the time customs don't seem to care about it.

I don't know about penalties for not declaring booze or other stuff. We always declare everything. We have been thru twice with 21 bottles and both times they just looked at the list and passed us on thru. Some of them cost several hundred dollars and there is no way we're going to do anything to have them taken away. 

 

I would think it doesn't matter where you come from regarding them checking you.

[ReneeFLL]

16 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Yes, you could be fined several thousand dollars.  And if a non-US citizen/resident, you could be prohibited from entering that time and even in the future.

 

And no, they do not just check Americans.  They can and may check anyone.

 

Unless they see some reason to check you, you will not be checked.  So don't look guilty. 😄

 

The duty is pretty small, so a lot of times, they don't want to deal with the paperwork for that amount of money.  I think that last time I checked, it was around $1 - $1.25 per excess bottle.

Ouch! Several thousand dollars. So not worth it. I also didn't realize it was only a dollar or so per bottle. Not bad at all.

[sverigecruiser]

4 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I don't know about penalties for not declaring booze or other stuff. We always declare everything. We have been thru twice with 21 bottles and both times they just looked at the list and passed us on thru. Some of them cost several hundred dollars and there is no way we're going to do anything to have them taken away. 

 

I would think it doesn't matter where you come from regarding them checking you.

 

When arriving to Sweden we don't have to declare anything on a list.

 

The same when arriving to the US. We don't have to write a list with what we bring. Is it only if you have too much you have to write that list or do you always need to write it?  

[SRF]

15 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Ouch! Several thousand dollars. So not worth it. I also didn't realize it was only a dollar or so per bottle. Not bad at all.

 

Duty is $1 - $1.25.

 

Customs could be collected on the price.  $800 per person gratis, then about 3% for the next $1000

[SRF]

10 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

When arriving to Sweden we don't have to declare anything on a list.

 

The same when arriving to the US. We don't have to write a list with what we bring. Is it only if you have too much you have to write that list or do you always need to write it?  

 

I have Global Entry, so don't do a form.

 

But in the past (it seems things changed in 2013), the I-94 form stated, IIRC, that you had to itemize things if the total value was more than $800.  

[marco]

If you are a US citizen I'm pretty sure  you can bring into the country 1 bottle duty free unless you purchased in USVI or Guam you can bring back a gallon duty free (not all one bottle).  If you are not a US citizen, and traveling in transit to your home country, check with your customs agency of your country..  As mentioned above just about every line will secure your purchase until the final evening of the cruise.  Remember, it can not be in carry-on when flying home.  However, the last 2X we cruised and returned to Fla, customs never asked if we purchased alcohol, but they did ask if we purchased cigarettes.  They were offering a very good deal on the ship, I purchased 4 bottles and was ready to declare them had I been asked.

[Capt_BJ]

if you know you are over limit

 

declare it ... most agents will wave you thru

 

if you DON'T declare it, and they catch you .... things can get complicated as friends of mine recently experienced.

 

Customs handed them a form and asked them to fill it out.  They did, agent reviewed and asked "want to revise this?"

 

They said no, and after a search were charge DUTY for items over their exemptions.

 

"It was like they had a LIST of what we bought" . .  . 

[CPT Trips]

And indeed Customs probably has a list of what you purchased onboard the ship and they may have a list of what you purchased on shore. Some merchants report sales to US customs. 

Most of the time, the Customs officer doesn't want to take the time and effort to calculate the duty on minimal overages. But they will likely be hard@$$€$ if you get caught not declaring.

[donaldsc]

9 hours ago, SRF said:

 

I have Global Entry, so don't do a form.

 

But in the past (it seems things changed in 2013), the I-94 form stated, IIRC, that you had to itemize things if the total value was more than $800.  

 

Global entry is for immigration, not for customs.  

 

From a Web site - "What is the difference between customs and immigration? “Immigration” is about the people traveling from one country to another. It's sometimes called “passport control” or “border control” depending on the airport. “Customs” is about the stuff those people are carrying with them"

 

DON

[flamomo]

Bottles of vino are HEAVY and may put you over .the airline's weight limit, resulting in a hefty extra charge for a checked bag  being overweight.

I use Wine-To-Go containers to transport wine when flying home from a cruise. They are essentially double wall plastic "bags" with a plastic screw-on cap that does not leak. You can find them on Amazon. I have had mine for several years and found they are definitely worth the price of around $10 each for the convenience.

[SRF]

On 11/3/2019 at 3:28 AM, donaldsc said:

 

Global entry is for immigration, not for customs.  

 

From a Web site - "What is the difference between customs and immigration? “Immigration” is about the people traveling from one country to another. It's sometimes called “passport control” or “border control” depending on the airport. “Customs” is about the stuff those people are carrying with them"

 

DON

 

Yes, I know that.

 

But I have been Global Entry for almost 10 years.  And with Global Entry, you did not fill out the I-94 form, which was for Immigration AND Customs.  

 

You presented to the Immigration officer, who reviewed it, and stamped it.  Then after you collected your luggage, you would hand the form to the Customs officer.  The Customs officer would decide whether to pass you or subject you to a search.  Also, the Immigration officer could indicate on the I-94 to search this person.  I once had an Immigration officer do this, as he got mad about something that neither I nor he had any control over.

 

Also in the past, the Immigration officer was Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Customs officer was US Customs Service.   With the creation of DHS and merging of functions, both Immigration and Customs are part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).   Also the food sniffing dogs and their handlers used to be US Agricultural Service, but now are also part of CBP.

 

My statement was that since I was Global Entry, I had not filled out the paper I-94 form for many years.  I did not even know that since 2013, it is automated and electronic.  
 

But I recall, that the I-94 paper form had a statement about the duty free limits, then on the back, a place to list the items, and their prices, that you were bringing into the country.

 

Oh, and BTW, Global Entry also has a customs aspect.  Before they stopped having you turn in your form to a Customs officer after getting your bags, there was a special line for Global Entry.

 

Also, as part of your enrollment in Global Entry, you sign that you understand, being caught violating customs rules may result in cancellation of your Global Entry without refund.

 

Remember, both Immigration and Customs are the same service now.

 

Got it?

Edited November 4, 2019 by SRF

[George C]

We did not have to fill out customs forms on last several cruises