The Process of Moving

When it comes to moving to the Cayman Islands, you have three options. The first option is to do 98% of the work yourself by packing up your belongings and arranging for a company to ship your personal items to Cayman. This may be the least expensive option but it certainly isn’t the easiest. You must be prepared to arrange for the items to be inspected and cleared by customs when they arrive in Grand Cayman, pay the Port Authority and have your items picked up and delivered to your new home.

The second option is to pack everything yourself and have a freight forwarder organise the collection, shipping and customs clearance on arrival.

The third option is to arrange for a moving company to do everything for you from packing up your home, trucking to the port and organising the shipping, to clearing it through customs in Cayman, arranging for delivery to your new home and finally unpacking and set up.

If you decide to use a moving company you will need to book it at least eight to 10 weeks in advance. It’s prudent to find out if they are an accredited member of a moving association to ensure that you will have recourse if you encounter any problems.

Sort through your personal items and decide what you are going to take, then call the moving company so they can visit your home and work out a quote. Be sure to get any quote in writing, but keep in mind that most expire after 30 days.

Next, establish a time frame for your move and confirm that the insurance policy being offered has sufficient protection to cover the cargo for the duration of the journey, i.e. until you take possession at the new destination. You should also discuss the deductible. Ask your mover to provide a copy of the documents with the itinerary, along with an itemised inventory and the name of the receiving agent.

Finally, the moving company will expect payment prior to exporting or shipping your personal effects, as it will be necessary for them to prepay the freight and any other handling and destination charges.

Listed next are some locally-based shipping companies, freight forwarders and moving companies who, to one degree or another, can help you move your home or business effects to or from Cayman. Their standard of service is very high. International Packers & Movers The following companies offer a full international moving service that takes all the stress out of moving. They will organise the whole process for you from professionally packing up your house, organising for your belongings to be shipped to Cayman, sorting out the relevant paperwork, paying the Port Authority and any duty and finally, delivering the goods to your new home in Grand Cayman.

www.cicustomsagency.net

CUSTOMS BROKERAGE FREIGHT CONSOLIDATION CARGO MANAGEMENT WAREHOUSE AND DELIVERY VEHICLE CLEARANCE

MOVING CONSULTATION & PERSONAL EFFECTS HANDLING

FULL COVERAGE SERVICE ONE SIMPLE PLATFORM

(345) 949 2350 info@cicustomsagency.ky

U.S. Delivery Address:

11401 NW 107th Street Suite: #100 Miami, FL 33178

CONSOLIDATED CONTAINERS TWICE WEEKLY DAILY AIR FRIEGHT SERVICE sales@deluxefreight.com

Miracle Brokers Tel: (345) 949 5989 or USA: 1 (305) 320 4004 Contact: Claudia Gonzalez Email: info@miraclebrokers.com

DHL Tel: (345) 949 8575 Email: dhlkysales@dhl.com DHL offers a worldwide door-to-door relocation service for those moving to Grand Cayman.

Cayman & Miami-Based Freight Forwarders Freight forwarders facilitate the entire shipping process between Miami and Grand Cayman and vice-versa. When shipping to or from Miami, there are three options you can consider, depending on the quantity. All companies charge by cubic feet, rather than by weight. Firstly, you can book by the container load. Secondly, your belongings can be consolidated with other packages in what’s known as ‘Less than Container Load’ (LCL) and thirdly, there is the small packages service, which is particularly useful if you’re buying items online from vendors that won’t ship to Cayman. If you need this service, you will be provided with a postal address in Miami for your package to be delivered to. It will then be shipped to Cayman. For all three services, the freight forwarder will organise all the paperwork and clear the goods through Customs.

The following companies offer this type of freight service. Note: You should contact the office in your country of origin to start the process.

Cayman Islands Customs Agency (CICA) Tel: (345) 949 2350 Email: cica@cicustomsagency.ky CICA is a customs broker with more than 25 years of experience in logistics, clearance, and the handling of all types of imported goods. Online shopping with CICA is easy with twice weekly consolidated shipments, expedited air services, small package services, customs clearance, and delivery right to your home or office. Order from one, or multiple vendors, with consolidated services you get to choose when Sta-Mar Enterprises Ltd. Tel: (345) 949 2399 Email: info@stamar.ky www.sta-mar.com Services include customs clearance and brokerage, import and export services for personal and commercial shipments, moving services, freight forwarding from Miami and pre-clearance for perishable cargo. For all your online shopping needs Sta-Mar offers three freight forwarding services to their US delivery address; weekly airfreight, three-day priority and sea freight all at very competitive rates, plus customs clearance and on island delivery if needed. Customers can track their goods in real time via Sta-Mar’s online customer portal.

and how your shipments arrive whether it’s one item or 100. Whether you’re buying gadgets, furniture, kitchenware, a new TV, even a car from Japan, CICA can assist you with bringing them to the Cayman Islands from any forwarder in any country. Contact CICA to set up an account and start shopping. CICA preferred US forwarder: Deluxe Freight 11401 NW 107th Street, Miami, Fl 33178 Tel: 1 (305) 513 0156 or (345) 949 2350 Email: sales@deluxefreight.com or cayman@ deluxefreight.com Services include twice a week ocean consolidations, daily air shipments and a small package service for cargo 12 cubic feet or less.

SEE AD PAGE 95

Hyde Shipping Corporation Tel: (345) 947 4933 Email: caymanteam@hydeshipping.com www.hydeshipping.com Hyde Shipping offers a consolidated shipping service whereby you can have your LCL or Online shopping sent to their Miami address and it will be consolidated and shipped to Grand Cayman. They also ship full container loads, cars, boats and heavy equipment with twice weekly sailings to Grand Cayman. SEE AD PAGE 99

Mail Boxes Etc. Market Street, Camana Bay Tel: (345) 745 1400 Email: info@mbe.ky or visit www.mbe.ky Services include: e-Box air cargo shipping with 4-7 business days turnaround, and ocean cargo shipping with 2-4 weeks turnaround from Miami. Just select the appropriate Miami-based address for the service you wish to use. They will handle all the customs paperwork and clearance of your goods into the Cayman Islands. You get access to a web-based portal and mobile app to manage your packages. More information, rates and account creation are available on their website.

Miracle Brokers c/o Consolidated Freight and Shipping (CFS) 10050 NW 116th Way, Suite 9, Medley, FL, 33178 Carlos Alvear Tel: (305) 510 6687 or Cayman Tel: (345) 949 5989 Email: calvear@wincorpintl.com Shipping by Air All local and Miami-based freight forwarders can also ship by air. Alternatively, Cayman Airways Cargo has an air shipment service which can prove to be a cost-effective shipping option if you are moving from the US. You need to deliver the items packed for shipping to the cargo area at the airport. Once they are delivered in Cayman you will need to either arrange collection yourself or use a customs broker.

Excess Baggage If you are only bringing your personal effects with you, other options to consider are using your airline’s excess baggage allowance. Cayman Airways now charges a fee of US$20 on the second bag for economy class passengers travelling to or from Miami, Tampa, Jamaica, Honduras and Cuba. Passengers travelling to or from New York or Chicago will be charged US$25 for the first bag and US$35 for the second bag. If your bags exceed the weight limit of 55lbs, you will be charged. However, more bags can be checked for a fee. Southwest airlines, which typically flies direct to and from Fort Lauderdale, accept the first two checked bags for free, as long as they are under 50lbs. The free baggage allowance on British Airways varies depending on the destination of travel and ticket class purchased. Fees for extra bags are less