Bringing Adult Beverages on B2B

[rantnnravin]

All this time, I have been trying to figure out how we would fly down, use DME to POP and DCL to the Port and bring enough of our own adult beverages for the 9-night B2B we're doing. Then i started to think OUTside the box...
How does this sound:
Bring 1 wine box for first 2 nights. I will probably remove it from the carton and reassemble in the stateroom. Pick up a bottle Malibu in Bahamas to mix with Juice/Lemonade on board, get 2-3 more bottles of wine in Duty Free (which we get last night of first leg of B2B). Then we will have all we need for both!
Does this plan sound feasible? Any other suggestions?

 

[cmclaura]

Are you talking about wine IN a box or bottles of wine that are boxed?

 

[glindamood]

You could use a grocery service (which is what I am going to do) to deliver to your hotel what you need. As long as it can be purchased in the grocery store, there is no extra fee for beer and wine but they do not sell the hard stuff in Floridia grocery stores. I am going to use We Go Shop - just easier than renting a car and doing it all ourselves alhtough I am sure it will cost me a bit more. You could also pack a bottle for your flight - I have done bubble wrap and then bagged it in a garbage bag so that if there was leakage, it would be contained.

The only thing I have ever purchased in the duty free shop is Crowne so I am of little help there - but you will get it the last night on your first leg.

Have fun!

 

[rantnnravin]

Are you talking about wine IN a box or bottles of wine that are boxed?

no - the cheapo wine in a box (it's actually in a bag inside the box and would be easier to fit into a suitcase if the box were removed and flattened and then the pouch part could be squished in w/the other stuff)

 

[woody73]

. . . wine in a box (it's actually in a bag inside the box and would be easier to fit into a suitcase if the box were removed and flattened and then the pouch part could be squished in w/the other stuff)

I think that DCL requires that wine brought onboard -- whether it be in a bottle or a box -- must be in your carry-on bag.

Do you really want to squish a plastic bag of wine in your suitcase and risk leakage?

At Port Canaveral, I once saw a cruise passenger holding his suitcase over the curb as red wine leaked out. Not pretty, but at least it happened before he gave his bags to the porters who stack luggage on top of eachother in the wheeled carts.

Woody

 

[kcashner]

Since you are going to WDW before your cruise, you can purchase beverages during your time there. Crossroads center is across the street from the row of "Good Neighbor" hotels--just outside of WDW. You could walk over from Downtown Disney and take a cab back to your hotel.

Yes, your beverages need to be in your carry on bag when you board the ship.

 

[WiscBill]

All this time, I have been trying to figure out how we would fly down, use DME to POP and DCL to the Port and bring enough of our own adult beverages for the 9-night B2B we're doing. Then i started to think OUTside the box...
How does this sound:
Bring 1 wine box for first 2 nights. I will probably remove it from the carton and reassemble in the stateroom. Pick up a bottle Malibu in Bahamas to mix with Juice/Lemonade on board, get 2-3 more bottles of wine in Duty Free (which we get last night of first leg of B2B). Then we will have all we need for both!
Does this plan sound feasible? Any other suggestions?

I think the plan breaks down iif have to clear customs after the first leg of your B2B. From the boards, you do have to get off the ship and check back in, but I don't know if you have to clear customs. The "duty free" limitation is 1 bottle of spirits or two bottles of wine. If you bring in more than that per family (not individual), the remainder is subject to duty (However, my experience has been that if you declare it, the customs agents about 50% of the time don't ask for the duty. On the other hand, if you don't declare it, they tend to collect it). So you could not bring three bottles of wine and the remainder or your rum without being at risk of paying duty if you need to clear customs.

The intriguing part of your proposed plan is if you stay in the same room on both legs. From my understanding of the B2B process, your luggage and belongings then stay put. So, if you bought the liquor or wine in the Bahamas and just left it there (especially if it not visible, say put in a piece of luggage), would anyone spot it or know? My guess is not. On the other hand if you switch rooms, the luggage would be shifted by the CMs and you would be at risk of breakage if you put the bottles int here.
It would also be interesting to know if on a B2B, if DCL gives you your purchases from the duty free after your first leg, or if they wait till both legs are finished.

 

[fi46re129]

I have never done a DCL cruise just Royal but this is what we use to "smuggle" adult beverages onboard to help keep the budget in check. They can not be observed with xray machines and they have directions to size them down.. basically let out excess air and they fit nicely into luggage, also they can be thrown in your excursion/port bag to take with you for the day
Rum Runners:
http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Traveler...O3VE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311012014&sr=8-1

 

[mmouse37]

I have never done a DCL cruise just Royal but this is what we use to "smuggle" adult beverages onboard to help keep the budget in check. They can not be observed with xray machines and they have directions to size them down.. basically let out excess air and they fit nicely into luggage, also they can be thrown in your excursion/port bag to take with you for the day
Rum Runners:
http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Traveler.../ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311012014&sr=8- 1

You do not have to "hide or smuggle" alcohol on DCL. They freely let you bring on as much as you want. But you must carry it on in your carryon and NOT check it with porters or put it in your checked luggage. Also no ice in whatever you bring it onboard in and the bag must fit through the xray scanner.

MJ

 

[fi46re129]

You do not have to "hide or smuggle" alcohol on DCL. They freely let you bring on as much as you want. But you must carry it on in your carryon and NOT check it with porters or put it in your checked luggage. Also no ice in whatever you bring it onboard in and the bag must fit through the xray scanner.

MJ

Good to know! Thank you! The rum runners are great even if you can bring them on makes it very portable size. We use them when we go camping and go to our beach house too instead of bringing a whole bottle.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Alcohol bought aboard the ships are not subject to duty and therefore Duty Free, hense why the Duty Free shops are closed when not in international waters.
Alcohol bought on the islands have had their "Duty" paid to their Government and therefore are not Duty Free and therefore should not be subject to taxation of the country you are ending your trip or vacation at.
As long as it is for your own personal consumption, and not for resale.....

Ex Techie

 

[clten]

Alcohol bought aboard the ships are not subject to duty and therefore Duty Free, hense why the Duty Free shops are closed when not in international waters.
Alcohol bought on the islands have had their "Duty" paid to their Government and therefore are not Duty Free and therefore should not be subject to taxation of the country you are ending your trip or vacation at.
As long as it is for your own personal consumption, and not for resale.....

Ex Techie

Hopefully I'm just misunderstanding you as it seems you are implying any alcohol brought into the US would remain duty free as long as it is for personal use. You are limited in the amount of alcohol you may bring into the US without paying duty (tax) to the US. So yes, the alcohol you buy onboard the ship is duty free because it was purchased in international waters and not subject to any countries taxes when you buy it. There is a standard allowance (1 liter per adult over 21, but different rules apply for alcohol produced in St Thomas) and if you are bring more than that back to the US, you either have to prove it was purchased in the US or pay the duty.

As someone who has done this before, I will say that yes, at the end of the first leg of a B2B, DCL delivers your duty free alcohol purchases to your cabin. You do not have to take these bottles off the ship. Like the rest of your belongings, these could stay onboard. You do have to go through customs so you do have to complete a form. Yes, you should declare these purchases. (If you wait until the end of the second cruise and only declare what is actually entering the US for good is up to you.) Also know that your duty free limit isn't reset on the second cruise. Your duty free limit is for a 30 day period. So your B2B cruises will all accumulate to the same limit.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

As far as I understood it, as long as you pay the "duty" i.e "tax" in the country where you buy the goods (alcohol, tobacco, and no contraband etc) then "it is not Duty Free"

I could buy 1000 cigarettes in Europe and pay the tax on them to the person that sold them to me, then travel to America, Australaisia, Asis etc.

I have paid the tax to the country from which I purchased the goods etc.

I AM IMPORTING THE GOODS FOR MY OWN CONSUMPTION, but I have to prove that they are for myself only.

As a non-US citizen I was subjected to very rigorous import and export controls and inspections. At the Port, and at the Airport.

Before my contract's, I would purchase enough cigarettes in my home country to fly to the US and then board the ship and then wait until I would have my day off on the rotation to buy more.

Any "Duty Free" Cigarettes are subject to limitations as no "DUTY" has been paid on them from then store in which you bought them. But when you have paid the "Duty" then non-should be applied, nor denied access in my experience.

Ex Techie

 

[rantnnravin]

I think that DCL requires that wine brought onboard -- whether it be in a bottle or a box -- must be in your carry-on bag.

Do you really want to squish a plastic bag of wine in your suitcase and risk leakage?

At Port Canaveral, I once saw a cruise passenger holding his suitcase over the curb as red wine leaked out. Not pretty, but at least it happened before he gave his bags to the porters who stack luggage on top of eachother in the wheeled carts.

Woody

We've brought alcohol on board before, so we know all about having to have it in carryon for boarding.
It would be in checked luggage for the flight down - the inner bag of the boxed wine is an aseptic heavy gauge plastic - when i say "squished", i mean that it would be more flexible to pack with other stuff, rather than just plunking a box into the suitcase. I am planning on doubling it up in ziploc baggies too

Since you are going to WDW before your cruise, you can purchase beverages during your time there. Crossroads center is across the street from the row of "Good Neighbor" hotels--just outside of WDW. You could walk over from Downtown Disney and take a cab back to your hotel.

We are getting in the night before and staying at pop, so this really isn't an option. Plus, i think the cab fare would likely negate any savings from just bringing it down ourselves.

I think the plan breaks down iif have to clear customs after the first leg of your B2B. From the boards, you do have to get off the ship and check back in, but I don't know if you have to clear customs. The "duty free" limitation is 1 bottle of spirits or two bottles of wine. So you could not bring three bottles of wine and the remainder or your rum without being at risk of paying duty if you need to clear customs.

The intriguing part of your proposed plan is if you stay in the same room on both legs. From my understanding of the B2B process, your luggage and belongings then stay put. if DCL gives you your purchases from the duty free after your first leg, or if they wait till both legs are finished.

Oh - we don't plan on having anything left to take off the ship
and Yes...we will be in the same room.
Thanks to all helping me sort this out

 

[progs2]

Quick note on cab fare. We made what we hoped would be a quick trip to the store one night and it ended up being over $40 in fares due to our poor timing (traffic). We were at Contemporary and were over $10 before we got out of the parking lot.

 

[woody73]

Quick note on cab fare. We made what we hoped would be a quick trip to the store one night and it ended up being over $40 in fares due to our poor timing (traffic). We were at Contemporary and were over $10 before we got out of the parking lot.

Ouch! At that price, I might just buy what I need on the ship.

Woody

 

[WiscBill]

As someone who has done this before, I will say that yes, at the end of the first leg of a B2B, DCL delivers your duty free alcohol purchases to your cabin. You do not have to take these bottles off the ship. Like the rest of your belongings, these could stay onboard.

So the OP's plan works!! Therefore, those who are going on a B2B don't need to do a liquor store run the night before the first cruise. They can either bring the first bottle of wine with them in some sort of "safe" packaging in their checked baggage (transferring to their handheld luggage before boarding) or buy a bottle or two at WDW (either at their hotel or DTD). Option 2 is more expensive, but a lot cheaper than taking a taxi. On their first stop in Nassau, they buy whatever else they want, either duty free or not, depending on their preference, and bring it back on board. For the second leg of the B2B, they use the on-board duty free. That is delivered to your cabin on the last night of the first leg, so you are now set for the second leg.

On the other hand, coming in the night before, renting a car, shopping at the local ABC store, and then dropping the car in Port Canaveral is still probably a lot easier.

 

[rantnnravin]

ah - but then we'd be back to the car rental negating the BYO savings - and taking time out of vacay to do a liquor run.
Either way - I hope my humble thread might give some folks some ideas

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

I have a question that I asked before and never got an answer to. This seems like as good a place to ask as any.

When bringing alcohol onboard, DCL requires it to be in your carry-on and/or a "soft-sided" cooler. I have a cooler that is "soft-sided", but it has a thin, harder plastic insert. Does this insert need to be taken out to comply with DCL or do they just mean you can't use one of the older style coolers that are completely hard plastic and therefor the Xray machine can't see through?

Thanks in advance.

 

[twindaddy]

I am not much of a drinker, so maybe someone can tell me. Is alcohol really that much cheaper duty free than say Costco?....because it seems pretty cheap there. Why not just buy a ton in your first port and have it for both of your cruises? How much is a bottle of Grey Goose onboard? I swiged some Kirkland Signature vodka the other day and it tasted pretty darn good. Unless you want to avoid having to lug booze onto the ship, maybe that is the point of all this and I am just dense

If you are not bringing it off the ship, why would you have to declare it? It has been a LONG time since I have done a customs declaration. It was when I was walking back from TJ and the guy didnt even look at it, he just said "welcome home" and waived me through.