Transporting alcohol

[notentirelynormal]

Okay, this is not about smuggling and drinking the alcohol on board. I really want to know anyone's experience with bringing alcohol for the sole purpose of taking it from point A to point B. I really have no intention of drinking said booze on board. I will pay for that privilege.

 

To be specific, I'm talking about taking booze from LA to Vancouver. I will deal honestly with Canadian officials on importing but I'm curious about how I can take a couple of bottles on board the ship and leave them in Vancouver. Okay, to be honest to leave what is left in Vancouver LOL. My mom has a house in Vancouver. I like to drink when I am there and can't afford the prices :D of hard liquor in BC so we always bring our own with us.

 

I'm looking to see if anyone has experience with this and what and how did they have to do it. Was the ship okay with the storing and returning scenario. Do I have to contact Princess headquarters in advance? I don't mind jumping through the hoops if it gets the job done.

 

Here's a story: A few years back we took booze up. I had an entire carry on full of booze and another one half full. I'm thinking around 10 to 15 bottles. Personal consumption and gifts. When we get to the cabin we unloaded our bottles. I told my husband if they didn't get us then they sure weren't looking too hard. We practically gurgled when we went over bumps. Except for one bottle, we really were just transporting, really we were.

Edited September 30, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[Astro Flyer]

Checking the Cruise Passage contract for my upcoming cruise it states that we're only allowed to bring alcohol from ports of call to be held until the night before disembarkation.

 

"You agree to surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship's gift shop, or at ports of call, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last night of the voyage".

 

The Cruise Answer Book has the same statement but adds this statement: "A member of the ship’s staff will be at the gangway to assist guests with the storage of their shoreside alcoholic purchases while our Boutiques staff will assist guests with shipboard alcoholic purchases".

Edited September 30, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[beg3yrs]

Astro Flyer posted information regarding alcohol procedures at ports of call or the ship's gift shop. What was not mentioned was the procedure at embarkation. This is it, direct from the cruise contract (emphasis added):

 

Guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage only in his/her carry-on luggage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship's public areas. Any wine(s) or champagne(s) supplied by the Carrier to You as a gift are not subject to a corkage fee. At embarkation, all luggage is subject to scanning and any contraband, including alcohol in excess of the allowed amount, will be removed and discarded.

 

Key word here is discarded. Bringing it on board at embarkation has a high penalty.

 

I think Astro Flyer was trying to show you the option of purchasing your alcohol at the ship's gift shop.

[mmckm]

Legally you are only allowed 1 40oz bottle of alcohol per person to bring into Canada. Canada customs may seize it or charge you if your over that amount.

[skynight]

Easiest way. Purchase duty & tax free on board the ship. It will be delivered to your cabin the night before disembarkation. I have found the ship's prices are fairly close to duty/tax free prices in St. Thomas and other islands and for sure better than California prices. Only problem is the ship's selection may not include your favorite. Another tip is wait until the last days of the cruise and look for a discount. I have found that the shop runs 10% off sales toward the end of the cruise.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Astro Flyer posted information regarding alcohol procedures at ports of call or the ship's gift shop. What was not mentioned was the procedure at embarkation. This is it, direct from the cruise contract (emphasis added):

 

Guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage only in his/her carry-on luggage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship's public areas. Any wine(s) or champagne(s) supplied by the Carrier to You as a gift are not subject to a corkage fee. At embarkation, all luggage is subject to scanning and any contraband, including alcohol in excess of the allowed amount, will be removed and discarded.

 

Key word here is discarded. Bringing it on board at embarkation has a high penalty.

 

I think Astro Flyer was trying to show you the option of purchasing your alcohol at the ship's gift shop.

 

 

I think the key word is "consumption". However, there is no way to get a definite answer as to how to transport. My guess is that it depends on who is in charge at embarkation. Maybe try calling Princess and tell them its a gift for someone in Canada and ask what they recommend given their policies? They are strict at embarkation. I agree that the risk of losing it is pretty high.

[timetravler]

because the ship has no idea if you are consuming anything you bring on board, the rules are still the same. Like the other poster said, the best way is to purchase alcohol on the ship to give to friends and such after your cruise. But be aware Canada has pretty strict customs on how much you can bring in.

[beg3yrs]

Legally you are only allowed 1 40oz bottle of alcohol per person to bring into Canada. Canada customs may seize it or charge you if your over that amount.

 

But be aware Canada has pretty strict customs on how much you can bring in.

 

This is a misconception that is also common for bringing alcohol into the USA.

 

There is a duty-free allowance. If you bring more, that's OK as long as you declare it and pay the duty.

 

Most times when I return I bring more than the allowance and am sure the declare it on my customs form. The overage has never been enough for the customs staff to send me off to pay the duty. It simply costs them more to process the payment than the payment itself.

 

What they will nail you for is failure to declare. That's a huge penalty.

[Chunder Worthy]

I have to ask, just HOW much of a difference in price is it between the US and Canada for a 750mL bottle of, say, Jack Daniels or Absolute vodka?

 

Beyond that, I'd just bring a couple of rum runner plastic flasks in your luggage - there's about 64 oz. of hootch right there. If you need more than that for a short visit, you might have problems a little more complicated than logistics... haha

[martincath]

The 'discard' policy for Princess was already pointed out, but in case you still want to risk it...

 

Since we split our time between Oregon (tax free - w00t!) and BC, I can give some pretty relevant advice on the relative sensibility of bringing booze from the US up here.

 

While in general prices are much higher in BC, even before our dollar weakened from the c.95cents mark to c.75cents there were several types of booze that were the same price or even cheaper up here - e.g. Campari, crucial in many cocktails, is only CAD$25.29 here but in OR it's US$29.95 and in WA even more!

 

Some Scotches are basically the same price (e.g. Glenfiddich 12 works out to just over US$43 in BC, vs. $43.79 in WA or $42.95 in OR). US whiskies have of course gotten pricier as our dollar has weakened, so we always get our bourbons etc. in OR.

 

So long story short - actually check the retail price of your preferred brands on the BC Liquor website (NB: add 15% for tax) and compare to what you can get it for locally in the US (I check Total Wine for WA prices; I believe they operate in CA as well?) - you may just be pleasantly surprised...

[GUT2407]

Astro Flyer posted information regarding alcohol procedures at ports of call or the ship's gift shop. What was not mentioned was the procedure at embarkation. This is it, direct from the cruise contract (emphasis added):

 

Guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage only in his/her carry-on luggage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship's public areas. Any wine(s) or champagne(s) supplied by the Carrier to You as a gift are not subject to a corkage fee. At embarkation, all luggage is subject to scanning and any contraband, including alcohol in excess of the allowed amount, will be removed and discarded.

 

Key word here is discarded. Bringing it on board at embarkation has a high penalty.

 

I think Astro Flyer was trying to show you the option of purchasing your alcohol at the ship's gift shop.

 

 

I'd say the key words are for consumption.

[notentirelynormal]

Oregon and Washington alcohol prices are much higher than in California. Much higher so it is not an even comparison. Last year our house in Vancouver got broken in to. I did an extensive list. We apparently had a LOT of booze in the house. Every bottle not already opened was taken. Every year when my brothers and I come up to my mom's house we bring booze so that she can offer it to her company.

 

Here is an example:

 

All sizes are 1.75

 

RUM

Bacardi white US Price $19.99 - Cdn Price $55.41

Captain morgans US Price $24.99 - Cdn price $59.99

Smirnoff vodka US Price $52.99 - Cdn price $110.99

Grey Goose US price $18.99 - Cdn price $56.99

 

that is quite a price difference and why we always bring bottles up with us.

Edited October 1, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[notentirelynormal]

duplicate

Edited October 1, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[SadieN]

Either buy onboard or buy at one of your ports. They will hold your booze for you til the end of the cruise.

[notentirelynormal]

Thanks for all your comments. I guess if I do decide to bring booze up the cruise ship way I will get something in writing from Princess or not do it at all. I'm not worried about the Canadian side of it. You can bring "gifts" in and you can bring in alcohol for your personal consumption (at least as an American you can). I've never lied about it.

 

Oregon and Washington prices are WAY too high. You are right. I could pay the same prices as in Vancouver. I almost had a heart attack buying booze in Seattle in July. For the record, I lived in Hillsboro, OR for 12 years and rarely paid those prices. Imported from California.

 

Funny story (to me it was): I arrive at YVR. I get to the custom/immigration guy and he asks me if I am bringing in any alcohol. With a straight face I tell him. Yes, yes, I am. My uncle has informed me that it is illegal to enter Canada without bringing family members alcohol. He looks at me for a second and says - that isn't a law at all. I get this surprised expression on my face and go :eek:. He says there is no such law. Are you sure because my uncle assured me there was. Eventually he figured out I was joking.

 

Years ago on our first cruise, back in the early 80s I was cruising with my brothers and family. The last night I am told we need to drink up the excess alcohol allowance. I drink and drink and drink. The next morning I get to the immigration guy. I live in the US but am a permanent resident. I go through and the guy says to me, are you bringing any alcohol back. Yes. How much. The legal limit. How much is that. I don't know, whatever the legal limit is. He persists. Finally I get indignant and tell him. I DON'T KNOW. All I know is that my brothers told me I had to keep drinking until we got down to the legal limit. He let the little blonde girl go. :)

Edited October 1, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[cr8tiv1]

Not quite the same, but I thought I would throw this into the pot for food for thought.

 

I used a Princess ship to ferry over Christmas presents to my family in Hawaii. We left San Pedro (LA, California) and spent 5 days at sea without stopping at any foreign port. First stop Hilo, second stop Honolulu. I am trying to take packaged foods from Trader Joe's and gifts from Macy's. Security stops me and asked if I declared these items with anyone.

 

HUH???

 

No, I did not. No, these did not come from a foreign country. We came from a United States City to another United States City.

 

After being detained for about 30 minutes (an officer had to hunt down port authorities since they already "cleared" the ship), I was cleared to leave. I don't think they ever found the "immigration officer". To say the least, I was totally surprised and confused.

 

Short story, it doesn't matter what the "rules" are. It is totally dependent on who is interpreting the rules. You may get something in writing from the corporate office, but the guy going through your luggage will have the final say.