A cautionary tale about debarking with liquor

[GITC]

We debarked Jade last Saturday in Houston and I happened to be on our balcony when the first load of luggage came off the ship. The forklift was backing towards the terminal when, somewhat inexplicably, he lowered the forks on the lift and the two luggage carts' wheels contacted the concrete and came off the lift. They rolled for a bit before running into the forklift that had abruptly stopped. The result was five or six pieces of luggage coming off the second luggage cart, including what looked to be two cardboard boxes of liquor. The resulting puddle underneath the cart confirmed liquid of some sort and the unloading process carried on. No doubt some of the luggage was also made wet from the leaking boxes that were placed back on top of the pile.

 

The moral of the story is DO NOT entrust your fragile items to the cabin stewards/luggage handlers. Carry it off yourself lest you enjoy broken glass and soggy cardboard better than whatever it was you thought you were offloading.

[sparks1093]

Good warning, thanks!

[Kamloops50]

You should carry alcohol off in case of Customs inspection.

[Demonyte]

You should carry alcohol off in case of Customs inspection.

 

Both in airports and cruise terminals luggage is collected before Customs.

[49erfan007]

My sister was getting off a cruise several years back and the handlers were tossing the luggage/packages off the cart. She said there were many bottles of liquor that were broken. I always carry off my own bottles, bc of what she witnessed.

Edited November 20, 2015 by 49erfan007

[Demonyte]

This is actually interesting topic - our US friends were amazed when we told them that we always fly with liquor bottles in our luggage. What has been described in this thread is no different than the worst treatment the bags get at different airports - so for me this thread is much ado about nothing.

 

It's only just about packing properly - just this week we flew from San Juan to Helsinki via JFK and had a total of 7 bottles of rum (from different distilleries we visited) in our checked luggage without any problems.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Demonyte

[ulster-cruiser]

This is actually interesting topic - our US friends were amazed when we told them that we always fly with liquor bottles in our luggage. What has been described in this thread is no different than the worst treatment the bags get at different airports - so for me this thread is much ado about nothing.

 

It's only just about packing properly - just this week we flew from San Juan to Helsinki via JFK and had a total of 7 bottles of rum (from different distilleries we visited) in our checked luggage without any problems.

 

Do you check another bag in lol? Im sure that they take a lot of kgs from your luggage allowance!

[Demonyte]

Do you check another bag in lol? Im sure that they take a lot of kgs from your luggage allowance!

 

Yes, we always travel to US with two bags (one each) and back home with three bags. :)

[NMLady]

You should carry alcohol off in case of Customs inspection.

 

But you go through customs AFTER you claim your luggage so you would still have it with you for custom unspection.

[Va. Plumber]

Every time I've gotten off a cruise ship the customs folks have been pretty perfunctory. Usually they just take the declaration and wave you on.

 

Had one cruise director say they have the drug dogs walk around the luggage.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

It's only just about packing properly - just this week we flew from San Juan to Helsinki via JFK and had a total of 7 bottles of rum (from different distilleries we visited) in our checked luggage without any problems.

 

 

Your leading these people to believe that you can claim 7 bottles of rum on a cruise or vacation is wrong. Your better than that and I am not sure on the amount you can travel with but I'm sure you do. The hefty amount of bottles had something to do with a US territory and had you flew in from St Lucia it would have been significantly less.

[Demonyte]

Your leading these people to believe that you can claim 7 bottles of rum on a cruise or vacation is wrong. Your better than that and I am not sure on the amount you can travel with but I'm sure you do. The hefty amount of bottles had something to do with a US territory and had you flew in from St Lucia it would have been significantly less.

 

Sorry, what? It does not matter if there was an US territory (we've had similar amounts before even when flying to/from FL, MA or NY instead of PR) and we definitely didn't fly in from or to St. Lucia.

 

Yes, the total amount we had (exactly 5 litres, I forgot one bottle before so there were 8 bottles in our bags) is over the duty free customs allowance in EU (one liter hard liquor per passenger from outside of EU) but I never said otherwise.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Demonyte

[zqvol]

Your leading these people to believe that you can claim 7 bottles of rum on a cruise or vacation is wrong. Your better than that and I am not sure on the amount you can travel with but I'm sure you do. The hefty amount of bottles had something to do with a US territory and had you flew in from St Lucia it would have been significantly less.

 

 

??? You can claim as many bottles as you want, there is no limit as long as you pay the duty. The duty free limits coming into the US vary depending on what you purchase and where you purchase it.

 

The quoted person is correct there is no problem with seven bottles going into the US.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

??? You can claim as many bottles as you want, there is no limit as long as you pay the duty. The duty free limits coming into the US vary depending on what you purchase and where you purchase it.

 

The quoted person is correct there is no problem with seven bottles going into the US.

 

 

You are right you can claim and pay a duty but I have no idea how that works, nor do a lot of the folks that read these threads.

 

So can you please explain how that works, let's say I get off a cruise in Miami with 7 liters of rum, haven't been to a US territory and tell the customs officer I have 7 liters? Do I pay him 20 bucks, is there's special form I need to fill out, will it take me 4 hours to clear customs, do I need a permit from Washington DC?

 

Thank you

[Paul Bogle]

You are right you can claim and pay a duty but I have no idea how that works, nor do a lot of the folks that read these threads.

 

So can you please explain how that works, let's say I get off a cruise in Miami with 7 liters of rum, haven't been to a US territory and tell the customs officer I have 7 liters? Do I pay him 20 bucks, is there's special form I need to fill out, will it take me 4 hours to clear customs, do I need a permit from Washington DC?

 

Thank you

 

You declare what you are bringing on the customs declaration form. Every passenger is required to fill one out. If the inspector who looks at the form believes you owe duty he will instruct you on what to pay and where.

 

IIRC current duty is around $3/liter of spirits but if it has been raised I stand to be corrected.

 

Since Demonyte brought spirits from Puerto Rico to an EU member state, I'm not sure how USA regulations are in any way relevant.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for the warning.

 

Keith

[Clay Clayton]

Since the original post was datelined Houston I thought the warning was going to be about the state of Texas tax collector who requests payment for any liquor brought into the state. I haven't seen any reports from this cruise season but last year, they were in the arrivals hall and asked incoming passengers if they were bringing ashore any....if one answered no, they allowed you to pass. If one responsed yes, then they imposed the tax. Obviously the recommended answer was no. ;)

[pspercy]

Other than that, how was the cruise ?

 

Jade's been in Europe so long it must be quite an adjustment sailing out of Houston :)

[Demonyte]

Jade's been in Europe so long it must be quite an adjustment sailing out of Houston :)

 

Why would you say so? The crew members rotate between the ships, so many times one would do one contract on one ship and the next one on another ship (not everyone of course, but many of the people we've talked with on Jade have). The ship itself does not need to adjust.. ;)

Edited November 22, 2015 by Demonyte

[pspercy]

Just a light hearted remark based upon crew comments etc, the typical passenger makeup sailing out of Houston/Galveston will often be different from what many are used to :)

[zqvol]

You are right you can claim and pay a duty but I have no idea how that works, nor do a lot of the folks that read these threads.

 

So can you please explain how that works, let's say I get off a cruise in Miami with 7 liters of rum, haven't been to a US territory and tell the customs officer I have 7 liters? Do I pay him 20 bucks, is there's special form I need to fill out, will it take me 4 hours to clear customs, do I need a permit from Washington DC?

 

Thank you

 

You tell him what you have. If it is an amount that he thinks it is worth the effort to collect the duty on he sends you to another table. The duty is a flat fee per liter. Typically if the amount of duty is less than $25 they don't fool with it. $25 is about 8 bottles over the limit.

[em-sk]

You tell him what you have. If it is an amount that he thinks it is worth the effort to collect the duty on he sends you to another table. The duty is a flat fee per liter. Typically if the amount of duty is less than $25 they don't fool with it. $25 is about 8 bottles over the limit.

 

Here is the details:

https://www.ncl.com/faq%2523customs-allowances

 

As zqvol stated, If it is a small charge that is due, the customers officer may decided its not worth the effort to collect it and just wave you through.