Bringing in Cubans from abroad

[jaybertx]

I'm talking about cigars people, focus! :)

 

I know that it's illegal to bring Cuban cigars from Mexico to the US but how do they check that? A friend of mine wanted some Cubans or some good Dominican cigars but when I found out it was illegal to bring the Cubans in to the country I bought him the Dominicans. At no point did anyone even question the cigars.

 

Have any of you "brought cubans in to the country"? What is the penalty for this if you're caught trying to? This is a "theoretical question" to protect the innocent. :)

[jeanbean]

We went to Bermuda a few years ago, and I believe the cruise personnel told us the penalty was $500 per cigar. Not worth the risk to me.

[Tropicalconcrete]

I believe the fine is $250.00 per cigar. Last week on our Triumph cruise, there were a bunch of people bringing Cuban cigars back. Really it is simple how they did it. Take all the cigars out of their boxes, remove the ring labels, and put them in a plastic bag. There is now no way of knowinh where they came from and you can claim them as coming from a different port. The only drawback is that you cann't impress your friends with labels. Not a big deal as long as you really want the cigar not status.

I brought back some legal Cubans from St. Thomas and customs never even check although I had declared them. These are of Cuban seed but not grown or rolled in Cuba. Good luck.

[glrounds]

Bought a Monte Cristo #2 Cuban from a licensed Cuban store in Belize. I don't smoke cigars often, but a friend who drove me to LAX and agreed to pick me up upon returning wouldn't take gas money or anything. Just casually said get me a Monte Cristo #2 !

 

The clerk took off the ring, Issued me a receipt for a Churchill made in Dominican Republic. SLICK ! ! :D

 

Did the self-assist off the GLORY. Nobody even checked my identification, citizenship, etc. (let alone looked in my luggage).

 

Could have paid for the entire cruise with a few boxes of Cubans ! Just not worth the risk. One cigar would just amuse them. :D

 

Piece of cake, although I wouldn't recommend it at all.

[torpeedo]

Have brought a box of cuban cigars back with me on several occasions, with no problem. However on our recent Glory cruise we were randomly selected by customs in Port Canaveral for a full review as we got off the boat. Not sure what they were looking for, but they opened every suitcase, bag, carry on & even searched the contents of Mrs. Torpeedo's pocket book. Everything was in order, and fortunately this was one cruise where I didn't bring any cuban's back with me. Because of this experience I don't think I''ll take the chance of bringing any more back with me.

[Littlegoo75]

People, what pleasure do you get out of breaking the law? I don't get it. And for the person who thinks they are so smart about removing the rings, the Customs people are not that stupid and you will get it if they catch you, if it's worth the gamble to you, then try it, but don't go crying when you get caught for trying to pull the wool over their eyes. If you were not trying to conceal the country of origin markings, why would you remove the label in the first place? DUH. If you must smoke those smelly things then why not do it while you are on the ship or on foreign soil and get it out of your system? Sometimes I just wonder about people........

[serene56]

It is not against the law to bring cubans cigars onboard any cruise ship. Actually onboard one night they will have a cigar smoke out in the cigar lounge for the people who bought them onboard. It is against the law to bring them back into the US.

[ajolson2]

Not a big deal at all. I brought one back and I didn't even remove the ring. My cabin steward brought me a ziplock bag, I put the cigar in the zip lock and stuffed in it my sneaker. I guess the ultimate decision depends on if you are a risk taker or not.

[Littlegoo75]

I just love how people have become so nonchalant about breaking the law.

[mohavemommy]

I put the cigar in the zip lock and stuffed in it my sneaker.

...and did it still taste good when you smoked it? :eek: :D

[mtd716]

Soemthing else to be aware of for Canadians -- even if you are going directly back to Canada (where Cubans are apparently legal) you still have to pass through U.S. customs and it is still illegal to bring them on to shore from the ship in a U.S. port, even if you don't intend to smoke them on U.S. soil. I'm not Canadian, but I thought this was good info that probably wouldn't have occured to me. Both the Carnival Super Shopper and our Cruise Director made a point to explain this.

 

For anyone, buying Cubans in ports and smoking them on the ship is fine. You just can't bring them off the ship into the U.S.

[DebBrown]

Just how many Cubans can you fit in your suitcase? Do you need to make breathing holes for them? OR, are they really just Dominican's dressed up to look like Cubans. That was for all of your Seinfeld fans! ;)

[elvisillusions]

Heck - after the way all the guys w/ machine guns stood around outside our ship in every port because the crew had stopped and rescued a boat of sinking Cubans during our cruise... we never even dreamed of bringing a cuban cigar back w/ us...

[Tropicalconcrete]

Just because this country has some stupid law about Cuban items, doesn't mean we all agree with it. I understand that we don't want to support the Cuban government but, we want to smoke these cigars, not sell them for profit. And the ones hurt are the Cuban people. This is an item for personal consumption. How come as an American, I can buy a thousand boxes and smoke them onboard the ship but I can't bring a box in to enjoy in my home. Seems pretty stupid to me. Maybe it's time we gave up this "no Cuban products" bull. Next the government will tell us that Castro is the sole funding for Iraq. Maybe we should stop importing oil from the middle east. That might have a greater impact on the world than our cigars!

Oh, and removing the labels doesn't mean that we think customs is stupid, it just means that they can't prove where the cigars were purchased. I bought some hand rolled in San Juan that had no labels. It's a pitty that we have to do this but lets get real about this.

[mmeadows]

Just so you know, it's actually illegal to be a US Citizen and purchase any Cuban goods, no matter whether you're abroad or not.

 

 

This all being said, why you would go through all this work to smuggle in things that are more than likely fake (seeing as so few people in the US know what to look for). I can't stress enough that the majority of cigars you see that claim to be Cubans are fake. Yes there are legit places to buy, but no most people don't use them/realize there's a difference.

 

Anyway, if you're so bothered, there are much better ways to get Cuban goods than smuggling.

[Grayce]

Soemthing else to be aware of for Canadians -- even if you are going directly back to Canada (where Cubans are apparently legal) you still have to pass through U.S. customs and it is still illegal to bring them on to shore from the ship in a U.S. port, even if you don't intend to smoke them on U.S. soil. .

Canadians don't have to bring back cuban cigars. We can buy them here. I used to work for United Cigar Stores here in Canada. We sold tons of Cuban cigars to Americans. We used to warn them of the huge fine (don't remeber how much) for taking the Cubans back to the US but most people usually said they were to smoke "right away" ;) .

[glrounds]

People, what pleasure do you get out of breaking the law? I don't get it. And for the person who thinks they are so smart about removing the rings, the Customs people are not that stupid and you will get it if they catch you, if it's worth the gamble to you, then try it, but don't go crying when you get caught for trying to pull the wool over their eyes. If you were not trying to conceal the country of origin markings, why would you remove the label in the first place? DUH. If you must smoke those smelly things then why not do it while you are on the ship or on foreign soil and get it out of your system? Sometimes I just wonder about people........

I get no pleasure from breaking the law. I bought the Monte Cristo for a friend. I do know where to go to get real Cuban cigars. If anything my actions merely allowed one Cuban child to get enough food for maybe a week. :(

 

I was fully prepared to suffer whatever consequences my government wanted to impose upon me had I been caught.

 

I find the law archaic anyway. It only exists to honor President Kennedy in the first place.

 

Embargoes seldom work with dictatorships. The people who really suffer are the innocent bystanders (Cuban peasants, average Iraqi citizen, the sick, the old, the children, etc.)

 

We not only trade with China, one of the most brutal, despotic, dictatorships in the World, we give them Most Favored Nation Status as well. Go figure. :mad:

 

I will probably drive at speeds approaching 80 mph on a relatively vacant freeway at 5:00am tomorrow. I will derive no pleasure out of it, however. But I will get there sooner. :D

[mtd716]

Canadians don't have to bring back cuban cigars. We can buy them here. I used to work for United Cigar Stores here in Canada. We sold tons of Cuban cigars to Americans. We used to warn them of the huge fine (don't remeber how much) for taking the Cubans back to the US but most people usually said they were to smoke "right away" ;) .

LOL, that's exactly what I wondered -- if Canadians can buy them legally at home, why the need to smuggle them past U.S. borders? But they made such a big deal of telling us this, that the only thing I could figure was maybe they are much more expensive in Canada because of taxes or something. But what do I know? :p Probably the cruise director figured that because Cubans aren't illegal for Canadians and therefore no reason to think twice about them, someone could conceivably happen to buy a cigar in port that happens to be Cuban without knowing that they are committing a crime if they bring it back through the U.S. Who knows what all I take for granted here that may be illegal in some other country?

[willybegolfer]

I get no pleasure from breaking the law. I bought the Monte Cristo for a friend. I do know where to go to get real Cuban cigars. If anything my actions merely allowed one Cuban child to get enough food for maybe a week. :(

 

I was fully prepared to suffer whatever consequences my government wanted to impose upon me had I been caught.

 

I find the law archaic anyway. It only exists to honor President Kennedy in the first place.

 

Embargoes seldom work with dictatorships. The people who really suffer are the innocent bystanders (Cuban peasants, average Iraqi citizen, the sick, the old, the children, etc.)

 

We not only trade with China, one of the most brutal, despotic, dictatorships in the World, we give them Most Favored Nation Status as well. Go figure. :mad:

 

I will probably drive at speeds approaching 80 mph on a relatively vacant freeway at 5:00am tomorrow. I will derive no pleasure out of it, however. But I will get there sooner. :D

QFA with the exception of China. Since I travel there a considerable amount and find the people to be some of the warmest and most sincere. Never had trouble with that government either.

 

Anyway, I'd rather see someone break the Cuban embargo law for their own enjoyment than drive their car even 5 mph over the speed limit. I am also facinated by people that would open a thread titled "Bringing Cubans in from Abroad" then being shocked and insulted by what they read. Me, I'd just read a different thread.

[ajolson2]

...and did it still taste good when you smoked it? :eek: :D

 

 

I didn't smoke it! It wasn't even for me!! It was a gift for a friend!! I could've cared less what it tasted like!!