Cheapest place to buy booze

[csk47]

We are leaving Monday on the Enchantment for Cozumel and Belize. Are prices onboard as low as those in those ports?

[maier]

I would like to know also!! And were to go to buy it

Susan

[megr1125]

Not that i was in those ports, but st. thomas was really cheap....actually even the San Juan airport was good!

[Cotton]

The prices are comparable. Best thing to do is to write down the prices on the ship, then check w/the shops in port. Make sure you check the amount of liquid in the bottles - it can be deceiving. I usually end up buying on the ship, since it's about the same price, and I don't have to lug the bottles around with me back to the ship.

[dis2cruise]

yes i have to agree with st thomas, there is a grocery store right out side of the pier we go to(this was 2yrs ago)we got absolute for 7.99 at home you're talking 21.00 a bottle. someone even said kmart has it but i'm not sure where kmart is in st thomas. now as far as booze on the ship, yes i would deffinitly write down the prices they have specials on the ships on certain different types of booze. hope this helps

cheryl

[nccruiser]

We have always found that St. Maarten has the cheapest liquor prices. For instance, last year, we got liters of Absolut for $5.95, liters of Kalhua for $7.95 and liters of Jose Cuervo for $7.95. Mostly, that was for cash only. If you used a credit card, it was higher. Hope it is still cheap there next week when we get there. Need to restock. LOL

 

Might also mention that St. Maarten is cheaper for most souvenier type items than St. Thomas. We have always found St. Thomas to be high, more like US prices.

[tonyt]

Ditto on St Maarten.

tonyt

[dis2cruise]

wow nccruiser boy that is cheap!! i know there is limitations of what we can bring into the states does anyone know what it is? is it per island or total.

thanks

cheryl

ps where did you get the absolute from was it right at the pier?

[tinsel57]

We sailed this past fall and visited Belize and Cozumel. We had such a great time we didn't booze shop. We'd rather spend the time diving and ended up buying on the ship, which was still cheaper than our pricing back home. Besides, I would not have wanted to lug bottles around in port. What a pain that would have been.

[addicted to cruising]

Yes there are limits on liquierr and cigarettes. The ship will tell you what you may be back per person including minors. It depends on what ports you visit. If St. Thomas is one of your ports then you will be able to bring back alot more. Not to worry, we buy whatever we want and take the chance we will have to pay the duty tax (which is minimal compared to what we pay for liquier in the states) In 5 crusies we have yet to be stopped by customs and we are often hand carring the boxes so they are visible. There are bigger fish to fry than the crusieship passenger with an xtra bottle of Absolute!

wow nccruiser boy that is cheap!! i know there is limitations of what we can bring into the states does anyone know what it is? is it per island or total.

thanks

cheryl

ps where did you get the absolute from was it right at the pier?

[nccruiser]

In St. Maarten, there are quite a few liquor stores. As I recall, the best ones were to the left when you got to the main street. Just walk into a few and compare prices. If you go to St. Thomas, you are allowed to bring back 5 liters per person, four of which are supposed to be purchased in St. Thomas, but no one ever really pays attention. You also are supposed to have 1 bottle of island made liquor, but again, no one really pays attention.

 

Once we had to pay duty, as all the kids wanted us to bring bottles for them, but it was only about $15 for 8 or 10 extra bottles. If your customs fee is under $10, they usually tell you to be on your way and they don't charge you anything.

 

As to carrying bottles around all day in port, we usually just wait till we're ready to go back to the ship and then make our purchases.

[dis2cruise]

addicted to cruising,,,

minors are aload to purchase booze too?

 

cheryl

[jcruise67]

Yes...the Liquor Outlet in St.Thomas directly across the street from the cruise pier is the cheapest I've ever seen in the caribbean. I've been to all the islands in the caribbean and nothing I've seen compared. The port in San Juan was real cheap too.

 

John

[nccruiser]

addicted to cruising,,,

minors are aload to purchase booze too?

 

cheryl

NO, minors are not allowed to bring alcohol. The limits are for adults (over 21). We're out of here in the morning, on our way to Tampa/ Will get there Monday, just in time to get on the ship. I will double check prices in the islands and post again when I return next month.

[addicted to cruising]

Sorry Dis2cruise, that was meant to say excluding minors...I was doing 2 tasks at once. Sorry for any confusion.

addicted to cruising,,,

minors are aload to purchase booze too?

 

cheryl

[rajjohnson]

The best place is to on the Enchantment. You can only bring back 2 bottles a person duty free. We priced booze in Cozumel at the duty free and it was much more than on the ship, though the ship had a limited selection. We bought 2 bottles of Bailey's for about $32 - we pay 22 for 1 bottle at home. Hubby bought 2 bottle of Crown Royal really cheap too -can't remember the exact price.

 

Only noticed 1 place for booze in Belize and it was expensive too.

 

St. Maarten is THE best - we got ours at Ram's - delivered to ship free of charge etc. too. Unfortunately we didn't go to St. Maarten this year.

[nccruiser]

We just returned from an 11 day cruise on Celebrity Horizon, and, as promised, heere are some prices:

 

Nassau: All stores I priced were the same.

Absolut - $9.95 ltr, Kahlua - $17.95 ltr, Jose Cuervo - $16.95 ltr, Tanguerey - $11.95 ltr

Closest to the pier with good prices was Dean's Liquors, which was the 1st street off the pier, to the right

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico: Checked the store at the pier.

Absolut $7.95 ltr, Kahlua $10.95 ltr or 3/$27, Jose Cuervo $10.95 ltr, Tanguerey $11.95 ltr., Finlandia $6.95 ltr, Cruzon rum $5.95 ltr

At this store, we also found Gilbey's vodka and gin for $3.00 ltr and, not-so famous Scotches, like McGregors for $5.00 ltr.

 

St. Thomas: Was basically the same price as on the ship, with most stores at the prices below or HIGHER

Absolut $10.95 ltr, Kahlua $11.95 ltr, Jose Cuervo $11.95 ltr

 

St. Maarten: By far the cheapest on everything.

One good store was Caribbean Paradise, main street to the left a couple of blocks at #89 Front St. Here, they give you a free bottle of rum or vodka with a 6 bottle purchase.

Stolichnaya $4.95ltr (YES, $4.95), Kahlua $9.95 ltr, Jose Cuervo $9.95ltr, Tanguerey $7.95 ltr, Cruzan rum $5.95 ltr, Teachers Scotch $6.95 ltr, Crown Royal $10.95 ltr

 

Another good store with the best prices on these brands was at a store right on the corner at the 1st stop for the water taxi.

 

Absolut $5.95 ltr, Kahlua $8.95 ltr

 

We took a small, fold up type, roll-on cooler to carry the bottles, as they charge you at least $2.00 for a 6 pack, handled box.

 

On the Horizon, they just allowed you to carry everything to your cabin. They would take it for you, if you wanted, but no problem taking either booze or beer back on board and keeping it with you. Hope this helps.