Bacardi prices in San Juan

[darkenstormy]

I was in San Juan on my recent Caribbean Princess cruise. I decided to stop at the Bacardi factory there for their tour and tasting. The ferry to Cataño was certainly a bargain - as it was free! The taxi from the ferry terminal to Bacardi cost $3 per person, so again, we're saving money big time compared to a ship's tour that runs about $44 each. The tour itself was nice, and it included a stop at their gift shop. Looking for something different, and not being a big rum fan, I saw their Bacardi 8, an aged rum selling for $24.50/liter. I picked one up. The next day at Saint Thomas, I saw the same bottle on sale for $16.99! Red-faced, I checked the onboard shop... and it was $16 even!

 

So much for saving money by buying at the source. I guess you have to pay for the two free drinks at the end of the tour somehow!

[cb at sea]

Hopefully, after buying "cheap" liquor, you don't have to fly home and pay an "overweight" charge!

[satxdiver]

It has been my experience that buying wine at the source is always more expensive than buying it at a store. I am sure that distilled alcohol is no different. I went on the tour several years ago and bought the rum at the duty free shop on my return from St Maarten at a cheaper price than Bacardi. It was a nice tour though and the price was right - free.

[rainforestgirl]

I am glad you liked the tour. Some people hate it, some people like it.

I think for the price, it is not bad! It depends on your expectations I guess.

Here is my review, so others know what to expect:

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/bacardi-rum-factory-a-tour-free-drinks/

 

I only buy rum there if they are having a sale on it (which sometimes they do) or if I want to buy a 10 pack of the little "sample" bottles for souvenirs (it is the only place you can get a 10 pack and they are cheaper than buying them individually elsewhere).

Other than that, as you said, you can get the rum cheaper elsewhere.

 

The duty-free at the airport is cheap, the duty free getting on the ship (for embarkation) is even cheaper. I usually buy my rum at the supermarkets here, and it you can probably find something on sale.

[lbtnewcruiser]

I was in San Juan on my recent Caribbean Princess cruise. I decided to stop at the Bacardi factory there for their tour and tasting. The ferry to Cataño was certainly a bargain - as it was free! The taxi from the ferry terminal to Bacardi cost $3 per person, so again, we're saving money big time compared to a ship's tour that runs about $44 each. The tour itself was nice, and it included a stop at their gift shop. Looking for something different, and not being a big rum fan, I saw their Bacardi 8, an aged rum selling for $24.50/liter. I picked one up. The next day at Saint Thomas, I saw the same bottle on sale for $16.99! Red-faced, I checked the onboard shop... and it was $16 even!

 

So much for saving money by buying at the source. I guess you have to pay for the two free drinks at the end of the tour somehow!

Thanks for the tip, also found out the hard way. Stopped at a supermarket outside SJ and bought a bottle of Don Q which I didn't see on the ship, then saw it outside the ship at the duty free $5 less. Do you remember how long it took from the ship via ferry and taxi to get to the factory ? We're looking to head there and still fit in the forts on a Sun. Hoping we can do it all. Any guess is helpful.

[darkenstormy]

The timing worked out really well, as there was zero wait for a taxi or ferry on either end. Round-trip time from the ship, including the tour was about three hours. We had enough time to take an indirect route to Fort San Cristóbal and tour there before it closed at five o'clock but not enough time to tour El Morro. We walked around the grounds after it was closed then walked back to the ship through town. All this was based on getting off the ship about 12:45 PM; we had been scheduled to arrive at 2PM but the Commodore got us in by 12:30 PM.

[MMDown Under]

I was in San Juan on my recent Caribbean Princess cruise. I decided to stop at the Bacardi factory there for their tour and tasting. The ferry to Cataño was certainly a bargain - as it was free! The taxi from the ferry terminal to Bacardi cost $3 per person, so again, we're saving money big time compared to a ship's tour that runs about $44 each. The tour itself was nice, and it included a stop at their gift shop. Looking for something different, and not being a big rum fan, I saw their Bacardi 8, an aged rum selling for $24.50/liter. I picked one up. The next day at Saint Thomas, I saw the same bottle on sale for $16.99! Red-faced, I checked the onboard shop... and it was $16 even!

 

So much for saving money by buying at the source. I guess you have to pay for the two free drinks at the end of the tour somehow!

 

Thanks for the laugh, and memories. As spirit alcohol is expensive in Australia, we once bought alcohol duty free and carted the heavy bottles all the way to Germany to discover it was cheaper in local supermarket in the private building where we were staying. We can't even buy alcohol in supermarkets (in Queensland)! Like you, we have discovered it is often dearer at the source.