Bottles...Departure

[yo hoho &a bottle of r]

Were sailing on May 26th, on the Inspiration.

 

I know your only aloud to bring home like 2bottles, before having to pay extra.

 

Can somone please tell me how much per bottle, and what the limit is?

[Bonnie J.]

Customs saw we had two six packs (carry six bottles of booze) when we were getting off. We were escorted to two gentlemen who told us we were only allowed 5 each- Most important, we stopped in St. Thomas, the USA!! If you stop here and buy one bottle of local stuff, then you are allowed 5 bottles each. (We get Riise's FANTASTIC vanilla rum each time we stop there!). Anyway they said there was no charge if what is owed is less than $10. Our two extra bottles were less so they said just go and we did, didn't pay a thing. WE drive so can do this. And if you put bottles in your carry off no one will know. They don't open bags when you get home.

[Happy ks]

You are allowed to bring back (I think) one litre per adult person within your customs declaration. There isn't a limitation, but after your allowance, they can and may charge duty on your purchases, several times I've read the above statement like Bonnie J's.

 

It may be that it isn't worth the time to collect such a small amount of duty, in the above case they had a 6 pack so if there were 2 adults the duty would only have had to be paid on 4 bottles. But, don't ever "assume" this will be the case for you, you may encounter a by the book agent, or they are cracking down that day. If you have to pay duty, it may not be worth the hassle for such a small savings.

 

Also, if you are flying, remember you have to pack the bottles in your luggage, so take plenty of bubble wrap and large ziplocs in case of breakage!

 

Remember too, check with your state to make sure you are allowed to bring the booze back into your state.

 

Here's a link to the gov't stand on the issue (read all the way down!):

 

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/paying_duty.xml

 

Correction: I see BonnieJ had two six packs! I think they got lucky that day.

[Bonnie J.]

If you go to the AMERICAN Virgins islands, each person is allowed to bring back 5 bottles if one of those is from/made in the US Vigin Islands. If you do not stop there, THEN you can only bring back one bottle legally. But I have seen a lot more than one bottle per, in the halls, when the ship delivers your booze the last night.

......Bonnie J...................

[gkrebs]

If you go to the AMERICAN Virgins islands, each person is allowed to bring back 5 bottles if one of those is from/made in the US Vigin Islands. If you do not stop there, THEN you can only bring back one bottle legally. But I have seen a lot more than one bottle per, in the halls, when the ship delivers your booze the last night.

......Bonnie J...................

 

You can legally bring back any quantity you want. As long as you declare it and are ready to pay the duty on it.

[redlef]

Were sailing on May 26th, on the Inspiration.

 

I know your only aloud to bring home like 2bottles, before having to pay extra.

 

Can somone please tell me how much per bottle, and what the limit is?

 

Returning from a Canada cruise to NY, I picked up a couple of bottles of gin, vodka and Cognac in the ship's duty free store. After the 1 bottle pre guest allowance, I had to pay a $9 duty for the other stuff.

 

I waited on line about half an hour to pay my $9. I don't remember if it was $1.50 or $2.00 a bottle, but it was pretty cheap. When we got off the ship, there was no enforcement whatever, although I did see dogs smelling luggage.

 

The booze was half the price on the ship that i would have paid in a NJ liquor store, so I thought it was worth it. I supposed I could have just come ashore without paying the duty, but I tend to play by the rules.

[gkrebs]

The highest that I have heard on these boards is $2.15 on a bottle. It goes by the proof. Different proofs have different costs. They automatically take off the highest proof bottle per person. Best that you list the name and proof of each bottle if you dont want to get busted if they ask.