Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Duty free alcohol

tlwg04

By tlwg04,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

tlwg04

tlwg04

Posted
Posted

Soooooooooooooo looking forward to my cruise, it cant get here fast enough!!

 

anyway, what are some of the bottles that are a Must Purchase for you? What have you found were the best deals? My ports are Amber Cove, St Thomas, Grand Turk and San juan.

 

I think I read somewhere that you are allowed one liter per port, but are allowed additional bottles on one of these but I cant remember what's what.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
coevan

coevan

Posted
Posted

"Generally, one liter of alcohol per person may be entered into the U.S. duty-free by travelers who are 21 or older, although travelers coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands or other Caribbean countries are entitled to more. Additional quantities may be entered, although they will be subject to duty and Federal excise taxes, which will be assessed and collected at the port of entry."

 

 

The key word is generally. I have brought back 4 bottles from St.Thomas and have never been charged any tax

Link to comment
Share on other sites
splintz

splintz

Posted
Posted

I have been on numerous cruises and have always bought more than my allotted 1 liter per person. Sometimes up to 8 liters. I have never had an issue. Also every time I declare all the bottles on my customs form. I have never been questioned or made to pay duty for the bottles. I just brought home 4 bottles of vodka that I bought from the duty free store on the pride 3 days ago and the customs agent looked at my declaration form that said 4 bottles of vodka checked my passport and said have a nice day. In 14 cruises I have always bought over my allowance and declared it. Never have I been questioned or made to pay a duty tax. My advice is to be truthful and declare what you bought and more than likely you will be on your way without paying a duty. Just don't lie about it on the form. If they catch you with more than your allotment and you don't declare it you will have some explaining to do

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BallFour4

BallFour4

Posted
Posted
We went to Bacardi in San Juan and got a bottle of rum that you can only get there. We got to fill the bottle and apply the label. We ten had to fill out a logbook. They know who bought each bottle.

That's a fun tour! We went in January and also bought a bottle of Bacardí Special Reserve Rum. I had the cruise date engraved on the bottle.

 

Last week I was surprised to see it at Costco...

 

We took the local ferry from Pier 2 and then caught the $3 shuttle to the tour.

 

http://www.visitcasabacardi.com/fill-your-spirit/

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
maryred

maryred

Posted
Posted (edited)
total, per 7 day cruise?I dont believe this is quite accurate.....

It is accurate for most Caribbean islands, 1 liter tax and duty free per trip regardless of how long or how many islands visited. When in the US Virgin Islands you may buy 5 liters duty free as long as 4 of those liters are distilled and bottled in the USVI.

You can buy more but the CBP can assess a duty on the overages and may enforce any state regulation for the homeport and possibly any that your home state may have. Alcohol purchased in Puerto Rico is taxed at the point of sale (except, I believe from the shop in the port terminal), so do not include those purchases on your Custom's Declaration form and hold on to the receipt that shows the tax already paid.

NOW the big question is will the CBP clerk you encounter upon repatriation actually send you to the duty collection office or check each bottle for point of distillation, since you are visiting Saint Thomas. The answer is a real toss-up. Every time I've sailed out of Baltimore the clerks there were strict and will send you to the cashiers office to pay the duty and MD alcohol tax for any part of a liter over the allowance, meanwhile for my cruises out of NYC and NJ it's been a 50/50 toss up if we've been charge the duty. The most we have paid in duty and taxes for overages is in Baltimore where they added the 3.5% sin tax on top of the duty, last trip that averaged about $5 per liter over. The least we have paid is in NOLA, being assessed about $3 per bottle over.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/424/related/1

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/212/related/1

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/544/related/1

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/246/related/1

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/190/related/1

Edited by maryred
Fix link
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tef43

tef43

Posted
Posted
When in the US Virgin Islands you may buy 5 liters duty free as long as 4 of those liters are distilled and bottled in the USVI.

You have that backwards. It is only the fifth liter that must be locally produced in the USVI.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/424/~/bringing-alcohol-from-u.s.-insular-possessions-into-the-u.s.-(u.s.-virgin

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tlwg04

tlwg04

Posted
  • Author
Posted
"Generally, one liter of alcohol per person may be entered into the U.S. duty-free by travelers who are 21 or older, although travelers coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands or other Caribbean countries are entitled to more. Additional quantities may be entered, although they will be subject to duty and Federal excise taxes, which will be assessed and collected at the port of entry."

 

 

The key word is generally. I have brought back 4 bottles from St.Thomas and have never been charged any tax

 

Thank you for this info!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Schoifmom

Schoifmom

Posted
Posted
"Generally, one liter of alcohol per person may be entered into the U.S. duty-free by travelers who are 21 or older, although travelers coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands or other Caribbean countries are entitled to more. Additional quantities may be entered, although they will be subject to duty and Federal excise taxes, which will be assessed and collected at the port of entry."

 

 

The key word is generally. I have brought back 4 bottles from St.Thomas and have never been charged any tax

 

Sorry about that, we typically fly so we don't buy alcohol, except on our last cruise. That was a CA/NE cruise, so I guess I missed the general exception for Caribbean countries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wemjam

wemjam

Posted
Posted
This is great!! So.....five bottles in all, with one being made in USVI. Got it!!

 

now.....what alcohol did yall buy? lol

 

 

 

We personally use cruising to stock up on Kahlua and Bacardi Flavored rums... really good prices on these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimsnapple

jimsnapple

Posted
Posted
Soooooooooooooo looking forward to my cruise, it cant get here fast enough!!

 

anyway, what are some of the bottles that are a Must Purchase for you? What have you found were the best deals? My ports are Amber Cove, St Thomas, Grand Turk and San juan.

 

I think I read somewhere that you are allowed one liter per port, but are allowed additional bottles on one of these but I cant remember what's what.

St. Thomas, 5 cartons, 6 bottles, 1,600.00 duty free.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JawjaFatBoy

JawjaFatBoy

Posted
Posted

For your itinerary I would recommend:

 

St.Thomas: Bones rum. Excellent! Made in USVI, so you meet the insular possession mandate, and not imported into US. I also recommend Cherry Marnier. Good stuff and also not imported. I got mine at Dynasty Dazzlers on the main street. You'll also find great prices on Cruzan rums in case you want to stock up. Good prices on other spirits as well.

 

Grand Turk: Highly recommend Bambarra Gold and Reserve. Very good and also not imported! If you are a Jack Daniel's fan, you can get Silver Select here or in San Juan. Again, not imported.

 

San Juan: We wanted to go to the Bacardi factory but wound up touring the forts instead. Maybe next time! I do remember that most of the Bacardi rums were going for around $5/liter, so might be a good time to stock the bar! Also, Don Q rums has a tasting room near port. Definitely worth stopping by.

 

We (wife and I) brought back 14 liters from that exact itinerary. We declared all of it and the officer at the port never gave us a second look.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tvlworm

tvlworm

Posted
Posted

I'm not sure on island prices but I was shocked at how cheap even the bottles were on the ship. If we weren't flying, we might not have brought our clothes home! Here are a few pictures of the ship prices from last month. 6b27b5525f7b4f53e795cbeb973737b9.jpga1ee5140d82058581b43ca97686cdc54.jpgc31d44ddfb89fc13382f49fa48762e43.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...