Places to purchase liquor on Western Caribbean for home party use.

[TT]

DH and I looked at our bar and saw we are getting low on different liquor. Since we are doing the Western instead of Eastern Caribbean this year are there good places to purchase liquor? St. Thomas is a great place for us because of their great selection at AA Reise if I remember the name correctly. Can anyone remember?

Thanks,

Toma

[elmorejj]

First of all, remember you can only bring back one liter each from the western Carib. That being said, Cozumel is cheap for Kahlua and Tequila but thats about all. You can purchase on board the ship for home consumption at very reasonable rates...jean

[Krazy Kruizers]

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Liquor

The western Caribbeab itinerary doesn't offer much in the way of good prices for alcohol.

Like Jean said, you can only bring 1 liter per person back into the states from that itinerary.

Best prices will be on the ship. The liquor will be delivered the last day of the cruise.

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[TT]

I did not know it's only 1 bottle per person. Wow, am I shocked. First, Thanks for informing me. #2 I quess our non drinking friends can carry also for us. Thanks again.

[wwinfl91]

The allowance in much better, I think 3 or 4 bottles per person, if you go to the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. But this is a special deal for those cruises or visits only. I think we brought back 8 bottles when we were on our last cruise that hit St Thomas.

Depending on what liquors you enjoy you may still come out ahead buying extra bottles and declaring them and paying the taxes. The price may still be significantly less than what you would pay at a liquor store at home.

What I did last cruise in the Caribbean was take an ad from a local liquor store and then compare prices including any additional taxes and then make our decisions on what to purchase.

Have a great next cruise.

HAL Noordam 3/97 West Carib
Hal Westerdam 12/97 East Carib
HAL Veendam 11/98 East Carib
Hal Zaandam 12/00 South Carib
HAL Veendam 10/01 Panama Canal
RCCL Enchantment 09/02 W.Carib
Costa Atlantica 12/02 E.Carib
HAL Noordam 03/03 S.Carib
Golden Princess 07/03 Med
Celebrity Zenith 12/03 W.Carib
HAL Maasdam 05/04 Canada
Next cruise
Island Princess 11/04 Hawaii

[gliles]

TT - Thanks for asking although I didn't like the answer either! I am in need of some more Bombay Sapphire!

I think wwinfl91 is right, it would still be better to buy some extra and pay the duty then to buy it at home.

Husbands are like pancakes, you have to throw the first one out.

[elmorejj]

Don`t go through customs with those boxes from the liquor store, that is a good way to get stopped when coming from the Western Carib. Stow some in your carry ons and just carry a box that contains two bottles. You will rarely get stopped, but that is a chance you take....jean

[ron46936]

There is a duty free shop on Grand Cayman that has good prices. The Jose Cuervo was even cheaper than Cozumel. You pay ther and they send it to the ship for you. You can buy several bottles if you like but will have to pay duty on more than 1 liter per person. If you are traveling with friends they can carry some for you if they aren't buying their own. Even so the duty is a small amount so you still can save compared to stateside.

[elmorejj]

Has anyone here on the boards ever actually paid duty on liquor? I am very interested in how much they charge. Is it done by percentage like with other goods or what?.....jean

[TT]

Thanks to all for the info this has helped. Yes, we have paid duty. We purchased like 15 or more bottle (I can't remember the count)and only paid 12.00 plus for duty. That's when we purchased our bar and thought it would be a great way to stock up. That's why we cruise in the fall to fill up the bar for the holidays when we have parties. If we don't find good locations to purchase liquor then atleast we have the ship and 2 friends who don't drink.

[Vidimom]

On every cruise we take, we restock the bar and also supply some friends. I talked to the Customs Lady and this is what she suggested. If you buy alot of Liquor, write down all the brands, size of bottles and the PROOF from each bottle. Mark off the 2 with the highest proof as this is what they base your duty tax on. Take the remaining list to Customs and pay the duty. We purchased 7 extra bottles last trip on the Zuiderdam and because the PROOFS were so low (Kahalua), duty taxes were waived. Being prepared when you arrive makes it alot easier. If it's easier for them, they are easier on you!

[Orcrone]

We'll be travelling to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. John's and San Juan. Someone noted a 3 or 4 bottle limit per person. Can someone verify that. Also is that 3 or 4 bottles per island visited, or 3 or 4 bottles total that can be brought back into the country.

Also, I assume that St. Thomas has the best prices. Read on this website to visit the K-Mart there. Is St. Thomas best for alcohol?

Probably doesn't make much difference. Don't think we'll need more than 6 or 8 bottles.

[stillfrantic]

Hi TT: New user name for me today. New board wouldn't accept my alwaysfrantic name. Perhaps a few drinks on our cruise will relax me enough I can reregister when we get home as never frantic or something!:D

[bdmarine]

I've found that St. Maarten has the best prices, but St. Thomas has the best selection. Please remember not to buy the excellent Havana Club rum or the Cuban cigars available in St. Maarten.

[Orcrone]

Thanks for the heads up on the Cuban products. I've definitely heard of Cuban cigars and know they're taboo. Don't know if I would have thought about the rum. Any idea about the limit on number of bottles purchased. We live only 20 minutes from the cruise ship, so there's no air involved. With the ship holding the purchase until the last night it seems like a good opportunity to stock up at home.

[ron46936]

I have also found the prices in St Maarten to be the best. As a follow up question: The extra liquor allotment for the Eastern is because of the stop in St Thomas and applies to liquor purchased there and Puerto Rico. How do they know whether you purchased in St. Thomas or St. Maarten? Do you need to keep receipts?

[seattleadjuster]

I researched the duty issue years ago when bringing back alcohol from Australia. Back then it came out to $.50 per case of beer, and about $.50 per bottle of alcohol. I was prepared to pay my $5.00.

Surprise, surprise, I've never paid a duty. Why? I always declare the amount of alcohol on the form, go past the person, who waves me on. I think that they don't want to slow down the process to collect $5-10 from a passenger.

I feel a lot better going through customs when I'm being honest.

[joeinwpb]

Love it
I think your whole attitude is great. Using the word frantic projects merriment. An attribute of yours. I find most commendable. I think your new moniker is better than ever.

It's an ill wind that blows no good at all :cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

If you buy anything in St Thomas, it will be delivered to the ship in a sealed box and you will get that box the last evening of the cruise.

And if you decide to bring the box back with you on the ship, with the new alcohol rules, it will be taken away from you at the gangway and again stored until the last evening of the cruise.

But the original poster wanted to know where to get alcohol in the WESTERN Caribbean.

Got off base here.

Best place is on the ship - 1 liter per person.

:)

[randyat1001]

we had 2 bottles too many (ship purchase) and I declared them and customs waived duty as the duty owed was under $20.00

[sail7seas]

ron46936.....



Yes, you need to keep receipts for everything you purchase while out of the country. Customs can (and sometimes does) ask to see them and if you cannot produce them, it can get very uncomfortable.

Obviously if you buy a $2 trinket from a street vendor, you may not have a receipt. If we have made those sorts of souvenir purchases, I keep a list and when we complete the Customs Declaration, I lump them together as "misc souvenirs" and enter the total amount aggregate we paid.