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Duty Free Limits for Alcohol

suziehmkr

By suziehmkr,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

Posted
Posted

Hello all!

 

We don't usually purchase alcohol onboard to take home. However, on our last cruise, we discovered Sheridan's. :D I wish they had told me that I couldn't buy it at home. Well, in January I would love to buy some for our use, and also for gifts.

 

Since, we have never purchased alcohol like this before - what is the limit on the number of bottles we can buy to take home? We aren't flying, so that isn't an issue... just issues with customs or duties or whatever... :confused:

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zebra36

zebra36

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Posted
Hello all!

 

We don't usually purchase alcohol onboard to take home. However, on our last cruise, we discovered Sheridan's. :D I wish they had told me that I couldn't buy it at home. Well, in January I would love to buy some for our use, and also for gifts.

 

Since, we have never purchased alcohol like this before - what is the limit on the number of bottles we can buy to take home? We aren't flying, so that isn't an issue... just issues with customs or duties or whatever... :confused:

 

For US residents entering the US(can't comment on specific state restricrions) it is generally 1 ltr unles returning from US Virgin Islands then it becomes 4 ltrs plus 1 add'l ltr if it is a US Virgin Island product. For anything purchased in Puerto Rico there aren't any limits as it is the same as purchasing in the US. These were the restrictions the last time I brought anything back.

As a side note as long as your ship visits the US Virgin Islands I have never had a customs agent ask where the booze was purchased.

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nofishforme

nofishforme

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They will tell you on the ship how much you can bring back duty free but you can bring back more but you have to pay the duty tax on it .we dicovered a little trick on our last cruise . If you use a porter they get you right past the customs agent and they dont collect they just waved us by .Even if you dont bring booze back use a porter it is so much quicker cuase they bypass the long line for customs agents you still stop at an agent at the door but the porter will had him the customs form for you and he didnt even look at ours the agent just gave us a quick look over and waved us all through

 

Have a great cruise

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okbowler

okbowler

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I cannot find where I got my customs info, it was on CC, but if I figured right ,duty on a liter of Dewars 12 yr old would be about $ 3. It about $40 here and $16.50 in St. Marteen. It is charged on alcohol content not per bottle. Someone on these boards will correct me if I'm wrong.:) Bill

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zebra36

zebra36

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For US residents entering the US(can't comment on specific state restricrions) it is generally 1 ltr unles returning from US Virgin Islands then it becomes 4 ltrs plus 1 add'l ltr if it is a US Virgin Island product. For anything purchased in Puerto Rico there aren't any limits as it is the same as purchasing in the US. These were the restrictions the last time I brought anything back.

As a side note as long as your ship visits the US Virgin Islands I have never had a customs agent ask where the booze was purchased.

 

Just updating my reply above. As I said has been a while since I have bothered with this but just looked at the Customs and Border Protection site and it only states a 1 ltr duty free exemption period but you can bring more back and pay the duty if they want to impose it. Unless there is more detail I missed looks like it has been changed.

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VolzCruiser

VolzCruiser

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If you are traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands you are allowed to bring back 5 liters with out being taxed. Any where else you are allowed 1 liter with out being taxed. As others have stated you are allowed to bring back as much as you like you just might be taxed on it. Last time I was in Cozumel I witnessed a person bringing back a whole case of Tequila of course he was taxed and when I asked about being taxed he explained that he still saved alot of money

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billsrobb

billsrobb

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Posted
They will tell you on the ship how much you can bring back duty free but you can bring back more but you have to pay the duty tax on it .we dicovered a little trick on our last cruise . If you use a porter they get you right past the customs agent and they dont collect they just waved us by .Even if you dont bring booze back use a porter it is so much quicker cuase they bypass the long line for customs agents you still stop at an agent at the door but the porter will had him the customs form for you and he didnt even look at ours the agent just gave us a quick look over and waved us all through

 

Have a great cruise

 

I beg to differ with you. Last Sept on the Conquest when we returned to Galveston I got a porter and he took my luggage to Customs and I had to show my tag to the agent. He looked at it and said good bye. I had 8 bottles of liquor that I declared. Never had to pay a duty although I was prepared to do.

Robb

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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Thanks for the great responses. I really appreciate it. We may just bring back extras and pay the duties if they are imposed... :) If they aren't, then that is a bonus.

 

But at lease I know that 2 of the bottles will be duty free :p If it is just a few dollars per bottle, I really do mind as they would make great gifts. I wish we could just buy it here in the states! :rolleyes: The good thing is that we will be sailing just 4 months after that and can get more gifts. ;)

 

If you haven't tried the Sheridan's... give it a try when you are on your next cruise. I think all of the lines have it and you can taste it when they have their sample night. It was really yummy. :D

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Sandi149

Sandi149

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The duty isn't much. I can't remember exactly what they told us but it's either 3% or 10% I can't remember which. Either way it comes out to be very cheap. Even if you go over, if you don't lie, most of them won't charge you the extra duty. They are really looking for people bringing back an exorbitant amount who would be reselling it. A few bottles over is nothing to them.

 

I also disagree with that poster who said if you get a porter the customs agents don't stop you. We had a porter and they stopped us.

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Vidimom

Vidimom

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We have brought back as many as 17 bottles of liquor from our cruise at one time and the most we ever paid was $9.00. We always list all liquor and make sure to write down the Proof as you are charged based on it. Some ships will have you go to the library if you have gone over your duty free limit and the last one took care of it in the terminal. We always find it a bargain and it makes great gifts! If you have to pay a duty, it's well worth it for the savings.

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cdncpl

cdncpl

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When you return to Canada, the Canadian customs rules apply, thus 1 litre per preson. So even if you did not get checked by U.S. customs off the ship, you will have to consume or pay duty on anything more than the one litre per person.

Where in Canada are you? Out west you can buy Sheridans here either in 375ml or 750 ml bottles.

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rt63

rt63

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This is all very encouraging news. Thanks! :)

 

Load em up! We once paid $20 in fees once, bringing back about 18 liters of various rums and whiskeys. That was nothing, my back was sore from carrying the stuff... make sure there's room in a sturdy rolling suitcase (or two) for your stuff, the weight adds up quickly.

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Rowan555

Rowan555

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I just got off the Elation last thursday, I had 6 bottles of rum, went thru customs he asked how much I had I told him 6 bottles he let me go thru, they did box them in a nice box for us ;)

 

We bought 4 bottles of rum and with our smallish rolling suitcase I thought we'd have to carry the box (it's a wide box that holds all 4 bottles next to each other). It turned out that the box fit perfectly when placed sideways into the suitcase. So if you have decent sized suitcases, you may not have to carry the liquor with you. We packed some 12 packs of sodas, so once we drank the sodas we had plenty of room for the rum. Worked out perfectly.

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