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Bacardi Factory?

sweetave

By sweetave,
in San Juan, PR

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turbo46032

turbo46032

Posted
Posted

Yes. However, getting there is the pricy part depending on whether you have a car or not. If you go by the Aqua Express you need a cab or something to Bacardi, and back ($3-4 each way). The tour itself is free, and if you're into liquor, has some interesting moments.

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Big Sky Country

Big Sky Country

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While the tour is not much, I think the key question is why would you want to go all the way over there just to buy rum? It is pretty cheap in PR anyway unless you are planning to buy boatloads of it. If you just want to buy a couple of bottles, just pick them up in Old San Juan. It might cost a buck or so more, but the savings wouldn't justify the trip.

 

Secondly, I've never found the Bacardi plant hours to be reliable. It is a little bit of a crapshoot as to whether they'll be open when you go. I'm probably a little more negative than is warranted, but I was turned away twice since the plant was closed during what I thought were regular working hours.

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sweetave

sweetave

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hi thanks for the responses. the reason i want to go to the Bacardi factory to purchase the rum is, I have been there before and they have this special bottle of cognac that sells for $60/65 which you can only buy at the factory. It's excellent.

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gtaylor

gtaylor

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Posted
hi thanks for the responses. the reason i want to go to the Bacardi factory to purchase the rum is, I have been there before and they have this special bottle of cognac that sells for $60/65 which you can only buy at the factory. It's excellent.

 

Does Bacardi really sell a Cognac? This is the first that I've heard of this, and would like more information on the product.

 

gary

 

p.s. as posted above, you can just walk into the gift shop area, which is in a seperate building.

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KazinSD

KazinSD

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We just took the 'tour' January 28th, and were deeply disappointed. Even the prices in the gift shop were higher than the cruise port terminal and every duty free shop we stop on during the trip. However, the gift shop did have a 12-year old bottle of Bacardi Reserva, for $69.99 that can only be purchased at the factory gift shop. I had a friend who wanted me to get him one and that was the only place in the Southern Caribbean itinerary that we found the Reserva. The tour 'bartender' (who was by far the most imformative and entertaining of the entire tour), called the 12-year old Bacardi Reserva a cognac, so I would assume that is the bottle for which you are searching. Don't take the ship sponsored tour at $45 bucks, take the water taxi over to the Catano district and a regular taxi to the factory. Cheers!

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  • 2 months later...
Cactus

Cactus

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Wife and I both had straight Reserva over ice with the tickets, it is smooth............... aaahhh - we were there in March. So either the person didn't ask properly or they changed their policy, but we both had Reserva at the courtesy bar at Bacardi with the free tickets (they give two tickets per person for any liquor/drink at the bar)

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  • 4 years later...
MDSue

MDSue

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Has anyone been on this tour recently?

 

Is it really still not worth it?

 

I think it depends on the individual whether it is worth the trip or not. I went two years ago and had an enjoyable few hours. With taxi and ferry fare, it should cost less than $10 per person round-trip and it takes a few hours- tops.

 

My sister bought a special "reserve" bottle of Bacardi that was custom engraved at the shop. It came is a special box with two glasses. You cannot get this in any other store, so if you were interested in a special Bacardi souvenir and wanted a tour of the factory grounds, then the trip is worthwhile. You do not get to see the actual production of the rum itself, but a tour of the history and manufacturing procedure. The grounds are nice.

 

If someone simply wants to buy a bottle of Bacardi, then it wouldn't really be worth the trip. The time and cost to get there would negate any potential savings and it sounds like the prices aren't any lower than the store prices in town. There is so much to do and see in Old San Juan, that unless you really have a desire to see the factory, I'd spend my time there instead.

 

Since you cannot carry on bottles of liquor on the airplane unless it is purchased after the security checkpoint, you will have to check any liquor in your suitcases (and hope they don't break), so the best bet seems to be to purchase the Bacardi at the airport unless you really want to do the tour and get more than a typical bottle of Bacardi

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thegreens

thegreens

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We took the tour last year and were disappointed. You don't actually get to see the areas where they actively make the Bacardi. I haven't been on many distillery tours, but I was comparing it to the Jack Daniels tour in Tennessee. No comparison. Jack Daniels wins. The Bacardi tour is a museum, then they show you how to make a few simple drinks. If you're really into history, you'd probably like it. We did enjoy the free drinks!

 

We didn't go there on a cruise, we had a 1.5 week vacation in Puerto Rico, so we had a rental car. But FYI: If you go a little ways past the Bacardi factory and make a right, you'll end up at that little fort that you can see across the water from El Morro. It's a nice photo op.

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frito58

frito58

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It was Okay we mixed ours in with a taxi/city tour with a guy that was in front of the Sheraton OSJ , since the tour was free abd he was ble to get us some extra drink tickets it was worth it. He only charged us $15pp for like a 3-4 hour tour and then he dropped us at a Fort El Morro and we walked back.

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startpacking

startpacking

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Posted
We took the tour last year and were disappointed. You don't actually get to see the areas where they actively make the Bacardi. I haven't been on many distillery tours, but I was comparing it to the Jack Daniels tour in Tennessee. No comparison. Jack Daniels wins.

 

I've been to many distillery, winery and brewery tours and nothing is better than the Jack Daniels tour. At JD you see the entire manufacturing process at a leisurely pace with an informative tour guide. All other tours I've been on are more like a big advertisement for a particular product with an overpriced gift store for you to spend some dough. The Bacardi tour was poorly done and nothing but a bid advertisement for Bacardi products; I didn't find it to be worthwhile.

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  • 2 weeks later...
cluelyss18

cluelyss18

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If we wanted to take this tour saturday afternoon when we arrive in San Juan, how would do this? Where do we leave from? We take a water taxi right? Even for those of you that thought the tour wasn't worth it, is the water taxi a nice ride? I mean two free drinks, I'll take it! Also, how long from leaving to getting back will this take us?

I'm trying to plan our first day in SJ, we get in at 12:30 pm

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MDSue

MDSue

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If we wanted to take this tour saturday afternoon when we arrive in San Juan, how would do this? Where do we leave from? We take a water taxi right? Even for those of you that thought the tour wasn't worth it, is the water taxi a nice ride? I mean two free drinks, I'll take it! Also, how long from leaving to getting back will this take us?

I'm trying to plan our first day in SJ, we get in at 12:30 pm

 

You take the ferry to Cantano. It is located right in the heart of OSJ where the cruise ships dock for the day. I think it costs 50 cents each way.

When you get off in Cantano, follow the crowd outside the gates and walk down a little to the right where taxis will be waiting to take you there. If you go with a group, the ride is $3 each way. I made the mistake of stopping to take pictures while the rest of the people on the ferry went ahead.

We were thinking we'd take the bus, but it comes sporadically and drops off a good ways from the factory. We ended up having to pay extra for the taxi since there was only two of us by the time we walked down to the taxi area.

Once you get to the factory, there is a bar/waiting area where you will get a ticket and tour time and 2 free drink coupons.

The entire tour takse about 45 minutes or so, but you might have to wait a little for your tour time, depending on how crowded they are.

They drop you off by the store at the end of the tour. Afterwards, you just reverse your steps and head back to OSJ the same way you came.

Easily done in a few hours time.

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  • 2 weeks later...
doones2

doones2

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Just wondering if purchasing Bacardi rum in San Juan is less expensive than on the ship. I know ship prices are usually very reasonable near the end of a cruise. Would appreciate any info.

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  • 4 weeks later...
MDSue

MDSue

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Does anybody know if the Bacardi store ships bottles? I don't want to deal with packing rum into my checked luggage, and I want to buy their reserve.

 

I'm not certain, but I don't rmember seeing that option. You can also purchase the reserve bottle in a special case that comes with two glasses that can be engraved (I think the bottle as well). It is bulky and will definitely take up valuable real estate in your checked bags, but my sister's purchase made it home safely. She made sure it was well surrounded by clothing.

I do believe that purchase was probably her all-time favorite souvenir from our cruise travels.

Of course, Bacardi was our drink of choice growing up.

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Oklahoma Cruiser 2012

Oklahoma Cruiser 2012

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Does anybody know if the Bacardi store ships bottles? I don't want to deal with packing rum into my checked luggage, and I want to buy their reserve.

 

This will be my first time in San Juan - if I were buy the reserva prior to my cruise, can I take it on board with me? Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Thanks for any replies

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MetalliCHAD

MetalliCHAD

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This will be my first time in San Juan - if I were buy the reserva prior to my cruise, can I take it on board with me? Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Thanks for any replies

 

Short answer is NO. Wine only... However, there are ways around it. YouTube is your friend:

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?faq=liquor#q-545894

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