Wine allowance

[vinonme2]

We will be taking a cruise next spring from Sydney, Australia, and can disembark in either Seattle or Vancouver. We want to bring some wines back home (US) with us. Can some one please tell me the wine limit if disembarking in Canada? I'd hate to have to leave some good wines at the dock!

 

Thank you!

[martincath]

Have a look here for info from the Canadian Border Services Agency.

 

In summary - you get the same *duty free* allowance as Canadians do (2 bottles of wine per person - which can be swapped for liquor or beer instead).

 

If you are willing to pay (ridiculous amounts of compared to the US) duty you can bring in any reasonable amount (since you're cruising, I can't imagine you'll be schlepping more than a case or two which is well within even the most stringent customs officials definition of 'personal use'). As a ballpark, expect to pay c. $10 extra on a bottle of wine that cost $15, exact amounts depend on cost and alcohol content. You can do the exact calculation using this info. The good news is the obscene BC extra fee (+85% to everything else) gets capped at $12.75, so the more expensive the wine the better value it becomes.

 

In theory, as a US resident, if you are immediately leaving Canada for the US you can state that you are In Transit and file the paperwork as you disembark to have your booze sealed - this involves a triplicate list of the goods and appropriate sealable containers being provided by you, to which the customs officers attach a seal which must not be broken until you leave the country.

 

The link above does not provide any more detail as to what an acceptable container is, it's been a long time since I imported goods to Canada (and never using the 'in transit' to the US method), so if you're seriously considering bringing a significant amount of wine with you, contact them directly to ensure you have all your Is and Ts appropriately dotted & crossed...

 

If you haven't done it before, I'd suggest checking your own State rules and with the CBP too if you're planning to bring back a lot of wine - as an American you only have 1 litre duty free allowance when arriving from most countries, but I'm sure you'll pay a lot less in duty & taxes than we do here in BC.

[cruising cockroach]

Check that you can bring wine onboard at the intermediate stops. If the cruise doesn't cost more ending in Seattle, you might as well end the cruise there. No direct flights home from there but they may be cheaper.

[vinonme2]

WOW! Canadian fees for bringing more than 2 bottles of wine into the country are unreal and the thought of filling out forms to bring our wine home just doesn't excite me. We love Australian wines and so many of them are just not available in the US. Guess we had better really enjoy them there and on the ship. All the wines we'd bring on board would be when we board the ship in Sydney.

 

We're really spoiled with our Transatlantics that end up in Fort Lauderdale because we've brought back up to 30+ bottles of wine and liquors from Europe and never been challenged or charged any duty. Now I'm wondering if it's the same in Seattle.

 

The cruise was originally going to Vancouver and then to end the next day in Seattle. Hal has now reversed those 2 days and Vancouver is now the last day. If we get off in Vancouver (Day 29) or Seattle (Day 28), the cruise rate is the same.

 

Thank you so much for your very informative response!