A little miffed with Carnival

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1382/~/texas-tax-declaration%3A-the-texas-alcoholic-beverage-commission-(tabc)

A whole 3 dollars and 50 cents for a pint. Big whoops. That is like the Steakhouse raising the price 3 dollars.

Personally, I don't understand why you would buy Alcohol, cigarettes, or jewelry on a ship. The island prices are much better and no one is reporting you to customs. The watch prices on the ship are outrageous compared to St.Thomas, not the crap $10 watches, good watches

On some items there is a price match guarantee, and you might have better luck with customer service should something be wrong.

Hi

 

I am just trying to understand.

 

For the OP...how is this something that Carnival is responsible for?

 

For Firefly...how does this make cruising "less fun".

Well. I got the letter in the stateroom from Carnival. The letter stated I owed customs. For instance, you are allowed 800 dollars duty free per person, you are traveling with your SO, which makes that 1600 for your party. You spend 900 in merchandise at the fun shops. Carnival sends you the midnight mail that says you will wait to disembark because you are over. Even the customs guy in a matter of less than 2 shakes of a lambs tail said i wasnt over. There was a lot of angry people down there that couldnt figure out WHY they were there. I just never ever saw this before in any of my cruises. Oh i got tapped by customs many years ago for a search but I was honest and had gone over my 1600 dollar limit by about 100. That issue was between Customs and myself. The cruise line wasnt part of that one. This was a Carnival preselection that wasnt done with much thought.

You are miffed with Carnival because of taxes?

Taxes actually had nothing to do with it. I didnt owe any before , during or after. Neither did my daughter. What ever the "selection" process is that Carnival used was in error. Basically I was turned in and falsely accused. I was just wondering if this was a new thing or just a one time computer glitche.

Ive been hearing that they are reporting sales to customs. I bought 3 bottles of expensive scotch but I got thru, but I think they are reporting things to customs these days.

 

And the guys in the shops assured me that it was a gallon, or 2 bottles with no tax coming into Galveston. Surprise, now its every bottle into Galveston is taxed. Its now cheaper to just buy it here.

 

The guys working in the shops will lie or dont know and say sure buy this, you wouldnt be taxed. I asked the cruise director on Freedom if he knew the rules last dec when i cruised, i even went to the debark talk which i usually skip to find out (and i even stood in line to only be told to read the form myself) He told me to read the paper and could get it from my cabin steward to declare. I asked my cabin steward so i could see what i was supposed to declare and he told me to go to guest services lol. Though he did finally get the paper that said what needed to be declared, and sure enough no bottles were exempt. the people giving the debark talk dont even know the home port rules of where they sail from. If the cruise director doesnt know who does?

 

I wasnt impressed with the CD to be honest. I came home debating about cruising, but came up with a friend who was interested so im cruising, but only because a friend said yes.

 

But Big Brother is breathing down on you more and more.

 

Im glad you posted this, as I had been thinking they were doing this, and now we know. thanks for the post.

 

Im long since finding less fun in crusing and think you are right.

 

I also had a incident where i found a bottle of the scotch i bought onboard cheaper in the port of cozumel and they wouldnt let me take a picture of the price to price match, they said their manager has a policy of no pictures allowed.

You know, I didnt know they did that but it could be a requirement that Carnival must report it. That is on Big Brother. and you mentioned the texas tax, that is on Texas. But my problem is being falsely reported. And I wasnt alone. Now mind you, yes they tried to sell me the buy 3 get one free thing. But this wasnt my first rodeo. It is a 11 dollar tariff on additional cartons. There were a few people in there for that issue. Some bought more than allowed liquor and others exceeded the duty free. You know, if I was over allowances I would have said my bad. I think when i say i am a bit miffed I am being kind. I have never had this issue before, and i really dont like it.

It is the guest responsibility to know the rules. Not by anyone else.

While you are ultimately correct, it is reasonable to expect the cruise operator with years of experience to share accurate information regarding allowances when they are trying to provide this service.

Hi

 

I hear what you are saying, but those things you mention...the singing, the dancing, the food, were always somewhat secondary. Going to the ocean, stepping onto the ship, knowing that tomorrow I will be somewhere different. Standing on deck, enjoying the sea breeze, watching the waves. Watching those sunrises and sunsets. Staring up at the sky at night looking at the moon and the stars, as well as anything else I can pick out, doesn't seem to get old for me.

 

I understand the thing about travelling solo. My wife died last year and change is really hard.

 

As you said, you find a balance. Instead of sailing many times, you just go it feels right. I can't see the food or the entertainment, or the taxes, turn me off from cruising. When I hear people complain about "another cutback" :), all I can think is, please, get real, find something important to complain about.

 

have a good day

I like you. Yes there are still other things besides food and entertainment. And yes there are cutbacks and like in the early years i seldom missed a show , now i seldom go to a show. Cruising changed and then i changed. I love the seaday brunch and I love the ocean. I have been to most every island, some so much i know some of the merchants. But I get to watch for sunrises and sunsets. I dont expect the CD to entertain me. I entertain me. It is what a person makes of it. Yesterday is gone, enjoy today. My wife will say, here is a cruise going to x y and z. I say if the boat will be in the water I will be happy.

Personally, I don't understand why you would buy Alcohol, cigarettes, or jewelry on a ship. The island prices are much better and no one is reporting you to customs. The watch prices on the ship are outrageous compared to St.Thomas, not the crap $10 watches, good watches

I buy watches on the ship because of my big obc. I have 13 and my wife has 12 and because of obc probably have not paid more than $500-600 for all 25 watches including many citizens, g-shock, invicta’s, Movado and Stuhrling. Don’t think I could do that good in port’s

Personally, I don't understand why you would buy Alcohol, cigarettes, or jewelry on a ship. The island prices are much better and no one is reporting you to customs. The watch prices on the ship are outrageous compared to St.Thomas, not the crap $10 watches, good watches

It depends on where you go. Yeah St Thomas is a good one. And that is a go to place. I went to Bermuda and prices on that island are a tad high. So each cruise is different. And since Effys started to do the jewelry store I talked them down to a good price. Man told my wife it was on sale and that was as low as he could go. yeah yeah yeah, 10 mins later they dropped the price 200 more. She had been looking at that same ring for 2 years. And you know what they say about a happy wife. So maybe one day i could have gotten it cheaper but the price became right and that is what matters

Taxes actually had nothing to do with it. I didnt owe any before , during or after. Neither did my daughter. What ever the "selection" process is that Carnival used was in error. Basically I was turned in and falsely accused. I was just wondering if this was a new thing or just a one time computer glitche.

I don't believe Carnival makes the selection and suggest your buying pattern made you a candidate for further screening.

While you are ultimately correct, it is reasonable to expect the cruise operator with years of experience to share accurate information regarding allowances when they are trying to provide this service.

Now that's funny. Especially for so called experienced cruisers.

Personally, I don't understand why you would buy Alcohol, cigarettes, or jewelry on a ship. The island prices are much better and no one is reporting you to customs. The watch prices on the ship are outrageous compared to St.Thomas, not the crap $10 watches, good watches

Why does anyone buy anything anywhere where it can be had cheaper elsewhere? Convenience, personal preference, trust, fear, etc.

I buy watches on the ship because of my big obc. I have 13 and my wife has 12 and because of obc probably have not paid more than $500-600 for all 25 watches including many citizens, g-shock, invicta’s, Movado and Stuhrling. Don’t think I could do that good in port’s

What does one do with 13 watches? That seems excessive to me. But I also don't understand why my wife needs 50 pairs of shoes, so this might be above my comprehension level.

Well. I got the letter in the stateroom from Carnival. The letter stated I owed customs. For instance, you are allowed 800 dollars duty free per person, you are traveling with your SO, which makes that 1600 for your party. You spend 900 in merchandise at the fun shops. Carnival sends you the midnight mail that says you will wait to disembark because you are over. Even the customs guy in a matter of less than 2 shakes of a lambs tail said i wasnt over. There was a lot of angry people down there that couldnt figure out WHY they were there. I just never ever saw this before in any of my cruises. Oh i got tapped by customs many years ago for a search but I was honest and had gone over my 1600 dollar limit by about 100. That issue was between Customs and myself. The cruise line wasnt part of that one. This was a Carnival preselection that wasnt done with much thought.

Here's a CC thread from last year about similar experiences on HAL, RC and Princess.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465616

I don't believe Carnival makes the selection and suggest your buying pattern made you a candidate for further screening.

Yes I have a buying pattern that never exceeds allowable items. No I am sure this was Carnival, I got the letter specifying my aledged overage from carnival. Others had the same experience. I know what it really says, to me at least, is buy in port not on ship.

Hi

 

I hear what you are saying, but those things you mention...the singing, the dancing, the food, were always somewhat secondary. Going to the ocean, stepping onto the ship, knowing that tomorrow I will be somewhere different. Standing on deck, enjoying the sea breeze, watching the waves. Watching those sunrises and sunsets. Staring up at the sky at night looking at the moon and the stars, as well as anything else I can pick out, doesn't seem to get old for me.

 

I understand the thing about travelling solo. My wife died last year and change is really hard.

 

As you said, you find a balance. Instead of sailing many times, you just go it feels right. I can't see the food or the entertainment, or the taxes, turn me off from cruising. When I hear people complain about "another cutback" :), all I can think is, please, get real, find something important to complain about.

 

have a good day

I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your wife recently. My heart goes out to you. <3