Be Careful What You Buy on Board

[nelblu]

Just off Oasis out of Bayonne.  The cruise was simply fantastic other than a minor weather blip of a day.  While on board my son bought a Tag Heur men's watch.  When we disembarked in Bayonne, my son was prevented from leaving with a big warning sign indicating on the screen.  No explanation given even after we asked security multiple times as to the reason.

 

Some 10 minutes later, the D lounge concierge came and asked my son to follow him.  He was so serious and cold that we could not understand what the issue(s) was.  By the way, all of the adults have Global Pass and have fingerprints on file.  I asked the D Concierge for an explanation, but he wasn't too glib with his answers.  It seemed like one big damn secret.  We began to get worried especially, my granddaughter as she could not understand as to what was happening.  We followed them and went thru Customs/facial recognition process and no problems. Finally, he was leading us to the Customs offices.

 

A Custom officer came to greet us and asked my son for the receipt of the purchased watch.  They were so upset and frazzled that they could not readily find the receipt.  He told them to calm down and took my son to an enclosed area of the Customs Office away from us.  My granddaughter was upset as she did not understand what was going on.

 

My son told us that the Officer asked him some questions and was very kind and asked him the cost of the watch.  My son told him, and he was led to a cubicle where a cashier filled some paperwork and charged some $50+ and I guess it was for federal excise tax.

 

My conclusion, since Customs has done away with the "Custom Declaration Form", it seems that the cruise line is communicating/coordinating with Customs on any large purchases made on ship.

 

Our gripe is the secrecy and convoluted way that the way it was handled.  It was a bit embarrassing to say the least.   Why not explain why he was prevented from leaving and better yet why not charge for any federal excise tax at point of purchase rather than being treated like he did something wrong.

 

By the way if one says, "why should Royal get involved with collecting taxes", well Royal charged Nassau VAT taxes of 10% for the Beach bed that I rented on Coco Cay Chill Island.

 

Last famous words form my son and DIL--we will never buy anything of value on the ship, other than minor items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Charles4515]

18 minutes ago, nelblu said:

My conclusion, since Customs has done away with the "Custom Declaration Form", it seems that the cruise line is communicating/coordinating with Customs on any large purchases made on ship.

 

The shops onboard have always been reporting large purchases to customs. Even when they had the form. I think they are required too. A member of our group had that happen about six years ago. She was very embarrassed.  She had purchased a TAG watch. In her case they told her it was duty free and implied that meant there was no tax. Duty free only means that the store paid no tax. They gave her no warning there would be tax due. They have to comply with the law but they should not be underhanded about it.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Charles4515

[not-enough-cruising]

Nothing new here, large purchases have ALWAYS been reported to CBP, it’s a federal law. 
 

I truly question the over dramatization of the above narrative. 

[not-enough-cruising]

10 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

The shops onboard have always been reporting large purchases to customs. Even when they had the form. I think they are required too. A member of our group had that happen about six years ago. She was very embarrassed.  She had purchased a TAG watch. In her case they told her it was duty free and implied that meant there was no tax. Duty free only means that the store paid no tax. They gave her no warning there would be tax due. They have to comply with the law but they should not be underhanded about it.

Is it really underhanded? 

Shouldn’t it be the responsibility of the purchaser to know the rules of their country? 
 

Every different nationality on the ship has different rules when it comes to taxes and their reporting. Should the retail staff on board be fluent in all of them?
 

 

[reallyitsmema]

If he purchased a watch higher than his allowance, he needs to declare the purchase and pay what is due.  There was information in the compass about what the allowances are and it is up to the passenger to declare or be caught.  The ship has always reported to CBP, nothing new at all.

[Charles4515]

4 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Is it really underhanded? 

Shouldn’t it be the responsibility of the purchaser to know the rules of their country? 
 

Every different nationality on the ship has different rules when it comes to taxes and their reporting. Should the retail staff on board be fluent in all of them?
 

 

I feel like they were being underhanded to make the sale. They kept telling her it was duty free which her  being naive thought meant no tax was due. The sales person knew there would be tax due and they know it is reported. They omitted that information. The result is she  stopped purchasing anyyhing onboard after that. 

[iuki]

Many years ago we purchased something onboard, but I don’t remember what.  The only thing I remember is that we were pulled aside when we disembarked and was told we had to pay $35 IN CASH!  Imagine if someone didn’t have enough cash on hand?

[Another_Critic]

39 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I truly question the over dramatization of the above narrative. 

Someone posted a similar (even more vague from the customs side) scenario when they won $10K+ in the casino.

[Another_Critic]

To add to your post:  Be careful what you win in the casino.  😄

[Ashland]

3 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Someone posted a similar (even more vague from the customs side) scenario when they won $10K+ in the casino.

How are casino winnings over a certain amount handled ? Someone on our Panama Canal cruise a couple of weeks ago won 10k.

[BND]

34 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I feel like they were being underhanded to make the sale. They kept telling her it was duty free which her  being naive thought meant no tax was due. The sales person knew there would be tax due and they know it is reported. They omitted that information. The result is she  stopped purchasing anyyhing onboard after that. 

It was duty free at time of purchase.  But, the tax comes into play when you come into the US with it.

[BND]

4 minutes ago, Ashland said:

How are casino winnings over a certain amount handled ? Someone on our Panama Canal cruise a couple of weeks ago won 10k.

They have to fill out a tax form as it's subject to income tax (US citizens/residents).

Edited October 21, 2022 by BND

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, Ashland said:

How are casino winnings over a certain amount handled ? Someone on our Panama Canal cruise a couple of weeks ago won 10k.

I don't recall the outcome, but it was recently posted on here.

[StephPS79]

4 minutes ago, Ashland said:

How are casino winnings over a certain amount handled ? Someone on our Panama Canal cruise a couple of weeks ago won 10k.

I won a $1500 hand-pay once, so just over the what, $1200(?) limit, admittedly on another line - however, I had to complete a tax form before they even put the casheesh in my grabby little hand.  I imagine it's the same for anything over the limit.

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Nothing new here, large purchases have ALWAYS been reported to CBP, it’s a federal law. 
 

I truly question the over dramatization of the above narrative. 

You weren’t there, so you don’t know how it  all went down.  All the security or the d lounge concierge had to say was Customs issue regarding a purchase made in ship. 
Do you want me to say that my granddaughter cried. 

[reallyitsmema]

4 minutes ago, nelblu said:

You weren’t there, so you don’t know how it  all went down.  All the security or the d lounge concierge had to say was Customs issue regarding a purchase made in ship. 
Do you want me to say that my granddaughter cried. 

 

Ricardo couldn't tell you what was going on as he likely didn't know either.  He was doing what he was told.  I am sure it was stressful for all involved but they are just following instructions.  He didn't know if it was duty that was owed or something was found in your luggage as it was being taken off the ship and you were going to meet the drug dogs.

[PolicromaSol]

I think the person with $10k just got harassed for a bit.

 

Hypothetically, You think if I ever win big in the Casino and ask them for a similarly priced cruise instead that the government would leave me alone? 🤣

[OSUZorba]

Really seems like this should just be handled with a credit card reader at the face scanners nowadays. IIRC my last cruise there wasn't even an opportunity to declare anything.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

14 minutes ago, nelblu said:

You weren’t there, so you don’t know how it  all went down.  All the security or the d lounge concierge had to say was Customs issue regarding a purchase made in ship. 
Do you want me to say that my granddaughter cried. 

In retrospect, was their something you could have done differently to pre-empt the situation?  Without the form, I am not sure how you would even pay a duty anymore.

[Donsyb]

Someone was complaining on FB about this too, they had bought a ring and had the same situation. They kept saying RC lied to them that they didn’t have to pay tax - not sure of it was just their misunderstanding or if they were missold.

[LHARTWICK]

32 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 Without the form, I am not sure how you would even pay a duty anymore.

Wondering the same - hopefully someone here can advise.  Sorry to the OP for the experience.  I would have been upset as well, not knowing why I was being pulled aside.  

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

In retrospect, was their something you could have done differently to pre-empt the situation?  Without the form, I am not sure how you would even pay a duty anymore.

Yes, if they knew of the protocols and the hassle involved, I don't think that my son would have bought the watch on board.  Lesson learned.

Edited October 21, 2022 by nelblu

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Ricardo couldn't tell you what was going on as he likely didn't know either.  He was doing what he was told.  I am sure it was stressful for all involved but they are just following instructions.  He didn't know if it was duty that was owed or something was found in your luggage as it was being taken off the ship and you were going to meet the drug dogs.

There's has to be a better way to assuage the passenger(s) being affected.   

[slyster]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I feel like they were being underhanded to make the sale. They kept telling her it was duty free which her  being naive thought meant no tax was due. The sales person knew there would be tax due and they know it is reported. They omitted that information. The result is she  stopped purchasing anyyhing onboard after that. 

 

I'll be honest, I thought duty free meant I didn't have to pay tax.  I get it's my responsibility to know but if I had been in the same shoes, I would not have thought I would need to report it.  Glad I saw this.

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

In retrospect, was their something you could have done differently to pre-empt the situation?  Without the form, I am not sure how you would even pay a duty anymore.

 

The form is available online or you can request one at guest services if you know you have paid more than your personal allowance.