Purchasing rum from ports of call...

[cransplash]

We would like to bring a few bottles of rum back home for gifts for us and friends.

 

Does anyone know the limit of how much alcohol we can bring back to the States?

 

I am assuming when we go back on the ship, they will "hold" it for us until the last day?

 

I am assuming if you buy rum/other liquid while cruising, you'll need to pay to check your luggage since it negates the "liquid" allowance for carry-on policies?

 

fwiw, we will be traveling to Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten...

[limeyalchemist]

Based on other similar answers here and my personal experience, you can bring two liters per adult duty free. One must be Bahamian rum.

 

A great tip I read here though said that of course you can bring more back, declare it at customs, and duty would be 3%, but never charged by customs. They have too many passengers. I plan on doing this in March.

 

The ship will "collect" your bottles when re-boarding and hold til last night.

 

You mention that you are going to St. Thomas, if you stop there you can bring more than 2 liters pp.

 

We don't fly, so haven't dealt with flying with liquor.

 

Hope that helps.

[pcvtmom]

You must put it in checked luggage to fly back. Take LOTS of bubble wrap with you. Even in the boxes they pack it in, we've had breaks! It's never good when you see your luggage coming on the luggage claim conveyor belt with a big plastic bag...We've learned our lesson, and now bubble wrap it well.

[RumRunner01]

A little off topic but one of the best rums I've evern had was Ricardo coconut rum from the Bahamas. Best stuff ever! I will be getting some when we go on March on Allure.

[Snorkel Dawg]

A little off topic but one of the best rums I've evern had was Ricardo coconut rum from the Bahamas. Best stuff ever! I will be getting some when we go on March on Allure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me too! :)

[mzspyc1]

I flew home last June with rum and rum cream from the Jamaica port. Order wine diapers from amazon and you will be fine.

[Wspinelli]

While in ST Thomas, I recommend the Pusser's Rum. I buy it for a third of what I pay for it in NY. Just don't go putting coke in it. This rum is just perfect straight up!

[BIG_Steve]

Your question was answered, but here's a tip:

 

Walk through the ships duty free shop the night before, and check prices on booze they have that you may be interested in. Sometimes the Ship has the same stuff as in ports, and only charges around a dollar more. I had lugged some booze around Nassau all day, only to find it $1.00 more on ship. Well worth not having to be a mule all day.

[TFunkified]

Walk through the ships duty free shop the night before, and check prices on booze they have that you may be interested in. Sometimes the Ship has the same stuff as in ports, and only charges around a dollar more. I had lugged some booze around Nassau all day, only to find it $1.00 more on ship. Well worth not having to be a mule all day.

 

Here is another helpful hint. I agree not to lug the bottles around in port. Instead, take photos of the liquor prices in port. (Make sure prices are in USD.) On Carnival, I have taken my camera into the liquor store on the ship and they will match the port prices. Make sure to check with them before doing this, but I have successfully done this 4 different times.

 

Also, we normally just pack in extra clothes such as socks, tshirts, etc into the bottle holders to help avoid breakage. We have been successful up to this point.

 

Also, a word of caution. Never assume that the customs people are just going to wave you through. I brought back 10 bottles from St. Thomas/Nassau/St. Maarten cruise and I had to pay for them. I didn't have enough money in my pocket and had to head back on the ship with security to get money from the ATM. It was not fun. The 4 bottles have to be purchased in St. Thomas in order to get them in under that rule.

 

We are headed to the same ports soon, so enjoy your time!

[Gators23]

Fantastic thread, thank you, right down my alley....

 

 

 

 

[Snorkel Dawg]

We have been buying (& reusing) those monster sized ziplock bags for years. Along w/ a lil bubble wrap & some dirty clothes and have never had a bottle break. Last March one of our new Heyes suitcases was cracked somewhere between getting on the plane in Miami & changing planes in Atlanta on route to Chicago. All 3 bottles of rum were fine though :)