Celebrity wine question - Can I "check" 10 bottles of wine while embarking the ship in Barcelona on day 1?

[CaptainPinata]

Hello!

 

I will be sailing from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale on the Reflection next month. There is a sparkling red wine in Barcelona that I want to buy a case of and bring to the US (I do not believe it is available at the cruise port terminal duty free shop). All I care about is getting it to the US. I don't want to drink it during the cruise.

 

As I understand it, all I have to do is put the case of wine in a checked bag, security will find it, take the wine from me, and give it back the night before the cruise ends?

 

So I can in essence use them as a "checking" service for alcohol? Anyone know if there's any limits to this?

 

Thanks for your help, have a nice day!

Edited September 12, 2023 by CaptainPinata

[Georgia_Peaches]

You can have your wine already boxed up and secured with tape and your stateroom category and turn it over to security for safe keeping When you embark.  They will store if for you until the final night of your cruise. 

[CaptainPinata]

Thanks Georgia_Peaches!

[Whinenowine]

But I'm curious...I've never heard of a sparking red wine from Spain.  What's the name and who makes it, please?  Thanks in advance!

[chemmo]

Check what paperwork you need to provide in Ford Lauderdale….I assume you would need to fill in a declaration form and have your receipt for tax purposes.

 

Hopefully someone who has done similar can advise…

Edited September 13, 2023 by chemmo

[cruisestitch]

Yes, you would be exceeding your allowable customs amount. So you may end up having to pay duty on the wine

[CaptainPinata]

On 9/13/2023 at 4:10 AM, Whinenowine said:

But I'm curious...I've never heard of a sparking red wine from Spain.  What's the name and who makes it, please?  Thanks in advance!

 

Sorry for the delay but the answer is cava. This is the specific tapas place I buy it from when in Barcelona: https://www.canpaixano.com/el-cava

[CaptainPinata]

On 9/13/2023 at 4:19 AM, chemmo said:

Check what paperwork you need to provide in Ford Lauderdale….I assume you would need to fill in a declaration form and have your receipt for tax purposes.

 

Hopefully someone who has done similar can advise…

 

On 9/13/2023 at 6:47 AM, cruisestitch said:

Yes, you would be exceeding your allowable customs amount. So you may end up having to pay duty on the wine

 

I'll be over the limit by something crazy, like 10+ bottles, but wine duty is normally very cheap, just a few dollars a bottle so I don't mind. Thanks for the input!

[awhfy]

I’d see if the winery could ship it to my home address & not have the problem of schleping it to & from the ship

[Traveling Fools]

9 hours ago, CaptainPinata said:

I'll be over the limit by something crazy, like 10+ bottles

 

Any of your Traveling Companions have the same 1 liter duty free exemption. So, if there are two of you will be subject to pay  duty and Federal Excise taxes on about 8 bottles.  Because of the paperwork the CBP Officer has to complete, sometimes they will let you pass without paying duty and tax.  Just be sure to declare it.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-190?language=en_US

[Whinenowine]

16 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

Any of your Traveling Companions have the same 1 liter duty free exemption. So, if there are two of you will be subject to pay  duty and Federal Excise taxes on about 8 bottles.  Because of the paperwork the CBP Officer has to complete, sometimes they will let you pass without paying duty and tax.  Just be sure to declare it.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-190?language=en_US

I don't know what the tariff/tax would be on those 10 bottles specifically, but having shipped dozens of cases of wine/booze from the UK to the US over the past decade, the tax should be less than shipping.  It's likely formulaic and depending on the % of alcohol in the wine.  So wine should be pretty cheap...maybe a few bucks per bottle.

[Baggy178]

On 9/25/2023 at 8:43 AM, CaptainPinata said:

 

Sorry for the delay but the answer is cava. This is the specific tapas place I buy it from when in Barcelona: https://www.canpaixano.com/el-cava

 

Red cava threw me for a bit until you added the detail and I realised it's a sparkling rosé.

Or as my wife calls it, sperm of the Devil.😅

How about separating it into smaller boxes and asking someone on board you get to know to add it to their customs allowance ?

Edited September 26, 2023 by Baggy178

[JuliaMS]

On 9/11/2023 at 7:12 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

You can have your wine already boxed up and secured with tape and your stateroom category and turn it over to security for safe keeping When you embark.  They will store if for you until the final night of your cruise. 

Exactly what we did on a previous cruise. Took a little time because they had to get a ship security person to come check it in for us.