San Pedro customs, on back to back

Had a really weird experience in San Pedro . We were on the Ruby for a back to back. First week a Coastal with stop in Ensenada. And the second week Mexican Riviera. Well, at the end of first week being in transit, had to still

report to Customs. Since our car was parked at the terminal lot decided to remove some dirty laundry, clothes and shoes we didn't need for the second week. Princess ran out of the Blue bags but our friends had two of them they didn't want. My husband and I loaded our stuff in the bags and went off the ship. had to fill out a Customs declaration form. Had nothing to declare so zero items. Well, this Customs guy looked at the form and said are you sure you have nothing. I said we are in transit and are just putting clothes we didn't need in our car.

He then proceeded to tell my the document I signed was a legal one and I was comitting fraud. I kept saying what do you mean and he kept saying I wasn't listening to him. He said look me in the eye(which I did) and tell me again you have nothing. I was starting to pull out my dirty laundry when he said we had the Princess bags and didn't declare them. I said they are worthless and free. He shut me up and said I didn't declare them and anything from the ship must be declared. Finally he let me go with a big warning.

Now remember, I had nothing that I purchased in foreign port or on the ship coming off(except those bags).

I had nightmare that night with that guys words and eyes threatening me.

This week I had my husband sign the declaration, listing all we bought both on ship and in Mexico. Saw the

same guy but went in another line. Got a nice greeting "Welcome back" from the guy and he asked usual question if we had liquor and that was it.

Friends were still on the ship and were going to be in transit. Warned a couple of them about that guy and where

he was so they went in another line.

Just got email from another couple who knew my story. As in transit people they wound up with same guy.

He confirmed when in transit don't need to list purchases until the last final exit. Then without them asking tells them about me and our Princess bags from the following week and how the bags weren't declared.

So if you are in transit take nothing off the ship with you except what is needed to go through customs. Learned

my lesson. And those worthless Princess bags, that none of us want or declare, leave that up to you. This guy was just being a jerk but he did say anything taken off or purchased on the ship must be declared. I have always listed purchases but never free items with no worth.

WOW!! I would have asked to speak to a supervisor. That man had a huge power complex.

Note to self: Never, ever put down $0.00 declared value on a customs form; there is likely some little, overlooked, forgotten souvenir bag/card/cruise sticker/trivia prize in there. Much easier to write 'Souvenirs-$10' and be waved through.

The way that guy looked at me, I was sure we were going to a secondary strip search area.

Who would have thought that on a back to back anything needed to be declared. In fact on a Regal back to back this

February(In Ft. Lauderdale), I actually filled out the form with stuff we had already purchased. The guy didn't even collect it,and on final week we filled out a new one with the two weeks worth of purchases, including what we bought on the ship.

Blue bags, didn't give them a thought, they were stuffed in my carry on.

How can two government officials act so different.

So for San Pedro disembarkation, both weeks it was the guy in the far left, small white beard. He was not old about maybe 50years old.Look around before you get on a line. He may have changed locations.

Really sorry you had that experience. Jerks like that can really ruin your day. Maybe this guy was having a bad day too and took it out on you - not that that excuses his behavior.

On the other hand, you could think about what would have happened if he had pulled you into a secondary area and then had to explain to his supervisor how he had pulled you aside for not declaring two free ship bags with essentially zero value. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that one. :evilsmile:

Sue, its the 'anything' part that got you. Free or not. Always put down at least a small value JIC. Whether or not they collect the declaration. For some reason they overlook a lot of stuff, including excess liquor purchases or going over your duty-free amount, as long as you declare it. But declaring nothing seems to trigger further questioning.

And by taking dirty laundry off, you were no longer in-transit; you changed it to two distinct cruises each with their own customs declaration.

Sorry this happened to you, but you're not the first to run afoul of the customs folks when trying to remove your own stuff partway through. It has happened at nearly every port, not just San Pedro (although they do seem to have more than their fair share of pedantic CBP officers). Thanks for posting the reminder, and very glad you did not get pulled aside for 'further screening'.

We always list a value for ship's prizes when filling out the Customs Form. Something like "Ship's gifts and prizes - $20."

However, the agent you encountered was being rude, giving you difficulty over two 50 cent items. The agent was maybe trying to trip you up, like maybe you had a Rolex in the bag and would not say. They do that sometimes. I have never had that experience at a cruise port, but did entering Canada by auto. The agent asked us the same question 5 different ways to try and trip us up.

I always get off the ship when doing B2B's in Ft Lauderdale for the same reasons of getting rid of dirty laundry but I always include purchased items as well.

That said, I never volunteer the fact that I'm doing a B2B- Why should I since it only leads to problems when you run into a guy like that.

I once asked them about putting items in the car & they didn't have a problem with it.

I always fill out on of their customs cards & just put down a number out of my head which is much higher than the actual value anyway.

The point is - say nothing about returning to the ship & they'll know nothing & will never ask.

If you say you're in-transit it'll only lead to more questions. I wouldn't lie to them- just don't volunteer more information then they ask for.

Wow. Just wow. I will take this as a cautionary tale and always declare something - even if I have nothing to declare. Souvenirs or ship's prizes sound like good items to list whether I have any or not. Government agents with a stick up their @$$ can really ruin one's day.

I always get off the ship when doing B2B's in Ft Lauderdale for the same reasons of getting rid of dirty laundry but I always include purchased items as well.

That said, I never volunteer the fact that I'm doing a B2B- Why should I since it only leads to problems when you run into a guy like that.

I once asked them about putting items in the car & they didn't have a problem with it.

I always fill out on of their customs cards & just put down a number out of my head which is much higher than the actual value anyway.

The point is - say nothing about returning to the ship & they'll know nothing & will never ask.

If you say you're in-transit it'll only lead to more questions. I wouldn't lie to them- just don't volunteer more information then they ask for.

Well you can always make friends with someone and put all your declarations in their bag, right.

Wow. Just wow. I will take this as a cautionary tale and always declare something - even if I have nothing to declare. Souvenirs or ship's prizes sound like good items to list whether I have any or not. Government agents with a stick up their @$$ can really ruin one's day.

Get the wrong agent & they can ruin your day especially if you have a plane to catch.

Customs agents are like cops. So many great ones but the few who are awful really stand out. It's unfortunate as most custom agents (and cops) do a great job and are, of course, quite necessary to an orderly society. It's so sad that the few can leave such lasting bad impressions. Some people just love to have "power" over others.

To : Florida Lover

I had to say in transit. With two tiny Princess bags and no luggage or carryon's , I would have really looked guilty.

In the past in San Pedro the customs guys were upstairs before you claimed your luggage.

Now they are downstairs after luggage claim and right before exiting the terminal.So we line up with all our luggage.

We probably have gone through San Pedro at least 25 cruises and this was a big first.

I am now laughing because we had a huge amount of trivia prizes this trip, most we gave away but had some in our

final exit from ship in suitcase. Also had two Elite bathroom setups.. I guess those free items should be counted and

for value, "priceless" or should I say worthless.

To :

In the past in San Pedro the customs guys were upstairs before you claimed your luggage.

Now they are downstairs after luggage claim and right before exiting the terminal.So we line up with all our luggage.

We probably have gone through San Pedro at least 25 cruises and this was a big first.

Oh no!! Are they doing that again?

We had customs downstairs when we returned from the first leg of a B2B. It was terrible. EVERYONE (almost literally) was still in line waiting when the in transits were finally allowed off. There were only 2 agents for 2200 passengers.:mad:

It took almost an hour to work our way to the front of the line.

Interestingly, when we returned from the 2nd leg, they were back upstairs.

We walked right through downstairs 2 weeks ago. It was painless.

The Elite liquor setups may be exempt from duty as American Goods Returned (AGR). I just looked at the fine print on my bottle of cognac and it said "Imported by Courvoisier Import Company, Deerfield IL, USA". If it was already imported into the USA, then we don't have to pay duty to import it again.

Wow. Just wow. I will take this as a cautionary tale and always declare something - even if I have nothing to declare. Souvenirs or ship's prizes sound like good items to list whether I have any or not. Government agents with a stick up their @$$ can really ruin one's day.

It is usually not a good idea to declare anything and use your personal exemption on the first part of a B2B. If you do so, then you cannot legally claim a personal exemption on the next leg. You can only claim your personal exemption once every thirty days.

The following information is in the U. S. Customs and Border Protection website:

Well until someone tells me there will be body cavity searches, I be hiding the blue Princess bags. (someplace!!!):eek:

Had a really weird experience in San Pedro . We were on the Ruby for a back to back. First week a Coastal with stop in Ensenada. And the second week Mexican Riviera. Well, at the end of first week being in transit, had to still

report to Customs. Since our car was parked at the terminal lot decided to remove some dirty laundry, clothes and shoes we didn't need for the second week. Princess ran out of the Blue bags but our friends had two of them they didn't want. My husband and I loaded our stuff in the bags and went off the ship. had to fill out a Customs declaration form. Had nothing to declare so zero items. Well, this Customs guy looked at the form and said are you sure you have nothing. I said we are in transit and are just putting clothes we didn't need in our car.

He then proceeded to tell my the document I signed was a legal one and I was comitting fraud. I kept saying what do you mean and he kept saying I wasn't listening to him. He said look me in the eye(which I did) and tell me again you have nothing. I was starting to pull out my dirty laundry when he said we had the Princess bags and didn't declare them. I said they are worthless and free. He shut me up and said I didn't declare them and anything from the ship must be declared. Finally he let me go with a big warning.

Now remember, I had nothing that I purchased in foreign port or on the ship coming off(except those bags).

I had nightmare that night with that guys words and eyes threatening me.

 

This week I had my husband sign the declaration, listing all we bought both on ship and in Mexico. Saw the

same guy but went in another line. Got a nice greeting "Welcome back" from the guy and he asked usual question if we had liquor and that was it.

Friends were still on the ship and were going to be in transit. Warned a couple of them about that guy and where

he was so they went in another line.

Just got email from another couple who knew my story. As in transit people they wound up with same guy.

He confirmed when in transit don't need to list purchases until the last final exit. Then without them asking tells them about me and our Princess bags from the following week and how the bags weren't declared.

 

So if you are in transit take nothing off the ship with you except what is needed to go through customs. Learned

my lesson. And those worthless Princess bags, that none of us want or declare, leave that up to you. This guy was just being a jerk but he did say anything taken off or purchased on the ship must be declared. I have always listed purchases but never free items with no worth.

 

I have cruised over 50 times out of that port. Most were B2B's. That guy is insane. I take my dirty clothes off all the time. Sounds like a **** who has a little too much power on his hands.

Question.....I am on a 4 night cruise out of San Pedro. Ports a re Santa Barbara and Ensenada. Will we have to go through custome?

Question.....I am on a 4 night cruise out of San Pedro. Ports a re Santa Barbara and Ensenada. Will we have to go through custome?

Yes. Ensenada is a foreign port.

Hi Jill,

We never had a problem before and like someone stated on a back to back you don't declare till you exit on the last leg.

I really think that when nothing is taken off the ship, this creep wouldn't have given me a problem. He got into my face

because I think he was trying to have us confess something , not just the worthless bags and my own dirty laundry.

What was a riot was his telling our friends that "There was a woman with Princess bags etc". They had to control themselves

from laughing since they knew who he was talking about.And he offered that without them even asking .

That guy needs a vacation and a drink.

Question.....I am on a 4 night cruise out of San Pedro. Ports a re Santa Barbara and Ensenada. Will we have to go through custome?

Of course. You are going to Mexico. Also you could have purchased duty free articles on the ship.

Hi Jill,

We never had a problem before and like someone stated on a back to back you don't declare till you exit on the last leg.

I really think that when nothing is taken off the ship, this creep wouldn't have given me a problem. He got into my face

because I think he was trying to have us confess something , not just the worthless bags and my own dirty laundry.

What was a riot was his telling our friends that "There was a woman with Princess bags etc". They had to control themselves

from laughing since they knew who he was talking about.And he offered that without them even asking .

OMG! I didn't even notice it was you posting. LOL.

I would have burst out laughing. Then he would probably have strip searched me. :o