Laptop Computer and Customs

[woodymac64]

I was planning on bringing along a laptop computer (for storing photos from my digital camera, mapping out our PA-FL road trip and keeping a log of daily events) on our cruise.

Are there any Customs regulations that would not allow me to bring a laptop computer onboard? Being able to view my pictures on-screen and storing them on the hard drive would be a lot more convenient, not to mention a real sanity saver (nothing's worse than taking a picture during your vacation only to find out later that your blurry finger never looked so good!).

Any insights into this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[hydster]

on our Carnival Cruise and didnt have a single problem with it. Customs is pretty lax in my opinion. We walked out in a big herd of people and handed our forms to the customs agent and it took all of about 5 seconds to do it. They never looked at it, questioned us or anything just said thank you and we continued on our way. This was January 2002 after 9-11 and still we didnt get looked at a 2nd time and we had been to Belize, Panama and Costa Rica (total drug places LOL) but still walked right out with Have A Nice Trip Home! We took ours and are planning on taking 2 of them this time on the Disney cruise just so the kids can watch movies on the laptops to pass the 4 hour flights to Orlando and home. I would doubt you would have any problems carrying your laptop with you at all...just be prepared to have to turn it on at the airport and show them that it does in fact work and all. Other than that take it and have a great time! I know we will!
Heidi

 

[tstobb]

Bringing our laptop saved us a bundle! Each memory stick from our camera holds about 100 pictures & we took over 1400! Instead of buying a pile of memory sticks, each night I uploaded that days pictures to the laptop into a directory on the desktop and when I hit the right amount, burned them right to a cd.
No problems at all with customs.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

The only potential problem is that if it's a brand-new laptop, Customs might suspect you bought it while you were abroad and they would want to charge duty on it. This concern would also apply to other expensive electronics or jewelry.

You can alleviate your concern by getting your possessions registered before you leave. This is Form 4457 (click <a href="http://www.customs.gov/travel/4457.htm">here</a> for more info). You'll need to stop by a Customs office to get this certified. (<i>Customs inspectors must see the item you are registering in order to certify the certificate of registration.</i>)

Or, if you have proof of purchase (receipts), bring them with you to document that you made the purchase before leaving the country.