Can only buy 1 carton cigarettes onboard without getting letter to meet customs

[Jdfireman]

Another reason not to smoke.

[crusinpsychRN]

I thought you were only allowed 1 carton of cigarettes that were purchased on board back into the U.S. All other cartons were taken away, not like the liquor you can just pay a duty tax.

am i wrong on this?

 

Wrong. You just have to pay tax if the customs guy makes you. Most times they don't.

[KPfromCT]

I always buy the box of 5 cartons on our first night and never claim them on the form.:eek:

 

Never got caught.............................yet:D:D

[Unclefun]

Just got off the liberty in Galveston this morning, Texas has their own tax on alcohol and cigarettes. Cigarettes are 15.00 a carton Texas tax whether you live there or not. Nothing was mentioned at the shop when I bought them of course

 

 

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[dave&micki]

So I am wondering if this is for all ports or just Charleston? Has anyone else encountered this issue at other ports?

Also, we are going to St Martin, St Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk - do they sell cigarettes at those ports?

Happy Cruising to All

Micki

[ANGELSwithANGLES]

Wow. Now our accounts are being flagged as to what we purchase. And then passed off to an agency? This has gotten absurd as well.

[orville99]

Wrong. You just have to pay tax if the customs guy makes you. Most times they don't.

 

Sternfanla was correct... From the CBP website:

 

"Returning resident travelers may import tobacco products only in quantities not exceeding the amounts specified in the personal exemptions for which the traveler qualifies (not more than 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars if arriving from other than a beneficiary country and insular possession). Any quantities of tobacco products not permitted by a personal exemption are subject to detention, seizure, penalties, abandonment, and destruction."

[Heirloom]

......and imprisonment.

 

Real nice.

[Stinger-pr]

For those of you traveling to or making port calls at Puerto Rico, if I'm not mistaken, purchases made in Puerto Rico do not count towards your allotment of duty free good that you can bring back to the US since Puerto Rico is given a different treatment over the US Virgin Island on this. As long as you can prove you bought those goods in Puerto Rico, you should have no problems.

[makeda]

Wow I have never saw this before and I usually bring back more than the allotted 1 liter of alcohol...I wonder is carnival purposely trying to stop people from buy alcohol from their shops?.... First they change the pickup process now this!

 

they probably have to do it because so many people think they are special and don't have to follow the rules...customs is not a joke

[tony_g51181]

Of all my cruises I have declared my alcohol only once did I have to pay anything and that time it was like 4 dollars. Guess it will catch those who don't declare everything

 

 

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[JennyD1]

Just buy tobacco in port and not on the ship (if you're exceeding the allowed limits) Prices are about the same. Just be sure to ask if the smokes are "American made" The Virgin Islands and Mexico are normally american made, but on many of the other islands it's hit or miss and there is a difference. If they seem extra cheap..... than they are probably not US made

I just cruised on the Sunshine. Our ports were St Martin, St Lucia, Barbados and St Kitts. I don't smoke but always get cigarettes for a friend. I always buy 2, 3 or 4 cartons, whichever I can get the best deal on. There are two in my party. I declare it on my customs form and have never had a problem. This trip the customs officer told me you can only bring home one carton per person. I asked if I could pay the duty on the other two cartons. She explained that you can only pay duty on cigarettes that were not made in the USA. If you get them on the ship they are made in the USA. She said you have to get ones stamped that were made outside of the USA and the duty on them would be $10 per carton. She let me go with the 4 cartons, but said in the future they would be taken and distroyed.

[Central Oregon Gal]

so - if I buy a carton on day one - and over the 7 days on the ship I smoke all 10 packs and buy a second carton - I will have to explain to someone that I bought and smoked the first carton so there is only one carton coming back with me? :rolleyes::confused:

[hftmrock]

so - if I buy a carton on day one - and over the 7 days on the ship I smoke all 10 packs and buy a second carton - I will have to explain to someone that I bought and smoked the first carton so there is only one carton coming back with me? :rolleyes::confused:

 

just like the person that had 4 people with them and had to explain 4 cartons (one for each), it sounds like you would have to explain smoking 200 cigarettes in 7 days

[gfountain1]

I always buy the box of 5 cartons on our first night and never claim them on the form.:eek:

 

Never got caught.............................yet:D:D

 

Living dangerously!

[Computer Nerd]

Wow. Now our accounts are being flagged as to what we purchase. And then passed off to an agency? This has gotten absurd as well.

 

this is what happens when enough people throw integrity out the window. everyone has to pay for the actions of a few. :(

[cruzelover55]

Just got off the liberty in Galveston this morning, Texas has their own tax on alcohol and cigarettes. Cigarettes are 15.00 a carton Texas tax whether you live there or not. Nothing was mentioned at the shop when I bought them of course

 

 

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When I asked at the Carnival shop, how can you sell me 5 cartons if I am only allowed to take off 1? He gave me a big runaround, then I said, in other words you can sell them to me, but, it's up to me how I get them off the ship? He said, yes. This was in the Galveston port debark, and 1st time TABC had gotten involved. I "got" away with it that time as it was unorganized. I would not have a problem paying the tax as they would still be cheaper than on land, but worried they would not allow me to take excess off. And, that is indeed what happened the 2nd time. I was allowed 2 cartons, as was traveling with my husband. Paid the tax on them and the other cartons were confiscated. And this was before what seems to be happening with the letter spoken of. Shame on Carnival to sell us something and then report us for buying it! :(

[JennyD1]

so - if I buy a carton on day one - and over the 7 days on the ship I smoke all 10 packs and buy a second carton - I will have to explain to someone that I bought and smoked the first carton so there is only one carton coming back with me? :rolleyes::confused:

You can buy as many cartons as you want on the ship, but you can only bring one carton per person back into the US. (The ships cigarettes are manufactured in the US.) If you buy cartons of cigarettes in your ports of call that were manufactured outside of the US, and are stamped as such, then you can bring back additional cartons and pay the duty on them, which the Customs Officer told me is $10 per carton in Florida. She said you cannot pay duty on cigarettes manufactured in the US.

Edited May 23, 2016 by JennyD1

[Computer Nerd]

When I asked at the Carnival shop, how can you sell me 5 cartons if I am only allowed to take off 1? He gave me a big runaround, then I said, in other words you can sell them to me, but, it's up to me how I get them off the ship? He said, yes. This was in the Galveston port debark, and 1st time TABC had gotten involved. I "got" away with it that time as it was unorganized. I would not have a problem paying the tax as they would still be cheaper than on land, but worried they would not allow me to take excess off. And, that is indeed what happened the 2nd time. I was allowed 2 cartons, as was traveling with my husband. Paid the tax on them and the other cartons were confiscated. And this was before what seems to be happening with the letter spoken of. Shame on Carnival to sell us something and then report us for buying it! :(

 

why :confused: how does carnival know how many cigarettes you're going to smoke on board. it's not carnival's job to ensure you know the rules for customs......that's your job.

[RWolver672]

Unless they've changed it since our last cruise in 2015, if you bought cigarettes in St. Thomas, you could bring back 4 cartons for each adult. We bought 8 and going through customs we were asked where we bought them. I said St. Thomas and the agent said "OK".

[hftmrock]

why :confused: how does carnival know how many cigarettes you're going to smoke on board. it's not carnival's job to ensure you know the rules for customs......that's your job.

 

it doesn't matter how much you smoked on board. What matters is that you purchased more than the allowed amount to take back with you. For issues like smoking a full carton or purchasing 4 at a time for 4 people in the room, you will have to explain that to customs. I assume if you smoke a whole carton on board and explain that to them and have only one carton, they will let you go.

 

But if you buy more than the allotted amount, you need to explain it.

 

Its not carnivals job to ensure you know the rules for customs so they just report anyone buying more than 1 carton.

[LadyBeBop]

Full disclosure. I'm not a smoker. Neither is my husband.

 

That said, Carnival is running a scam, selling that many cartons and knowing most won't get to shore. At least legally.

 

You'll get a few like the original poster who has four in his party. But most travel as couples. Let's assume both are smokers. They buy their four cartons. However, they can only bring back two. On a seven day cruise (assuming they buy on the first day), they'd have to smoke a pack and a half a day to finish off their two cartons. Assuming ten minutes per cigarette, that's five hours wasted in the minimal smoking sections. Plus a lot of damage to their lungs.

 

I know it's up to the smoker to know the customs laws. However, many don't know the laws. And Carnival shouldn't take advantage of those cruisers.

[Havingfun2010]

Finally! A crack down on buying excessive product and not reporting it to customs, so they come up with a more aggressive plan on preventing it from happening. Hopefully this is done on all cruise lines and not just Carnival.

 

Personally, I would like to see tobacco products on the ship, sold in only single packs, and not cartons. Ships should not be taking advantage on the backs of people's health.

[Galatz]

I have no problem with Carnival selling them, and then its up to you to figure out what to do with them, its a common thing in business.

 

For example, in Pennsylvania it is legal to sell professional grade fireworks, but its illegal to set them off in the state. They require an out of state drivers license to even get into the store. I buy them with my NJ license, but then what? I cannot legally bring them back into NJ, but I also cannot set them off in PA. Why should the state allow this knowing every single person buying them will be breaking a law. If its legal to sell then they will, its up to you to figure out what to do with them after that.

[DebJ14]

Wow. Now our accounts are being flagged as to what we purchase. And then passed off to an agency? This has gotten absurd as well.

 

For years they have given a list of gift shop purchases to customs. When buying some expensive jewelry that exceeded our combined limit, the people in the shop told us to make sure to report it on the customs form because they have to report the sales. We reported it and paid the duty on the overage. I am not surprised that they are now reporting alcohol and tobacco sales. The government wants its pound of flesh.

 

When we flew back from Mexico a few weeks ago the only thing the customs guy was interested in was if we bought alcohol or tobacco.

Edited May 23, 2016 by DebJ14