Beware Customs

[ducklite]

Boy I hope that they do not do this here in Galveston TX.

My friend loves his Cuban Cigars, I love my flavored Tequila !

 

 

Oops, do not read TSA.:D

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

What does the TSA have to do with Customs?

[hmallett]

Just a little street info for you . False paperwork .

Anything else you need to know ? ;)

An illegal immigrant with false paperwork is still an illegal immigrant, and not entitled to benefits.

I accept that there are probably illegal immigrants using false documentation who are claiming benefits in the UK.

I fear that this is a bit off topic though... :)

[broberts]

Boy I hope that they do not do this here in Galveston TX.

My friend loves his Cuban Cigars, I love my flavored Tequila !

 

Unlike being caught bringing in over the limit amounts of alcohol and non-Cuban tobacco, being in possession of Cuban made cigars while attempting to enter the US puts one a risk of severe penalties including hefty fines.

 

While I'm not suggesting an inspector would do more than confiscate the goods, it is technically possible one might face criminal prosecution and a fine of up to $55,000.

[broberts]

. . .And don't forget...If customs should find and sieze your Cubans when you re-enter the U.S., remember to break them apart in front of them. They haaaate it whan you do that!

 

I suspect customs could consider this an attempt to destroy evidence.

[Willo60]

An illegal immigrant with false paperwork is still an illegal immigrant, and not entitled to benefits.

I accept that there are probably illegal immigrants using false documentation who are claiming benefits in the UK.

I fear that this is a bit off topic though... :)

 

Correct . They are not are enititled to benefits . But they do as you well know . Not enough customs men you see .

 

Does anyone know where the customs men are ? :D

 

Off topic ? You might be right . Goodnight .

[nolimits]

For information on Allure had run at roulette went to ships watch store bought a watch cost few Thousand ther where two others in that store when I purchased mine when leaving ship my sail and sign card was selected RANDOM for private customs room .I had not filled out form yet so no problem for me.the other to 2 people that purchased jewelry where there also not a chance it was random

I had to pay 37$ more but the people that weren't flagged where all on line to exit terminal took people we met 1 1/2hrs to clear lines at customs.I was out of term. In 10 minutes .This was the Allure Labbadee extravaganza .I figured I payed express exit fee LOL

[Lvteks]

Correct . They are not are enititled to benefits . But they do as you well know . Not enough customs men you see .

 

Does anyone know where the customs men are ? :D

 

Off topic ? You might be right . Goodnight .

 

Definitely off topic....the good news, there is an outstanding Customs Officer the living room. The bad news, he is retired. The best news, he is my DH.

 

BTW this is my first time to knowingly tilt a bit off topic. I don't expect it to be habit forming.

So to the topic: In addition to other procedures, Customs will sometime do a "random check of the day" i.e. every 28th passenger. Try your luck in the Casino. : )

 

Blessings,

 

Gail

[Mademypoint]

If the ship stops in St Thomas you are ALLOWED to bring back 5 bottles per person! When I got off that same 10/27 cruise the customs man asked me "how many bottles do you have" and I said 3 and he said "do you know you could carry 5" and I said "I am alone, if I could have carried 5 by myself with my luggage I would have bought 5".

 

Read the handouts very carefully that they put in your cabin and it will tell you.

[pstone1]

When we cruise from Ports that we can drive to, we always exceed our liquor limit by many bottles. We also always declare it. We have had to pay duty twice (out of about 25 times) once in Miami and once in Port Canaveral. It was less than $15 both times, probably $1-$2 per bottle. The cost is based on the alcohol content. One thing that is very important is that you HAVE to pay cash. Customs has no way to take credit cards or any other type of payment. Both times, it took about 1/2 hour extra to get through. Definately worth the time and trouble!

[Big_G]

And don't forget...If customs should find and sieze your Cubans when you re-enter the U.S., remember to break them apart in front of them.

They probably wouldn't make it back to the states anyway. We got two days at sea after St. Maarten and they won't last.;)

[Missus Makkem]

There were 10 custom officials stopping and searching cruisers returning from Canaries cruise on IOTS on friday morning 11.11.11. I have cruised for 13 years and have never witnessed this before. All purchases were removed in excess of 1 litre or 200 cigarettes purchased onboard.

 

This year we have done 3 cruises on the IOS and it was like this each time we got off the ship.

Never seen anything like the stacks of ciggies on and behind the table.

the price of cigarettes in the UK makes people greedy as they sell them on

 

The shops onboard kept reminding people of their legal limits but still people think they can get away with it.

[Jenna109]

Just to be clear, are you saying that in the UK, you can not declare goods above the duty free threshold, and pay the duty on them?

 

Yes you can declare and pay the duty BUT the passengers who are stopped by the customs have not declared their extra purchases. It really isn't worth trying to evade payment. On returning from our first trip to Asia - I had bought all sorts of goods - I went through the RED/something to declare channel - the customs staff were really very nice and helpful. I paid the tax and the goods still worked out cheaper than in English shops

[S10Catman]

What does the TSA have to do with Customs?

 

Customs and TSA are part of Homeland Security under the Dept of Treasury.

[S10Catman]

Hey Cigar King,

I'm doing an eastern in January. Do you know any 'legit' cigar stores in St. Thomas or St. Maarten?

 

There is a La Casa del Habano(LCDH) in Marigot and two legit shops in Philipsburg on the main shopping street. Philipsburg prices are better than Marigot if you don't want to travel across the island. St. Thomas is a definite NO habanos, there are cigar shops but none that sell habanos.

[Bigtex1622]

Most "Cuban" Cigars bought in the Caribbean are not "Real" Cuban Cigars!!!

 

How do you know????

 

Really I want to know.

 

 

 

:rolleyes:

[Cigar King]

How do you know????

 

Really I want to know.

 

 

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

While it's true that there are plenty of fakes in the stores, many, if not most, of the legitimate cigar stores sell the real McCoy. Fakes are more of a problem in places like Mexico. Find somebody who knows the difference and your be fine. Beware of the glass top box Cohibas. ;-)

[Big_G]

Originally Posted by FLHugh

Most "Cuban" Cigars bought in the Caribbean are not "Real" Cuban Cigars!!!

How do you know????

Here's some good background:

 

Cigar Afficianado

[Retired LEO]

I highly doubt it.

 

A. Wouldn't be good for sales.

 

B. Easy to bypass by buying at the port of call where it can't be tracked.

 

Personal experience says otherwise.

[BillOh]

We always bring back double or triple the allowance and never have any problems.

 

Years ago we would just toss it in the suitcase and never declare it. Then we found out that the duty on the excess is only $2-$3 per bottle so we started declaring it. Since then we have never been asked to pay the duty.

 

From what I understand, it is up the customs officer whether or not to assess the duty and for a couple of $ it is not worth the hassle. They just want to move people along as quick as possible.

 

That has been our experience on the Canadian border coming back into the US. My sister had 2 sons get married, each time while visiting the Falls, we stocked up for the wedding at the Duty Free, we declared everything, had the receipt from the store, they just waved us on.

[PudgiPoo]

I checked this to make sure it had not changed. The on board merchants will deny this, but if you are a Texas resident and return to Galveston port with alcohol, you cannot declare extra. Sorry. This is copied from http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/faq/personal_importation.asp Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission web site.

 

How much alcohol can I bring back from Mexico and other locations outside of Texas?

 

If you are coming into Texas from outside the state or country, the maximum quantity of alcoholic beverages that you can bring back into Texas is:

 

1 gallon of distilled spirits

3 gallons of wine and

24 twelve-ounce containers of beer.

 

Please remember that there can be no substitutions between the types of beverages. Also, the importation of alcoholic beverages must be for personal consumption and they cannot occur more than once in a 30-day period. The person making the importation must accompany the alcoholic beverages. Minors (persons under 21 years of age) or intoxicated persons may not bring alcoholic beverages into Texas under this provision.

[Cigar King]

I'm curious how this is enforced, since presumably the connection between the State and Federal officials is tenuous at best.

[tactic]

when we came back from vos in september the customs officers were really active at Gatwick...... shame they weren't looking for contraband they were more interested in eyeballing Kiera Knightly who had flown back on our flight from Venice!

 

IOS is interesting though..... so you visit eu and non eu countries - wonder what the legal situation is... can you buy duty free in non eu and buy duty paid in eu countries and in the duty free shop on board? Not been on IOS yet but going in April - what are the choices of channels to walk through - red, green and blue? If spain is last port of call does that mean you are entering the uk from an EU country or if you have visited a non eu country on cruise does that nullify that? interesting dilemma. We have never been in that position before we have either cruise all EU or all Non EU countries. Plus if you have done a cruise where you had to fly and you flew back to the UK from an EU airport even though you may have visited a non eu country your baggage tag would be blue edged thus allowing you to pass through blue channel.... mmmmm interesting thought. Maybe someone with more authority on these things might know the answers.........

[elcuchio24]

Hey Cigar King,

I'm doing an eastern in January. Do you know any 'legit' cigar stores in St. Thomas or St. Maarten?

 

La Casa De Habana in St. Maarten. The real deal, cuban government franchise.

[broberts]

I'm curious how this is enforced, since presumably the connection between the State and Federal officials is tenuous at best.

 

From the CBP Know Before You Go brochure, page 21:

 

"

Also, you should be aware that state laws might limit the

amount of alcohol you can bring in without a license. If

you arrive in a state that has limitations on the amount

of alcohol you may bring in without a license, that state

law will be enforced by CBP, even though it may be

more restrictive than federal regulations. We recommend

that you check with the state government before

you go abroad about their limitations on quantities

allowed for personal importation and additional state

taxes that might apply.

"

[ducklite]

Customs and TSA are part of Homeland Security under the Dept of Treasury.

 

And they perform COMPLETELY different duties. TSA doesn't look for contraband coming into the country, in fact they only look for things going on planes. They could care less if you've got three cases of wine in your checked bags (I do this regularly--cheaper than shipping. TSA could care less if you've got a dozen Cubanos or 24 cartons of cigs. That's customs job.

 

I'm not sure why TSA was even mentioned in the context of this thread.